VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!) UPDATED-still need help..

Ok, sO We booked Costa Rica, but are having a TON of reservations about it.

What we want out of our HM is nice beaches and a hotel with big pools( not too crowded) a nice town close by with shopping, dinners( very basic, FH is picky eater) and we wanted to do some activites like water sports, snorkling etc.

We looked at both Nassau in the bahamas and Puerto Vallarta seem to be better choices...I dont know too much abotu either...looking to see what people prefer. ( I get crazy with decsion making..sorry!)

Any hotel suggestions are very very welcome!!!

p.s we are able to change our desination with Travel agent.

THANKS SO VERY MUCH!



UPDATE-

ME and FH sat down and talked tonight, he really FINALLY voiced his opinion and now wants to go to the Bahamas. He said he was doo make me happy, its more something I would like then HIM...

We cant afford Atlantis or Sandals and dont seem to like Breezes....any other hotel suggestions????

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

If you dont mind me asking, what are u budgeting for HM...i was telling ya yesterday about Starwood Resorts (honeymoon collection).

What type of enviroment do you want, are you a water person, do you want to be away from everything?

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I chose other because I personally don't want a super crowded HM. Nassau is very touristey and so is Puerto Vallarta...although both beautiful, I have heard Costa Rica is breathtaking. Plus, I don't know about you, but I want to go somewhere with FH that will be hard to visit once we become parents...and Costa Rica is a lot more exotic (at least to me) than the other two. If you have serius reservations about it, nothing's gonna change your mind, but try not to worry too much. Have you been to Trip Advisor?

Good luck!

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

We dont mind tourist areas at all, I think FH would prefer that actually then somewhere remote.

We are on a limited budget. The Starwood? ( I think thats it) is too much ....

Trip advisor is great, but some of those reviews are fale and its hard to get a good idea, almost all places have a bad review. I have been using it, but am looking for recomendations here too...

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I voted 'Elsewhere'

However, it depends what you want. We prefer a quiet less built up locale. We absolutely didn't want to see a highrise building.

We're going to St. Lucia. but - there is a trade off. There isn't much of a nightlife where we are staying. This is what we wanted.

Really think about what you guys want...
Tropical? Beach? Pool? Big hotel? Villa? Privacy? Lots of People? Night Life? All Inclusive? Site Seeing? ...

Happy planning!

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I chose 'elsewhere'...

what about Jamaica?

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I voted elsewhere...

You should look into the Melia Caribe in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

I have been there and it was one of my best vacations ever. We met so many honeymoon/anniversay couples there.

The grounds are beautiful and huge so it is never crowded. There are even two sides to the place the Caribe side and the Tropicale side.

Caribe is more couples/Tropicale more families. You can go to restaurants on both sides and use all amenities on both sides.

It is all inclusive best of all!! So, you have many choices each night for food.

Anything else you want to know just tell me. I have plenty of pics.

P.S. If you've already booked Costa Rica I hear it is amazing.

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

Ok..maybe I shouldnt have put 'elsewhere'...LOL....Our budget for HM is about $3000 TOTAL...So those two sports are best for us for our needs.

We prefer resort areas versus remote..

We dont want all inclusive because FH is not much of a drinker and eats only about 5 foods all together...

lol

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

Have you thought about a cruise?

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

Well you know my choice is PV! As for hotels, DH and I stayed in Nuevo Vallarta, a little outside of the main town. We stayed at the Mayan Palace, which doesn't have the greatest review on TripAdvisor, but we absolutely LOVED it. If you guys are beach/pool people, than Mayan is a fantastic choice. It has the largest pool in Latin America (the one in Acapulco has the largest pool in North America.) Paradise Village, also in Nuevo, is rated #1 on TA, but it may be out of your price range, I'm not really sure. It's another beautiful reort. Our friends stayed at the Westin and they said it was great. What hotel options are in your price range? Which did your travel agent suggest?

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

Can I ask why you are re-thinking Costa Rica? The country is absolutely beautiful. There are some amazing things to do and see.

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

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Posted by CubanBride

Can I ask why you are re-thinking Costa Rica? The country is absolutely beautiful. There are some amazing things to do and see.

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I was just about to ask this. I spent three weeks there a few years ago and I am DYING to find a reason to return.

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

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Posted by nferrandi

Well you know my choice is PV! As for hotels, DH and I stayed in Nuevo Vallarta, a little outside of the main town. We stayed at the Mayan Palace, which doesn't have the greatest review on TripAdvisor, but we absolutely LOVED it. If you guys are beach/pool people, than Mayan is a fantastic choice. It has the largest pool in Latin America (the one in Acapulco has the largest pool in North America.) Paradise Village, also in Nuevo, is rated #1 on TA, but it may be out of your price range, I'm not really sure. It's another beautiful reort. Our friends stayed at the Westin and they said it was great. What hotel options are in your price range? Which did your travel agent suggest?

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Actually Paradise Village IS VERY VERY affordable but I saw bad reviews online and got scared!

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

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Posted by TwoBugs

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Posted by CubanBride

Can I ask why you are re-thinking Costa Rica? The country is absolutely beautiful. There are some amazing things to do and see.

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I was just about to ask this. I spent three weeks there a few years ago and I am DYING to find a reason to return.

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Heres our reasons-\
We want to relax on the beach...everyone is saying in March the beaches are dry, hot and all the grass brown( dry season)..People are saying most of the beaches ( where we are) have rough surf and not good for swimming, no water sports besides fishing...we would like to do things like snorkling, ride the water bicles , things like that.
While I would love the parks and stuff, FH is more the type to hang on by the pool, gamble, shop.

There doesnt seem to be much in the way of day trips or things to do he would like.

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I just realized it was kind of rude of me to question you. Your reasons are your reasons.

I was in CR in March. It was dry season, but the foliage is soooo lush that it doesn't brown easily. I'm not a beach type person so I don't remember whether the surf was particularly rough.

Truthfully, the beauty of the country is in the more remote areas. The cities are okay, but they're just cities, you know? It's the waterfalls and rain forests and cloud forests and volcanoes that make it such an amazing place. And all that quiet, undisturbed wilderness would probably drive your FH crazy!

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I say PV, but if you have never cruised, I would consider one

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

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Posted by TwoBugs



Truthfully, the beauty of the country is in the more remote areas. The cities are okay, but they're just cities, you know? It's the waterfalls and rain forests and cloud forests and volcanoes that make it such an amazing place. And all that quiet, undisturbed wilderness would probably drive your FH crazy!

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I have never been, but my good friend went on a 'nature trip' and LOVEd it. Mainly because of the above. The waterfalls and mountains are supposed to be stunning.

It sounds like you're more of a beach/resort girl...I say go to Puerto Vallarta...or consider the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) there are many, many choices (not all have to be all-inclusive) and it's on the Caribbean Ocean side so you get nice beaches and weather. Puert Plata is nice, but it's on the Atlantic Ocean side and the beaches are not as nice.

Good luck!

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

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Posted by dm24angel
Actually Paradise Village IS VERY VERY affordable but I saw bad reviews online and got scared!

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You are going to find some bad reviews about every resort, but Paradise Village is rated #1, where we stayed is like #10. I stayed at Paradise Village years ago, but they've done so much work to it that I can't even tell you what it's like now. You just have to take the good with the bad when it comes to reviews, some people are impossible to please. What I noticed about the reviews at the Mayan Palace, was most of the negative reviews were pretty lame. #1) A lot of people complained that you had to do a lot of walking. I think 'a lot' is an overstatement, but yes, things are spread out a bit. Anyone with any kind of level of energy should be able to walk wherever on the porperty just fine. #2) People complain about the timeshare salepeople. You'll find this all around Puerto Vallarta, just say no and walk away. If you show any interest they will try to get you to go to a meeting. You need to be firm that you're simply not interested and they will leave you alone. We had absolutley NO PROBLEM with timeshare people. #3) People complained that the resort was expensive. Um hello, you're on vacation, stop being cheap. I don't think the $5 for quesadillas or $3 for a beer is so outrageous. I think everyone expects things in Mexico to be pratically free, and it's just not like that.

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

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Posted by TwoBugs

I just realized it was kind of rude of me to question you. Your reasons are your reasons.

I was in CR in March. It was dry season, but the foliage is soooo lush that it doesn't brown easily. I'm not a beach type person so I don't remember whether the surf was particularly rough.

Truthfully, the beauty of the country is in the more remote areas. The cities are okay, but they're just cities, you know? It's the waterfalls and rain forests and cloud forests and volcanoes that make it such an amazing place. And all that quiet, undisturbed wilderness would probably drive your FH crazy!

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I went at the end of May. I agree with the above. It's a tripthat you will never forget. And tere are loads of day trips, like to volcano Arenal and the butterfly sanctuary.

Re: VOTE on my HM location...(PLEASE!)

I went to CR last year in April and it is a great place to go. I think you can take this trip the adventurous way or a relaxing way. There is lots of adventurous things to do but we just went and stayed at an all-inclusive resort and mostly went in the pool and relaxed. We did do full day trip and did the canopies, went horse back riding, tubing, etc. WE also went off the resort one day for a nice lobster dinner on the beach.

I have also been to DR (twice) and there are lots of gorgeous resorts to relax in there. The beach there is very nice.

Also, Mayan Riviera is a great new hot spot. I went there - Adventura Spa Palace and the pool is amzing and you can veg there and there are some greta day trip sthat can be included in the pacakge. The beach isn't the greatest - more of a lagoon on the resort but it didn't matter the place was great and the pool make you not want to leave the resort. There is town to shop in, Tellum for ruims, places to go snorkeling, etc. They had a lot of restaurants and the food was very good even for pick eaters. I think it is worth a look at.

Also did you consider Aruba? Alot of people go there and love it.

FM me if any place I went interests you and you need more info.