David and I got married in May of 2009. I was 25 years old; he was 28. I didn’t have any strong feelings towards our honeymoon destination beyond someplace warm with something to do. Neither one of us are the type that enjoys just sitting on the beach, so we decided we’d like a place that felt like an adventure. After several months of researching at our leisure, David came across a honeymoon that was off the beaten path, adventurous, yet still offered some of that luxury I was hoping to find as a newlywed. We chose to visit Young Island, a small private island, just 200 yards off the coast of St. Vincent in the southern Caribbean.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but when we arrived in the late evening to a glass of champagne and then were shown to our private cottage, I immediately knew we were in for a treat.
I learned quickly that most islands don’t have air conditioning, but the wooden slats that surrounded our one-room cottage allowed the air to flow through quite nicely. Being surrounded by so much nature made me feel free in a way everyone should feel at some point. We had only a single lock which was a wooden slat that closed the wooden fence around our cottage, and a stone back patio that led right to the beach. There was even an outdoor shower that we shared with a few lizards. I loved that this place was unlike anywhere I had been before and we wasted no time at all slipping into honeymoon mode.
Young Island gave us the gift of seclusion when we wanted to be alone, but also the perks that come with staying at a resort. For meals, we would find one of the unoccupied thatched-roof huts, sit down, and a server would appear with the day’s menu which featured a small selection of choices that always were local and fresh, but the best part was the six options of freshly- baked bread (banana, coconut, cinnamon, white, wheat and raisin) that were available with every meal! In the evenings, there was often a man playing the guitar for guests to dance to, or we were free to wander down to sunset point and bask in the feeling that we were on a deserted island all our own.
For a few days we snorkeled, kayaked, hiked, and explored both Young Island and the bustling city of Kingstown across the way on the island of St. Vincent. Halfway through our week, we switched gears. We boarded a monohull sailboat to spend three days and two nights sailing with a captain in the waters of the South Caribbean. David was giddy. I was cautiously optimistic. My sense of adventure was just starting to grow and though I was up for it, I was also a little nervous wondering if I would get seasick and how I’d adjust to showering while standing over the head (the toilet).
With a seasickness patch behind my ear, we took off on a grand adventure. We sailed in five foot seas, we explored the island of Mustique and visiting Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary on the island of Bequia. We sipped wine at sunset and I spent more than a few hours with my back leaning against the mast just breathing in the salty air.
There are three reasons I’m really glad that we chose a honeymoon that was off the beaten path.
ONE: The off the beaten path honeymoon bonded us as newlyweds. There is a reason that they plan adventurous and even scary dates for the TV Bachelor and his ladies- going through an experience with someone strengthens your bond to them. Experiencing a completely new adventure together brought us closer together. You learn a lot about each other when you are sleeping in a rocking vessel on the sea without air conditioning. Not every moment was pleasurable, but being there together was so special and unique.
TWO: It set the tone for the life we live and the life we are working towards. Many of our date night conversations circle the idea that we both want to explore. We want to take our girls on adventures and while yes, Disney World was one of those, we also have a thirst for experiences that take us to places that are a little less-traveled and places we can talk to and learn from people very different from ourselves. Though much of that dream is currently still in the works, beginning our life together on a trip visiting and sailing in the Caribbean felt like a solid start.
THREE: It’s a fun story to tell! I hope to go through life collecting stories of things I’ve experienced that are worth repeating. Our honeymoon is certainly one of those. I love that we went to a place that not many people have heard of so telling the story of our car ride, two plane rides, a taxi, and a ferry in order to get to our destination is exciting to tell. I usually leave out the skinny dipping part, but the swim up coconut bar and the rickety jeep ride around the mountainous island of Bequia always make the cut.
Life is nothing if not an adventure and I’ll always smile about our first trip as a married couple!
Tell me about your honeymoon!
What was your favorite part?
John J. says
Your honeymoon kicked off your marriage of adventure as did ours. Hilton Head was our beginning and then on to bigger and better over the years. Travel unites and expands! Thanks for sharing that momentous beginning!
Brittany Dixon says
Y’all have had some great adventures and I’m so grateful you brought us along on them too. 😉 So many great memories we have together and more to make at Sullivan’s!
Helen says
This rings true for me on so many levels. We went to Peru/Machu Pichu on our honeymoon and it has definitely set us up for a lifetime of adventures, now with our two little girls. Last summer we did Disney and it was fun but this summer we are going to travel to Iceland and we’re so excited!
Brittany Dixon says
I’ve heard Iceland is just gorgeous! And wow, Machu Pichu. It is definitely high on my must-see list. The pictures are unreal so I only can imagine how breathtaking it must be in real life!
Michelle says
We honeymooned in St. Martin and Nevis. Nevis was definitely my favorite. It was nice being a little off the grid in Nevis with beautiful beaches and great food. Our honeymoon began in St Martin with unusual amount of rain and lost baggage so it was nice to end on a high note in Nevis! Loved reading about your trip!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I just love the little islands too! Nevis sounds magical! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Erin says
I love hearing about off the beaten path trips! Our honeymoon to Kauai wasn’t necessarily off the beaten path, but we did choose it for the adventure portion. Like you, we aren’t ones to just chill by the pool all day. Our honeymoon included, hiking the Na Pali coast, snorkeling, helicopter ride, rope swing into the base of a waterfall and exploring the different regions of the island. We can’t wait to head back with our kids there one day.
I also agree that travel and adventure bring you closer as a couple. We’ve love traveling with our kids and have taken some great trips with them, but even little adventures at home on date-night (ropes course, trapeze class) bring a different level of closeness and keep thing fun.
Brittany Dixon says
You had me at rope swing into a waterfall… holy moly that sounds amazing!! I’d love to see Hawaii one day!
Heather says
One day I would love to take a trip like this! It looks like so much fun! For our honeymoon we went on a massive road trip from Minnesota to Key West with lots of stops along the way. We even got to experience tornado weather with sirens and watching a tornado try and form above one of our hotels! I think I slept with my shoes on that night. Haha! We’re all about adventures, though, and stayed one night in some cotton picker shacks in Mississippi which was really humbling and got to look up at the stars with zero light pollution. We hit crazy weather, were attacked by biting ants, discovered off the beaten path gems, and swam in the ocean with brown rays and saw crazy amounts of jellyfish. I look forward to one day going on this trip again with our kids.
Brittany Dixon says
That sounds amazing!! I’m sure the biting ants weren’t fun in the moment, but what a story to look back on and remember. Road trips really are the best for memory making. Thanks for sharing!
sherry says
So fun to read and see pictures from your honeymoon. Life is a continuing adventure–enjoy!–we certainly are! Costa Rica was a fabulous, adventurous trip–hiking, zip lining, and actually just riding on their roads was an adventure in itself 😉
Heather Warner says
We went to Lost River, WV. We paid for a lot of our wedding so we didn’t have much for the honeymoon, but we rented a cabin on the top of a mountain and just hiked and explored. It was great. All you need is each other!
Tanya says
This is so neat! What a fun adventure. I can see why you got the sailing bug early on and how that has been a part of your journey ever since!
Sarah Kelley says
We explored all of Oregon in late October with not much planned ahead of time. Actually, I didn’t know where we were going until we got to the airport. My husband (not typically the planner) arranged the whole thing. He booked the first 3 days at a boutique salmon fishing lodge and the last 3 nights in the city of Portland. We had 12 days unplanned and drove the coast, went into the mountains, spent some days wine tasting and out in the Gorge. It was awesome and we had every climate from 75 degrees and sunny to 3 feet of snow! I love hearing about other people’s travel picks.
Lauren says
That was quite an adventure!
We went to Mexico, an all inclusive in the Mayan Riveria, and mostly spent time together on the beach or by the lagoon like pool! It was beautiful. Lots of relaxing and a couple of day trips – we honestly loved being at the resort. Neither of us had really had much downtime before and it felt pretty luxurious to have all that time. Lots of talking, silliness and just being together. Since then, we make it a point to spend time at the beach, almost weekly in the summer and our 4.5 year old loves it as much as we do.
Natasha says
What a lovely story to tell!! Our was awesome too, even while we both got very sick, it was really great. We started off our honeymoon on our honeymoon night at the place we got married at, from there we went to the Kruger Park for a week where we both got very ill, drove to the Drakensburg and ended off our vacation in Durban’s dolphin coast, we have gone back to the Drakensburg a few times now, really awesome place with a little town with so much to see!! It’s all in SA, but I love that we have seen places in our own country before our big family trip to Mozambique a year after that and then our couple trip to Zanzibar 3 years ago. I cannot wait to see where our next adventure will take us, with little one, it will be sure to have great memories!
Brittany Dixon says
You’ve been to Zanzibar?! I just watched Anthony Bourdain’s episode on Zanzibar and it solidified its placement on my list of places I really want to see! How amazing!
Natasha says
Yip, it is LOVELY there, we went to Royal Zanzibar Beach Resort, it was the most awesome experience ever, if you ever do go, go to that side of the island, I believe the other side is full of seaplants so not nice to swim in, the water is like pool water, we saw so much sea life and heard dolphins in the distance underwater. It was really a wonderful experience!! Also, if you ever decide to go, fly directly to the island if you can, don’t go via Dar Es Salam, I believe you wait for hours on the airport. We also went on the Safari Blue cruise, did deep sea snorkelling there, we did not see the much anticipated dolphins that I was dreaming of swimming with, but it was still a lot of fun, they dropped a few of us in the middle of the ocean and we swam to the next island stop we were going to make, once in a lifetime experience. It was really amazing!
Kelli Harrison says
Would you consider bringing the kids there or no? We want to go away but we bring our kids (they are teens now) everywhere do you think they would enjoy Young’s Island?
Brittany Dixon says
Hm, it probably wouldn’t be my top choice with kids. Though it’s a really special spot, I think it lends itself more to romantic/adventurous getaway for couples. But the Caribbean in general would be awesome for kids!
Kelly says
We went to Rio de Janeiro for our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. Beautiful beaches, amazing food, fun people. Totally believe you that it sets the tone for your life. We love to travel and have taken our now 3.5 year old to the Caribbean, Ireland, Prague, and Austria so far. I think it is so important for our daughter to experience new cultures and see the world!
Brittany Dixon says
Yes to new cultures! We don’t have much experience in that category right now (well, the girls and I don’t, though David does) and I’m really itching to get out and see more of the diversity in the world as a family.
laura says
My husband and I were apart (at seminary and grad school) for 20 months before we married, so we took two weeks and rented a tiny cottage on top of a mountain in St. John. Our “lock” was a hook on a screen door, and we rented a little Suzuki 4×4 to explore the island. We snorkeled every day, played scrabble every night (before smart phones and wifi on mountain tops), and sat on our porch soaking in the views and making dreams for our life. Seems like a lifetime ago, but 11 years in, we dream about going back and taking our kiddos (6 and 4) along for the adventure.
Brittany Dixon says
That sounds like pure magic. I love that y’all played Scrabble every night, too. What a special time. You should definitely go back with the kids (though I know that’s easier said than done ;))
Alison says
For our “honeymoon” we went to Germany, Austria, and Italy. It was a trip we had planned before we decided to get married and we went about a month after our wedding. We started off running the Munich marathon, visited friends two places in Bavaria, a quick visit to Salzburg to rent a car. (My husband’s idea-not recommended. Stick with public transportation in Europe!) then drove to Italy for some rock climbing. We had a blast navigating our way though some areas of the world we’d never been to and some we hadn’t been to together. We’ve traveled a lot with our kids now 5 and almost 3. Back to Austria with my parents and son at 18 months, camping in the bush in Alaska, Colorado, Whistler, and more. We keep saying we aren’t going to travel as much but it seems there’s always somewhere to go!
Emily M Jones says
I definitely did not think ANYONE would know where Young Island is!!!! I transferred to medical school just the short swim away in St. Vincent!!! Makes me feel a tiny bit less like I have fallen off the edge of the world. If any of your readers want to know about staying in St. Vincent you can send them my way!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh no way! What a small world! How do you like medical school there? What an amazing location to learn in 🙂
Laura says
I loved reading about your honeymoon! We stayed at a little villa rental in Sardinia for ours. My husband used to joke that the travel adventures I would plan for us made him feel like he was competing on a reality show- Fear Factor, Amazing Race, and Survivor. I would get us into some precarious situations around the world that made for great stories after the fact. For our honeymoon I made a real effort to plan a more relaxing vacation, although we still had some crazy adventures- Sardinia is a big island!