I am getting married in august. My wife to be does not have a passport.
I have a few questions.
If she gets a passport now do we have to pay again later to get her name changed on it, does it have to be changed before we travel, and is it the full price to change, or just an edit fee.
If we cannot get the passport figured out, we are unsure what to do. We would like to go on a cruise, but all of the ones I have found except Hawaii ( which is out of our budget) need a passport.
We would like something tropical, and something that is kind of planned for us. Our budget is about $1500, but we are flexible.
You have plenty of time to get a passport - even without expedited fees. If you go in and take pictures and submit by next week you will probably get it back by March.
Get it with her maiden name and you will be allowed to get it changed to her married name for free after the honeymoon (if done within 1 year).
Cruise from Chicago typically suggests Carribean; not sure if I would plan something like a honeymoon during the first part of hurricane season, weather will also be hot and muggy.
Throwing in airfare from Chicago, $1500 won't get you very far. If that is firm, it should be possible to find some relatively inexpensive airfares, all inclusives in SJD or PVD (Mexico) - very safe, tropical, no weather concerns. If you can afford a bit more, also consider the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica (LIB) or possibly Panama, travel agent should be able to hook you up with an organized tour.
I second Costa Rica. Wife and I were also married in Chicago Burbs and went on Costa Rica honeymoon at end of August.
It is technically the Rainy Season there (in August), so rates aren't as high. While we were there we got rain daily - but usually at night. The couple of times it rained while we were outside we were already doing water activities (like waterfall rappelling, nature raft, etc.) and the rain did not diminish the experience.
I don't recall what we spent - we weren't on a very tight budget though and I recall everything being pretty reasonable. I'm sure you could have done it for half what we paid and still had a real good time.
I would however differ with the previous poster on going with the Pacific side - as one of the main attractions there is beach. We spent a few days there and luckily had a gorgeous day on our only dedicated beach day. I would recommend Arenal area (near volcano) as I think you get more our that way. There is certainly more to do than beach on Pacific side, but we personally had more fun away from there.
shank said: Cruise from Chicago typically suggests Carribean; not sure if I would plan something like a honeymoon during the first part of hurricane season, weather will also be hot and muggy.
Throwing in airfare from Chicago, $1500 won't get you very far. If that is firm, it should be possible to find some relatively inexpensive airfares, all inclusives in SJD or PVD (Mexico) - very safe, tropical, no weather concerns. If you can afford a bit more, also consider the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica (LIB) or possibly Panama, travel agent should be able to hook you up with an organized tour.
There is no law that your wife has to change her name at all or it somehow automatically happens upon marriage. So unless she goes through the paperwork immediately after your wedding, it doesn't matter for the honeymoon.
My wife and I have been together for 34 years (married for 22) and she still hasn't gotten around to changing her name!
BenH said: I second Costa Rica. Wife and I were also married in Chicago Burbs and went on Costa Rica honeymoon at end of August.
It is technically the Rainy Season there (in August), so rates aren't as high. While we were there we got rain daily - but usually at night. The couple of times it rained while we were outside we were already doing water activities (like waterfall rappelling, nature raft, etc.) and the rain did not diminish the experience.
I don't recall what we spent - we weren't on a very tight budget though and I recall everything being pretty reasonable. I'm sure you could have done it for half what we paid and still had a real good time.
I would however differ with the previous poster on going with the Pacific side - as one of the main attractions there is beach. We spent a few days there and luckily had a gorgeous day on our only dedicated beach day. I would recommend Arenal area (near volcano) as I think you get more our that way. There is certainly more to do than beach on Pacific side, but we personally had more fun away from there.
shank said: Cruise from Chicago typically suggests Carribean; not sure if I would plan something like a honeymoon during the first part of hurricane season, weather will also be hot and muggy.
Throwing in airfare from Chicago, $1500 won't get you very far. If that is firm, it should be possible to find some relatively inexpensive airfares, all inclusives in SJD or PVD (Mexico) - very safe, tropical, no weather concerns. If you can afford a bit more, also consider the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica (LIB) or possibly Panama, travel agent should be able to hook you up with an organized tour.
From our experience, LIB is MUCH more tourist friendly. San Jose is just another big city, lots of old factories, little to see and do, roads are in poor shape, difficult to get around. It is possible to access the volcanos, rapids from the West Coast on the new toll road, most tour operators will take you there as well.
shank said: From our experience, LIB is MUCH more tourist friendly. San Jose is just another big city, lots of old factories, little to see and do, roads are in poor shape, difficult to get around. It is possible to access the volcanos, rapids from the West Coast on the new toll road, most tour operators will take you there as well.
I wasn't recommending San Jose - We flew into SJO, but took a 2 hour drive to Tilaran where the Arenal Volcano is. It is just slightly quicker to get there than from LIR (I assume that is what you meant when you wrote LIB). I agree that if you can't or won't take a long drive that LIR is better to fly into since what is directly around there is nicer than what is directly around SJO.
However, especially in the rainy season, I believe that inland will be more fun than on the Pacific coast.
BenH said: shank said: From our experience, LIB is MUCH more tourist friendly. San Jose is just another big city, lots of old factories, little to see and do, roads are in poor shape, difficult to get around. It is possible to access the volcanos, rapids from the West Coast on the new toll road, most tour operators will take you there as well.I wasn't recommending San Jose - We flew into SJO, but took a 2 hour drive to Tilaran where the Arenal Volcano is.Actually, to see Arenal, you should go to La Fortuna. Tilaran is on the other side of Lake Arenal (great place for wind surfing/kite boarding though).
jaimelobo said: BenH said: shank said: From our experience, LIB is MUCH more tourist friendly. San Jose is just another big city, lots of old factories, little to see and do, roads are in poor shape, difficult to get around. It is possible to access the volcanos, rapids from the West Coast on the new toll road, most tour operators will take you there as well.I wasn't recommending San Jose - We flew into SJO, but took a 2 hour drive to Tilaran where the Arenal Volcano is.Actually, to see Arenal, you should go to La Fortuna. Tilaran is on the other side of Lake Arenal (great place for wind surfing/kite boarding though).
You're right - La Fortuna is where we went - I said Tilaran because that's what came up when I put in the volcano to see the distance from the airport.
First of all, get the card from the post above and charge your wedding/honeymoon expenses to it, so that you can get $400 back. Second, I went through the same "no passport" deal about 5 years ago, and my wife and I went to Puerto Rico. It was spectacular. We just went back again in January after travelling all over the world since 2008, it's our favorite place to go.
ah8174 said: US Virgin Islands, no passport requiredTechnically yes, however...
While it's true that St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John are US territories (so no passport is needed to travel there), they are considered ports of entry. So you "could" be asked to prove you are a US citizen when you return (birth certificate & DL, passport, passport card, etc.).
Shockingly, not all TSA agents fully understand that you don't need a passpor!
If you can find a cheap flight, you can enjoy really tropical in Southeast Asia. Once you get here, everything is so so much cheaper. And the experience will be so different also, it's a real getaway. The flight is the most expensive bit, so if you can find a really good deal online then it's an option.
ishyarai said: If you can find a cheap flight, you can enjoy really tropical in Southeast Asia. Once you get here, everything is so so much cheaper. And the experience will be so different also, it's a real getaway. The flight is the most expensive bit, so if you can find a really good deal online then it's an option.How does that fit into the OP's requests ...
"I am getting married in august. My wife to be does not have a passport."
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