Baby Moon Destinations???

melbee81

My SO gifted me with a baby moon for Christmas and I get to decide where we go. I want to got Mexico but know that's not not happening bc of Zika. Any warm beachy suggestions? Would probably go in February. 

minnemiska

We just booked a three-night trip to Charleston around our anniversary in February. Toddler will be staying with my parents! 

I had a lot of criteria for this babymoon: warmer than home (very low bar), preferably a place neither of us had been, easy-ish to get to, pregnancy-friendly activities, and we can’t know people there (no social obligations). The last criterion eliminated FL since FIL lives there. That basically narrowed it to southern or southwestern cities. It took some coaxing to get H on board with Charleston, but I think it will be fun, and I’ve heard great things! 

eatinwatermelonseeds

Is it sad that my ideal babymoon is just going away? 😂 I am trying to talk H into letting me go to Maryland in February. Just me and the kid, though it'd be awesome to go alone lol. 

chloe97

We are going to Captiva Island, FL next month! I would try to go February if you can, bc it will be warmer. Unfortunately, DD will be with us, but it will be fun!

cwell2016

We are planning a trip in early March to Michigan. We went to a B&B there when we got engaged and were wanting to go there again!

missmcgonnagal

We are in the Bahamas currently. Check the CDC website for Zika travel warnings. Bahamas was declared zika-free last February.

Word of advice ... Get an all inclusive. We tried to do this trip the same as we always travel, with lots of walking to local culture and history, and I am just EXHAUSTED.

imrachellea

If we do anything this time around it will be a night or two away in the spring somewhere nearby...having two already makes it a challenge 😆 But when I was pregnant with DD1 we went to Savannah GA. It was actually a trip we'd already planned for since it was summer and we're both teachers, but it was nice to celebrate baby too. We lived in South Florida at the time too so it was only six hours. Then when I was pregnant with DD2 we went to Key West (6 hours the other direction!) for DH to run the Key West Marathon and a few days away for us. The Keys are a great getaway, and their own destination because of the geography of it (since you said FL was out). Key West is more party/drinking, but the northern keys are gorgeous and relaxing. And Stone Crab season is through May 15th!

melbee81

@missmcgonnagal Where did you stay? A friend was recently in Nassau and said the mosquitos were bad. Usually we do the walking to local spots as well but I'm definitely planning on doing an all inclusive this trip.

missmcgonnagal

@melbee81 We have an Air bnb about 2 minutes from Junkanoo beach. Honestly haven't seen or felt a single mosquito but we have barely gone inland.

DuchessOfCambridge

I would love to do an all inclusive resort type thing to Bermuda but we probably won't be able to. Last year before DS was born we did Scandinavia. It was fun but exhausting while pregnant. I wouldn't mind something low key and purely relaxing, though I'm not really a beach person.

kbeers13

Not beachy but we booked our plane tickets from southern California to the Nashville Tennessee area. We're staying with a family friend but will be doing our own thing the majority of the time. The people we're staying with like to do their own thing all the time too so they won't try to crash our babymoon. Hope you find something warm and beachy!

sleepy33

LOL fiance has to go to lifeguard instructor re-certification training in Columbia, MO next weekend and I think I'm gonna drive over Saturday afternoon for a date/hotel evening away. Does that count? #soromantic

stellarkelly

Going to Hawaii in February

sleepy33

Ahhh what island(s) @stellarkelly ?

MaggieG183

Sounds so pre-baby/pre-marriage-y but we’re heading to Las Vegas in early March. I had a few criteria - 1) a place we’ve never been, 2) family friendly (DS is 2 and quite the handful for my parents and in-laws so he is coming with us) 3) near good hospitals should baby show up early, and 4) (relatively) cheap. Las Vegas hit all of the above! I found cheap tickets on Allegiant and a Black Friday deal for hotel with a great pool/water slide/splash pad for DS and lazy river for myself as I’ll be the size of a whale by then. DH is stoked that the hotel we booked as a free happy “hour” from 2-5 pm everyday 🍹. It’s a win win win for all of us! 😂 

brie_and_almonds

@cwell2016 Whereabouts in Michigan? 

cwell2016

@brie_and_almonds It's a place in Union Pier, MI. We went before after a few days in Chicago and the drive was reasonable!  https://www.gardengrove.net/ We went in March before and it was super relaxing and really quiet. 

julwanderlust

We went to South Beach for 5 days as a babymoon/birthday trip. My husband's work schedule monopolizes all his time January - April so we did a December getaway and are planning a few nights in NOLA next weekend and then a few overnights in some east coast cities if his work schedule permits. South Beach was awesome - the weather was great and there's not too much pressure to "get up and be a tourist"

chloe97

@cwell2016 I love Southwest Michigan. My IL's have a cottage in South Haven and we are up there all the time. 

brie_and_almonds

@cwell2016 That looks really cute! I'll have to keep it in mind if DH and I try to do any kind of getaway this summer. Lake Michigan is the best.

atomiccatherine

@stellarkelly We're going to Hawaii at the end of January flying into HLN but not sure if we want to stay on Oahu or  travel to another island, still deciding the details! 

sleepy33

@atomiccatherine I highly recommend Kauai, if you've never been. My favorite island. 

melbee81

Look like we'll be doing Nassau presidents day weekend. My SIL's in-laws have a time share that we might be able to use so that should be nice. I can't wait to just chill out on the beach! 

bgdwg

@atomiccatherine We did the island of Maui in 2016. Best vacation ever!

For our babymoon we plan to go down end of January and we wanted to do the Caribbean. But with Zika options are limited so looks like the Bahamas we go! Can't decide on the all inclusive, not a whole lot of variety unfortunately and Sandals is so expensive! Did anyone have a great experience at Melia, Warwick or any other place? We would prefer all inclusive. 

kvh22

We went to Maui when I was pregnant with DD. Trying to decide if we want to go back to Maui or try another island. We're bringing DD to whichever Hawaiian island we go to and Maui just seemed so kid friendly and we already did the crazy tourist stuff. We can get direct flights there, too. We are so not go-back-to-the-same-place people but this feels like a possible exception.

robyn2201

@MaggieG183. Vegas has a great children’s museum. 

jarethinafrock

minnemiska said:

We just booked a three-night trip to Charleston around our anniversary in February. Toddler will be staying with my parents! 

I had a lot of criteria for this babymoon: warmer than home (very low bar), preferably a place neither of us had been, easy-ish to get to, pregnancy-friendly activities, and we can’t know people there (no social obligations). The last criterion eliminated FL since FIL lives there. That basically narrowed it to southern or southwestern cities. It took some coaxing to get H on board with Charleston, but I think it will be fun, and I’ve heard great things! 

I lived in Charleston for 10 years (just moved to the Upstate SC in July 2017). If you need any recommendations, hit me up! do you know which part you’ll be staying in?

minnemiska

@jarethinafrock I’ve been looking at Airbnb options near some of the main touristy/food areas. I’m definitely open to recommendations! 😊

jarethinafrock

minnemiska said:

@jarethinafrock I’ve been looking at Airbnb options near some of the main touristy/food areas. I’m definitely open to recommendations! 😊

Nice! I lived in Mount Pleasant, which is about 20 minutes from downtown. Will you be driving/renting a car? Driving/parking/traffic is pretty bad in Charleston, so I’d avoid it if possible and just use Uber. 

Activity-wise, they have a nice aquarium downtown. There are plenty of museums, if you’re into that. They have a water taxi that we always enjoy (https://www.charlestoncvb.com/plan-your-trip/tours-attractions~204/water-tours~1161/charleston-water-taxi~5621.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqrK_wZPK3wIVBUSGCh3rIAekEAAYASAAEgKZNvD_BwE) - though it might be a little cold for that. The county parks are really nice, I especially like walking around the one on James Island. If you do have a car, you could check out the angel oak tree (https://www.angeloaktree.com/), which is just magnificent in person. You can then stop for an amazing meal at Fat Hen on your way back into downtown.

It’s bummer you are just going to miss restaurant week by a bit, because that’s always great for checking out fancy places on a budget: https://restaurantweeksouthcarolina.com/city/charleston/. If you like red meat (I’m terrible and still eat my steak kind of pink, even when pregnant), Oak Steakhouse is AMAZING. My husband and I would go every few years and we were always blown away. They serve burgers at the bar, if you wanted to go and not spend too much money. 

There is a chance that I might be visiting my inlaws that weekend (we go about once a month). Let me know if you’d be interested in meeting up! 

kbeers13

Giving my feedback on the hawaiian islands, I would pick an island based on what your goal is while you're there.
Oahu is more city and they have an amazing luau at the Polynesian center. All of the locals recommended it when we went in September and it was as culturally correct as it could be with so much to learn. You could spend a whole day at the Polynesian cultural center. We also went on some fabulous hikes on Oahu.
Kauai is more of an adventure with nature kayaking the wailua river to the falls and back is amazing. 
Maui has the least amount of local interaction unless you go looking for it so it's more of a mainlander's resort style island which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's absolutely beautiful!

melbee81

@bgdwg We just booked the Grand Hayatt Baha Mar for mid February. It's not all inclusive but the hotel is gorgeous and has some of the best reviews. They have restaurants but they are supposed to be pricey so it'll give us a reason to check out the rest of the island a bit which my partner will be happy about since he's not a fan of big resorts to begin with. 
I had a friend recently stay at Meliá and she loved it but had a possible bedbug situation when she got home. It's not certain that's what it was or that they came from the resort but it was enough for me to steer clear. 

GeorgiaGirl1230

We are doing a quick weekend mid February to Savannah, GA. It's one of my favorite places, and MH has never been before. DD will be with her Grandparents. I'm looking forward to it. We are looking at VRBOs and Air BnBs now. It will be a lot of walking, but I'm hoping to do a trolley tour to help with that.

So many wonderful destinations being mentioned! I would love a tropical trip, but MH isn't into that.

Melanntor

I refused to go anywhere that I would sorely miss cocktails and wine. That ruled out any place warm or in Europe. We decided on a luxury B&B in PA - fireplace and huge bathtub in room, antique stores and fine restaurants nearby, and only a 2.5 hour drive away. Score!

bgdwg

So in the end we decided to book the Warwick in the Bahamas for 5 days. Just going to take it easy, walk into Nassau when we feel like it and relax. Hoping it was a good decision!

mrskoz428

@bgdwg don’t go too far into Nassau. There are some sketchy places in Nassau! Stick with touristy parts of the city. It’s a beautiful area! I loved the little outdoor shops near the port. 

We arent doing a babymoon, for money reasons. I’d like to do a weekend away around our anniversary (April 28th) just to the city we got married in, which is also where we’ll be giving birth. I figured that’s a safe bet, we’ll be close to the hospital if we need it, and we can reminisce about our wedding weekend. 

missmcgonnagal

@mrskoz428 @bgdwg There are some sketchy parts of Nassau but getting through those actually led to some of the best stops of the trip. The fish fry at Arwak Cay, The Queen's Staircase and the scariest might have been the walk to the Rum Cake factory but man that was worth it.

brichanelle

We did Italy/Greece at the end of the first trimester. Hawaii sounds amazing!! Maybe I’ll talk DH into another trip 

kvh22

@brichanelle that's awesome although hopefully you were feeling okay! End of first trimester would have ruined any vacation for me with how crappy I feel then.

We booked Maui and will be going in less than 2 weeks! I'm so so so excited. DH doesn't think it will be very relaxing with DD so is worried it will feel like MORE work than when we send her to daycare or visit our families. We haven't done more than a long weekend with her by ourselves, although we have travelled a good amouont with DD where we had family around (3x to where our parents live, plus two other times where family was around for a wedding and SIL's baby shower). Am I being too optimistic about this? They have on-site babysitting at the resort which I plan to use to go out to dinner after DD is asleep at least one or two nights.

bgdwg

@missmcgonnagal @mrskoz428 thanks for the tips! We'll be as safe as possible. Main goal is just to relax

Everyone's trip ideas sound great. Regardless if it's a weekend or 2 weeks, just having some R&R before baby comes will be good for us all.