joearena99

Hello Hello:

A friend of mine is getting married in July, 2011, and is looking for suggestions for a nice Caribbean island on which to spend her honeymoon. Her budget is about $3,500, including airfare from upstate NY. She and her intended are looking for a 'nice beach', some shopping, and comfortable weather.

Any suggestions from Fodorites out there ???

Thanx

RoamsAround

You've really not given us much to work on other than your friend wants to go to the Caribbean. That covers a big area, thousands of square miles, over 800 islands & cays (if you include the Bahamas), literally thousands of hotels and resorts and almost all of them will have "nice beaches, some shopping and similar tropical weather".

Tell your friend she needs to do some basic research. have her start by going to the "Destinations" link at the top of this page. Have her click through to the Caribbean where she'll find some general information of the major islands in the Caribbean. After she reads through the material, have her pick 2 or 3 that most interest her. She can then do further research by using the "Search" feature to bring up recent posts about those islands. That will tell her more about those islands, what they have to offer and possible places to stay. She should then be able to narrow her choice to one island. Once she does that have her do a google search for "Things to do on NAME OF ISLAND" and "Where to stay on NAME oF ISLAND". Pretty soon she'll be an expert of that island.

HINT: Have your friend make a list of the 10 or 15 "things" that are most important to her in a Caribbean Honeymoon. As she reads through the material on the different islands she should compare them to her list. It will soon become apparent which islands(s) are best suited to her tastes.

Lastly, you have to clarify whether or not her budget of $3,500 is just for room and airfare or if it also includes meals, drinks, extracurricular activities and incidentals.

Have her start looking at the major islands like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and any others that she can reach non-stop from her nearest International Gateway airport as they will often be the least expensive in terms of airfare to reach.

Gerrit6698

Hi,
Well thats a vague brief, but since its a honeymoon, you really want to make it something special, so stay away from the major tourist places like, Jamaica, Dominican Republic or even Barbados. Why not go to an island thats a little of the beaten track, charming and ideal for honeymoons.

My suggestion would be, Grenada! Especially that time of the year (July) you can get extra great deals on even the nicest of hotels. There aren't many tourists around and so you will have the beaches almost entirely to yourselves, even on Grand Anse (which is among the top rated beaches in the world) you will have loads of space to yourselves.

St. George is very pictureque and one of the last trully caribbean cities with a beautifull natural harbor left. You can do various different tours on the island and visit some of the beautifull and romantic waterfalls, again you will probably be on your own, it doesn't get any more romantic than that.

Last but not least, Grenada is home to several really good restaurants, for modest rates you can even eat in some of the best ones, check them out.
Whatever you do, don't book all inclusive, it would be a shame not getting out and about and enjoy what local cuisine has to offer.

Congratulations to your friend anyway.

Gerrit6698

Roger_Whippleport

Honeymoon eh? St .Maarten all the way! Partying, lovely, beautiful, beachy and fairly priced for a couple now starting their life together. Most other islands you have to stick to resorts to be safe, St. Maarten you can go pretty much anywhere, just ask hotel folks first!

Rosa23

Combine any resort in Aruba with a weekend stay in Curacao.

suze

My question would be where you can get "comfortable weather" in the Caribbean in July. I was in Negril Jamaica this year in July and it was hot hot HOT and extremely humid. I had a blast but "comfortable weather" it was not -lol!

roatanvortex

Check out the hidden gem Roatan, http://roatanvortex.com/blog/ nestled in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Honduras. West Bay Beach is rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world! Lots of options for accommodation, dining, and fun. If you like to snorkel you can walk in from the beach and within minutes be gazing at the second biggest barrier reef in the world, teeming with coral and other marine life.

The sand is soft white powder, the landscape tropical and lush jungle foliage climbing to a central ridge.

You can do as little or as much as you want on Roatan...you won't be disappointed.

SuziMason

Grenada is often described as a romantic destination and is very popular with wedding & honeymoon couples. It has a range of hotels,restaurants and activities. Most of the hotels are located in the Grand Anse area within walking distance of the famous Grand Anse Beach, which is a 2-mile stretch of powdery white sand beach with beautiful calm waters - and also walking distance to restaurants, banks, shopping malls, supermarkets and the local bus route. A few which may fit with what you are looking for (price-wise) - Flamboyant Hotel, Blue Horizons Garden Resort, Siesta Hotel; further along on the Morne Rouge Bay (another beautiful beach) are the Gem Holiday Beach Resort and the Kalinago Beach Resort. Grenada is also known as a peaceful, safe destination with very friendly locals. Weather-wise, July is usually one of the hottest months in the Caribbean and in Grenada, the average temperature is likely to be between 28-34C. The official tourism website is a great tool for further research on hotels, restaurants, things to see-and-do, etc. www.grenadagrenadines.com. Hope this information helps with your decision.