Vacation/wedding destination advice

[Dariuszpl]

Hallo to all members! I was hoping that you guys could give me some advice? My fiancee and I live in the Midwest and she is a non-diver, but we would like to go on a nice affordable trip to a tropical destination to accommodate both objectives. Choice destination doesn’t have to be a distant location. Basically we are inquiring about very romantic beautiful place filled with things to do bellow and above the surface for both a diver and non-diver alike that is very affordable. I like to thank everyone for any helpful input!

 

[Boat Chick]

Basically we are inquiring about very romantic beautiful place filled with things to do bellow and above the surface for both a diver and non-diver alike that is very affordable.

Depends on what you consider "affordable." I'd say one of the Hawaiin islands Lush, tropical, lots of topside things to do and you could get a couple of dives in too The British Virgin Islands are wonderful as well as St. John's USVI

 

[scubawife]

It depends on what you consider "affordable, " and also what non-diving activities you're interested in. Not knowing that info, I'd say that for a diver and non-diver, good choices are BVI, St Lucia, Curacao and Akumal.

Akumal is one of my personal favorites and we go there a couple times a year. Akumal doesn't have any huge resorts, but there are several nice condos to rent at reasonable prices on Half Moon Bay. There are also some really nice villas, but they will cost you more. Akumal has a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. There are only 6 restaurants but you can eat right on the beach (La Lunita is very romantic), have a fun happy hour at a bar with swings for stools and crows nests overlooking the bay (La Buena Vida), have homemade pasta in a garden (Que Onda), gourmet dinner by fairy lights and candles (Turtle Bay Cafe), or a dinner for two under the stars on the beach by torch light, completely away from anyone else (Lol Ha offers a romantic dinner on the beach for two). And you can go anywhere in shorts and t-shirt. No dressy clothes required. The reef diving in Akumal is nice. Not spectacular but enjoyable. You can also take a trip over to Coz for a day or even better, stay there for a couple nights and enjoy some great reef and wall dives. Cozumel Palace is walking distance to town AND you have a jacuzzi in your room and hammock on the balcony Above water in Akumal you have the beach, Myan Ruins (Tulum and Coba) are easy day trips, Eco parks (Xel Ha and Xcaret), more restaurants, shopping and nightlife less the half hr away in Playa del Carmen, and of course, a dive or snorkel in the cenotes. We love Cozumel too, but we both dive. I don't think I would enjoy it as much if I wasn't diving from 8am - 2pm.

 

[cowjazz]

We got married in Belize in 1998. Nice diving, and great topside attractions on the mainland. Price for wedding included Registrar General (includes meals and lodging for one night on Ambergris Cay for the Registrar General), flowers, cake, photographer and champagne, and was around $550USD. It was all arranged through our resort. The only requirement I recall was you had to be in Belize at least three days prior to obtaining your marriage license. Yes, it was cheap but it took, we are still together.

Go to http://www.belize.com/belize-facts-2.html for more information.

 

[Chaseh]

You also didn't mention if it's just gonna be the two of you and perhaps a couple of others, or a larger wedding, which for a destination wedding I would say is 20 or more.

The BVI or St. John's would be a great idea. There's plenty to do above water, and it's beautiful. Budget would be tougher on St. John, unless you were to get really rugged and camp. The BVI may be more accomodating, although you could spend top dollar there too.

We choose St. Thomas for our wedding 7 years ago because it had a larger resort that fit our needs. Normally we shun the larger hotels, but we had about 50 people along, and they put together a great party and a great package for all for the whole week.

Also, we figured a US Island might be easier for legal reasons with the wedding, but we didn't investigate what would be involved with getting married truly outside the US. Although you could always make it official at the local courthouse back home if it was any trouble.

Good luck, and congrats.

 

[scubawife]

How about Puerto Rico or Grand Cayman?

Once you get out of San Juan there are some absolutely beautiful areas in Puerto Rico. I've only dived in the Guanica area and it was better then many Caribbean destinations. Nice easy wall dives and reefs.

 

[Jake]

My gf and I just got back from Sandals Antigua. I really enjoyed it. The diving is certainly better elsewhere, but it was a nice, quiet resort with good food and enough to keep you busy. There were a good number of people having weddings there, with the largest being about 20 or so people.

Oh, and you can take a resort diver class if you want to get your fiancee in the water to try it out.

As for romance, I wouldn't say it compares to a place like Bora Bora, but it wasn't bad. The prices at their resorts seem reasonable as well.

I've written a trip report here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=139155
and
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=139156

Their web-site is www.sandals.com.

Good luck!

 

[del_mo]

The Bahamas offers a lot. Paradise Island (Cable Beach does too, but it can be very crowded) .has LOT'S of things to do topsides and just a walk across a bridge to the mainland and more things to do. Great food, friendly people, beautiful water for diving or sailing or parasailing or.....

And easy to get to

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I can't believe no one mentioned the obvious choice. . . Cozumel.

 

[nauifins73]

Our daughter got married in the Bahamas in June of 04. After a lot of searching she decided on the Breezes Hotel as opposed to Sandals. 9 of us went down we meet with the Wedding Coordinator on Fri and their wedding was on Sat. Everything they wanted was provided all we had to do was show up. They got married on the Beach but they have 2 other locations on the Hotel grounds.

Diving is available and they do a discover scuba right at the Hotel pool - the Beach is really nice.

Lots of nice walks to shopping available and the Hotel Atlantis is a close side trip.

She had been to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and was very happy with the Bahamas.

If I can answer anyother questions let me know.

Becky