Are you planning your own wedding and are searching for anything that can make the big day more romantic and memorable? Well, if you still haven’t decided on a venue, why not do something out of the ordinary – go on a wedding cruise.
Celebrating the day you say “I do” aboard a harbour cruise has lots of benefits over its land-based counterpart. Aside from the breathtaking views and intimate atmosphere, it guarantees three big advantages that are sure to take your wedding up a notch.
Wedding cruises can be inexpensive
Did you know that cruises don’t always cost a fortune? Some people shy away from them because they don’t want to break the bank and spend it on something that’s too luxurious and costly.
However, a lot of couples from all over the world can attest that wedding cruises can actually be inexpensive. If you don’t want your wedding cruise to burn a large hole in your pocket, you are in luck because there are plenty of options that are laid-back and modest.
You can choose a package that suits your needs
Cruise lines generally have a comprehensive range of packages that cater to the unique needs of customers. Couples won’t have a hard time finding an option that fits their price range and preferences.
What’s more, cruise lines are often eager to help arrange every detail and make a few changes so their offers better suit the needs of their clients.
You can say goodbye to hassles and stress
Planning a wedding can be downright stressful. So it is not surprising that soon-to-weds prefer to shy away from it and hire a professional wedding planner to do the legwork instead.
But for couples who choose cruise weddings, planning is an easy and stress-free experience. Most cruise lines offer packages that cover all ceremony and reception essentials, so couples don’t have to go out of their way to look for vendors.
What’s more, cruise lines are also eager to assist couples in the procurement of their marriage license and other necessary paperwork.
Cruise ship weddings have a few limitations, but their greatest benefits certainly make them one the best option there is. Suffice it to say, celebrating a new chapter of your life together on a cruise makes the occasion all the more special and romantic.
If you can’t think of a good place to visit on a cruise, check out these places to visit while travelling aboard a yacht. After all, you would need an exceptional place to equal your atypical yet romantic wedding.
See. Top Cruise Destinations
Planning a road trip down the east coast of Florida?
Visiting the St. Augustine Lighthouse, Cape Canaveral and the Wright Brothers National Memorial are easily three of the most popular things to do along Florida's east coast, though the good news is that there's lots more cool stuff for visitors to do. A few worth mentioning include:
Take a walk down Daytona’s memory lane
If one thing Florida’s east coast is known for is old-fashioned boardwalks and one of the best places you can go to reminisce "days gone by" is Daytona Beach boardwalk and pier. Daytona’s boardwalk boasts one of the oldest beachfronts on Florida's Atlantic side (built in the late 30’s) and it’s complete with shops, Ferris wheel, game arcades, go-karts, amusement park and a cute old-fashioned candy shop called Zeno’s sweet shop, which sells all kinds of taffy sweets and other old-fashioned candies (saying this, if you want to see how candy is made the old-fashioned you can also visit Angell & Phelps candy shop factory for a tour)
Aside from having a good time on the amusement rides and eating delicious sweets, you can also fish from the pier and catch lovely sunset views from the boardwalk.
Windsurfing at Salt Run
If you’re a fan of watersports, one place you won't want to miss stopping by is Salt Run (tidal salt lagoon) in Anastasia State Park for a bit of wind-surfing, kayaking or paddle-boarding. Salt Run is great for wind-sports and it's one of the best spots in Florida for learning watersports inexpensively. By the way, don’t worry about bringing your own gear because you’ll also be able to hire kayaks, pedal boats and other rentals at the park (rates are roughly between $40 and $75 for 4 hours).
Apart from windsurfing and paddle-boarding, you’ll also be able to do other cool stuff at Anastasia Park like picnicking, hiking and bird watching.
People watch along Hollywood Beach’s promenade
Taking walks along the beaches is sure enough one of the top things to do along Florida’s east coast and the famous Hollywood Beach Broadwalk is one of the best places for this. Unlike the other boardwalks, Hollywood’s Broadwalk is nearly three miles long, made of concrete and it’s a whopping 32ft wide. This means, you can do lots of people watching, rollerblading and cycling. The besy time to visit the Broadwalk is during the Seaside Craft Fair (April 16-17).
Another great thing about visiting Hollywood’s Broadwalk is being able to catch festivals at the nearby Hollywood Beach Theater such as the Boardwalk Friday Fest concert series (Aug 17).
Take a relaxing cruise through “Venice of America”
Exploring Fort Lauderdale’s famous waterways is without a doubt, one of the coolest things to do along Florida’s east coast. Fort Lauderdale (a.k.a Venice of America) is known as the playground for the rich and famous, and the city boasts one of the most beautiful waterfronts on the east coast of America…grand estates, stunning mansions and huge yachts are some of the sights to see. There are several ways to explore the gorgeous canals of Fort Lauderdale and they include taking a gondola ride (~$120) or boat tour cruise (~$22). Most boat cruise tours sail from Fort Lauderdale's Las Olas Riverfront in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
However, the water taxi is probably the best and cheapest (only $10 after 5pm) way to explore Fort Lauderdale’s attractions because it offers the opportunity to hop-on-and-off.
By the way, there’s one more reason to stop by Fort Lauderdale and that is for taking day trips to Freeport Grand Bahama (~$50 on the Bahama Express high-speed ferry located at Port Everglades Cruise Port).
Spend the day at Canaveral National Seashore
A trip along Florida’s east coast would not be complete without stopping by Canaveral seashore to take in the pristine scenery and beautiful natural beaches. Canaveral seashore’s beaches are different to other beaches in Florida because they’re naturally beautiful and crowd-free.
Aside from relaxing at the beach, Canaveral is a great spot to surf fish, viewing sea turtles, watching shuttle launches (visit NASA’s website to view the shuttle schedule), and taking day trips to Orlando’s theme parks (around an hour’s drive).
Hangout for the day in Bayside Marketplace
As most Floridians will tell you, Bayside Marketplace is one of the coolest hangouts in Florida and I totally agree! Bayside Marketplace boasts dozens of restaurants and shops and it is a paradise for shopping, eating out and catching live band concerts for free. Miami is seriously touristy but the atmosphere and vibe in Bayside Marketplace is unlike anywhere else in the city. You’ll love spending time there mingling with the locals for sure.
Another reason to visit Miami is being able to take ferry rides to Key West or a snorkeling day trip to Key Largo. You can get to Key West from Miami onboard the Sea Key West Express for around $150 round-trip.
Cast a line in the ocean
Fishing is most certainly one of the top things to do along Florida’s east coast and fishing really doesn't get much better than on the Atlantic side. Two of the best angling spots you can go to cast a line are the Indian River Lagoon (Melbourne Beach) and Sebastian Inlet State Park (near Vero Beach).
Both of these spots boast calm waters and a nice variety of fish that includes tarpon, redfish, trout, snook, and snapper. Where you go really depends on what other activities you also want to do. For instance, Sebastian Inlet state park is best if you want to do surfing, diving and snorkeling, while Indian River Lagoon is great for kayaking and canoeing.
Honduran beaches are some of the most beautiful in the region and enjoying a relaxing time on one of them is no doubt, one of the best tourist things to do in Honduras. The nicest beaches in Honduras are found in the Bay Islands and include West Bay beach, Tabyana beach, Mahogany beach, Sandy Bay beach in Roatan, as well as Guanaja beach and Chepes Beach in Utila.
Fortunately, laying on the beach isn't the only activity on offer in Honduras. There’s plenty more fun stuff you can do in Honduras besides getting a nice and crispy tan! They include:
Enjoy a pleasant walk in the tropics
Honduras botanic gardens are excellent places to enjoy nice day walks and experience the sight of tropical rainforest plants and birds without having to venture too far of the tourist trail.
Blue Harbor Tropical Arboretum in Roatan and Carambola Botanical Gardens in Sandy Bay are very popular botanic gardens in Honduras, but if you have to visit one it'll have to be Lancetilla Botanical Garden in Tela. Lancetilla is not only the world's second largest tropical botanic garden but the garden also offers the opportunity for fun guided tours and river swimming.
Learn to dive
Honduras is a fantastic place for scuba diving and one of the best places in Central America to get dive certified without burning a hole in your pocket. The island of Utila is overall the cheapest place to get certified, though you’ll find many more affordable options in Roatan, West End and West Bay.
There are around a dozen of dive centers to choose from with prices ranging from $108 to $160 per 4-5 dives. Some of the most popular dive operators in Honduras are West Bay Divers, Barefoot Divers, Enomis Divers and Captain Morgan's Dive Centre.
See wildlife and enjoy jungle tours
Honduras is a fantastic place for ecotourism and wildlife photography is, hands down, one of the top tourist things to do in Honduras. Best of all, there are hundreds of places in the country you can go to view and photograph all kinds of animals.
The island of Roatan is a popular tourist destination for families with kids to see and pet wildlife. You can pet dolphins at Anthony’s Key resort (Sandy Bay), see bird and butterflies at the Butterfly Gardens in West End and feed iguanas at Arch’s Iguana park in French Harbour.
However, if you want to watch birds and other wildlife in a more natural setting you'll need to get slightly off-the-beaten-track to mainland Honduras. Macaw Mountain Bird Park in Copan is one of the best spots in the country for bird spotting, while La Moskitia, Pico Bonito and “Cuero y Salado” national parks (near La Ceiba) offer nice opportunities for eco-lodge stays, as well as guided boat and jungle tours.
Visit the ancient ruins sites
Visiting the Mayan ruins is without question, one of the most popular tourist things to do in Honduras. The Maya site of Copan is where you'll find the old Maya ruins sites and landmarks, which include step pyramids, sculpted monuments, plazas, tunnels, an amphitheatre, temples and tomb sites (Sepulturas).
The most interesting structures at the Copan site are the Ballcourt and the Hieroglyphic Stairway which is the oldest surviving Maya hieroglyphs script in the world. Visiting the Copan site costs around $17 (including entry to Copan museum) and you can explore the site at your leisure. However, if you want to learn about the Mayans it’s well worth hiring a local guide from the nearby town of Copan Ruinas (10 minutes walk from the Copan ruins site).
Swim and dive with marine life
As mentioned earlier, relaxing on a beach and enjoying water-based activities are some of the top tourist things to do in Honduras, though fun on the water doesn’t get any more exciting than under it! Diving and swimming with dolphins and sharks is really a must, especially if you’ve never experienced swimming with these beautiful creatures before.
Honduras’ Bay Islands are the prime destination for snorkeling with dolphins and diving among reef sharks. Utopia dive village in Utila and the Waihuka dive center in the island of Roatan are two of the most popular.
Take a zip line canopy tour
A visit to Honduras would not be complete without doing a zip lining tour. Just like the rest of Central America, zip lining is big in Honduras so there are many options for tourists to choose the right zip line tour in Honduras. Give or take, you can expect to pay around $50 per person.
The most popular destinations for zip line tours in Honduras are the Bay Islands (Islas de la Bahia) and national park Pico Bonito where you get to zip line through the canopy of the jungle. Popular operators include Gumbalimba Park, Jungle Top Zipline Adventure, Christopher Tours, Pirates of Caribbean zip line, and South Shore zip line.
Enjoy a horseback ride
Just like scuba diving, horseback riding is a fairly inexpensive thing to do in Honduras and while in the country it's a good idea to do a horseback tour of some kind.
You can enjoy horseback riding on the beach in Roatan’s West End with El Rancho Barrio Dorcas and Christopher Tours, or a countryside tour on horseback around Copan and La Ceiba with Finca el Cisne, Omega Tours (Jungle Lodge) and Hacienda San Lucas. You can expect to pay roughly $65 for a typical 2 hour ride.
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