Yes, this island is fit for going out -
and staying in.
It just might be what both of you want -
and will remember forever.
Photos and
Text by Keith Epstein
As I write this in mid-February, I am 3,000 feet up the side of a volcano
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
I look out from the lanai of a cottage that almost feels as if it were
lifted from a New England bed and breakfast, past the huge unfolding proteas
and other tropical flowers. I can see the coast lined with beaches of golden
sand.
Calling All Honeymooners:
Deciding where
is
the easy part!
If only travel writers could rack up frequent flier miles for every question
they get about honeymoons.
One of the most commonplace questions goes something like this: “Where
can we go where we’ll have enough to do?”
Not a good omen. Maybe it’s me, but I always thought just hanging a “Do
Not Disturb” sign on the door is plenty of outside activity.
Still, I try to be helpful and suggest the benefits of Basse-Terre or the
drawbacks of Bosnia – romantic French-West Indian territory where you can
buy crusty baguettes, dine on spicy crayfish and wander arm-in-arm across
isolated beaches, versus, say, experiencing gunfire outside the honeymoon
suite.
(Guadeloupe is, in fact, a good low-key destination, with places such as
Auberge de la Distillerie (800-322-2223 or 590-94-2591), a 19th century inn
nestled between pineapple fields and rain forest in the shadow of an active
volcano; you can climb the beast or head for the beach. Among top newlywed
hotspots, of course, is Hawaii (the Princeville Hotel in Kau’ai, 800-782-9388,
www.princeville.com and the Manele Bay Hotel on Lanai, 800-321-4666, www.lanai-resorts.com,
are good bets, with possibilities for nature walking, sea kayaking, and seeing
whales. As for Bosnia, you’re on your own.)
But when people focus too much on activities and destinations – especially
honeymooners – I’m tempted to suggest a desert island.
I know, I know: A desert island’s not real life. But people aren’t generally
interested in taking a honeymoon in a suburban cul-de-sac with the calendar
full of errands, visits to the pediatrician and decisions over little Tyler’s
education.
At least on a deserted island, a couple can make their own pleasure and
connections with each other – learn to enjoy and survive each other. Or failing
that, vote each other off the island and get an annulment before it’s too
late.
As I write this, I am in Santa Fe (itself not a bad honeymoon destination)
and – I am not making this up – listening to the couple at the next table
argue over wedding and honeymoon plans.
This has been going on for at least TWO HOURS, as if the topic were stem
cell research. Should it be asparagus hollandaise or walnut arugula salad
at the reception? Should it be Aruba or Bermuda (No contest. I would say:
Bermuda. Go for a cottage and hammock by the turquoise sea at Michael Douglas’
place, Ariel Sands, 800-468-6610, www.arielsands.com)
The guy looked bored, maybe not even a survivor. His bride-to-be didn’t
seem to notice.
Am I the only person on the planet who feels like shaking tender young shoulders
and saying, “Hey, discuss the real issues! It’s not where you’re going now
but how you’ll handle the burdens of life together – the post-honeymoon!
How will you communicate and compromise? How will you handle children? Why
would you be worried about what to do on a deserted island, when you can discuss
forever the merits of asparagus versus arugula?”
But I admit it’s been a long time, and who wouldn’t yearn for the complications
of young love?
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This morning, I climbed a cinder cone to 10,000 feet and watched the sun
rise above an ocean of clouds. Then we drove back to the B&B and were
served scrumptious pancakes with bananas, strawberries, and syrup.
For this trip, I saved a letter:
We are getting married next autumn. Everybody says Maui is a great honeymoon
destination. But is there enough to do there? Would we find enough activities
to fill, say, a week?
Honeymoon-Bound, but Where?
Not long ago, I railed about couples fretting over
where to go for their honeymoon when they should be focused on the more pressing
issues of married life.
I also shared my thinking that a honeymoon in itself should be providing
plenty of activity, the only outside activity of which might involve the
strategic placement of a “do-not-disturb” sign.
But never mind. I am in Maui, and if I were to choose a destination for
a honeymoon this might well be it. And however tempting other activities might
be, I would still be lured around the island for innumerable possibilities.
So, yes, Honeymoon-Bound, I would recommend Maui. You could choose a resort
close to the golden sands such as the posh Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, on the coast
below the West Maui Mountains (800-262-8440, www.ritzcarlton.com).
There are dozens of excellent beaches fringed with palms and into whose
blue-green waters you can dip, many near resorts, others a short drive away.
Or you can elect, as I did, to stay at a B&B in the tranquil pastures
on the flanks of the huge volcano, Haleakala (Silver Cloud Ranch Bed and Breakfast
(800-532-1111, www.silvercloudranch.com),
within a view of the entire sweep of southwest Maui.
We stayed in a private cottage behind a fragrant garden, complete with kitchen,
hammock, and a red clawfoot tub from which you can stare out to sea.
You can stay put, or you can explore the island, which possesses more ecosystems
than most small places – desert, alpine tundra, rain forest, pine forest.
You can hike, you can snorkel, you can hang glide, you can go on whale-watching
cruises, you can rent a sailboat just the two of you, you can ride horses,
you can sip pina coladas all afternoon by the ocean, you can play golf, you
can wander old cowboy towns, or backpack into a crater.
If that’s not enough for an activity-filled honeymoon, I don’t know what
is.
-- Keith Epstein
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