To -Moon or Not to -Moon

To -Moon or Not to -Moon

March 30th, 2010 @ 6:00 pm by Mrs. Hot Dog
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My answer to this question is almost always a resounding YES! But when it came to planning a honeymoon, the Hottie and I were undecided.

It’s not that we didn’t want to go on an uber-fun vaca after all the stress of this year and a half. We just didn’t know if it was worth it to drop the moolah after spending so much on the wedding. There are plenty of “more important” things we could do, like finish paying off our debt so we can buy a house!

BUUUUT, our fun-lovin’ side won this time. We both realized how much this stress is taking a toll on us and decided that a honeymoon would be the perfect way to unwind and start our lives “together” (I use that term loosely, since we’ve been together for over 4 years and living together for 3 1/2!).

On to the fun part… picking a place! The only stipulations we had were tropical and all-inclusive. That doesn’t really narrow the search down at all!

Initially my mind went to the uber-honeymoon spot, Bora Bora. I have been dreaming of vacationing here for years, before I even met Mr. HD, and thought this would be a perfect excuse!

To -Moon or Not to -Moon : wedding cheyenne honeymoon Bora Bo

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To -Moon or Not to -Moon : wedding cheyenne honeymoon Bora Bo1

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How dreamy is that?! The overwater bungalows are incredible!! Le sigh. But alas, after doing a little research, I quickly found that my dream destination is WAAAAY outside our budget. Like, double. So lame. Well, onward and upward!

Next up was the Dominican Republic. After looking through a bunch of different resorts, I kept coming back to the Barcelo Dominican Beach in Punta Cana. I found it for a decent price and it has great amenities. There was just something I wasn’t sure about. And H.Dizzle wasn’t too thrilled with the rooms or activities. We want to be able to lounge, but we’d also like the option of some outings.

Aruba and the British Virgin Islands were both looked into. I am a little wary of Aruba, not because that girl went missing, but because the government there did so little to help find her. BVI looked incredible, but everything we liked there was too expensive. Boo… HISS!

At this point I was ready to pull my hair out! And we still hadn’t chosen a destination!

Did you and your FI have a hard time deciding on a honeymoon locale?

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33 Responses to “To -Moon or Not to -Moon”

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Bee

Miss Starfish (message) 1,924 posts, Buzzing bee

Ours was super easy because we aren’t taking one, we are just doing an extended stay in our wedding locale. If we were to do one, I’d have the same requirements as you, tropical and all inclusive!

3/30/10 @ 6:10 pm (reply)

Member

labrat (message) 472 posts, Helper bee

We are waiting on the moon (maybe a mini-moon) as the money we would spend on such is being spent on the wedding instead (paying for most or all ourselves). We could have waited to get married and had money for both but with the grandparents getting older, we want to have it sooner than later.

3/30/10 @ 6:22 pm (reply)

Member

flurrsprite (message) 134 posts, Blushing bee

we’re stuck on our personal preferences, actually! i’m more for a tropical location where we can relax, while he’s more for a cityscape in old europe or something! i’m fine with that because at least it’ll be a new place for both of us and we’ll have fun for sure, but i also feel like that could be a standard vacation where some place like bora bora seems perfect for a honeymoon we’ll figure it out! too bad greece is so expensive, that could be our compromise!

what about mexico? i had a friend who went (just vacay, not honeymoon) to an all inclusive resort and loved it!

3/30/10 @ 6:22 pm (reply)

Member

Riesling (message) 38 posts, Newbee

How about Vanuatu? Or Samoa? Or Fiji? Bali might be far, but it’s VERY cheap! Check out these villas: http://www.balifriendly.com/antique_villa/index.html , http://www.balifriendly.com/bali_rich/index.html , http://www.balifriendly.com/uma_sapna/index.html , http://www.balifriendly.com/villa_danoya/index.html (the site is actually for gay and lesbian couples, but it doesn’t matter - I’ve used their service for my boyfriend and me).

3/30/10 @ 6:38 pm (reply)

Member

Blueshoes2 (message) 2,638 posts, Sugar bee

We originally wanted Hawaii, but it was too expensive. We also wanted all inclusive, which was hard to find there. So, we opted for Mexico!

3/30/10 @ 6:41 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Hamster (message) 4,045 posts, Honey bee

Ooh, can’t wait to see what you pick! We hard a hard time choosing ours as well

3/30/10 @ 6:44 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Socks (message) 1,323 posts, Bumble bee

Ahhh! I’ve always wanted the little bungalows over the water! They are ridiculously pricey though. Hopefully we’ll make it there someday!

3/30/10 @ 7:12 pm (reply)

Member

bridgetjones2010 (message) 167 posts, Blushing bee

We’re currently finishing up planning our honeymoon, and the process was initially overwhelming. My one piece of advice - READ THE TRIPADVISOR REVIEWS. Obviously, every hotel will have problems, but there are some things that I won’t compromise on - like cleanliness and safety. Tripadvisor cannot be beat for getting information like that - information that won’t be on the hotel’s website, expedia, etc.

3/30/10 @ 7:12 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Cardigan (message) 8,645 posts, Bee Keeper

Can’t wait to see what you pick!!!! Luckily, I don’t have to worry about decision making for the honeymoon - my FI is planning it as a surprise!

3/30/10 @ 7:24 pm (reply)

10.

Member

jordynrose (message) 6,351 posts, Bee Keeper

Our HM destination was pretty easy. We wanted a foreign country with lots of physical activities and a nice beach…Costa Rica here we come.

3/30/10 @ 8:02 pm (reply)

11.

Member

Yoshi-bee (message) 4 posts, Wannabee

I was totally in the same boat as you - tropical and all-inclusive (because who wants to worry about food when you’re on vacation?). We looked at Bora Bora, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Bahamas, Thailand… we finally settled on Cozumel because it was much cheaper than the other locales, but at a very nice resort! Just a thought…

3/30/10 @ 8:59 pm (reply)

12.

Bee

Miss Snow (message) 916 posts, Busy bee

Oh, yes x 1000. I think we just picked b/c we couldn’t look at anything else about tropical all-inclusives.

Good luck! Can’t wait to hear what you picked!

3/30/10 @ 9:09 pm (reply)

13.

Bee

Miss Giraffe (message) 4,216 posts, Honey bee

We’re thinking Belize

3/30/10 @ 9:43 pm (reply)

14.

Member

OurFutureIsBright (message) 138 posts, Blushing bee

Oh. My. Gosh. This is our EXACT honeymoon search. Like, exactly. I have dreamed of going to Tahiti, but yeah, it would cost more than our wedding. And my fiance was wary of Aruba for the whole government not helping too much deal too! How crazy. We want beachy, tropical and all inclusive as well. Because that is pretty broad, I was becoming really frustrated because I didn’t really know where to stop. We actually went to a travel agent today to get some guidance, even if we book online ourselves.

Check out St. Lucia or more of the Dominican. That’s where we are looking based on info from our travel agent today. She recommended Excellence Punta Cana in the DR or Jalousie Plantation or Windjammer in St. Lucia. we’re still deciding though.

Good Luck!

3/30/10 @ 9:45 pm (reply)

15.

Member

mrspaetz (message) 3,805 posts, Honey bee

Bora Bora’s on my list too! But so pricey. eurgh!

3/30/10 @ 9:49 pm (reply)

16.

Member

tea (message) 7,263 posts, Bee Keeper

i definitely want tropical and all-inclusive if at all possible. i’m looking forward to seeing what you two picked!

3/31/10 @ 12:23 am (reply)

17.

Member

Cole (message) 31 posts, Newbee

We went on vacation to an all inclusive in Jamaica a few years ago. It was in Ocho Rios. It was beautiful, so fun, and had lots of off resort activities to do. I don’t THINK it was too expensive either.
It might be worth looking into. We stayed at the Sunset Jamaica Grande.

3/31/10 @ 12:52 am (reply)

18.

Guest

kristen

Wow…this sounds exactly what we were thinking for our honeymoon…however just like you…wait out of budget…we ended up booking our moon in St. Thomas (Marriott Frenchman’s Reef). We got a great deal through travelzoo that allowed us to save like $700. Good luck!

3/31/10 @ 1:16 am (reply)

19.

Guest

Donna

Bora Bora is great place to make your honeymoon, but it quite expensive. You can enjoy water and greening in Bora Bora. Lot’s of resorts are providing the best accommodation to the honeymooners.

3/31/10 @ 1:27 am (reply)

20.

Guest

Desi

If you are looking for cheap…my fiance and I went on a week vacation to puerto vallarta and stayed at the barcelo la jolla de mismaloya all inclusive and we were totally impressed. We spent about 1000 each for the week…but that included airport taxis, the zoo, scuba diving, a zipline/speed boat/donkey ride tour, tequila tasting, etc. They also bumped us up to a nicer room when we got there (2 bed 2 bath). The best 1000 I’ve ever spent….

I also recommend Argentina, especially if your wedding is in the winter. The flights can often be cheap (600-1000), but once you are there…you can order a bottle of wine in a restaurant for 3-5 dollars…a brilliant steak dinner is 5 dollars…if you go to Mendoza you can stay at a winery (bodega) for well under 100 a night (more like 10-30) and rent a bike to tour the wineries…. I stayed there for 6 weeks once and spent 2500 including my flight…and I partied every night.

I also hear Thailand is very cheap and exotic with tropical beaches. Lot’s of people love alaska cruises or a ski trip to whistler.

Personally, we’re looking at Mediterranean cruises…hopefully it fits in the budget!

Good luck planning, and have fun with it!

3/31/10 @ 5:10 am (reply)

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