November Honeymoon ideas??

[ehirsch83]

Help!!

So we didn't think we would be taking a honeymoon due to $$ but my dad just stepped up and said he would like to make that his contribution(nothing super crazy).

Ideas?? We are getting married Nov 4th- so honeymoon would either be right after or hold off until the spring(but I like the idea of doing it right after).

DF is a cyclist also(holds his UCI card and rides for a UCI level team- though he works more now then he races)- we are both outdoorsy and not so into just sitting on a beach for a week.

I would really like to go to Lake Louise in Canada but November is not the right time of the year to go and be outdoorsy.

SO help with other ideas..

My next idea is Big Sur/Monterey,etc. but again- how is the weather?

Besides that, thoughts are Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru,etc.

Or Europe(off season, cheaper)

Ideas??? I don't want to spend a ton on this.

We love good food, craft beers and good wine along with being active (he grew up in Colorado).

I would love to figure out somewhere that we could get some good cycling in, venture out for trail runs or hikes, have great food and some awesome beers.

Would the Pacific NW be odd choice for a honeymoon? lol!!


Everyone keeps saying- go somewhere you wouldn't normally go,but I haven't been on a true vacation in over a decade. (well that is a lie, I went to Italy 2 summers ago- but besides that any traveling has been for a bike race, work, or to see family)

So I don't feel the need to go somewhere super exotic because I just want to enjoy my time.

[Irulan]

Help!!

So we didn't think we would be taking a honeymoon due to $$ but my dad just stepped up and said he would like to make that his contribution(nothing super crazy).

Ideas?? We are getting married Nov 4th- so honeymoon would either be right after or hold off until the spring(but I like the idea of doing it right after).

DF is a cyclist also(holds his UCI card and rides for a UCI level team- though he works more now then he races)- we are both outdoorsy and not so into just sitting on a beach for a week.

I would really like to go to Lake Louise in Canada but November is not the right time of the year to go and be outdoorsy.

SO help with other ideas..

My next idea is Big Sur/Monterey,etc. but again- how is the weather?

Besides that, thoughts are Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru,etc.

Or Europe(off season, cheaper)

Ideas??? I don't want to spend a ton on this.

We love good food, craft beers and good wine along with being active (he grew up in Colorado).

I would love to figure out somewhere that we could get some good cycling in, venture out for trail runs or hikes, have great food and some awesome beers.

Would the Pacific NW be odd choice for a honeymoon? lol!!


Everyone keeps saying- go somewhere you wouldn't normally go,but I haven't been on a true vacation in over a decade. (well that is a lie, I went to Italy 2 summers ago- but besides that any traveling has been for a bike race, work, or to see family)

So I don't feel the need to go somewhere super exotic because I just want to enjoy my time.

No PNW in November.
Costa Rica would be nice I bet. November is a rough month to plan outdoors adventures unless you head for the desert.

[GLC1968]

How long are you going to go for? I ask because we did go to Lake Louise for our honeymoon in March and we did lots of outdoorsy stuff. Winter stuff, but still outdoors. We were living and married in FL as well, so it was great to see true winter for a week. The skiing was amazing (no crowds at all!), ice-skating on the lake, hiking, dog-sledding, horse drawn sleigh rides (Ok, that wasn't active...but it was fun!), etc. Ad we saw some awesome ice-climbing in you are into that (we are not). It was wonderful! I would imagine that all the same activities would be available in November as well.

If you want to go for two weeks, then you'd run out of things to do, but we were there for 4-5 days and it was perfect! We then went to Banff for the remaining 3-4 days and that was totally different. There was no snow left there, but lots of food options, touristy stuff and spa treatments. It was nice, but we both liked Lake Louise much better.

We also considered a few southern hemisphere destinations to get the opposing season (we love fall), but the airfare was too expensive.

Maybe northern California? Wine country, biking, hiking, etc? Coming to the PNW would just get you wet. By November, the grey and rains have moved in full time, so while you can do outdoors stuff, it's not optimal and it requires a good amount of gear.

[Crankin]

Sedona?
It will be cool at night, but perfect for hiking, trail running, all kinds of cycling.

[Catrin]

Do you mountain bike or gravel ride at all? There is the Gravel Grovel on Thanksgiving weekend in southern Indiana, and Nashville, IN has some great small restaurants, at least two B&B (I am pretty sure) and an excellent micro-brewery. There is also some awesome (and hilly) road riding to be had. It is likely to be damp however, and that is something to be considered.

[indysteel]

A couple of places that come to mind are Sedona, Arizona and Big Bend National Park in Texas. Costa Rica's weather can be pretty wet in November. But I do believe you can be pretty outdoorsy in the late fall/winter. You just have to dress for it. Still, I'd much rather deal with cold and dry than cool/cold and wet.

[VeganBikeChick]

I second, third and 1000 the no PNW in November. It will be a gray, drizzling, depressive mess by then (unless you're into that)

AZ, Moab, Tahoe?

[GLC1968]

I just thought of another idea and I cannot believe I'm about to type this, but have you thought about the Poconos? Yes, the 'honeymoon' thing in the Poconos is cheesy and often creepy...but early November is only barely past peak leaf season there. The weather will likely be gorgeous, there are TONS of outdoor things to do and a lot of either large resorts or cute B&B's to stay at. You will have to be selective to avoid the cheesy places with champagne glass hot tubs and such, but there are classy places if you look a bit off the beaten path.

Mountain biking is wonderful. Rafting is fun. Hiking would be great, too. There are historical towns, the Appalachian Trail and other things to see and do as well. I was not a cyclist when I lived there, so I don't recall the road biking scene, but I'm sure it's decent as well.

[Veronica]

We spent a Christmas in Moab and Zion. It was cold, but lovely. We did LOTs of hiking at both places. I think early November could be a good time to go to either or both, since they are less than a day's drive apart.

Veronica

[Trek420]

Maybe northern California? Wine country, biking, hiking, etc?

Good ideas for that here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=45540