Cristi

We are getting married in two weeks and still have not made plans. Neither one of us is familiar with the Carribean, only been once or twice in our lives combined. But we would like to vacation in the Carribean. We would love to have a quiet time, beach it, but also shop, eat well and have some night life. <BR>Is this possible on a tight budget?<BR><BR>Does anyone have any suggestions for us? <BR>

Mary

Village St. Jean's on St. Bart's. Small, family owned & overlooking the best beach on the island. Less than 10 minutes to town &, despite reports to the contrary, you can eat well & cheaply on St. Bart's. Hard to beat the physical beauty, either.

May

Ummmmmm.....if you're planning on honeymooning immediately after your wedding, you're going to have a tough time with air travel. 2 weeks notice means full fares. Right now the cheapest you'll likely find is $550-600 RT to most Caribbean destinations (unless you already live in the southeastern US).<BR>Many of the better resorts are sold out.<BR>Even the weekend fare sales which are released a week or so in advance usually allow a maximum of 4 days travel.<BR>If you want cheap + Caribbean + short notice I can't really think of anything that will work.

tweedy

You shouldn't have a problem finding the perfect place, but you really need to head to a local travel agent tomorrow and find out what kind of deals are currently available.<BR><BR>I know the Atlantis is offering specials, as well as alot of carribean destinations.<BR><BR>I would suggest looking into some of the resorts in the Bahamas, since the airfare is very reasonable and there are lots of flights daily from Miami, and you can easily connect through.<BR><BR>Another option would be a cruise, and there are alot of options there as well and that way you could see several islands and get a good package deal.<BR><BR>Have a wonderful time and let us know what you decide to do.<BR><BR>tweedy

s

US Air has a last minute special for Aruba from Dulles (don't know where you live) for $299 RT. I got the e-mail today. Travel is between 6/11-6/27.

alice

Hi Cristi,<BR><BR>You absolutely have options. Even leaving in two weeks.....I plan a lot of honeymoons. (destinations4fun.com) The price depends on where you fly from, and how long you stay. Also, what type of accommodations; room, condo and what view you prefer. Cruises are another great deal right now...visit different islands and only unpack once!Deals are still out there!<BR><BR>Good Luck<BR>Alice

sunny

Your "deals" aren't very competitive at your ADVERTISED website (strictly forbidden at Fodor's), alice. Of the three packages I checked, I can put them together myself for less money.

Keely

I'm not an agent for them, but I used unforgettablehoneymoon.com twice for Caribbean vacations with my hubby and was very pleased with their prices and service. We went to Swept Away in Jamaica and got a good discount on the resort and also on airfare. You can also check out changes.com - changes in l'attitude for lastminute specials, although I haven't used them so I can't recommend them personally. Good luck and don't listen to anyone who says it can't be done.

Maureen

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.<BR>American Airlines Vacations (aavacations.com) has a package to the all inclusive Coral Marien Beach Hotel & Spa, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. An article on the resort appeared in April/May 2002 issue of Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine. If you use Google and type out "Coral Marien Beach Hotel & Spa" you will get some information--go to second page and the article will appear (caribbeantravelmag.com). A lot of other choices to other islands also.<BR>You didn't indicate the amount of money you wanted to spend or your gateway city--where you're traveling from. <BR>The Caribbean can be expensive but there's always California--San Diego has always been one of our favorite destinations. <BR>Cruises sometimes have great deals last minute--Royal Carribean has an online site where you can figure costs. Just type out Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines using Google. Your travel agent may be able to get a better deal for you.<BR>Good luck!<BR><BR>

creoline

We have a romantic cottage to rent on St Bart for 2 people<BR>Clonial style, king size bedroom, kitchen, ar coditioned<BR>SPECIAL PRICE FOR SUMMER TIME and HONNEY MOON<BR>Contact me directly at [email protected]

Betty

There are lotss of possibilities!<BR><BR>Beaches Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios <BR>Jamaica is offering a 30 percent off <BR>sale. Great accomodations. 24 hour room<BR>service, ultra all-inclusive resort,<BR>full exchange priviledges with other <BR>Beaches and Sandals Reorts in the area<BR>Traveled there last year. E-mail or <BR>call for further details - I am a <BR>Sandals Certified Specialist for <BR>American Express and can be reached out<BR>856 428-5511 ext 232. Mon-Fri. <BR>

NO ADS

NO ADVERTISING AT FODOR'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<BR><BR>NO ADS!!!!<BR><BR><BR>If you're going to post here, adhere to the rules or else.<BR><BR>Advertisers RUIN the potential trustworthiness of the info here, which is supposed to be posted by people with nothing to gain from their opinions.<BR>

tivertonhouse

Try CVOA, the Caribbean Villa Owners Association at cvoa.com. They offer some good villas on many islands and include discounts on airfare on Air Jamaica and American Airlines. On short notice and tight budget,you may have to make some trade-offs for price:romantic privacy vs.shopping,secluded beach vs. nightlife but there are still plenty of packages around without going the routine tourist route and without doing charter airlines which we'd avoid. Culebra and Vieques, islands off Puerto Rico, the out islands of the Bahamas,including Cat Island,one of the smaller places /not an AI in Negril,Jamaica.St John or the BVIs. June is traditional 'rainy season' in islands<BR>so add weather predictions to your decision process,too. You might also want to get some of the many videos out on each island--the Lonely Planet series is esp.good--available at many libraries and rental shops. <BR>