Anniversary plans?

[PrincessShanShan]

We didn't go on a honeymoon when we got married, so we had our "Disneymoon" the day after our first anniversary. Our anniversary is Dec. 22 and dh's birthday is Dec. 27. With Christmas being between them both, it's like a full week of celebrating!! Although we just celebrated our first anniversary, we're already planning the second. Right now our plans are to spend that week in a cabin in the Smoky Mtns. (probably Maggie Valley). Dh will turn 50 (I always have to remind him he's ALOT older than I am!!) a few days after our third anniversary. We want to do something really big that year. We're thinking of maybe going to the Mediterranean, but I'm not real sure about the weather that time of the year. We have a few years to plan and like alot of you, I'm obsessive with the planning!

 

[Laurafoster]

Disneys out of the question for us for our Anniversary but we were thinking if popping to Paris - its only a few hours drive away. Or maybe Venice.

We LOVE london aswell but we live so close (20mins away maybe) we go quite often.

 

[Maggimus]

. Right now our plans are to spend that week in a cabin in the Smoky Mtns. (probably Maggie Valley). !

This plan wouldnt work for me.. I live in the Smokies.... and instead of these places being neat to me-- they are more like tourist traps and lots of yelling at the traffic when people dont know where they are going. It seems like so many couples come to the smokies for romantic reasons-- I kinda wish we could do something like that... but when you look outside and see Dolly's big ****s in your face... its less appealing than per-say... All these tropical places.

Do not get me wrong-- I love where I live... and if we could move (in-laws) we would LOVE it.. but we are so attached here.

I think the Biltmore in Asheville would be a good weekend trip for us!! Do they own a hotel there? Anyone recommend it?

 

[Gradar1]

Maggimus--I don't live that far from the Biltmore Estate, and I'd definitely suggest it! It's gorgeous up there, esp. in the spring/fall, and in the winter the Christmas decorations are gorgeous! But anyways...I told you I had some pictures from Cozumel/Caymans and here they are! (Let's hope this works )
Paradise Beach in Cozumel, Mexico

My family and I swimming with stingrays in Grand Cayman

My younger sister standing in front of our boat (the Carnival one) in Cozumel.

From the midnight feast on the ship, which was incredible (and this was really cute)

Sunset from the cruise ship

Let me know if you want to see more!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

This plan wouldnt work for me.. I live in the Smokies.... and instead of these places being neat to me-- they are more like tourist traps and lots of yelling at the traffic when people dont know where they are going. It seems like so many couples come to the smokies for romantic reasons-- I kinda wish we could do something like that... but when you look outside and see Dolly's big ****s in your face... its less appealing than per-say... All these tropical places.

Do not get me wrong-- I love where I live... and if we could move (in-laws) we would LOVE it.. but we are so attached here.

I think the Biltmore in Asheville would be a good weekend trip for us!! Do they own a hotel there? Anyone recommend it?

Newport Rhode Island is a wonderful place for a long weekend! Just beautiful.....Sanibel Island in Fl. is another place we love for a long weekend.

 

[cryssi]

Maggie,

Not sure if these ideas would work for you, but since you are not constrained by budget...lol

DH and I would love to go to Japan. Ok, so I'm japanese and he's half, but it would be amazing. I've been once before. I would love to go to TokyoDL and DisneySea... Japan is just cool anyway...

We took a "mini-moon" to Vegas after our wedding and stayed at the Wynn in a suite...very cool!

Hawaii? Too typical?

good luck! can't wait to hear what you plan! DH took me to Club 33 for our 1 year...

 

[Maggimus]

Thanks for everyones suggestions.

DH and I have been to Cozumel on numberous occasions-- we love it there!! If we go back we will go with my family as a family trip-- not for our anniversary.

I would LOVE to take DH abroad... I have been to Ireland, England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico on ambassador trips growing up... I would love for DH to come to know and appreciate different cultures as well. He sees those as 'educational trips' where I see those as "cultural trips"...

Im still looking into tropical places, and more interested in places people have been so that I know im not going and booking at a scuzzy hotel or something.

Hawaii? Anyone ever stayed in Hawaii?
Jamaica?
Bahamas?

Any hotel recommendations?

THANKS!
-Maggie

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Thanks for everyones suggestions.

DH and I have been to Cozumel on numberous occasions-- we love it there!! If we go back we will go with my family as a family trip-- not for our anniversary.

I would LOVE to take DH abroad... I have been to Ireland, England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico on ambassador trips growing up... I would love for DH to come to know and appreciate different cultures as well. He sees those as 'educational trips' where I see those as "cultural trips"...

Im still looking into tropical places, and more interested in places people have been so that I know im not going and booking at a scuzzy hotel or something.

Hawaii? Anyone ever stayed in Hawaii?
Jamaica?
Bahamas?

Any hotel recommendations?

THANKS!
-Maggie

Can't beat the Hyatt in Aruba....great local restaurants as well, (almost) gauranteed weather and SAFE! Ocean Club in Paradise Island is outstanding.

 

[dannirose]

Hawaii? Anyone ever stayed in Hawaii?
Jamaica?
Bahamas?

Any hotel recommendations?

THANKS!
-Maggie

I've been to the Bahamas several times and love Paradise Island/Cable Beach. The last time we were there we stayed at Breezes which is an all-inclusive on Cable Beach and we loved it. They are adults only (no one under 16 allowed) and had a lot of fun activities (including trapeze school). If you go to www.superclubs.com you'll find all of their resorts. My cousins went to the Beaches (that's the sister resort company to Sandals that allows kids) in Turks & Caicos and said it was fabulous too!

 

[ExCPKate]

Hi Maggie!

My suggestion is completely different from everyone else's. For our honeymoon DF and I are going to Costa Rica. He went there a few years ago, and absolutely raves about it. I'm really excited because it seems to have it all: romatic locales, the jungle, volcanoes, and beaches on both coasts. For our honeymoon we're staying at a romantic little luxury inn called Los Altos de Eros. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about it, and if you look it up on tripadvisor.com you can see what others have to say. It's located on top of a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean on one side and the jungle on the other. We checked out some all-inclusives in the Carribean but honestly it's not really our thing, so this place is pretty unique.

I can let everyone know more about it once we go (July 25, 2007, woohoo ). Check out their website: www.losaltosdeeros.com, and FYI it books up REALLY fast. We had a hard time getting a room 6 months out.

Good luck!!!

 

[Maggimus]

Goodness that sounds perfect for us!! I am going to check that out!! So it is NOT all inclusive?

Is it in a heavy area of tourists?

DH and I arent necessarily "tourist" people (esp. since we live in the middle of tourist heaven)... but in foreign places I like being around other Americans.

 

[ExCPKate]

It's not totally all inclusive. Breakfast and lunch are included as are wine, beer, and smoothies. There are only 8 rooms there, and each room comes with a driver who will take you wherever you want to go, including to and from the airport. Dinner is included on Tuesday and Saturday. On the other nights I hear that people get driven into Tamarindo (which is the nearest town) to have dinner. One of the things we are REALLY looking forward to is the canopy tour. You're picked up at the inn, driven to a national park where you hike into the jungle and then basically ride on zip-lines from tree to tree for a bird's eye view. Then there are natural hot springs you can bath in, a big Costa Rican lunch, and horseback ride back. We're planning on getting the couples massage at the spa which is outdoors at sunset, a full hour, champagne and strawberries.

Costa Rica is really great because it's not overly touristy yet, and still reasonable price wise. The country is extremely safe, their economy is very stable, and the people are very friendly (so DF tells me.)

PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[PrincessShanShan]

This plan wouldnt work for me.. I live in the Smokies.... and instead of these places being neat to me-- they are more like tourist traps and lots of yelling at the traffic when people dont know where they are going. It seems like so many couples come to the smokies for romantic reasons-- I kinda wish we could do something like that... but when you look outside and see Dolly's big ****s in your face... its less appealing than per-say... All these tropical places.

Do not get me wrong-- I love where I live... and if we could move (in-laws) we would LOVE it.. but we are so attached here.

I think the Biltmore in Asheville would be a good weekend trip for us!! Do they own a hotel there? Anyone recommend it?

I totally understand. We live on the gulf coast so the beach is that way for us. Don't get me wrong, it's really beautiful here but we see it all the time. That kind of takes away from the "romantic" part of it. Maybe we could switch places for awhile

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Aruba! the weather is always nice too!

 

[Maggimus]

It's not totally all inclusive. Breakfast and lunch are included as are wine, beer, and smoothies. There are only 8 rooms there, and each room comes with a driver who will take you wherever you want to go, including to and from the airport. Dinner is included on Tuesday and Saturday. On the other nights I hear that people get driven into Tamarindo (which is the nearest town) to have dinner. One of the things we are REALLY looking forward to is the canopy tour. You're picked up at the inn, driven to a national park where you hike into the jungle and then basically ride on zip-lines from tree to tree for a bird's eye view. Then there are natural hot springs you can bath in, a big Costa Rican lunch, and horseback ride back. We're planning on getting the couples massage at the spa which is outdoors at sunset, a full hour, champagne and strawberries.

Costa Rica is really great because it's not overly touristy yet, and still reasonable price wise. The country is extremely safe, their economy is very stable, and the people are very friendly (so DF tells me.)

PM me if you have any specific questions.

Okay I checked out the website. The only downfall is that this place doesnt seem to be directly on the beach....

We may just end up going back to cozumel...

 

[Maggimus]

By the way--- In Cozumel DH and I have stayed at the El Cozumeleno, and my parents usually stay at the Melia.....

any other hotel suggestions that I might just take a glance at?

 

[ExCPKate]

I'm sorry about the beach thing, but if Costa Rica interests you at all, you might want to talk to a travel agent. I know there are a couple all-inclusives that are on the beach.
We also looked into Curtain Bluff in Antiqua which is an all-inclusive, I hear Antiqua is really nice.