Where did you honeymoon? Was it budget?

[mrsklamc]

We wouldn't have been able to afford it on our own but DH's parents sent us on an Alaskan cruise, and it was amazing.

 

[dakcp2001]

lol my DF has said NO to Disney, he wants to go somewhere we have never been!

 

[TallyTutter]

New Orleans! We spent 4 nights at the Bourbon Orleans (had a coupon!). It's the big pink hotel right behind the St. Louis cathedral. We had a glorious room with a huge king size bed & a balcony. After our 4 days were up we couldn't bare to leave so we found a room right down the street, still on Bourbon St., at a guest house called Bon Maison. LOVED IT! The rooms face a courtyard & have shutters to the doors & window, when it rained, we opened the doors & windows closed the shutters & fell in love all over again! There's a hamburger joint cattycorner from the guest house, they cook their hamburgers under hubcaps! Those were some good burger!! At Pat O'Briens we each started at one end of the alphabet, we didn't get very far though, I got stuck with zombies & DH got stuck on bourbon (Jack Daniels).

We went back every year for 5 years during Halloween, until we had our DD. Now those are some videos to save for your old age, people are so creative!! If you haven't celebrated Halloween in New Orleans - you haven't celebrated!!

Now, I won't take DD near New Orleans until she's about 16. There is a lot of history, a lot of beauty & a lot of things a DD shouldn't see with her parents!!! (& not at all until she's of age & responsible.....like 35)

 

[Elmo888]

We honeymooned at the WL in 1996. This was DH's first trip to Disney. We had a fall fantasy package with included free breakfast vouchers. I can't remember the exact cost but I think with airfare it was around $2000 back then. Now the WL is out of our budget so we have not returned to that resort

Of course, Disney World! Where else?

I have a similar story! We honeymooned at WL in January, 1997, and stayed in one of the Honeymoon Suites. It was my DH's first trip to WDW, too! It wasn't exactly budget, but those were the "fat" times (great salaries, TWO salaries, and a nice bonus from the year before.) And the Honeymoon Suites weren't concierge and, therefore, weren't much more than a regular room.

We aren't beach people, so tropical never crossed our minds. DH mentioned going on a cruise, but I had no desire. (I still don't, even the Disney cruise!)

If I had to look at budget, I would have looked somewhere within driving distance. It doesn't say where the OP poster lives, but there is probably somewhere under 3 or 4 hours away by car that would make a nice honeymoon. If you are thinking Disney, I wouldn't hesitate to honeymoon in a value or a mod. I wouldn't feel like it needs to be deluxe because it is your honeymoon.

Part of the point of the honeymoon is the time that you spend with each other just enjoying each other without worrying about day to day stuff. That can be done anywhere that isn't home and also can be done with 3 or 4 days!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I went to summer school the day after my wedding!

My first "real spend money" vacation was. . .uhm. . .we went to the White Mountains on a long weekend 2 years ago. If you don't count that. . .this is it.

20 years later!

Edited: I forgot about overnight trips to New Orleans. Sometimes as many as 2 whole nights!

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

We lived in the Chicago burbs - got married in Wisconsin and honeymooned in Chicago! We had a great room with a great discount because of a connection, we were given tickets to a Cubs game. We strolled the streets, ate pizza, went to the Taste and slept in. It was great - we have relived it a couple of times. It was so much fun exploring a city we already knew.

 

[megthewonderful]

We honeymooned in Disney World of course! It was not budget by any means. Even though I was a full-time grad student at the time, we ate at the best restaurants and stayed in a deluxe resort. Now that we have three kids, we only do budget friendly trips to Disney!

 

[jadedjojo]

Oh my gosh was ours budget LOL. We were very young (19 and 20), and just starting out mind you. We planned to spend four days in Orlando and three in Tampa, but we made NO RESERVATIONS before we went. In August. In Orlando. You get the point LOL. I was embarrassed to type that! We laugh about it now of course, but I remember the first night of our honeymoon, I'm sitting in the car crying while my husband is frantically going from hotel to hotel trying to find a vacancy in Orlando (near Universal, none the less). I had just about given up when we found a nice, brand new Extended-Stay hotel. It was so new the carpets had been shampooed that day because they just opened! We were a few blocks from Universal, and had a great time walking to Universal at our leisure. We also spent one day at Epcot (had to have some Disney in the mix! ). We liked the hotel so much that we asked the front desk to find us one for our Tampa stay, and we made reservations before we got there this time. When we got to Tampa, we went to Busch Gardens, watched some movies, and then... nothing. There isn't a lot to do in Tampa IMO, and it's not my favorite city. So we left a day early to go home and took the loss for the room out of boredom lol. I look back on this, eight years later, and realize how very young and dumb we were! I would never DREAM of going on a long vacation without reservations. Granted there are the spur-of-the-moment overnight stays, but a honeymoon...

The good thing was, we received almost $2000 in gifts from our wedding, which paid for the wedding AND the honeymoon. Two broke kids ended up with some wonderful memories and a lot of laughs, and I suppose that is all that matters .

As for the other questions- my favorite tropical destination is Castaway Cay! I LOVE DISNEY CRUISING. I can't even justify going on another line at this time. I have been to several islands in the Caribbean now, and I like the Bahamas best. They are close to me in Florida, and Paradise Island looks just like South Florida, so I feel at home. I love the Caribbean, and one day (when I win the lotto) I may like to get a boat to live on and just cruise along the azure waters. If anyone hasn't gone there yet, please do, it is the most zen-like experience I've had in my life. To be at sea is to loose yourself, your worries, and to put everything in perspective. You feel very small out there.

The best trip I've ever taken is a tie between one of the 4-day Disney cruises I've been on and our week-long first anniversary stay at the Wilderness Lodge (apparently by our first anniversary we had learned our lesson!). Both are very different, so it is impossible to compare them. But to have the best weather, the best experiences, best fun- they are both huge highlights of my life.

 

[Shmily1]

We got married on Leap Day in Daytona Beach at Bike Week!!! DH loves those sentimental trips to go back where we got married!! My other choice would have been WDW!!

 

[ah1126]

We honeymooned in Las Vegas! We were there 4 nights and it was around $1000 if I remember right. (Jaccuzi room at the MGM and Flight) There is so much to do and see there. We had a great time!

 

[sylvenmaid]

Ours was definitely done on a budget. The whole wedding was also done on a budget, but it was a very nice wedding. We also paid with cash for the wedding and honeymoon. We drove to Biloxi, MS the next day but we got married on a Friday night. We went to a casino one night and came out $70 richer. We also played minature golf and went to the beach. We had a great time and I think we spent about $300 total (wedding gift money). We did hit a flea market on our way home.

 

[delmar411]

our 'honeymoon' if you could call it that was one night after the wedding and dinner at the B&B across from the restaurant we had dinner at. DH also had to be back at work by noon the next day! LOL We got married on his day off.
So very budget honeymoon.

We said we'll do something special for our 10th anniversary but seeing as that is in just 3yrs I'm not sure I'll be able to leave the kids with anyone for a week, they'll still be too little to do that. So maybe I can loosen the apron strings and plan for our 20th!

 

[Inigo]

We didn't go on an immediate honeymoon, since we married in the fall, and DH was (still is) a teacher and I was still in college. The next summer, we packed up and headed west. We spent two weeks camping and hiking in the Black Hills/Devil's Tower/Badlands area. It was wonderful!

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

We spent our honeymoon at the Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World. It was a budget trip because we live less than an hour away, so we didn't have to fly. Also, we only stayed 3 nights. And, we booked Port Orleans-French Quarter, but Disney upgraded us to the Grand Floridian for the same price. We decided to do our "real honeymoon" for our first anniversary, which we are - we're going to Japan for 12 days.

Our favorite trip was France, Germany and Austria, but that definitely wasn't a budget trip!

One option to keep budget down is to go somewhere in driving distance. Or, you can look at what cheap flights you can get and see if any of those destinations sound like fun.

I've found cruises can be very affordable if you're willing to get an inside cabin, and don't go too crazy on the extras (massages, tours in port, alcohol, souvenirs, etc.) as they can be expensive. Keep it simple and relaxing, and you can get away with spending very little. Especially this year - I have seen some amazing cruise deals lately.

 

[Ennazus8810]

We got married and honeymooned in Las Vegas. Cheapest trip I have ever taken! We aren't big gamblers, but loved sightseeing and all the free shows. We were there for a week, and spent less than $800.00. We actually came home with cash. That has never happened to me on vacation before! Had a wonderful time, and can't wait to go back.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We honeymooned in Belize. It was great! We spent a few days at the Victoria House on Ambergris Caye and went diving, then we went inland to the Maruba resort to see the jungle and get pampered (we stayed in a little casita with hibiscus flowers scattered on the bed ). We did use frequent flyer miles to get there, so it was kind of budget.

 

[aurora23]

We are taking our Honeymoon in September in Disney. We were intending to go in May and stay at the Beach Club, but my fiancee lost his job. Our plan now is to wait until September with free dining and stay at Pop Century. Hopefully we will still be able to go, but it will be definitely on a budget. I am just praying we can still go this year.

 

[daleswife]

How fitting, We went to Disney on our honeymoon in '99!!! Back then I guess it was budget. We only spent about $2000 on the trip. we stayed at CBR and had 5 or 6 day park hoppers...(long time ago, cant remember...lol)

WE also took a 2nd honeymoon in Gatlinburg TN in 2002. we spent about $1500 on that trip. It was good. HOpe you can find the honeymoon destination of your dreams!!!

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

We honeymooned in DISNEY, of course.
We stayed 8 days at Carribean beach resort and loved every minute of it. It really was a perfect resort to honeymoon at with the beaches, hammocks, boat rentals. We ended several of those evenings out by the outdoor lounge having a few drinks and listening to the regae band. It was soooo much fun!!

 

[wlwilliams9]

In May, 2002, we honeymooned in French Polynesia. It was not budget, but it was our hm and we decided to splurge and we've never regreted it! We went for 15 days and island hopped between Moorea, Huahine and Bora Bora. It was the most breathtaking, quiet, romantic, relaxing vacation we have ever taken. We also spent 5 days in LA on our return so we could visit DisneyLand and Beverly Hills 90210! We spent about $10,000 and enjoyed every dollar of it!