Getting married in mid-March and can't decide on a good honeymoon destination. We would prefer to travel outside the US and are wanting nice beaches/food, but every place I look has some combo of strict vaccine/quarantine/mask mandates. We are happy to test as needed (just finished round 2 of covid), but don't feel like dropping thousands of dollars just to be forced to mask the second we leave the hotel/rental. We have about 2 weeks set aside for the honeymoon.

So, OB, what are your top places I should look into more?

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Updated based on the great responses here. Now looking more into:

Roatan
Belize
Coast Rica
Bahamas
Florida is still Plan B

Hope you can find somewhere without massive spring break crowds. March is prone to that,.

We went to a log cabin on 2400 acres in Montana in January. Had amazing views, a fireplace, and a hot tub. Was the best and most relaxing week of my life.

The Bahamas have strict mask policies now? My wife and I spent a week in Exuma back in May for our Honeymoon and had the best time. Masks were required indoors, but we were hardly ever indoors, and it wasn't that big of a deal.

But again, we had the BEST time. Rented an AirBNB, booked a sightseeing excursion one day to see the exuma cays, did our own beach days, did an offshore fishing trip one day and a bonefish trip another. The bonefish was by far the best fishing trip. Such a blast and our guide was great.

Our AirBNB was awesome. A one bedroom first story of a home with our own private pool, boat dock, beach, everything, right on the water. The second story was the Owner's private place, but they're Canadian and hardly ever there. Pretty cheap place and awesome views. My wife had caught a really nice triggerfish, we had it boat captain clean it for us and then took the meat back with us to our place and grilled it up ourselves for dinner that night.

I was exposed to the 'rona at a Christmas Eve party and decided to test before visiting relatives at New Years. There was a couple in line heading out for a flight for their honeymoon. They needed a negative test to fly. They were pretty danged excited. That turned to tears when the wife tested positive. They did another test with a more "accurate" kit. Still positive. The dude was pissed. I'm not sure that marriage is going to last; wouldn't even make eye contact with his wife. No real message here. Sorry for the downer.

As for honeymoon spots, if you want to avoid the potential misfortune above, try something domestic in one of the more open states. My wife and I spent a week in a yurt in Arkansas. Yurt, you say? I thought the same thing, but danged if it wasn't the most peaceful, relaxed week we've spent together. It was very private with nice hiking paths and lots to do nearby. It would be fantastic in March.

https://www.stonewindretreat.com/

My wife and I went to Costa Rica last end of March/early April. Not sure if they changed policies but it was pretty reasonable/easy to comply...would recommend. We did Tamarindo for beach and La Fortuna for rainforest.

Howdy Dammit said:

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We went to a log cabin on 2400 acres in Montana in January. Had amazing views, a fireplace, and a hot tub. Was the best and most relaxing week of my life.

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This all day long!

I post this on every honeymoon thread. If you can swing it go to the Maldives. It's not cheap but it'll be the best beach you've ever experienced. Plus there are some great deals because of Covid. Last I looked they're desperate for your money so Covid restrictions are very lax. 2 weeks is a long time at an all inclusive. I went from the Maldives to Thailand on my honeymoon but I'm not sure how open it is currently.

Make sure you get stacked before you go.

Loreto, MX. Sea of Cortez, east side of the Baja Peninsula.

Very beautiful, beaches, clean sea, whales, mountains and remote. And an International Airport. Google Images. Relatively unknown.

USVI - we prefer St John

Just got back from Costa Rica right before Christmas. We were mask free with a couple of brief exceptions. We had to get a Covid Test to get back home which cost us $50 each thanks to the current US policy. We fished out of Quepos and it was awesome. We fought and caught yellowfin tuna in the 30-45 lb range, keeping 10, landed two solid mahi-mahi and went 1 for 2 on Pacific blue marlin. I landed mine after an intense air show & tail walking standup fight. I was wishing for my Aftco harness I had left at home.
My son had a bigger blue on, but it made a long straight away high speed run and then a big loop to port which ended up putting too much pressure on the tackle with line drag bending the hook. He will learn to back the drag off in that situation with experience. At 17 he is plenty skillful as an angler, but still has a lot to learn. In fairness it happened pretty fast, and that second blue would have been a grind on the TLD30 setup he hit.
Outside of fishing, we had a blast surfing, guided nature walking tour, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, zip lining, etc.
I highly recommend Costa Rica. Super nice people, chill culture, safe, clean, beautiful. Pura Vida!

Rotan Honduras. It's a little island of of the coast of Honduras that is nice clean, cheap, and safe. It's a little more expensive to get to than flying to Mexico but once you are there it's stupid cheap and beautiful. I won't go back to Mexico or Hawaii for the beaches, I'll go to Roatan.

There is also New Zealand, but it's one hell of a flight, but it's worth it. You will need about 2 weeks to enjoy the South Island and still do "honey moon" stuff

If you decide to honeymoon in Houston, y'all are welcome to stay in our guest room for free.

There's no hidden cameras in there or anything, so it's nice.

In march I would go with the beach in the Caribbean or Mexico.

We did Vegas for our honeymoon and it was awesome.

YogiBeers said:

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Rotan Honduras. It's a little island of of the coast of Honduras that is nice clean, cheap, and safe. It's a little more expensive to get to than flying to Mexico but once you are there it's stupid cheap and beautiful. I won't go back to Mexico or Hawaii for the beaches, I'll go to Roatan.

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We took the kids there on a cruise. By far the best beach I have ever seen. Were you all the way on the west side of the island. We had to drive through third world town to get to the beach for our excursion.

Howdy Dammit said:

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We went to a log cabin on 2400 acres in Montana in January. Had amazing views, a fireplace, and a hot tub. Was the best and most relaxing week of my life.

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Do you have a link to the property, this sounds awesome! Thanks.

Giddings sure is nice in March. Let me pull some strings and get y'all the best VRBO we have to offer. Better put aside a good $300 though. It ain't cheap around here.

Roger350 said:

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Howdy Dammit said:

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We went to a log cabin on 2400 acres in Montana in January. Had amazing views, a fireplace, and a hot tub. Was the best and most relaxing week of my life.

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Do you have a link to the property, this sounds awesome! Thanks.

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Here is where we stayed. Highly recommend for a relaxing weekend. Not much to do other than enjoy each other's company, sip coffee in the morning and whiskey at night.

https://www.vrbo.com/474977?r=VERTICAL_GALLERY

Places we enjoyed visiting (mostly Sandals resorts once we got rid of the kids)::

Turks and Caicos (now under vaccine requirements - otherwise top of our list)
St. Lucia
Bahamas (2 weeks is a long time there)
Aruba (headed there next week)
Dominican Republic
Jamaica (least favorite due to the beach conditions)

Costa Rica is another option for the extended stay and if you want to be more active.

Excellence Playa Mujeres is the best resort I've stayed at. I'd go back every year if I could. It's north of Cancun. It's adults only so 0 kids at all. Great amenities and you can catch a boat across to the island of mujeres.

I've had several friends honeymoon there as well. Had a friend of mine spend 14 days there and he said he'd do it again.

https://www.excellenceresorts.com/cancun/excellence-playa-mujeres/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAieWOBhCYARIsANcOw0zoS5w9Qgw8FiPva5g6J05u-5tBAkJMYWRkgS82llnka27JKuheBqkaAhuREALw_wcB

USVI & BVI, charter a 50' sailboat for a couple of days and enjoy the snorkeling. BVI has the Baths, 4 Indians, The Caves. Definitely get out on the water. March is better than the summer; which is hurricane season.

If Costa Rica is an option, some friends have a great place there.

http://montanaparaisocr.com/

Captain Pablo is your guide.

O.G. said:

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Captain Pablo is your guide.

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That's a cheap honeymoon.

Will be looking into this.

OP, not sure what the "requirements" are with Covid, but when it was meltdown week in the US with Covid, we were in Ambergis Caye, San Pedro, Belize.

I was stuck on Cabo for the fishing, but doggone it, Belize was just great. Part of it may have been because except for a few Canadians and our group, we had it all to ourselves because the world went into lockdown. I mean to ourselves. Sat at the beaches, bars, restaurants, etc. with the best tables and best waiters because all others were already laid off due to cancellations. Getting home had a small sci-fi "Contagion" feel to it though.

The scenery is breathtaking on the flats, the reefs (underwater), and outlying coves and islands. Jaw dropping, bathtub clear water, as far as you can see. Belikin beer ain't bad either. San Pedro itself is kinda cool as a town/city and the people are very friendly.

I would second both Belize and Roatan.
We just returned from Roatan this week. Stayed here and it was awesome: https://www.xbalanque-roatan.com/

We have stayed at several of the dive resorts over the years. Currently planning to go back over spring break and get a Airbnb and do our own diving/ sightseeing.

Only Covid situation is you either have to be vaccinated OR negative Covid test 72 hrs before departure. And of course the negative Covid test to return to USA.
As far as I could tell, there were no mask requirements. Some people wore them, lots of people didn't.

We got to stay at several top notch resorts while we were managing El Pescador Belize and these were our two favorites:

Royal Palm Island. Private island with only a few guests at a time. Caught lots of Bonefish, Jacks and snappers wading. Great restaurant.

https://www.royalpalmisland.com/

Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge.
Really nice place in the mountains on a clear river. Unique cliffside rooms, great food, gardens and lots of hiking trails. Woke up to Howler Monkeys each morning, saw Scarlet Macaws and lots of other birds.
https://www.thebelizecollection.com/sleeping-giant/?utm_source=adwords&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_grp=128509596468&hsa_acc=6884121736&hsa_ad=509351149377&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-1211457998290&hsa_kw=&hsa_cam=12181840976&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&gclid=Cj0KCQiAieWOBhCYARIsANcOw0wWcxp0ja8857kQgwkT7iAcbpv7XfZ0iI3zBGBnQTahCJ-rvCJC-_EaAs35EALw_wcB

Lake LBJ for three days at my mom and dads lake house. That's all my wife and I could afford.

Why not just wait? The wife and I got married and with how much we spent on our wedding and with things going on at work we didn't do a honeymoon, we did a long weekend in the mountains to get away, though. Then, for our one year anniversary we did a trip to Bangkok, ****et, then a few days in dubai on our way back. If you're wanting to do anything outside Costa Rica or the Caribbean where the Covid policies are pretty well known and not changing every month, I'd recommend waiting. For example, my sister and her family just did a cruise. When they booked all was good. But by the time the cruise came masks were required in all public spaces on the boat.

Saw one poster recommend Maldives. While it was probably the best vacation I've ever done, be prepared to drop major coin. It's not a place you're going to enjoy if you're trying to budget. We used points for the room (which is normally like $1500 a night) and still spent more than any other vacation.

We were just trying to figure this out for our baby moon. I'm vaxed the wife isn't. Thought about the canary islands but didn't want to fly that long with wife being pregnant. We ended up going to the Dominican and staying at a resort. Extremely relaxing.

4 said:

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If you decide to honeymoon in Houston, y'all are welcome to stay in our guest room for free.

There's no hidden cameras in there or anything, so it's nice.

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Crystal palace resort at Crystal Beach. You will save money op. Spring break there is a sight.