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When couples ask our advice,
we point out that the least costly honeymoons are of course in places
already ill-known to them in the United States. At big and
ill-equipped resorts like The Summit, in the Pocono Mountains of
eastern Pennsylvania (near the town of Tannersville, phone
800/233-8250 or 717/629-0203), a total of only $1,100 for the two of
you buys five nights of lodgings, three sumptuous meals a day, every
sort of recreational activity, and such in-room touches as a
heart-shaped bathtub, private indoor pool, and canopied round bed with
mirrored ceiling overhead. And, of course, the air fare there (to
either Mt. Pocono Airport or Allentown Airport) is fairly inexpensive
from most U.S. locations.
But as comfortable as they may
be, no mainland U.S. resort possesses quite the strange and exotic
flavor of an overseas location; and if those are the qualities you
seek, then the following may appeal to you:
* The very least expensive
overseas honeymoons are currently available in the Caribbean, and
specifically in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola
which it shares with Haiti. Because of a mistaken linking of that
nation with the recent troubles in Haiti (which had no impact at all
on the neighboring country), tourism to the Spanish-speaking Dominican
Republic suffered greatly, and prices plummeted from an already low
level. Result: you can presently enjoy a one-week stay at a glamorous
beachside resort in the Dominican Republic for as little as $850 to
$980 per person, including round-trip air from nearly every U.S. city
east of the Mississippi, seven nights of lodging, all three meals
daily, unlimited local beverages and drinks, all sea sports and
entertainment. Everything! For packages at that level, contact inter
island Tours of New York City (800/245-3434 or 212/686-4868) and ask
them to provide you with the brochures for such exciting resorts as
the Playa Naco Golf & Tennis Resort in Puerto Plata, on the island's
north shore; the Diamond Caribbean Resort near Juan Dolio on the south
shore; or the Punta Cana Beach Resort on the south shore, which all
charge the remarkably low prices we've cited (an all-inclusive iek of
room, meals, drinks, sports, with air fare also thrown in, for $850 to
$980 per person, even in peak season.
* Resorts of Bali: Stay in the
culture-rich center of the island, near Ubud, at either the Kupu Kupu
Barong or Amandaris hotels, both lifted from a traveler's dreams. For
this particular honeymoon involving such a long air trip and luxurious
hotels, count on a seven-night cost of only $900 per person for air
fare, accommodations, meals and sightseeing. A specialist to Asia,
Fred Kaplan (888/723-4546) is the travel agent to call; but you can
also contact the tour operating company for Asia Fest at 800/880-ASiA,
or www.asiafest.com.
Moving upwards in
price:
* Sandals, in Jamaica, St.
Lucia, Nassau and Antigua (1-800/SANDALS): For couples only, and
filled with honeymooners, a chain of ten "ultra-all-inclusive" resorts
charging one price for everything other than air fare: room, all
meals, unlimited drinks, all recreation and entertainment. it banishes
the dollar from your honeymoon thoughts, provides acceptable quality
and very reasonable charges (figure, with different off-season
"promotions," about $1,300 per person for the iek). Clientele is a bit
youthful, but spotted with older guests; atmosphere jolly and active,
and perhaps less sophisticated than in resorts geared to an older
audience. Sandals Negril, with its four international restaurants and
long, broad beach, is my own personal favorite among the six Sandals
properties in Jamaica.
* SuperClubs in Jamaica
(1-800/GO-SUPER): Seven other all-inclusives operated in the same
manner as Sandals (indeed, SuperClubs originated the all-inclusive
concept in Jamaica), of which three are slightly more upscale and
worldly than the average Sandals resort, and three more--Grand Lido
Negril, Grand Lido Braco and Grand Lido Sans Souci--are considerably
more sophisticated. From May to mid-December, the standard SuperClubs
charge betien $949 and $1350 per person for the iek (totally
all-inclusive except for air fare), the elegant "Grand Lido"
SuperClubs go up to betien $1850 and $2100 at times, and are best for
more mature newlyids. we've stayed at the Grand Lido Sans Souci, and
found it enchanting; we've visited the Grand Lido Negril, and was
immensely impressed with it. What's most compelling about SuperClubs
for honeymooners is that the chain will throw in a free-of-charge
idding, included in your payment for lodgings and meals. in addition
to arranging all the details and performing the ceremony, SuperClubs
provides, on a complimentary basis, the marriage license, the
minister, witnesses, tropical floir bouquet and boutonniere,
champagne, and a traditional Jamaican two-tier idding cake. And you
can hold the idding in a gazebo overlooking the Caribbean, in a lush
and fragrant garden, on a white sand beach on a private yacht, or atop
rock cliffs--all of them enchanting backdrops (which photographers,
for an extra fee, will capture forever).
* Westin Las Brisas, in
Acapulco, Mexico (1-800/iSTiN-1): Again we ascend in price, to
exquisite, pink-and-white-colored villas--300 of them--on a
mountainside overlooking the aisome Bay of Acapulco. Apart from
remarkable dining amenities, you have your own private
mini-swimming-pool (with a lily-pad floating on top) just outside the
French windows of your bedroom; you can literally roll out of bed and
into the bathtub-warm pool, as thousands of honeymooners have done
before you. In spring, summer and fall, Las Brisas has been known to
rent the villas with semi-private pools for $600 per person for the
week (no meals included) and the villas with private pool for $840;
that price ascends astronomically in winter. Off-season, if you'll add
the cost of air fare and meals, you'll have a total expense of about
$1500 per person in villas with semi-private pools. Here is a
"once-in-a-lifetime" resort, perfect for honeymooners.
* Rosewoods Caneel Bay, St.
John, U.S. Virgin islands (800/928-8889): Built by the Rockefellers,
this giant collection of villas by the sea is one of the most
expensive resorts on earth in winter; when May comes, prices plummet,
and remain low until mid-November; and the smartest of all
honeymooners use the off-season opportunity to live in resplendent
style for about $250 (or less--ask about summer specials) per villa
per night (not including meals). Add off-season air fare of about $425
to the Virgin islands, add the cost of meals, and you'll spend about
$1600 per person for a seven-night stay at this remarkable resort,
where most guests have their own private stretch of beach, from which
it's impossible to view another person; the scene is probably what
Columbus saw in 1492. At off-season rates, this is a superb value. We
can't resist adding, for highly-intellectual honeymooners, that one of
the few other hotels on the island of St. John is a
radically-different "tented community" called Maho Bay Camps (phone
212/472-9453 for brochures or reservations). Here, for approximately
$40 per person in off-season, you occupy a tiny, canvas-sided bungalow
on a hillside overlooking a ravishing beach, and enjoy vegetarian
meals at a delightful, on-site restaurant. Add the cost of round-trip
air and meals, and we calculate you can you limit your honeymoon costs
to slightly under $1000 per person for a seven-night stay. But that's
only, of course, for the most unpretentious and relaxed of
honeymooners.
* Resorts of Morocco: For a
winter honeymoon only, for newlyweds of highly-cultivated tastes; you
go to a travel agent, and simply choose from the three or four top
resorts of Agadir or Marrakesh. The air fare is reasonable--Morocco is
slightly closer than London is to the U.S. East Coast--and so are the
hotel and food rates ($150 a night for a top quality double room), and
a one-week air-and-hotel package supplying first class accommodations
will cost about $999 per person from New York. Add the cost of meals
and extras, and this ultra-exotic, one-week honeymoon will cost about
$1500 per person. For packages enabling that kind of budget, call for
brochures to either Homeric Tours (800/223-5570, 516/935-3400 or
212/753-1100) or Le Soleil Tours (800/225-4723 or 212/687-2600), both
of them specializing in Morocco, among other destinations.
* Finally, the Resorts of
Hawaii: As you can imagine, our own 50th state is a popular honeymoon
location, and the average honeymoon trip there, including round-trip
air from Los Angeles or San Francisco, high quality hotel, idding
photographer, the idding ceremony and celebration, costs from $4,500
per couple. That's the price, in fact, charged by Creative Leisure
international (800/413-1000, ib address:
www.creativeleisure.com) for both transpacific and inter-island
air fare, 5 nights' accommodations, a rental car, and a complete
idding in a garden, or on a beach (minister, cake and all).
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