My wife and I have not had a honeymoon yet. We've been wanting to get down to the popular southern destinations. We've narrowed it down to two spots.

Bahia Principe Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic
Something in Costa Rica

I'd like some feedback on your experiences. We're planning on going down in November.

That's exactly where I was when we went to dominican republic, personally I didn't enjoy it that much.
We went for a week and although it was beautiful and really nice, if I wanted to lay down all day and read I could have done it at home, I don't need to be by a fancy beach or pool.
I am sure there was some things we could have done, but I never did any when I was there.

That's on Bavaro Beach, I'll be stepping on it for the second time in exactly 60 hours from now Best beach I've been to so far. Last time it was the Occidental Grande and this time it will be the Bavaro Princess which is right next door.

I've heard Bahia is a nice resort but I don't know which Bahia, I understand there are more than one with the similar name around Punta Cana.

My parents love Costa Rica, but you are still young so...

Careful of the Caribbean in November, that's in hurricane season. However, I've gone to that region twice in July which is also considered hurricane season and never had a bad storm. They call for thunder showers all of next week so we will see if non-hurricane season is actually worse by my luck!

If you want to relax, DR is definitely the place to be. They love Canadians down there and it really is a stress-free vacation when you're at an all-inclusive resort. It's not for adventure really like Bryan said, unless you go on an excursion. From what I hear, Costa Rica would be better for that day-trip type of stuff.

Check out a sell-off vacation, just book it no more than one week in advance and you'll get about twice the trip for the money. That will open your options up nicely if you can handle the suspense of what the destination will be as you wait for your time off. I've used belairtravel.com 4 going on 5 times now and they've been excellent.

Hope that helps you enjoy!

I've actually been to the Bahia Principe there. It was really nice staff/food/weather/entertainment wise. My only concern were the sand flies that prevented you from going on the beach at sunrise/sunset. They would eat you alive and leave you covered in little red dots a little like mosquito bites.
Have you considered a cruise? Seeing as it's your honeymoon, I bet you'll be treated like gold!

I agree with Rob's comment about picking up a last minute trip, especially since you don't seem to have your heart set on one particular destination. I have cruised that way several times, and always gotten a tremendous bargain. I am also a big fan of cruises..and you can do as much or as little as you want..

Not sure about sand flies, but I just got an email about Bounce fabric softener sheets that says, among other things, it repels insects. It suggested in mosquito season/locations, tie a bounce sheet to your belt, and claims the mosquitos will leave you alone.

Yeah I remember us having to make sure we were off the beach at night because of the sand flees.
Also remembered they love Canadians, met mostly Canadians while I was down there.

I will agree on the cruise though, I loved all of them!

We were planning on heading down to Liberia in Costa Rica this Saturday however at the last minute I chaged the plans and we'll be going to Riu Palace in Los Cabos, Mexico instead

It seems like high chances of rain at this time of the year in Cost Rica. I'll let you know how Cabos is.

We went to Aruba in December and that was really pleasant.

First, let me try to add a 3rd: Veradero, Cuba.

Probably one of the nicer places to just kick back. Havana trips are possible, and a city with a history as far back as you can imagine (<1600s) is fascinating. The locals are very friendly. Alcohol is dirt DIRT cheap. And there are NO Americans. Think about that. Not a one But I won't rant unless it can make it onto the list.

I've been to Dominican extensively, and I wouldn't go back. It's pretty in places, but dirty. The locals are poor, and so any resort you go to has armed guards. And it's just not the kind of place you'd wander out of for a walk. Maybe other people have had different experiences, but I won't go there again.

I would caution this option.
I keep trying to convince the girlfriend to go there because I personally loved it!
The food seems to be the one thing that people really don't enjoy, I had no issue and love trying new food.
It is a communist country so everyone is poor here too, except for those more equal than other . But all the people there are good, the only reason you are safe in Veradero is because it is so far from old Havana so there isn't much issue. I will say that it still feels pretty safe in the city, just that it's really ghetto.
You will get used to people coming up to you trying to draw your picture and ask you for clothes, so as long as that's not an issue that you will be alright.

Interesting observations. I went with a tour bus to Havana, and the girl who led the trip was very quick to make sure people didn't beg to us. Pan-handling is actually illegal in Cuba, and so usually there's very little of it - in my experience, that is. (And if you thought the cops are gentle, concerned about rights and don't smack people who are panhandling as we do in Canada, let's drop that notion right now).

You're right though, the food wasn't fantastic at the resort. It wasn't bad, but salads were sparse. I went with an all-inclusive running $850 for a week; it's not at the same level as Canada. We ate at the 3 on-resort restaurants, they were good. And we ate off resort for a day, and the food was neat to try

But I'd say that of Cuba, Dominican, and Mexico. If you're looking for higher quality food, either put down big money or take a cruise that guarantees you 10 lbs of North American cuisine a day.

If the food sucks, I probably would not go. My wife and I stay away from Cuba, DR and Mexico (although we are heading to Cabos this weekend, I heard it is the more upscale part of Mexico). We like to go to the more tru Carribean islands from Barbados to St Marten. You won't complain about the food out there Barbados has the best beaches I have seen so far.

For all inclusive we try to stick with Riu. 5 Start all inclusive with excellent service and food. They have a buffet and four E la Cartes in every Riu. The buffet is soo good and such a huge selection to choose from that you won't even bother with the E La cartes.

Thanks for the tip Reza, the prices are pretty good there too!

If you are looking at the food, go on a cruise. They say you go aboard as passengers, and leave at the end of the trip as "freight"....

I'll give a +1 for Veradero. Absolutely loved it there. However, I already live off of deep fried food in Canada, so the fact that that's all they really offer didn't bother me

Great locals. They don't hassle you for your stuff, but you can certainly get some decent stuff in trades. I traded a $15 CD for a dozen fresh-rolled cigars. Delicious!

Yea, I don't smoke, but I brought home 8 Monte Carlo's, and handed them out to friends. They were most grateful. Brought home the 1L of rum for... $5? Lol.

I loved that, because RUM is so ridiculously cheap, and ~coke is more expensive, that when you want drinks, they will make them as stiff as you want: After all, it's cheaper the more rum is in it

The misses and I went there a few years ago and loved it.

Is Jamaica on your mind at all? I've been to Montego Bay and Negril. BEAUTIFUL destinations and the food is awesome.

Cuba is a hit or miss when it comes to the food... but the beach makes up for it. I've stayed in Varadero where the food was terrible, and then again in Cayo Coco where it was a little better.

That's bizzare. The only armed guard I saw in the DR was at the entrance to a mall (bank machine) off resort. They were everywhere in Cuba. I guess it depends on the area or how far off the nice resorts you go.

I agree with Ziggy... Go on a cruise. They pack more on that one ship then most countries have to see... and its all orginized.

But me and sandra always figured when we go on our honey moon .. it will be across the ocean. Like Italy or Japan. Just seems so much more happier over there. My parents go to Cuba and the DP all the time and the pictures always look the same. beaches with rich old fat white people.. and Cuban people begging for money.