[mddirtgrl]

My fiance (wvboy - in case you see the same post in Passion) and I are getting married June 25th , and we're trying to get some ideas of where to go on our honeymoon. We've looked at Tahiti/Fiji and it seems to be a little laid back for us. We heard you end up mostly just lying on the beach. So then we moved across the Pacific to Hawaii, specifically Kauai, but we don't want to commit ourselves to there yet either, without at least considering some other places. Any suggestions on where to take a semi-adventurous honeymoon, that might or might not involve riding? Last summer's vacation was a two week road trip from Maryland to Maine, camping the whole way, we're not looking to go that adventurous, but that's the kind of stuff we like to do, biking, hiking, etc.We've briefly considered, Moab, Fruita, Whistler but we just didn't know if there was something else out there....any suggestions?

 

[Hello Kitty]

My fiancé (wvboy - in case you see the same post in Passion) and I are getting married June 25th , and we're trying to get some ideas of where to go on our honeymoon. We've looked at Tahiti/Fiji and it seems to be a little laid back for us. We heard you end up mostly just lying on the beach. So then we moved across the Pacific to Hawaii, specifically Kauai, but we don't want to commit ourselves to there yet either, without at least considering some other places.

Kauai is lovely beyond belief, but if you're set on mountain biking on your honeymoon, Hawaii may not be the best option. So much of their land is private that finding trails that you can ride without poaching is challenging. Knowing a local will undoubtedly help. Kauai is a fantastic destination and the island itself and its hiking and road biking would be worth it. I highly recommend staying the north shore, either in Hanalei or Princeville. Travel aents always want to steer you to the south shore, say it's less rainy, but that's travel code for more contracted, dryer, windier, and frankly trashier. Sure, it's still paradise, but can't compare to the north shore.

Wherever you go, ship your bikes, by any way necessary. Between the time spent finding, fitting and dealing with crappy rental bikes, to the huge cost of the horrible experience, IMHO a person's always much better off shipping his or her bike. Yes it's pricey, but usually after it's all said and done shipping is equal to renting a couple for a week or so, and you always get to ride a better bike than you're going to get off the rental stand. Unless you ride a really, really, really sh*tty bike, that is.

Congratulations to you both on your nuptials.

 

[tlg]

My fiance (wvboy - in case you see the same post in Passion) and I are getting married June 25th , and we're trying to get some ideas of where to go on our honeymoon.

Consider Europe. Do something different than the typical tropical island cookie cutter honeymoon. (Save that for anniversaries) Do a day or two in Paris, Germany, Spain. Stay in "bed and breakfasts". Tour some castles. Enjoy some culture. Hook up a bike ride in the mountains.

My wife and I went to Salzburg Austria for our honeymoon. It was fantastic. We've yet to meet anyone who has had the same honeymoon.

And congrats on your marriage.

 

[Goldengatecanyonrider]

Going on Honeymoon about the same time...

The future old man and I are road tripping to Alaska. We are starting in Denver, CO-that's where we live. Then we are driving to Lawrence, KS for a camping and music festival called "Wakarusa". The festival is at Clinton Lake State Park which, according to MTBR trail reviews, has 25 miles of singletrack (BTW, anybody ever been there???) Then, we are heading up to Banff and Jasper to do some riding-not sure what trails yet but we just bought the book "Backcounty Biking in the Canadian Rockies" and it looks like there is a lot of good information in there. Then up the Al-Can highway to Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Homer, etc. in Alaska. We are probably going to do some fishing and hiking there. Then back down to Whistler and Vancouver to do some more riding. Then back to Denver. We have about 23 days to do all this. I suppose we'll know how successful the marriage will be after that long on the road together.

So anyways, maybe that will give you some ideas. I suggest doing something adventerous and different. Good Luck with the planning!

 

[little b]

I second the Europe suggestion. How about a bike tour of Provence? there are many different companies that do tours, varying in distance/day, accomodations, etc. I think it sounds like the ideal honeymoon. Some friends of ours did it and had an amazing time. It's riding every day, but not terribly strenuous. My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Paris, and it was excellent. But for an anniversary trip one of these years, we're going to do the bike tour of provence thing.

 

[mddirtgrl]

Wow!! You guys definitely have an awesome honeymoon coming up!! You will definitely know how well the marriage will be after all that. After the two weeks on the road last year, putting a tent up almost every single night (somehow it ended up most nights we were putting up a tent in a thunderstorm) we knew we were good to go!! Unfortunatey I don't get a whole lot of vacation time from work, so 23 days is way out of the picture. We've actually considered Alaska in passing once or twice, but it's so hard to get out of the "touristy" areas if you don't know someone. Definitely some great ideas though...thanks so much!!

The future old man and I are road tripping to Alaska. We are starting in Denver, CO-that's where we live. Then we are driving to Lawrence, KS for a camping and music festival called "Wakarusa". The festival is at Clinton Lake State Park which, according to MTBR trail reviews, has 25 miles of singletrack (BTW, anybody ever been there???) Then, we are heading up to Banff and Jasper to do some riding-not sure what trails yet but we just bought the book "Backcounty Biking in the Canadian Rockies" and it looks like there is a lot of good information in there. Then up the Al-Can highway to Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Homer, etc. in Alaska. We are probably going to do some fishing and hiking there. Then back down to Whistler and Vancouver to do some more riding. Then back to Denver. We have about 23 days to do all this. I suppose we'll know how successful the marriage will be after that long on the road together.

So anyways, maybe that will give you some ideas. I suggest doing something adventerous and different. Good Luck with the planning!

 

[formica]

The future old man and I are road tripping to Alaska. We are starting in Denver, CO-that's where we live. Then we are driving to Lawrence, KS for a camping and music festival called "Wakarusa". The festival is at Clinton Lake State Park which, according to MTBR trail reviews, has 25 miles of singletrack (BTW, anybody ever been there???) Then, we are heading up to Banff and Jasper to do some riding-not sure what trails yet but we just bought the book "Backcounty Biking in the Canadian Rockies" and it looks like there is a lot of good information in there. Then up the Al-Can highway to Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Homer, etc. in Alaska. We are probably going to do some fishing and hiking there. Then back down to Whistler and Vancouver to do some more riding. Then back to Denver. We have about 23 days to do all this. I suppose we'll know how successful the marriage will be after that long on the road together.

So anyways, maybe that will give you some ideas. I suggest doing something adventerous and different. Good Luck with the planning!

Having done both the the Alcan and the Cassiar Highways I'd suggest you head across BC west after Banff and Jasper and then take the Cassiar up North... it's more remote and scenic, and less driving through the trees. It goes up the coast just inside the Alaska Range, and is not fully paved. It's incredibly beautiful. Don't forget your Milepost Guidebook. We drove from Washington state to Whitehorse and did a 2 week wilderness raft trip up there with some friends.

I'd throw my two cents into the Europe hat as that sounds really cool, but British Columbia is awesome for vacationing. Biking, scenery, hot springs, artist colonies, trails, trails, hot springs, scenery, great people....

oh, and congrats!!
We did the tropical thing for our 20th: got dive certified and went to the Yucatan for two weeks.

formica

 

[alaskarider]

Alaska and Kauai--2 of my favorite places!

mddrtgirl: Kauai is beautiful and there are lots of places to be active, although I've never tried to ride there. I second Hello Kitty's suggestion to check out the north shore, as it is much less touristy than the south. Activities on the island include snorkeling, windsurfing, scuba diving, kayaking, and hiking. The Waimea Canyon has lots of great hiking trails, either down into the canyon or down towards breathtaking overlooks over the Pacific. You can also kayak up the Waimea River to see various attractions. Waterfalls abound, as Kauai has a lot of rain forest (which I think makes it prettier than the other islands I've been to). If you decide to go there and want more specifics, feel free to PM me.

Goldengatecanyonrider: good luck on that road trip! My fiance (then-bf) and I drove down from Fairbanks to CO when I moved here. We took 13 days just for the one-way (fairly leisurely), taking the AK state ferry from Haines, AK to Prince Rupert, BC, then heading east to Banff and Jasper before turning south. It sounds like you've done your research, but if you have any questions about the drive PM me and I'll be happy to reply. (Unfortunately, we did not bring the bikes so I can't answer questions about best places to ride along the way.)

 

[mahgnillig]

Austria is gorgeous if you're thinking of going to Europe. I've never been biking there, but in the summer the hiking is wonderful, and it's so clean and tidy! It's also right in the middle of Europe, so there are plenty of opportunities for daytrips to Italy, Germany, France, Hungary etc.

There is also supposed to be very good biking in Italy (was it Screampint who went there a while back?) and also Spain... though Spain will likely be very hot in the summer. Then there's Southern France... I'm not sure about the mountain biking there, but my uncle goes to France for 3 weeks every summer to ride his road bike.

- Jen.

 

[triscuit]

Try Scotland!

Check out the UK. I lived in Scotland for 4 years (university there) and it is absolutely beautiful. I am dying to go back there with a mt bike, now that I am old enough to rent a car (have to be 25). In June, it will be light until about 11 PM or so, the weather is a little on the cool side compared to the US (70s), but that is nice when riding. A couple of places I really enjoyed are the Isle of Skye and the West Highland Way (a trail that runs the length, north-south, of Scotland, through the highlands. While I have not ridden there, from some Internet research I have done in thinking about trips, it looks like there is some great riding in the highlands, and also in Wales and western England--Lakes area.

The only downside is the dollar is not worth much right now, so a European trip could be pricey.

 

[Impy]

costa rica is beautiful, tropical, and you can ride your bike there.

 

[Debaser]

The festival is at Clinton Lake State Park which, according to MTBR trail reviews, has 25 miles of singletrack (BTW, anybody ever been there???)

Been there, it's been a long long time. Rocky, steep little up and downs, lots of fun, if I remember correctly. Landahl Preseve is on the East side of KC and is super fun.

I replyed on the other thread, my wife and I went to Whistler/Vancouver for our honeymoon last September, it was a load of fun!

 

[jeffj]

Mine was in Abaco, Bahamas. Wish we would have gone to Hawaii instaed, but we had already done that recently and wanted to try something different.

As for Kauai, we stayed at Princeville Resort at Hanalei Bay right on the golf course in our own separate condo. We went in July and we usually had a 15 minute or so shower late in the morning and then it would clear right up and was perfect. You have to look a little harder to find cool stuff to do on Kauai than you do on the other more popular islands like Oahu or Maui, but I think it would be a great honeymoon destination. Easier to get away from crowds if you want to, but they roll up the sidewalk pretty early there if you know what I mean.

That being said, I think Maui might be a little better than Kauai, but it is more populated. I am looking forward to getting back there ASAP.

 

[Team Pro Laps]

Route Verte

If you like road biking, consider a loop on the La Route Verte in Canada. Dedicated bike paths or low traffic roads with a dedicated bike path, set up just for bikes, lots of B&Bs and good food, plus a bike friendly populace.

http://www.routeverte.com/ang/index.lasso

I'll also be honeymooning in early June. Thinking about heading to Durango, CO. I have a friend there who can give me some information on whether the Hermosa Creek trail will be open and rideable in early June. They had some pretty heavy snowpack this winter, so it will be interesting to see if it is good to go. There are also lots of great local trails right in town.

 

[SSteel]

If you want good trails and beaches, try Tobaggo (Trinidad/Tobaggo) in the Carribean; it is supposed to be quite nice.

I would also suggest anywhere in the Alps. There are a crap-load of tour companies and diy-tours that operate out of the Swiss Alps and/or the French Alps. Many of them are UK based (check out Bike Magic).

Picture it... over 1000ft of descending, stop for tea in a chalet, another 1000ft of trail, lunch in a french bistro, chairlift part way back up, climb for several miles (yack up lunch), begin again...