Honeymoon for $1,000

I think for only $1,000, you're going to have to give up the beach idea. You're also getting married in March. Unless you are doing somewhere tropical (Mexico, Carribean), it's going to be too cold to go swimming on the beach anyway.

What about a mountain cabin on lake somewhere in Colorado? It's driving distance from the wedding- so no airfare eating up your entire budget.

What about somewhere in between CO and Iowa? Chicago?

What about a loosely scheduled road trip. Drive a couple hours, do some sightseeing and stay in whatever hotel you want. Take 5-6 days to get back to Iowa and see some cool stuff along the way?

Good idea meaghan. research some really cool tourist spots on the way home to Iowa. Road trips are full of surprises and great memories. You will always stumble upon some really cool attraction that you might not have otherwise known about. Be a free spirit and just stay at the next closest hotel when you get tired of driving. Also, find some hole in the wall restaurants that have fabulous food. I'm sure food Network could help you with finding some great family owned gems along the way to eat at.

Yes, I am working on giving up the beach!! It's so hard to do! I really like the cabin idea. We miss the mountains so much, living in Iowa now, so that's a wonderful suggestion. Thank you! I like the road trip idea as well, being as we are pretty adventurous people and I can see that being a really fun time. But the only draw back is that Nebraska is not very exciting.. corn, corn, and some more corn. Nothing we don't see in IA! So I might look further into the mountain cabin idea. Something lake front with an outdoor hot tub..?? MMM Sounds good to me!

I appreciate the responses so much! Thank you!!

Moutain cabin, lakefront with an outdoor hot tub?! That sounds AWESOME!! Hope you find what you are looking for!

Well, having been to CO a few times, I would want to stay there for my honeymoon! Have you ever been to Redstone? It's a teeeenie resort town close to CO springs. There is a "castle" there that has been converted to a hotel, and it is incredible to stay at! There are also lots of things to do there, if you are at all the outdoorsy type. Check it out! http://www.redstonecolorado.com/

Of course there are also the spas and hot springs in the area to relax at. You will need it after the wedding

Do you guys ski? How about driving up to Breckenridge or Vail or something and skiing for a few days? There is plenty of other things to do in those towns other than skiing too.

Don't abandone your hopes of hte beach just yet...Check out prices on Orbitz, BookIt, FunJet, Vacation Express. You could cut down the number of days and go to an all inclusive for just a little more. Also, Apple Vacations and Cheap Carribean offer "last minute" package deals. You could wait until the wedding is closer and book a last minute deal

I just checked....some last minute deals from Apple Vacations with airfare and transfer to an all inclusive property in the Riviera Maya region(Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar) can go for as little as $599 per person. That is just a tad over your budget.

I am a travel junky...if you would like additional help with pricing check out kayak.com

Oh..I was pricing out of Denver.

I would do a cabin to relax. Or, if you do the road trip idea, rent a really fun car for the trip, like a Mini Cooper or a sportscar.

I think you can still do the beach idea. Like Meghan said, try the Carribean...March is one of the least traveled months so airfare could be more inexpensive than you think and it's cheaper traveling days other than weekends. If you do St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, Bahamas they all have all inclusives and no hurricanes :o)

Over this past summer my FH and I did a trip up to some beautiful cabins and enjoyed the outdoors and relaxing. So personally I love the cabin idea. There are some great last minute cruise & airfare options, but your schedule has to be really open for those to work.

Fh and I were hoping to get to the coast too (from Kansas City)... but w/ a 1k budget we're settling for a drive down to Nashville. We plan to make the beach our "we're debt free and saved up for this!" trip in about 3 years. ...My theory is- just give me a cozy place to 'cozy up' w/ my man (far far away from family) and then we can enjoy a second honeymoon by going all out in a few years (gives us something to work at and look forward to)

@ Autumn- Actually, March is one of the most traveled months for the Carribean and Mexico! It's Spring Break for college students- and it's packed! Many places are more crowded than most of the summer!

@Jessica- Nebraska sucks, but since it's a road trip, what about going around it? Or make it the day you drive straight through the state? Stop someone right before, and drive right on through it- then stop somewhere past it. I bet it's got some great highway diners!

Have you thought about driving to California. I know it might take a couple of days to get down here but it'll be a little adventure. It's a bit cold down here but at least you have the beach =) You can find cheap hotels out by the beach, they aren't so nice but they'll do the job =)

Other idea, go to vegas!! I think one of the hotels have a beach set up as their pool area. Just a thought. Good luck & Congrats!!

I wouldn't quite give up on the beach either. Last April my FH and I went to Cancun for 5 days in April because we found a great deal on Travelocity leaving from a small airport close to our home for around $1000. When we got off of the plane, people were everywhere asking you for timeshare deals. We managed to rack up tickets for a water park, a boat (you drive) and jungle tour, a massage, facial and full day pass to another hotel that was all inclusive so free food and drinks all day. Spring Break was over and was not even close to being crowded. We had the time of our lives and it was the best trip.

Under 1,000 and beach in March? Either the Bahamas or Mexico. Cancun you could probably get your flight and hotel stay for 3-4 days for around 1,000. We went last year and it was barely 1,200 but we stayed somewhere that was considered "pricey". Research and I am sure you will find what you are looking for :-) You can do Florida too for probably under 1,000 because the gulf (Destin/ Fort. Walton Beach, Pensacola, Santa Rosa) had been losing money for a while after the spill scare but they are not doing pretty good. I love the florida panhandle! but it could be chilly in march :-)