A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

[bigblue_dl]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

You'll definitely want to check into what liquor on Grand Cayman costs. When we went in 94, we were quickly shocked to find that two rum drinks cost over $25.

Came to find out that drinking is known to be VERY expensive (relatively) there.

In addition, the exchange rate is usually unfavorable to us. Currently at $1.22.

We didn't drink much at all that trip.


Here's a report that may shed some light:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...n_Islands.html


Rum drinks in the Virgin Islands were typically $6-$9. The beaches on St. John were to die for.

Here's one of the many along the north shore...


*****http://i820.***********.com/albums/zz128/Gurtholfin/Bay_zpse7c1fe7c.jpg******

We are planning on going all-inclusive, so no worries about the cost of drinks.

[LynahFan]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

St. Barts. You can fly into St. Martin and then it's an easy ferry or puddle-jumper over. Not too many beaches, but my oh my are they stunning. I've only been there while chartering a sailboat out of St Martin, so I can't speak to any resorts or restaurants, really (we cooked and slept on board).

The most beautiful beach I've been to is still Treasure Cay in the Abacos (Bahamas). Extremely sleepy, stunning beach - nothing to do but soak up the sun and "honeymoon." Perfect, to my way of thinking.

[burd]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions. Right now St. Lucia is at the top of our list, based on some research that we have done, but I'm a little concerned about the lack of beaches that jmh mentioned. We are definitely looking for somewhere with some great beaches, as I'm guessing there will be a couple days where we do nothing but sit on the beach and drink rum in the sun.

I hadn't really considered the Caymans yet...but I will have to take a look. The islands that Gurt mentioned are ones that I have looked into, and I am definitely interested in those as well.

Also, it needs to be somewhere that Delta flys into, as we're using my FF miles for this trip.

Sounds like you are set on the Carribean, but you really should consider Fargo. It has an Olive Garden, so it has that Mediterranean feel to it. Plus it's not that crowded in the winter. If you and your wife like castles, you could take a short drive north to Grand Forks and see the Palace.

If you sort of sneak Fargo into the conversation about the BVI, I bet your wife will warm up to the idea. And don't sneeze at the value of being happy to get back home.

[Mowers10]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Been to Jamaica........I wouldn't choose it for a honeymoon.

[SJHovey]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Any suggestions for a Caribbean honeymoon? We're still more than a year away from when we'd most likely go, so we have plenty of time to plan it out and consider our options. I'm looking for suggestions on both islands/cities and specific resorts that are recommended and ones to stay away from.

We're looking for something fairly quiet. Beaches, cocktails, great views, and good food are a must. A big party scene is not needed. Outdoor activities would be preferrable, and I would prefer somewhere that is ok to venture outside of confines of the resort to see more than just the touristy stuff.

You indicated you are flying on Delta. Are you flying out of the Twin Cities? How big of an issue is price for the resort.

I'll put in a pitch for the Riviera Maya, which is basically the Caribbean coast south of Cancun. My wife and I go there every winter and we love it. We've probably been to 8-10 different resorts (all-inclusive) and haven't had a bad experience yet.

Here are what I think are the positives:

1. Great flight from the Twin Cities. You fly to Cancun, and it's a four hour flight, non-stop. They also have a lot of flight options. I love the 6 a.m. flight. You're in Cancun by 10, through customs and to your resort by 11:30, a little lunch and you're on the beach that afternoon. It feels like you get an extra day of vacation. From the Twin Cities you simply cannot beat the Cancun flight for a Caribbean trip.

2. Mexico is actually a great place to be if you want to get out and see something other than your resort. Every resort will run excursions to places like Tulum and Chichen Itza, for a bit of history. You can go swimming in underground caverns. There are excursions for diving, snorkling, atv riding, ziplining, etc... We've had a blast taking the ferry ride from Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel, renting a jeep, and driving the island for a day. Playa Del Carmen itself is kind of fun if you just want to go into town for a little nightlife.

3. You have a wide variety of resorts to choose from, depending upon your interests. You can go with the big, mega resorts that will give you a ton of restaurant and bar options, and many, many pools to choose from, along with a beach. Or you can go a little smaller. We've done both, and enjoyed both.

A few places we've tried in the last few years:
Aventura Spa Palace (maybe changed the name now)
Xcaret
Barcelo Maya Palace
Riu Palace
Iberostar
The Royal at Playa Del Carmen
Moon Palace

I can write more about specific resorts if you're interested.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

You indicated you are flying on Delta. Are you flying out of the Twin Cities? How big of an issue is price for the resort.

I'll put in a pitch for the Riviera Maya, which is basically the Caribbean coast south of Cancun. My wife and I go there every winter and we love it. We've probably been to 8-10 different resorts (all-inclusive) and haven't had a bad experience yet.

Here are what I think are the positives:

1. Great flight from the Twin Cities. You fly to Cancun, and it's a four hour flight, non-stop. They also have a lot of flight options. I love the 6 a.m. flight. You're in Cancun by 10, through customs and to your resort by 11:30, a little lunch and you're on the beach that afternoon. It feels like you get an extra day of vacation. From the Twin Cities you simply cannot beat the Cancun flight for a Caribbean trip.

2. Mexico is actually a great place to be if you want to get out and see something other than your resort. Every resort will run excursions to places like Tulum and Chichen Itza, for a bit of history. You can go swimming in underground caverns. There are excursions for diving, snorkling, atv riding, ziplining, etc... We've had a blast taking the ferry ride from Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel, renting a jeep, and driving the island for a day. Playa Del Carmen itself is kind of fun if you just want to go into town for a little nightlife.

3. You have a wide variety of resorts to choose from, depending upon your interests. You can go with the big, mega resorts that will give you a ton of restaurant and bar options, and many, many pools to choose from, along with a beach. Or you can go a little smaller. We've done both, and enjoyed both.

A few places we've tried in the last few years:
Aventura Spa Palace (maybe changed the name now)
Xcaret
Barcelo Maya Palace
Riu Palace
Iberostar
The Royal at Playa Del Carmen
Moon Palace

I can write more about specific resorts if you're interested.

Thanks for the info. I had this as an idea (as well as Costa Rica) as something to look into as an alternative to a Caribbean island. Mentioned it to my fiance, and she didn't seem interested (similar to how I am not interested in Puerto Rico), so we dismissed it pretty quickly. I think it would be awesome to do the Yucatan, because I would love to see some of the ruins there, but I think the veto hammer has already dropped on that.

We tried to hash out what exactly we're looking for in a destination a bit last night. My fiance would really like to go to an island with "mountains" (yes, I know, that sounds silly, mountains in the Caribbean). So what we'd be looking for is just an island that has some jungle highlands areas, and isn't flat. Something like I think several of the Virgin Island islands have, and islands like Dominica and Grenada. We seem to be narrowing it down some, and I am thinking I really like the Virgin Islands, probably St. Thomas, with some kind of excursion to St. John. I also want to look into St. Maarten and St. Croix some more, as I don't know much about them.

As for cost, we're ready to spend some decent amount of money, its our honeymoon afterall. We would definitely still like to go Delta, just so I can use miles and save a little money. But I am starting to see that with many of the islands we're interested in aren't served by Delta. We may have to take Delta to Atlanta and find something else from there if we have to. Going to the island we want is more important than sticking with Delta. One of the reasons we're interested in Punta Cana is because Delta now has a direct flight from MSP to Punta Cana.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

For those who have traveled the Caribbean, would you recommend going with a larger, more corporate resort like Sandals, or with a smaller more localized resort?

[SJHovey]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

For those who have traveled the Caribbean, would you recommend going with a larger, more corporate resort like Sandals, or with a smaller more localized resort?

As you can guess based upon the list of recent resorts we've visited, we tend to the larger, more "corporate" resorts. We have toyed with the idea of just booking a room in one of the offbeat, small hotels in Playa Del Carmen for something different. We've hesitated for a couple of reasons.

First, the corporate resorts have more to lose. With things like Trip Advisor out there, and a brand to protect, as a general rule things are going to run pretty smoothly.

Second, those resorts all have their own water purification systems on site, and candidly, the last thing I want to do on my winter vacation is sit on the toilet all day.

At the end of the day it's the comfort of knowing what we're getting, before we get there, that has probably kept us going back to the more well-known facilities.

I'm sure you'll have a great time either way, though.

[Hopkinja]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

I tend to avoid the big corporate resorts and stay at small B&B's or smaller hotels. And I've never had a problem getting sick in the Caribbean. Yes, things may not go as smoothly but you'll probably meet people who are actually interested in something besides laying on the beach and watersports. But if that's all you're looking for, by all means go with the big resorts.

And for the record I've been to Puerto Rico, the D.R., Jamaica, Grand Cayman, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, and Grenada (and Trinidad, but that's not really the Caribbean). As long as I've got a rental car and a map, I'm good to go.

[jmh]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Sounds like you are set on the Carribean, but you really should consider Fargo. It has an Olive Garden, so it has that Mediterranean feel to it. Plus it's not that crowded in the winter. If you and your wife like castles, you could take a short drive north to Grand Forks and see the Palace.

If you sort of sneak Fargo into the conversation about the BVI, I bet your wife will warm up to the idea. And don't sneeze at the value of being happy to get back home.

Marilyn Hagerty has really good things to say about Olive Garden.

For those who have traveled the Caribbean, would you recommend going with a larger, more corporate resort like Sandals, or with a smaller more localized resort?

If you want to socialize with other couples you should go to Sandals; if you want to spend most of your time just the two of you, you should go to a smaller resort. Sandals is pretty expensive (we did the comparison) so you're really not getting any "economies of scale" kind of discount if that's the way you decide to go. More variety (both style and price points) at the smaller ones too. I can share the specific research we did if you want.

[Mowers10]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

I agree with jmh........although I haven't been to Olive Garden many times........

[LynahFan]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

We tried to hash out what exactly we're looking for in a destination a bit last night. My fiance would really like to go to an island with "mountains" (yes, I know, that sounds silly, mountains in the Caribbean). So what we'd be looking for is just an island that has some jungle highlands areas, and isn't flat. Something like I think several of the Virgin Island islands have, and islands like Dominica and Grenada. We seem to be narrowing it down some, and I am thinking I really like the Virgin Islands, probably St. Thomas, with some kind of excursion to St. John. I also want to look into St. Maarten and St. Croix some more, as I don't know much about them.

St. Maarten definitely has mountains, but it's pretty developed, so I'm not sure how "jungle-y" they are. As I said, we were sailing, so we didn't explore inland too much. Haven't been to the USVI; the BVI islands are tiny, even Tortola, so you wouldn't really have much of an opportunity for exploring jungle highlands. I also tend to go in the off season (summer) since we're on the water anyway, so it's always pretty warm for hiking - we spend our time snorkeling, swimming, and lying around (on the boat and on the beach).

[Gurtholfin]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

If you're thinking of the USVI, I'd suggest St John over St Thomas or maybe even a few days on each.

St Thomas is more developed and certainly has more in the way of shopping, nightlife and restaurants. But it's also quite busy and has a decent amount of impoverished (by our standards) areas. There are probably quiet parts of the island, but we didn't see them.

To my knowledge, the only all-inclusive on St. Thomas is Bolongo Bay - which is where we stayed coz we were there with extended family and it was just easier that way. I won't go into too much detail about the resort here but if you are considering that place in particular, let me know coz you should get a scouting report.

Definitely get a rental car if you're going to explore on your own as the cabs are $9 per person each way regardless of where you're going. That obviously adds up quick and I was thankful to have our own vehicle for that and also for the freedom it allows.


If you want to get away to quiet places with just the misses, St. John has far more of those. There's less shopping and restaurants, but what is there is quaint and more interesting than the 100 or so jewelry t-sthirt & watch stores that are in Charlotte-Amalie.

Charlotte-Amalie is set up to be a cruise ship stop and the stores reflect that. It's still worth checking out (go to Gladys to eat for sure), but it isn't anywhere I'd want to hang out for too long - but that's me.


Again, St. Thomas was nice. We liked it.

But both my wife and I liked St. John a whole lot more and we've already decided that if we ever go back, we'll spend our time there.

[Gurtholfin]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

On the all-inclusive (corporate) versus smaller place, I'd always go to a smaller place or at least skip the all-inclusive.

The reason is that we (wife and I) really like to explore and go to new places. When we're anywhere near the ocean, one of our favorite things to do is eat the fresh seafood. I really didn't like being stuck at the all-inclusive restaurant (on St. Thomas) every night when there were 20 other restaurants that I'd have LOVED to check out.

Now obviously, if you're in Jamaica or the Riviera Maya (which we're looking at for our next extended family trip), an all-inclusive makes a lot of sense due to safety reasons. In the USVIs or BVIs, those concerns don't exist, so if it's me, I don't want to be tethered.

I will say however that ordering a drink and never once having to think about the $8 cash that it would have cost was nice.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

I enjoyed staying at Rui Palace in Cabo San Lucas but I doubt I will ever do an all-inclusive again. The food was good until we stopped at a beach front restaurant and had their tacos and everything at the all-inclusive tasted like school lunch after that. In my eyes, it seemed like we spent alot of money and didn't get out what we paid. It certainly is the easier way to go but at the same time, bang for buck was questionable.