Honeymoon Advice
 

My wife of four months and I are in desperate need of a honeymoon. We live about 15 minutes from DCA, but have access to IAD and BWI as well. We can leave as early as March 3 and return as late as March 12.

I have Premier status (lowest level) with United and would like to fly with them or a partner airline if possible, but that is not a requirement.

Right now we are leaning towards Thailand, but are really open to any suggestions. We aren't exactly flush: our budget is between $4000 and $5000 all in.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

A few other things I should mention: we are in our mid-twenties, I have been to Hong Kong but she has never been to Asia, neither of us has been to the Caribbean or Central or South America. We are open to nearly anything.

Some advice we have received is that flying coach to Thailand would be a little too brutal for a one week vacation.

Congratulations..

Why not just do a relaxing all inclusive trip to the Carribean, Mexico, etc?

My wife and I honeymooned in Cuba (we're Canadian), but hardly spend any money above our full all inclusive vacation.. nice relaxing time to focus on each other..

I'd stay closer to home than Asia as well, so that you won't suffer for too long in coach and you can put more of your budget into the destination. If it were me I would be looking at the Caribbean, but maybe that's just because it is prohibitively far from Melbourne (home base).

Does anyone go to Bermuda any more? My dad used to love it in the 70s (I still have the tacky T shirt to prove it!) but I guess that's not much of a recommendation!

Malaysian island of Langkawi. Quiet. romantic. good food. .relaxinggggggg

9 days?! That's a bit tight for a honeymoon. If the vacation is this short, I would normally think about somewhere closer; SE Asia might be a bit far. If you add the jet lag into the mix... a closer destination looks even better.

This is debatable. My wife and I have survived very long flights in Y (think Europe to Hawai`i and the like). If you have the means to travel J (cash or miles) then of course Y sounds brutal.;)

My advice: try something a non-popular location in Mexico or Central America. The Caribbean during Spring Break does not make a great honey moon. Hawai`i is also a decent option.

is the award to thailand available?

Thanks, florin. We agree: Cancun and the like are explicitly excluded for that very reason. We just went to the Big Island over Christmas with my parents (not a honeymoon if it's with Mom and Dad), so we're trying to try something else.

Costa Rica maybe? Though I had friends who went there over Spring Break in college as well...

You can probably find resorts that are far less 'spring break' if you have a look - for example, 'couple only' resorts may attract less teenage interest. Teenagers generally want a) cheap and b) lots of activity, so if you pick a quieter island / resort, at the higher end of the price point, you would probably avoid them en masse. I'd probably stick to Caribbean / Mexico (short flight) rather than go long haul for a week. I've done Thailand in coach, and I wasn't a particulaly happy bunny (and certainly needed a couple of days to adjust, which seems a bit of a waste on a week's vacation).

Look at Belize. Won't get the spring breakers and you can probably do well on your budget.

Another idea is St Maarten. Not really spring breakers there.

The more expensive the resort the less likely there will be spring breakers. So even if you decide to go to Mexico just pick ssomeplace expensive for a student and you should be fine.

You can do Dominican Republic for inexpensive. I know some people who went to the Secrets all-inclusive and said it was great. Might be an idea.

Check where your airline flies and a place you might like to go and then work from there.

My fiancée and I went to Dreams La Romana in the Dominican Republic and LOVED it - it is all-inclusive and we upgraded to the Preferred Club, which was well worth it. Dreams has several properties in the Caribbean and offer lots of activities in addition to beach/pool lounging (I would check Trip Advisor for reviews and recommendations). It is not in a hotel chain where you can use award redemption but was so nice I didn't mind. :)

http://www.dreamsresorts.com/

OP, you live in US and never been to carribean!? $4000-5000 will take you a long way. I recommend a high end 5 star/ 5 diamond location in the Riveria Maya. This is 30-40 minutes south of Cancun, not in Cancun!! It should be far enough away from cancun and expensive enough to avoid 99% of the spring breakers.

I would look at these 3 and decide, they are all great:

Banyan Tree Mayakoba
Fairmont Mayakoba
Rosewood Mayakoba

These are all in the same beautiful development. Fairmont is the cheapest or least expensive and is a good value. Banyan Tree and Rosewood are about $500 a night at least so times 6 nights is $3000 maybe over your budget when you figure in food and airfare? Check out their websites and let your wife pick!!

We enjoyed Bermuda when we went there, although from DC I'd probably just do that one as a long weekend sometime. You can do the whole island in about 3 days. Also, in March it'll still be a bit on the chilly side there, being about 1,000 miles north of your typical Caribbean island.

March is among our favorite months for European city trips as well. (Rural trips are a mixed bag because some things close in the offseason.) Should be good fares and lots of nonstop Star Alliance destinations to pick from. Imagine Paris with no lines at the museums and lots of excellent restaurant availability... :) The weather won't be any crappier than a winter day in DC.

We spent a week on San Pedro island off the coast of Belize in 2006. That was a great location for snorkel/dive excursions. Also, there were boat operators offering daytrips into the mainland jungle rivers, Mayan ruins, zipline areas, etc. At the time, it was all mom & pop type resorts on the island (not sure if that's still true), so not likely places selling package deals to college students. You could do a few days out there...maybe then a few days in Yucatan. We flew into Belize City on AA and took a Cessna from there out to the island. Funky little town on the island with some interesting restaurants and a modest amount of nightlife. We felt safe walking everywhere at night - a friendly town.

Asia seems far for such a short trip. Europe and Central America are definitely doable...maybe even South America if you have a good routing out of IAD.

If you consider Cancun area, look at Excellence Playa Cancun Resorts..

I would second Mayakoba.. We stayed at the Fairmont Mayakoba this past summer and thought compared to all inclusives, it was fabulous.. The food was excellent, the resort spread out..