https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 01 May 2026 05:53:33 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353572 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:17:19 +0000 JoJoGirl 353572@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrsbells: Thanks :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353571 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:16:56 +0000 JoJoGirl 353571@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsCB: Ahh yes, if you stayed at Sandals I can see that. We stayed in a few tiny hotels, one on a coffee plantation, all on the southwest coast and found it to be rather remote. We did like you did in Barbados, rented a car and drove all around and only at the 'tourist spots' (the drive-in volcano, sulfer springs, etc) did we see all the vans of tourists and whatnot. </p> <p>The only problem: this doesn't solve our problem of medical care! I should ask my friends about how Barbados hospitals are, but it seems they wouldn't be too advanced...</p> <p>I'll def check your recap. thanks again :)</p> <p>@blackbird: I know we have to resign ourselves to that and have already gotten my parents to agree to watch LO so we can go to Thailand next year. Hahahah. We're so bad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353568 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:14:42 +0000 Mrsbells 353568@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: Haha</p> <p>Oh and be sure to walk a lot during the flight and drink plenty of water. I also go swollen feet and ankles when I flew while pregnant </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353563 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:11:42 +0000 blackbird 353563@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Italy would be amazing, but it seems like the colder months shut down over there (at least is my experience with working with Europeans). </p> <p>You can always go somewhere bigger and more adventurous next year :) But the Caribbean is at least a shorter flight, too. And you'll still have a nice time, even if it's not as exotic as you'd prefer. I would totally have done a nice resort in Florida if it was a nice time of year. February is just....not nice in the US, if you want fun in the sun :P I would definitely keep the flight as short as possible. You can get some really sweet compression socks, too :) If you were more of a snow bunny, I'd say go for a really nice cabin resort up in Canada :)</p> <p>barbados looks gorgeous :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353557 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:09:42 +0000 ShootingStar 353557@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: I felt like St. Lucia was so much more commercialized and touristy. It probably didn't help that we stayed at a Sandals Resort, which I thought I'd love but really did not. We only got off the resort a couple times in St. Lucia, but one of them was an all day excursion where we saw almost the whole island. Everywhere we went the tour bus would stop and there would be tons of tour vans and a hundred people all in the same tiny spot. And tons of vendors/random people trying to sell stuff. People also weren't happy with us that we weren't buying anything (DH forgot to grab money).</p> <p>It was pretty much the opposite in Barbados. Everywhere was quiet and very few people around. We rented a car a couple days and had an awesome time traveling around the island. </p> <p>I did a recap on weddingbee with pics and pretty good descriptions - <a href="http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/honeymoon-recap-part-1-barbados-pic-heavy" rel="nofollow">http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/honeymoon-recap-part-1-barbados-pic-heavy</a> (hopefully it's ok to post that). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353547 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:05:17 +0000 JoJoGirl 353547@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrsbells: Fair enough! :) If we were closer to Hawaii I'd be totally game, but that's a 12+ hr flight for us. Not many other good options in February (I've done my run of Florida, thanks grandpa! :-D). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353517 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:54:24 +0000 Mrsbells 353517@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I may be in the minority but for a babymoon I would want to go somewhere within the US. I might go to hawaii or florida or any state I'd never been to before. I'd be a bit worried to go outside the country </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353515 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:53:47 +0000 JoJoGirl 353515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: Yeah, exactly. If we lived on the west coast it might be doable, but from Boston? No. :-D I'm not so worried about the developing nature of it as much as the flight. Also PTO will be in short supply so I do want to save up some for maternity leave.. I wouldn't go to Thailand from here and take less than 2 weeks off work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353512 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:51:50 +0000 Mrs. Blue 353512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: I think Thailand is actually pretty highly ranked in the world of medical tourism, so I wouldn't be as worried about medical care there. But your adventures while there would probably be more limited. Plus, the plane ride would s.u.c.k. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353510 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:51:01 +0000 JoJoGirl 353510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Shutterbug: Awesome, thanks for the recommendation!!!</p> <p>@MrsCB: NO way, really??? A native Jamaican friend of ours recommended St. Lucia as one of the islands left that has local culture, food etc and isn't just all resort-ed (we stayed in Soufriere instead of the north coast with all the resorts and loved that area)...I assume Barbados is similar in that way? He and his wife actually lived in Barbados for 2 years doing development work so I can definitely ask them for recommendations too. What did you do and see when you were there? Tell me everything! :-D </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353501 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:47:25 +0000 ShootingStar 353501@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: We went to St. Lucia too and loved Barbados so much more. St. Lucia is somewhat prettier because it's a volcanic island, so it has all the mountains. But Barbados is still gorgeous and we loved everything about it more than St. Lucia. If you end up deciding on Barbados and want some recommendations, let me know! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353498 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:46:27 +0000 JoJoGirl 353498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: Hahahahha. Yes on the schtick. And Belize isn't even crazy adventurous, again we'd prefer Thailand but I am trying to be realistic :-D I think we'll end up in the Caribbean. DH has never been to Italy and wants to go, but again February just sounds not so appealing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353495 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:45:55 +0000 Shutterbug 353495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I second @Mrs. Jacks: suggestion of Mexico - we've been to Playa del Carmen 3 times in the last 3 years. It's a small town about 45 minutes south of Cancun, there's a ton of shops on a pedestrian street a block from the beach, and it's super safe. Plus there are lots of day trips you can do while you're there - even pregnant. Cozumel ferry leaves from PDC, Akumal is about 20 minutes south, and you can walk straight off the beach and snorkel with sea turtles, and Tulum (mayan ruins) are about 40 minutes south of PDC as well.</p> <p>There are a lot of American ex-pats living in the area, and from what I've heard (never had to use it) the hospital is good and there are some American trained doctors there.</p> <p>Oh, and another perk - Jet Blue flies direct from Boston to Cancun!</p> <p>If you're interested, write me a note on my wall - I have tons more information. We love it there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353489 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:44:17 +0000 JoJoGirl 353489@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Thanks! Belize is actually relatively close to us (3.5 hrs to Miami, another 2 to Belize), which is part of the appeal. Trip insurance is a brilliant idea, I didn't even think of that. I had that once when I was abroad for a year so that would be a perfect compromise in case something does happen. As for diving, I know we'd miss out, but we're not big divers anyway so would be happy with snorkeling :) </p> <p>@MrsCB: Awesome, thank you!! We were in St. Lucia this past March and have talked about Barbados. That sounds like a great compromise as it's not quite as over-developed as some of the other islands.</p> <p>@Arden: All good points. We were actually just in Greece on our honeymoon last year! :-) Also we're hoping to go somewhere warm in February and Greece will still be quite cold at that time, I think. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353483 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:42:57 +0000 blackbird 353483@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're doing Mexico. My doctor's not comfortable with me traveling to too many unique places. Mainly the food/water is good and safe at this resort, and I know there will be plenty for me to eat, and it's a short 3 hour flight or so, non-stop. I would think the Caribbean/Mexico are safe bets. What about Antigua? This place kept showing up: <a href="http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/jumbybay/" rel="nofollow">http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/jumbybay/</a> i guess they have some special pregnancy packages and such. And it looks gorgeous :)</p> <p>I wouldn't get too adventurous, even though I know that's your schtick :)</p> <p>A girlfriend of mine went to Europe--Paris, Italy, etc, 7 months pregnant and had a stellar time. </p> <p>Unfortunately, I think you do have to leave the country for a nice warm trip in February! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353458 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:35:09 +0000 Arden 353458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Belize is great for a vacation, but I don't know about a babymoon. It's really hot (and that will be so much more uncomfortable when you're pregnant), the food and water are not guaranteed to be safe, and the medical care there were you to need it... not so great.<br /> If you're into a transatlanic flight, have you considered Spain or Greece? Greece is quite cheap at the moment... the island of Corfu is lovely. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353439 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:25:19 +0000 ShootingStar 353439@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We LOVED Barbados, where we went for part of our honeymoon. You can take Jet Blue out of Logan and have a short layover at JFK, then directly there. We had a 6am flight and were there by 1:30pm. </p> <p>We stayed at an awesome boutique hotel called the Little Arches. I can not recommend the place enough. We had a room with our own deck and hot tub (with temp controls, so you can turn down to the temp of bathwater), which was private and amazing. The hotel had a roof on the pool with fantastic views of the turquoise ocean. The roof deck was so great - tons of shady seats with amazing views, ice water readily available and wait staff that would bring you anything you want from the restaurant. </p> <p>The only even slightly bad thing I could say about the place was that it was not directly on the beach. It was across the street, but the street was quiet and residential, and the walk to the beach took about 30 seconds. The hotel will also provide beach chairs and stuff. </p> <p>The island itself was great - lots to explore, tons of great local food. Our absolute favorite thing we did our entire honeymoon was a snorkeling tour where you swim with sea turtles. We just loved all of Barbados - the beaches were great, soft sand and no rocks. The people were incredibly friendly, and no infectious diseases to worry about. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353283 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:59:21 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 353283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So we went to Mexico for our babymoon. It was awesome, but I do have a couple things to keep in mind.</p> <p>1) the long flight was pretty hard at 27 weeks. We had a 12 hour flight delay and over the course of the wait and lack of sleep, I swelled like crazy! </p> <p>2) You'll be at the age of viability when you travel... but you'll only be viable with the most sophisticated medicine. Therefore, many people stay closer to home for their babymoons. We, on the other hand, made a conscious decision to go somewhere where the medicine was less advanced and take our chances. We did, however, get special trip insurance that would have evacuated me if needed.</p> <p>3) Belize is known for diving and you won't be able to dive while pregnant... so you'll miss out on a huge part of the appeal of Belize. In my case, I decided to be completely happy with what I could see while snorkeling and that was just fine with me. I still got incredibly cold in the water and had to get out quickly... but it was so fun! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/babymoon-ideas-belize#post-353248 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:03:21 +0000 JoJoGirl 353248@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As is typical for me and DH, the thing we are most excited about for this pregnancy is.. the babymoon. :) </p> <p>So of course that's the first thing we've started daydreaming about. I know the general 'guidelines' are 1) not too far from home 2) not too many dangerous infectious diseases like a high-risk malarial zone or schisto or anything like that 3) reasonable access to medical care.</p> <p>3) is where we're getting a bit stuck. If we hadn't gotten our BFP before the end of the year, our next big dream trip is Thailand, but clearly for a babymoon that's out (we're on the east coast). I'm not soo excited about the idea of Puerto Rico, where everyone around here seems to go. I'm expecting we'll end up on an caribbean island, but we'd love something a little more exotic and have started talking about Belize. I'm just not sure if the 'access to medical care' thing is good enough there, or not. I'm guessing we'll go when I'm around 25 weeks, mid-February.</p> <p>What do you guys think? Where have other New Englanders gone or considered for babymoons? </p>