If
money
isn't
a
consideration,
then
planning
a
honeymoon
becomes
a
cinch.
You
simply
select
the
top,
deluxe
resorts
of the
world,
and
make a
reservation.
You go
to the
Hotel
du Cap
on the
French
Riviera
(world's
costliest
hotel)
or to
La
Samanna
in St.
Maarten
(a
possible
runner-up).
And
there
you
enjoy
a
fantasy
life
for
one or
two
weeks:
priceless
oils
on the
bedroom
wall,
orchids
on
your
breakfast
tray,
a
verandah
leading
to
your
own
private
beach,
a
tip-toeing
waiter
to
bring
the
drinks.
But
money
has
got to
be
considered.
Even
if a
well-meaning
relative
is
ready
to
bankroll
that
ultimate
fantasy,
it's
simply
wrong
to
spend
excessively,
heedlessly,
when
so
many
other
matters
need
funding,
like
the
furnishing
of
your
new
home
or
apartment.
Mind
you,
I'm
not
suggesting
you be
a
miser
on
your
honeymoon
vacation,
or
forego
glamour
and
comfort.
Some
of the
most
attractive
resorts--first
class
hotels,
even
deluxe
properties--charge
reasonable
rates
for
their
"honeymoon
packages."
And
other
travel
interests
have
created
glamour
vacations
for
honeymooners
on the
most
limited
of
budgets.
It's
all a
question
of
choosing
wisely.
I've
chosen
five
honeymoon
trips
that
give
real
value,
even
when
they
use
top
hotels
or
locations:
(1)
Club
Valtur,
Agadir,
Morocco:
Glamorous,
exotic,
comfortable,
warm--and
yet
only
*$949
or
$1,099
per
person
for
the
week,
including
round-trip
air
fare
from
New
York,
all
three
meals
daily,
unlimited
wine,
all
sports
facilities:
We
start
with a
stunning
bargain,
but at
a
sophisticated
and
rather
elegant,
Italian-managed
resort
on the
west
coast
of
Morocco,
a part
of the
growing,
Italian
challenge
to the
French
Club
Meds.
"Valtur"
hotels
are
operated
like
Club
Meds
in
that
they
are
totally
all-inclusive:
you
receive
everything
(room,
meals,
activities)
for
one
set
price.
But
the
staff
here
is
Italian,
the
cuisine
Italian
(one
resort
lists
30
varieties
of
pasta
on its
menu),
the
service
Italian
and
superb,
and
there's
none
of the
emphasis
on an
unmarried,
single
clientele
that's
found
at
some
Club
Meds.
This
winter,
until
the
end of
April,
a
long-established,
American
tour
operator
called
Central
Holidays
(1-800/935-5000)
will
be
sending
Americans
to
spend
a week
at
Club
Valtur
in
Morocco
for
$899
per
person
some
of the
time,
$999
at
other
times,
and
for
slightly
more
than
$999
in
later
months
(summer
and
fall).
Attended
by a
warm,
sentimental
and
caring
Italian
staff,
anxious
to
establish
their
resort
in the
American
market,
you'll
enjoy
a
honeymoon
of
swimming,
sailing,
and
remarkable
sightseeing
of
Morocco,
in as
luxurious
a
setting
as
you'd
wish,
but at
an
unprecedented
bargain
price.
Write
for
the
brochure.
(2) *Moorea,
in the
Tahitian
Islands:
The
same
$899
buys
you a
week's
stay
throughout
the
year,
at the
Moorea
Village
Resort
(and
other
properties)
on the
enchanting
island
of
Moorea,
including
round-trip
air
fare
from
Los
Angeles
to the
other-worldly
Tahitian
Islands
of the
South
Pacific,
but
this
time
with
meals
and
activities
charged
in
addition
to the
basic
$949
price.
(About
$300
more
will
upgrade
you to
one of
Tahiti's
very
best
resort
hotels).
Tour
operators
are
two of
America's
most
eminent,
Islands
in the
Sun,
of El
Segundo,
California
(phone
1-800/642-1881)
and
Tahitian
Legends
(phone
1-800/200-1213).
You
will
be
staying
on the
dreamy
island
of
Moorea,
with
the
mountaintop
that
James
Michener
called
"Bali
Hai"
in his
novel,
Tales
of the
South
Pacific.
From
my own
personal
visit
to
Moorea,
I can
assure
you it
is a
place
lifted
from
your
dreams,
surrounded
by
sugary
white-sand
beaches
and
turquoise
waters,
the
classic
honeymoon
location.
It's a
matter
for
rejoicing
that
America's
tour
operators
have
now
enabled
this
experience
to be
enjoyed
by
modestly-incomed
visitors.
(3)
*Jamaica's
"All-Inclusives":
The
setting
is the
north
shore
of the
classic
Caribbean
island
of
Jamaica,
all
lush
with
flowers
and
foliage,
near
seaside
villages
whose
very
names
bring
goose
bumps
to
your
arms:
Ocho
Rios,
Montego
Bay,
Negril.
The
resorts
to
which
I
refer
are
operated
by two
separate
chains--"Sandals"
(1-800/SANDALS)
and "SuperClubs"
(1-800/GO-SUPER)--with
such
success
that
they
now
number
a
dozen
individual
properties,
and
each
one
charges
one
set
price
for
the
stay,
including
all
meals,
all
drinks
and
beverages,
all
tips,
all
sports
activities,
all
evening
entertainment--they
are
"all
inclusive"
hotels.
And
each
one,
with
the
possible
exception
of the
modest
Sandals
Inn in
Montego
Bay,
is a
comfortable,
high-quality
and
attractive
beachside
resort,
perfect
for a
honeymoon
at
moderate
cost.
The
Sandals
hotels
tend
to
charge
$1200
per
person
for an
all-inclusive,
seven-night
week
(room,
meals,
drinks,
everything),
while
those
belonging
to
SuperClubs
do the
same,
except
for
two
upgraded
properties--The
Grand
Lido
Negril,
and
the
Grand
Lido
Sans
Souci
--priced
throughout
much
of the
year
at
around
$1900
a week
per
person.
I've
stayed
at the
Grand
Lido
Sans
Souci,
and
visited
The
Grand
Lido
Negril,
and
both
are
unusually
comfortable,
attractive
hotel
resorts,
massively
popular
among
honeymooners,
and
endowed
with
every
form
of sea
sports
and
entertainment.
If
there
were
any
negative
at all
about
either
chain,
it
would
relate
to the
somewhat
brash
and
innocent
young
newlyweds
that
sometimes
patronize
Sandals,
but
who
become
a bit
more
subdued
and
sophisticated
when
seen
at
SuperClubs.
(4)
*Classic
Hawaii,
Wisely
Planned:
Seven
nights
in
paradise,
on the
island
of
Maui,
in one
of
Hawaii's
single
finest
hotels.
Yet
the
price
for
the
two of
you
comes
to
only
$2,000
for
that
entire
week,
and
champagne
on
arrival,
with
chocolate-dipped
strawberries
alongside.
How is
that
price
brought
about?
By
choosing
the
seven-night
"Mauka
Bliss"
honeymoon
package
at the
resplendent
Westin
Maui,
which
places
you
not
into a
room
facing
the
sea,
but
one
overlooking
the
manicured
golf
course
(sea
views
cost a
total
of
$375
more).
For
that
reasonable
cost,
you
stay
in one
of
Hawaii's
three
or
four
"wow"
hotels--so-called
because
the
usual
reaction
is to
say
"wow"
when
you
first
glimpse
this
other-worldly,
opulent
palace,
lined
with
marble
throughout,
filled
with
masterwork
sculptures
and
wall
hangings,
dotted
with
fountains,
lagoons,
and
Asian-style
gardens,
supplied
with
multiple
restaurants,
lounges,
swimming
pools,
water
slides,
and
swim-up
Jacuzzis--and,
of
course,
directly
on an
ethereal
beach.
You'll
want
to
phone
immediately
for a
brochure
(800/228-3000
or
directly
to the
hotel
at
808/526-4111)
so
that
you
can
fully
grasp
the
almost
unique
quality
of
this
700-room
hotel.
By
booking
the
"package"
and
staying
in a
"golf-view"
room,
you
experience
the
heights
of
luxury--at
an
affordable
price.
(5)
*Sailing
on the
QE2:
Few
travel
experiences
are
quite
as
memorable--especially
for a
honeymoon--as
a
six-day
transatlantic
crossing
on
that
"city
at
sea,"
the
QE2,
followed
by a
three-day
stay
at
London's
Ritz
Hotel,
before
flying
home
(phone
the
ship's
owner,
1-800/5-CUNARD,
or any
travel
agent,
to
make
the
arrangements).
While
a
minimum
rate
cabin
costing
$3,000
per
person
may be
too
small
and
cramped
for
this
special
occasion,
a
payment
of
about
$3,500
gets
you
more-than-adequate
quarters--and
the
price
includes
a
return
trip
by
British
Airways
jet to
your
home
city
(any
of 82
North
American
locations),
at no
extra
charge.
Your
only
extra
payment
is for
that
stay
at the
Ritz,
which
comes
at a
special
price,
but
still
hefty,
to QE2
passengers:
$975
for
two
nights,
including
sightseeing
tours,
theater
tickets
and
breakfast.
And
you've
had
hardly
any
extra
costs
at all
on
that
all-inclusive
ship.
The
QE2
departs
New
York
at
roughly-two-week
intervals
from
early
April
to
early
December.
If the
actual
dates
don't
coincide
with
your
wedding,
you
can
always
reverse
the
itinerary
by
first
flying
to
London,
enjoying
the
Ritz,
and
then
making
the
crossing
by sea
to the
U.S.
On
board
your
ship
will
be a
highly
vital
sort
of
fellow
guest,
well-read
and
well-educated,
and
the
activities
schedule
of the
liner
(which
includes
numerous
lectures
and
discussion
groups)
is
well
suited
to
that
special
clientele.
You
will
recall
this
once-in-a-lifetime
cruise
for
the
rest
of
your
life.
