Please help me (possibly) switch my honeymoon plans for this October?

July 8, 2008 12:20 AM

Where should our "plan B" honeymoon destination be?

I'm 34, my wife-to-be is 29. We live in Los Angeles, and we are getting married Oct 4th. We have always heard great things from our friend/family about Costa Rica. Although the hotel in Tamarindo is already tentatively booked, I have not booked flights, nor have I really started researching until this week.
I just found out that October is the rainy season, and our plan mainly consisted of beach/resort activities. We are still open to other ideas (we have only traveled to Hawaii and the east coast together). However, our main reason for picking Costa Rica was the value for our lowly dollar...
So my question is-should we book somewhere else, and if so, where should we go? My initial thoughts were the Caribbean, Mexico, Jamaica, possibly Tahiti (no particular order)?
By the way, her top priority is relaxation-which means I won't be taking her backpacking through the jungle (boo). However, I think I can get her on board for some mild adventure and exploration outside of the resort. I don't know much about any of these places, and time is running a little short so I can't spend TOO much time researching....

posted by jaseaco to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

While I haven't been to Costa Rica, "rainy season" might, depending on where you are, mean a half-hour of showers daily at three in the afternoon, or total washouts...details here.
posted by mdonley at 12:28 AM on July 8, 2008

Whoops, here's the link.
posted by mdonley at 12:29 AM on July 8, 2008

October is spring-time in South America. Head south, Chile, Argentina (BsAs or Mendoza), even Uruguay has some nice second-tier but awfully cool beaches (Piriapolis, even Punta del Este and parts north. Colonia and Montevideo are surprisingly fun. Plus, your dollar has a lot of stretch there. Lots of culture, art, great food and wine... Easy and fun traveling!

Or colonial cities in Mexico if you don't want to go as far: Puebla, Oaxaca, Queretaro, Guanajuato, even Cozumel for turquoise waters and magical snorkeling (yes, perhaps a few more tourists than you'd wish)...
posted by lois1950 at 12:59 AM on July 8, 2008

Costa Rica is fantastic. I lived there in the early 90's and took my wife back for our honeymoon. We had a great time. We rented a car and headed to Punta Dominical. There we stayed in a steamy hot little cabin that got great ocean breezes to cool it at night. When it rained in the afternoon we hung around the cabin and swung in the hammock on the front porch overlooking the ocean. With a car we were easy access to the town of Dominical and the little restaurants and bars.

When you get bored of relaxation and manage to talk her into some adventure, take a hike up the road with the folks at Hacienda Baru. More adventurous folks can camp or sleep in more rustic accomidations there, but for you guys I recommend heading up to the cabins on the point. Even if you don't stay there, they offer rain forest hikes and canopy tours. On one hike my wife surprized the guide by spotting a rare king vulture, which resulted in him frantically calling into the base for the wildlife biologist to get on the binoculars. We also saw millions of frogs, huge millipedes, tucans, sloths of the two and three toed varieties, monkeys galore, birds and more birds on the same hike.

So anyway, I'm biased towards Costa Rica which always held a soft spot in my heart, but especially since I took my wife there. One more note, if you do go to Dominical by rental car, do not take the coast road from Quepos unless you have a strong stomach, a four wheel drive and an iron butt because the road is a little rough once you get past the Quepos hospital (and the restaurant across the street that serves a mean comida corriente, but asks that you keep your beer in a covered glass and keep your voice down, lest you disturb the hospital visitors).
posted by Pollomacho at 6:19 AM on July 8, 2008

We were in Costa Rica in the rainy season (a little earlier than you). Went through one major blow and lots of little rainstorms, which limited the type of beach activity (watching waves, walking) rather than sunbathing and swimming, but other than that it was actually fine. Got very wet walking in the Cloud Forest, but it was actually pretty nifty. However, when we were there (late August), it by no means rained constantly, or even every day. A good part of our trip was in San Jose, so rain was less of a concern, as we just went inside when it was raining. Don't know that much about how the season works; those 5 weeks might make a huge difference, but for us the rain actually kind of enhanced the experience.
posted by nax at 8:09 AM on July 8, 2008

I would avoid the Caribbean in October, but if you go to Jamaica, Round Hill is probably where you should go. We loved it. You would fly into Montego Bay.
posted by Zambrano at 8:38 AM on July 8, 2008

Well, if your priorities are relaxation, value for the dollar, and a little bit of light adventure, have you considered going on a cruise?

They're very relaxing: no transportation hassles, great service, and most have great spas. (A massage for two is a great way to start a vacation.) Then there are excursions on the islands; I've been mountain biking, visited Mayan ruins, snorkeled, etc.

There are some really great values in October in the Caribbean (since familes are all back in school), which would let you visit a bunch of different islands. There are also Mexican Riviera cruises out of Los Angeles and San Diego, but IMHO if you don't mind flying, the Caribbean is better value.

There's some general info about cruises in this (self-link) introduction to cruises. And if you like, feel free to PM me. I'm not a travel agent, I just work in the industry and go on a lot of cruises myself (including my own honeymoon).
posted by CruiseSavvy at 8:46 AM on July 8, 2008 [1 favorite]