Honeymoon question: Wailea or Ka'anapali Beach

[LordSnailz]

Sorry, did a lot of searching and reading and I'm still torn between getting the all inclusive option or a regular vacation package.

One question we had was, what does all-inclusive include? The person we spoke to mentioned, all the food we want to eat, all the liquor, and all the activities we want to. The two things that we'll be interested in are the "unlimited lobster" and snorkeling, golfing, sailing activities.

Given that each activity, is about $50-$100, wouldn;t the all inclusive make sense?

The second question was, vacation package vs priceline hotel+airfare. Which would be the better route?

Last question, Hawaii vs Caribbean, our budget is about $1300-$1500, which one is better? Some folks are saying Hawaii is overprice whereas some say Caribbean is overpriced, which is true?

Edited:
Edited the title for the new questions --
For Hawaii, there weren't that many all inclusive options. So there goes that concern.

I've search through many of the travel websites, expedia, hotwire, suntrips, travelzoo, etc and it doesn't seem like anything can beat the airline+priceline hotel rate.

Now the question is, which beach is better in Maui.
Wailea or Ka'anapali Beach and what are some resort suggestion for each one.

I'm leaning towards the Sheraton on Ka'anapali Beach.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Queasy]

I'd go all-inclusive. Don't have to worry about food and don't have to worry about drinks unless you leave the resort. Leaves you with more time to do the honeymoon mambo.

Since you're in California, I'd probably go Hawaii (less of a plane trip than to the Caribbean isn't it?)

The better route would be to go with whatever you can get cheaper.

 

[iamwiz82]

I'm more a fan of exploring the area I am travelling in, so all-inclusives aren't for me. For the most part, those are in less than nice areas but are cared for beautifully. A co-workers was telling me how she went to an all-inclusive in Mexico and the resort had it's own personal "security force" complete with automatic weapons. No thank you.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
I'm more a fan of exploring the area I am travelling in, so all-inclusives aren't for me. For the most part, those are in less than nice areas but are cared for beautifully. A co-workers was telling me how she went to an all-inclusive in Mexico and the resort had it's own personal "security force" complete with automatic weapons. No thank you.

Heh. We went to the all-inclusive Wyndham resort on St. Thomas and it was gorgeous. View across the water looking at St. John's. Lots to do in the resort and it was convienent to get to things outside of the resort by taxi or car rental. We talked to some people that didn't get all-inclusive and they were complaining about how much the cost of food and everything else on the resort was driving their costs way past what they originally planned.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
I'm more a fan of exploring the area I am travelling in, so all-inclusives aren't for me. For the most part, those are in less than nice areas but are cared for beautifully. A co-workers was telling me how she went to an all-inclusive in Mexico and the resort had it's own personal "security force" complete with automatic weapons. No thank you.

Heh. We went to the all-inclusive Wyndham resort on St. Thomas and it was gorgeous. View across the water looking at St. Thomas. Lots to do in the resort and it was convienent to get to things outside of the resort by taxi or car rental. We talked to some people that didn't get all-inclusive and they were complaining about how much the cost of food and everything else on the resort was driving their costs way past what they originally planned.

Well, All inclusives in St. Thomas is certainly going to be more expensive than all-inclusives in other areas (Jamiaca, Cuba, etc). I believe Skoorb went to one in Cuba and had some not nice experiences.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Well, All inclusives in St. Thomas is certainly going to be more expensive than all-inclusives in other areas (Jamiaca, Cuba, etc). I believe Skoorb went to one in Cuba and had some not nice experiences.

Ok, yeah....that's because it's CUBA. LOL St. Thomas is an American territory. That's the reason we went there. No money hassles. No passport hassles. No rioting citizen hassles. But just as gorgeous as the rest of the caribbean.

And at the time, the place we stayed was around the same price that I was looking at in Jamaica and other islands.

 

[LordSnailz]

Which place would I get a better bang for the buck? Caribbean or Hawaii?

Still getting mixed opinions about the all-inclusive ..

 

[iamwiz82]

What do you want to do? Drink and screw or experience more, such as culture and environment?

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
What do you want to do? Drink and screw or experience more, such as culture and environment?

Well we're both not drinkers, and screwing is of course a given. We like to do all the different activities, and some soaking in the environment.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
Which place would I get a better bang for the buck? Caribbean or Hawaii?

Still getting mixed opinions about the all-inclusive ..

I doubt anyone can tell you which one is better bang for the buck without you including details about which ones you have picked that are in your price range. In other words you need to tell us which resorts you are considering because there isn't going to be a better bang for buck situation in just regional areas. There are a lot of differences between different resorts in the caribean and you have a pretty limited budget. Personally given you being in cali and your stingy budget I would do an all inclusive in hawaii if you can find one in your price range. At least you won't have to worry about all the customs bullsh!t and a 12 hour plane flight each direction (plus depending on the island in the carribean you may end up on a puddle jumper, of course that's true depending on the island in Hawaii too).

 

[iamwiz82]

There is no true "all-inclusive" in Hawaii. The best you can get is some places include food (Kona Village).

 

[meltdown75]

I'd like to know how much you're into each of golfing, sailing and snorkeling. Because if you're head over heels or want to have the best experience in one of those activities, there are resorts and destinations out there that would cater to you more specifically. ie. Mayan Riviera is great for snorkeling - maybe the second best in the world. Perhaps you could parlay that into a Mayan resort which ALSO just happens to offer a couple of rounds of golf in the package.

If you know what you want to do - that narrows down your choices. If you're easy going like me and will spend most of your time sucking back all-inclusive beverages at the swim up bar, then really you can't go wrong with where you choose to go. I've only been to the Dominican and the Mayan coast myself, the latter of which was a far superior and much cleaner destination. Hawaii is most likely trump over either of those. Hope you have a great one! :beer:

 

[LordSnailz]

I guess that's the problem, we haven't done anything of that sort, golfing, snorkeling, so we really don't know what we like.

How about the ritz carlton or sheraton from this website?
http://saveonaloha.com/d/2390184_6226.htm

 

[iamwiz82]

The Fairmont Orchid on that site is VERY nice.

 

[LordSnailz]

Oh also, which beach is better, Wailea or Ka'anapali Beach in Maui?

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
Oh also, which beach is better, Wailea or Ka'anapali Beach in Maui?

One of the members went to Hawaii not too long ago IIRC... I just can't think of who it is. Might be someone on day shift...

 

[meltdown75]

bump for the OP...

 

[frankie38]

$1300 for Hawaii is tight. Are you sure you want Maui? Its just that its very commercial...you might as well stay on Waikiki.

I liked Kaui very much. Poipu in the south is very nice and there is a great resort on the north Kaui too.

Congratulations!

 

[jalaram]

My wife and I had our honeymoon at the Sheraton in Maui. IIRC, it's at the end of Ka'anapali Beach. We loved the place and would go there again in a heartbeat. My good friend went there as well for his honeymoon.

Make sure you get an Oceanview room. If you have any questions, I'd love to try to answer them for you.

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: frankie38
$1300 for Hawaii is tight. Are you sure you want Maui? Its just that its very commercial...you might as well stay on Waikiki.

I liked Kaui very much. Poipu in the south is very nice and there is a great resort on the north Kaui too.

Congratulations!

Yeah, $1300 is probably really tight, I think $1500 is more realistic. But there are flights for $350 right now, so that leaves us about $1100 for hotel, which comes out to be $150/per night. With priceline hotels, $150 can get you an okay hotel.

Well that's the thing, if we can narrow it down to 3 different places we can shop around easier and get a better idea on how much it's going to cost.

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: jalaram
My wife and I had our honeymoon at the Sheraton in Maui. IIRC, it's at the end of Ka'anapali Beach. We loved the place and would go there again in a heartbeat. My good friend went there as well for his honeymoon.

Make sure you get an Oceanview room. If you have any questions, I'd love to try to answer them for you.

I was going to PM you but I figured this might help others

How much was it per night? Can you do some of the activities like snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, types of thing there, or is it just a place to sleep and sometimes hang out by pool?

thanks

 

[Ameesh]

all the rit's ive been to are awesome, the service is immpecible.