Mexico or Hawaii for honeymoon?

Not looked at Hawaii but we are going to the El Dorado Royal in Mexico

x

We're booked in Kaanapali Beach in October with a trip to San Francisco on the way home! We only went for Hawaii after New Zealand was ridiculously expensive because the rugby world cup is on when we wanted to go.

I can let you know when we're back in November if that helps?

We're going to El Dorado Seaside Suitesin Mexico...

Hawaii looks amazing but think the cost and travel time would be much more. May be wrong!?

Ooh yes please Abbijay, that would be great, thanks! Can I ask how much that cost? I've heard the food, trips are expensive

Oooh two going to El Dorado, would love more info on those if you can spare the time when you get back? ?

WSS! Ah... can't wait to be a Mrs swimming at the Seaside Suites!

Been some great reviews of EDSS lately on TA! I will report back in January! I go 4 months tomorrow - yippeeeee!

We just came back from the excellence in Mexico - the Playa Mujeres one and i'd 100% recommend it to anyone. Let me know if you want any more info - but it really was amazing, 5* luxury.

SAMES!!

Hawaii is very expensive as we did look at going but costs just escalated!!

OOh yes please, would love more info, you can email me if that's easier for you! thanks!

Well..

These are a few fave pics of the resort

As you can see the suite was gorgeous - we stayed in a non-Excellence club swim up suite so could literally open our doors and slide into the lazy river pool.

There were 11 restaurants (can get photo's of some of the food up if your interested) but all were totally awesome -the french and japanese were just fabulous though, like nothing else i've eaten. You also don't need to make a reservation. Goodness know how many bars there are too - you can see the swim up pool bar in my pic above but there are jus loads everywhere serving all different types of cocktails.

I've put a review on trip advisor here;

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g1229340-d649432-r117414345-Excellence_Playa_Mujeres-Playa_Mujeres_Costa_Mujeres_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

Let me know if there is anything else you need to know, or I can add you on FB so you can see my pictures if you want.

Kayl

The beach was white and sandy, and the place is furnished to a really high standard too - constantly people cleaning/painting/tidying which is fab.

Having been to both Hawaii and Mexico (although not to those resorts) I really don't think there is a lot in it in tems of location. They both have really beautiful natural landscapes, beaches and tourist attractions but both also have a touch of US commercialisation (if that is even a word !!!)

Although I went to Oahu in Hawaii and I have been told that Maui is not as built up, in both places you can be lying on a beach one minute, in total paradise, and the next be in a McDonalds or a large shopping mall. I went to Mexico in 2000 and Hawaii in 2001 and at that time Hawaii was defintely the cheaper of the two when you actually got there.

I think one of the big advantages of Hawaii, if you have the time and money, is that you generally have to stop somewhere on the West Coast of the US during your flight, and with a lot of airlines, as long as you don't stay more than 3 nights, the stopover is part of your flight cost. So you could visit LA or San Francisco for a few days on the way out or the way home and not have to pay for an extra flight. It depends what you want from your honeymoon but I think both LA and San Francisco are worth a visit, I loved both places !!

We have booked EDSS in Mexico for our honeymoon. Can't wait!

Well I didn't know that... Very useful information - we are planning another trip "that way on" soon.

We've just in the last couple of weeks booked up our honeymoon for Hawaii, and are staying in much the same area as you suggested (kaanpali). From what I've heard that area of Maui is very beautiful and not very commercialised (compared to the rest of Hawaii).

We booked through Travel Counsellors and they were very good at finding us the best flights (time and money wise) and helping out with car hire etc. We dealt with Louise and she is very helpful. She would probably also be able to give you advice on Mexico, but I've never been myself so couldn't comment!

We're also stopping off at New York for 2 and a half days on the way back!

That is definitely worth knowing, that is the first I have heard of that but will bear it in mind for any future trips ! And I have just remembered, although not connected to this thread so much, is that you can do this in other parts of the US as well (and probably the world) as I did a honeymoon to Florida with a stopover in NYC for my first wedding !

I go to Excellence Playa Mujeres on Sunday - 3 days to go eeeekkk and after everything Kayl has said I cant bloody wait!!!

?? I put in a request for details details as soon as you return

We stayed at sensatori in mexico last june and it was just georgous!!

Would reccomend it to anyone!

https://www.tui.co.uk/

kelly x

We are off to El dorado royale in two weeks if you want me to report back would be more than happy. We are also thinking Hawaii for Honeymoon too. ?

x

@ SarB - you will seriously love it. It's like heaven on earth!

I've sent you an email!

LM is there any chance I could jump on the bandwagon too and see some pics? We were planning on going Vegas and Hawaii but now I'm a little bit tempted by Mexico - it sounds amazing! xx

I've just sent you a link with my photoalbum on facebook, made it public for now but will put it back to private in a few days, so give me a message if you don't get time to see it.

Hawaii is amazing! We spent 5 days in Oahu and 5 days on Big Island as part of our honeymoon (did Miami, The Keys and NY too). It's such a diverse state with lots to see/do; rainforest, snorkelling, surfing (not that I did surfing!) volcanoes, water falls, Pearl Harbour. LOVE Hawaii!

Only got a few photos to hand..

Thank you Kayl!

Sorry to hijack the thread but OH has been put off by Mexico by someone he works with - did anyone who has been there have any problems with people begging in the streets and expecting tips for everything including just taking photos?

Thank you!

I haven't got the link yet

Yes, you will get this all over the carribean, pretty much anywhere that rich tourists visit expensive resorts when the area is poor. My Dad does a lot of carribean cruises and he said the Jamacia cruise port is hell with beggers etc.

The thing is, when you go to Mexico or most places in the carribean you expect to stay on the resort. We were in Mexico for 11 nights and spent only 12 hours outside of the resort gates, and that was escorted by a rep on an organised and insured tour. The resorts are built to have everything you could possibly ever need onsite. We had to head via Cancun downtown to our hotel, and I just don't get why anyone would ever want to go there - it's dirty, derilict, smelly and just not a nice place to be. However once you go through secuirty gates to a resort, it's a different world.

When we did go out, because we were with a local tour guide provided by the travel company we had no problems. However in the airport H was in the loo and someone passed him a paper towel and then asked for a tip

I stayed in Cancun when I went and the main centre of Cancun is very commercialised, lots of shops, bars, restaurants etc, and when I was there I dont remember it being dirty and rundown, and we had no issues with beggars. However we had to go to downtown Cancun to the doctors as my friend was pregnant and got taken ill and it was very unpleasant there, didn't feel very safe and the hotel had told us not to hang around outside, make sure we get the doctor to call us a cab back to the hotel etc.

One thing Mexico (and Hawaii) didn't have at the time I went was lots of people on the beach and in the streets trying to sell fake goods, hair braiding etc, which I definitely experienced and hated in the Carribean !

But, we did have issues with tips in Mexico. We went out to some of the bars on our first night there and we got offered an all inc deal in one club where we paid $20 dollars each and that included entrance in to the club, a reserved table and your drinks all night. We went in, had a great time, had plenty of drinks, and when we were ready to leave got presented with a bill from the waitress. When we explained we had paid for the All Inc offer she said the bill was for her tips, and we could not leave until we had paid it, which meant the total amount ended up being more than it would have cost us had we just go in and got our own drinks from the bar and paid each time ! Another night we went to a bar, met a group of blokes (this is 10 years ago so I was young and single !!) who sat with us and bought us a few drinks and as they left they gave the bar man that was serving us $100 and told him that was his tip to serve us for the rest of the night. The first time I ordered a drink after they had gone I paid, got my change and the bar man held on to my drink. When I asked why he said I had to tip him, I mentioned the $100 dollars and he said I still needed to tip myself so I put a few $'s on the bar in change as that was all I had in coins and he told me that was not enough and he wanted the $5 note I had in my purse ! I said no and to refund me for my drink and he refused so I had no option but to pay the additional $5 to get my drink !!!

It was annoying but we learnt this within our first few nights so we new what to expect from then on in and just drunk in our AI hotel before we went out to the bars so we didn't have to buy many drinks and therefore avoided tips and didnt ruin our overall holiday !! I would not let it put you off visiting Mexico !