Second Honeymoon Dreaming

So every once in a while I think about the second honeymoon trip my husband and I are hoping to go on next year.

I say "hoping to" because, well, you never know what life will toss you. (I try not to make statements about things we are going to definitely do anymore, because I sometimes end up eating my words, because life is just crazy that way)

It is such a gargantuan task!

Our general idea for our trip is tropical beach bum vacation.  Sounds great right?  Our actual honeymoon was at a city close to home for only a couple nights.  We got married in the middle of college and were pretty broke.  We came home the Tuesday after we were married and started working pretty much right away at our crazy factory summer jobs.  Next year will be our 10 year (10??  where has time gone??) anniversary and so we want to go on a nice vacation all by ourselves.

Found on flickr
Maldives - definitely out of the price range - but so incredibly beautiful

But it is not easy.  Do you know how many tropical beach bum vacation options there are?  And how many options within each option.  Makes my head spin.  Do we want to go to an all inclusive place, and not leave the place the entire time we are there.  Do we want to rent a car to do some touring? Do we just want to go on a cruise instead?  Do we want to just get a regular hotel? A resort?  A private rental property?  Do we want to go to Mexico, somewhere in the Caribbean, Hawaii? How much do we want to spend?

Found on Flickr
Kauai Hawaiian Island - probably the island I would want most to visit there.  Although, I would love to geek out at all the Lost filming locations on Oahu.

Really, we wanted to go to England.  That would have been amazing.  The more we thought about it, the more we realized that we would want to go for at least 2 weeks.  And that is completely out of the budget for the trip next year.  And we wouldn't want to leave the kids for that long.  So that trip is a dream for another year.  Maybe for the 20 year anniversary. :)

Found on Flickr
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico  Some friends where here last year and loved it.

My thoughts right now are all inclusive with no rental car.  I would love to go to Hawaii, but I think that is someplace I would definitely want to explore - and will probably be out of our budget, unless we got a pretty great deal.

Found on Flickr
St. Lucia

Cruises intrigue me.  I have heard really great things about them.  However, I'm not sure how I would do confined with a large crowd.  I think I do really well traveling in general - but I'm not great with huge crowds (think amusement park situations)  Stresses me out for whatever reason.  But cruises seem to be pretty economical, which will be a big part of the final decision.

Found on Flickr
Punta Cana

In any event, I'm not even sure what time of year we are going to go.  Probably spring or fall of next year.  Who knows, maybe we will just say heck with it and head to Anna Maria Island again.  Although, I really do want to go some place different.  So maybe Sarasota. :)  (It's not too far from Anna Maria.)

Found on Flickr
Anna Maria Island

Any suggestions?  Would love to hear about any and all experiences with cruises and all inclusives. Pros - cons.

Click on through to any of the links below the pictures to find some more wonderfully inviting beach pictures.