Help Deciding On A Vacation Destination

Me and the wife are planning on going on an all inclusive vacation for our 1st wedding anniversary. For our honeymoon went to Punta Cana and loved it. We want to try somewhere new but we have to keep it “cheap”…maybe in the $1,000-$1,200 per person price range. We have some expenses coming up this year and cannot afford to go to Aruba, which is where we really want to go. So if anyone has any suggestions it will be appreciated. I looked at Riviera Maya and thought it seemed like a good bang for the buck place to go to. I have been to Cancun before and from what I saw/read Riviera Maya is a little more laid back and has nicer beaches. So if you can think of anywhere (preferably in the Caribbean) let me know…I have to book soon.

U.S. Virgin Islands? What about the Dominican Republic? I had a friend that went there last year for an all inclusive and spent $1,100 or so.

How about a cruise? I know Royal Caribbean has some really nice cruises to the virgin islands for around that price range.

My brother and his fiance love Dominican Republic, I believe their favorite was Puerto Plata. I was looking for similar vacations a few months ago. I found a ton of good info on Yahoo Trip Advisor. One of the nice things about DR is that Jet Blue flys there, so you can get a nice deal on airfare and watch satellite tv on the long flight.

When I went to Aruba … It wasn’t super expensive.

IF you ever get the chance to go to Aruba … it is sooo awesome. You will not regret it. Beautifull island, fantasic food, the weather is great. Definitly an awesome trip.

I heard some good things about Rivera Maya, my neighbors went there a few times over the past couple years. I was thinking about hitting up an Apple Vacation for the girl and I but I don’t know. Not to jack your thread but when you went to Punta Cana you had to take a cruise there correct? I’d much rather fly and avoid a cruiseship~!

x2. My wife and I went for our honeymoon, october 2006. it was great. You might be able to do aruba, during a non-peak time for $1500

lol for those of you who keep suggesting dominican republic he said he already went to punta cana…which is in the DR… I would suggest going to riviera mya!

Yeah, the non-peak you just might be right. When my girlfriend and I went we went through “Apple Vacations” (I think that was it) and got a good deal. We stayed at the Mariot (sp?) and it’s an awesome hotel. Good pool, awesome bar, and the beach there is just unreal. Jetskiing down there was so much fun …

We did a cruise a few years ago and it was great…but the next year we did an all inclusive and liked it better. This is pretty much one of our last “fun” vacations for a while…planning on kids next year. I looked at Aruba and there isnt too many all inclusive places there. The ones that I could find were in the $1,800/person price range so that would be like mid $3K…which is a little too much. I have new cars, bathtubs, front wall, ect to buy this year so the $$ is a little tight. When I looked at Riviera Maya I saw you can get a package for like $900/person. Just figured I would get some other ideas before I book.

We went to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) for our honeymoon b/c it is known to be a bang for the buck place and were blown away. So if we could find a new place similar that would be ideal.

Goto Dubai.

I went to punta cana, Its really hard to beat there rates there. I wasent big on the food though

http://www.pittspeed.com/uploaded/sfhdddjdf.JPG

Grand paradise is where i stayed…

Sorry I couldent help haha

-Joe

haha…that is where I was for my honeymoon.

It seems Punta Cana is a great place for the $$…just trying to go somewhere else this time.

Rivera Maya is alot nicer than Punta Cana IMO.

we stayed at the top iberostar in both places, and were really dissapointed with Punta Cana.

I spent 10 day in the Keys last summer, it was incredible.

What didn’t you like about Punta Cana? Was it just your resort? I know it is run down getting into the resort, but once we were in ours we were blown away. Riviera Maya is on the top of my list now…seems like it is nice and cheap.

I was there for a week 2 years ago…wow we had a great time…but I think i spent like $1,000 on booze…fun place though.

just wasn’t anything like rivera maya. I think the service was better, the food was better, the rooms were nicer. not as many bars or resturaunts. I dont know, maybe we just held our expectations too high for the resort’s name reputation?

this is the one we stayed at in Punta Cana

http://www.iberostar.com/EN/Riviera-Maya-hotels/Iberostar-Paraiso-Maya_3_76.html

http://www.exclusivevacations.com/Images3/paraiso-maya.jpg

Send her to 7 springs for the weekend and spend the rest on a asian hooker for yourself…

Chad…they have 5 places down there and they all look nice. There is one that is a little cheaper than the one you went to that I am considering. It got awesome reviews on tripadvisor and looks pretty nice.

One thing I read was there are 3 of their hotels linked together and you can use all their facilities…which i would imagine being a good thing, with the exception of you may have to walk or take the trolley.

Devin…that is a decent idea…but am not sure if it’s gonna fly with katie…haha

well, it’s a pyramid system. if you go to the top you have full use of all facilities, yada yada yada. you get access to yours and those below you. they have a sweet wavepool though

We are going back in the next few years and staying at the newest one: