Wedding Blog
I have been racking up miles for years and years on Alaska Airlines for an amazing trip. I have waited so long that I could get Mr. Peep and I practically any where in the world- except for Africa or Australia.
Now using miles isn’t always the easiest route- it takes persistence. And Mr. Peep and I were all over the map.
First Mr. Peep and I thought it would be absolutely amazing to go to Chile and Argentina and go skiing, yet finding a reservation that worked was hard and we were told that there may not be snow in June. How much would it suck to fly half way across the globe for snow and find out that it wasn’t there yet!!
Right about that time, SIL and BIL Peep came back from their honeymoon in Bali and raved and raved and raved about it. I called at least a dozen times to see if I could get tickets to Bali, or anywhere in Southeast Asia for that matter, but all the flights pivoted around Hong Kong, and each time we got stranded in Hong Kong with no way back.
Finally, we really sat down and talked about what we wanted. We wanted something semi-active (Mr. Peep can’t sit on the beach for the life of him), some place that was eco-friendly, and after looking at all the pictures of Southeast Asia, Mr. Peep had fallen in love with the idea of an over water bungalow and I wanted some place warm.
I knew the perfect place- Costa Rica. BUT I went to Costa Rica a few years ago, and I really wanted a new adventure.
And then we saw the perfect picture:
source.
The Eclypse de Mar in Panama!! Not only do they have over water bungalows: HELLO Beautiful Beaches…
..but the Eclypse de Mar is an eco-friendly hotel!! Check, check and check.
It had all of our prerequisites. Plus, Mr. Peep can not wait to see one of these:
A poison Dart Frog.
After we have swam, kayaked, snorkeled, and relaxed our little hearts out on the beach and the surrounding Marine Reserve, we are going to spend a few days on a Coffee Farm near the Continental Divide. We plan to hike a bit, drink a ton of coffee, do a zip-line, and relax at a spa!!
Here’s a pic of a waterfall near where we will be staying:
source.
And then we are going to spend a few days exploring Panama City and the Panama Canal. Did I mention that Mr. Peep and I spent hours at the Seattle Locks back in June, and loved watching all the boats!! We really are geeks. We made sure that we will be in Panama City on a Saturday so we can take a boat tour of the locks.
source.
This past weekend Mr. Peep and I spent hours poring over Trip Advisor and the travel guide book he got me for Chrismakkah: Moon: Panama, and today we booked most of the hotels for our trip–I am beyond excited. We still need to figure out where we want to stay in Panama City. Any suggestions?
Oh and did I tell you the best part? We are flying first class both ways!! All on my miles!! That saved, oh, at least $3,000! I told you this is the best part of wedding planning thus far!!
What were your requirements for a honeymoon destination?? Where are you going?
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Wow!! Looks like you two are going to have fun! We just wanted a place that we would both love and be able to travel after the wedding and enjoy! We are Disneymooners! hehe
I just got back from Panama 3 days ago and it was amazing! The Canal tour was awesome!
We stayed at 2 different places near Panama City: the Intercontinental on Playa Bonita, which is a 15 minute ride from the city. It was beautiful and relaxing. You can see all of the boats lined up to go through the canal which is pretty at night. If you take a taxi from the resort, it’s $50 to go into the city, but if you are adventurous, take their public bus, which stops outside of the hotel for $.25. Its really cheap to get around once you are in the city but I was surprised at how big it was! A taxi driver also told us that the the Intercontinental in the city is one of the nicest hotels there.
We also stayed about 40 minutes from the city at Gamboa Rainforest resort, which was beautiful but it sounds like you are doing a lot of the rainforest activities at the begining of your trip.
Let me know if you want anymore info on restaurants, etc. and I’ll be happy to give you some recomendations!
Wow! I’ve been in the back of mind thinking about Panama or Honduras (two places that have not become overly touristy yet) as a honeymoon destination. This looks like a great idea. Thanks for the tip.
That looks incredible! I loved the over the water huts. And first class?! What a treat!
FI and I are big into traveling, and our vacations are always very active in regards to hiking, etc. We decided the ideal honeymoon would be the opposite of our normal vacations, so that we can enjoy being “just married”. Another requirement was a warm climate and beaches.
We really aren’t planning a big honeymoon, as we’re planning on going on at least a one week trip to Europe around our one year anniversary mark. Right now we’re planning on going to Vegas for our honeymoon. He’s never been, and I think it would be a fun way to spend a brief honeymoon as I’ve only been once before for a weekend. Since his parents are helping us pay for it, it shouldn’t cost us too much.
Ooooohhhh Panama! I love your honeymoon destination! And first class. You do everything in style!
WOW score on using your miles! Your honeymoon looks like it will be perfect - relaxy, yet exciting 
FH and I are planning to go to French Canada - Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa. We’re not really beachy people (which is funny because we both grew-up near the beach and would never want to move away from it, we just don’t like to sit on it), so we wanted to explore a place we’d never been w/o blowing our life savings We’re so excited b/c he’s never been to Canada and I’ve only been to Toronto.
Congrats on the honeymoon planning!!!!
We have no idea where we are going, or even when! We will probably go 2 or 3 months after the wedding. Mr. Taffy also has tons of miles, so I’m tempted to go somewhere far away!
I am looking for similar qualities in my honeymoon locale (and have the same Costa Rica is perfect, but I’ve been there before dilemma). I’m not sure if you’ve crunched the numbers yet, but would you mind sharing the estimated cost (not including the flight) that you expect to spend going to Panama? Also, do you have any safety concerns going there?
oooo Miss Peep Toe! I am really impressed!!!! Our honeymoon will be a surprise to me, but I’m forwarding your post to Mr.D’orsay!
We’re also going to Panama.
While nothing is booked yet, we have a deadline of the end of the month to get booked.
In planning our honeymoon, we had the following criteria:
- a place that neither of us had been
- a place off the beaten path that has an isolation factor mixed with a little luxury while maintaining an eco friendly response to tourism
- somewhere we could be active, SCUBA, hiking, kayaking. We’re not the sit at the pool/beach type at all. (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
Panama fits all of that, or at least we think it will.
As far as where to stay in PC - we’re considering:
http://www.loscuatrotulipanes.com/
Reviews will tell you that the Casco Viejo area has significant safety concerns, and there are specific things you should do/not do. We’re both really drawn to the area and the less fabricated feel.
Also considering The Canal House in CV:
http://www.canalhousepanama.com/
I will say that many forums and guidebooks suggest staying in El Cangrejo as it is the shopping/restaurant/tourist hub.
We’re attempting to fit the rest into our trip:
- SCUBA Isla Coiba
- Monkey Island
- Boquete - Canopy Tour, hiking, etc
- We’re up in arms between Bocas and San Blas. We both want to experience the remote Kuna Yala region, but Bocas seems so much easier and guaranteed, we’re torn.
JOANNA — Did you visit San Blas or Casco Viejo on your trip?
And yes, this is SOO the most fun part of the wedding planning : )
@ Joanna, thanks for all the great info. I’d love to know more about your stay at Gamboa Rainforest Resort! We couldn’t tell if it is super cool or kinda cheesy?
@Miss Taffy, you have to use those miles and go some where amazing!!
@HeatherB, Panama is cheaper than Costa Rica, I think all in all we will be spending just over $2,000 on Hotels (13 nights)- we picked nice but not over the top spots and it can be done for less or more money. Probably about $500 for travel around- in country flights are super cheap (one flight is 30 bucks each). And another 1,000+ for food, fun and adventure.
@D’orsay- Mr. D’Orsay should totally look into Panama!! It’s amazing (or at least it seems amazing so far)!!
I’d never even thought of Panama! OMG now I want to go ridiculously badly!
your trip to panama looks amaaaazing! ive heard great things and am dying to go.
for those considering other costa rica alternatives, i’d recommend nicaragua. people have compared it to a pre-touristy costa rica and my fiance and i just loved it when we went last summer. granada is this super cute town and a great home base for outdoor hiking and water adventures. we had limited time so didn’t get to do those bigger excursions, but info about our trip is here: http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/2008/07/nicaragua.html (we looooove to travel and keep a travel blog of all our trips–there is info about costa rica among other places too)
and ps - using miles is so great! we just booked free tickets to paris for our honeymoon!
Thank you for posting about your honeymoon to Panama. I can’t wait for pictures and a re-cap after your wedding!
Miss Peep Toe- the Gamboa Resort was absolutely beautiful! Its on the Chagres river and every room has a balcony with a hammock! My fiance and I definately like to travel off the beaten path so some parts were a little cheesy but for the most part, we were surprised and really enjoyed it (other than the food). The hotel offers several tours, including to “monkey island” where you will see 2 kinds of monkeys. We also contacted a friend who lived in the area with Peace Corps- he connected us with someone from a local indigenous village, which we visited and was one of the highlights of our trip. If you want, me an e-mail (joanna dot schober at gmail) and I’d be happy to give you more info!
We just started planning ours…your pictures got me motivated to do some more browsing:) You will have so much fun!
How wonderful!
Much of your criteria is our criteria. Right now we’re leaning towards Costa Rica or Belize. (but I have to look into Panama now!!)
How will the weather be in Panama in May? I hear it’s not the ideal time to go to Costa Rica and I’m currently weighing the cons of that.
Want. To. Go. Sounds. Like. Perfection.
Congrats!
I’m crossing my fingers for Costa Rica for me!
First class on miles SO JEALOUS! You guys are going to have a fantastic time!
Tried to post earlier, but it didn’t work!
Los Cuatros Tulipanes was EXCELLENT in PC. Highly recommend. As long as you follow their advice for safety, you will be fine. I arrived late at night, alone, and every waiter on the street made sure I found my apt safely. Also highly recommend the Decapolis for something modern and swanky!
For another bungalow over the water place, check out punta caracol in Bocas!
I heard Panama is the NEW Costa Rica! Way to be ahead of the curve! We just stayed in the Dominican Republic for ours but I’m hoping we can go somewhere for a 2nd (more real) honeymoon this year.
first class?! that will be sooo perfect after the stress leading up to the wedding! and that beach looks amazing!
[...] read it, I’ll make sure that I stick to it. And it’ll make drinking cocktails on the beach in Panama that much [...]
[...] Peep and I found out that our honeymoon is a real pain! Before we could jet off on our fantastic honeymoon to Panama, we needed [...]
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Mrs. Peep Toe, San Francisco
Age and Occupation: 29, Policy Analyst
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production Manager
Engagement Date: December 16, 2007
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: November 26, 2008
Venue: Hotel Vitale
About Me: I am a west coast lady who loves the San Francisco Bay Area. I love living with Mr. Peep and our animals: Huck the Dog and Ferris the Cat. I work to save the environment in San Francisco, while Mr. Peep makes ridiculously delicious Olive Oil. On any day you can find me reading the latest book I have gotten my hands on, eating Swedish Fish, and perusing wedding blogs! We are both champagne drinking foodies on a Bud Light budget. We are planning an eco-chic, intimate, and interfaith San Francisco City wedding.
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