Honeymooners' Guide to Young Island Resort in the Caribbean

Finding a uniquely unspoiled Caribbean island that you can enjoy in near isolation is the ultimate gift for a honeymooning couple. My husband and I found just such an island when we went on our own honeymoon-Young Island Resort.

Young Island is a rare glimpse at what the Caribbean was before the big cruise ship business largely invaded its shores. The private beach is pristine, and the winding paths to each private cottage are surrounded by native foliage. On our walks around Young Island, we saw peacocks and iguanas, who were often bold enough to venture onto our private deck. Even Johnny Depp has enjoyed the unspoiled Young Island, reportedly having stayed at Young Island while filming Pirates of the Caribbean on nearby St. Vincent.

Getting to Young Island is an adventure of its own. While major airlines such as Delta, Continental, and American Airlines take travelers to Barbados, St. John's, or Puerto Rico, they will need to make the next leg of the journey on a regional airline, Liat. We were able to fly into Barbados on Continental, where we each upgraded to first class for $150 and got a complimentary bottle of wine for our honeymoon, we took a Liat flight to St. Vincent. After a connecting flight, we took a taxi arranged for us by Young Island Resort to a dock in St. Vincent, where we were ferried to Young Island Resort.

Once on the Young Island, we were greeted with cold drinks and personally escorted to our cottage. All of the cottages on Young Island feature refrigerators, wall safes, private patios, and my favorite - the open air garden shower. From our private cottage at the top of the hillside, I took morning showers listening to the birds and the sound of the ocean waves while looking at our ocean view. In fact, every cottage on Young Island has an ocean view. Luxury suites also boast their own plunge pools. Those who require a telephone or television to enjoy themselves will be sorely disappointed on Young Island. The cottages have neither. Nor do they have air conditioning.

In addition to the individual cottage's amenities, the Young Island Resort also offers a salt water pool. The pool is hidden in thick, lush natural plants and trees. In fact, if we had not ventured down the path to the pool we would never have found it. We enjoyed the pool area in relative privacy, as we saw only one other guest using it during our entire stay.

Young Island Resort also boasts its own spa. The spa offers massages, reflexology, India Head massage, facials, manicures or pedicures, paraffin wax treatments, and waxing. The spa's two therapists are both from nearby St. Vincent.

We purchased our Young Island Resort vacation package from luxurylink.com, which is an auction site for luxury vacations and luxury resorts. It also has "buy now" offers similar to ebay.com "buy it now" offers, where an item can be purchased for a fixed price rather than at auction. Daily room rates run from $406 to $718 depending on the type of room and season. Young Island Resort also offers a weekly lover's package for $2995 to $4975, again depending on the type of room and the season.

One of my favorite things about Young Island Resort was breakfast. Young Island Resort boasts six homemade breads freshly baked each day. The varieties include banana, coconut, cinnamon, and raisin bread, as well as more traditional white or whole-wheat. My favorite breakfast item was the Flamed French Creole Toast with Toasted Coconut & Rum. All of the ingredients were marvelously fresh, including the toast. The presentation was also amazing. The server poured rum over the toast, lit the flame, let the dish cook for a few moments, then doused the flame with maple syrup. The result was toasty, rum-soaked coconut goodness.

For the adventure seekers, Young Island offers a "Sailaway Package" for either 7 or 10 days. The 7-night package includes 5 nights on Young Island and 2 nights aboard a yacht with a captain, cook, and potentially one other couple. The yacht will sail the Grenadines, which includes the nearby islands of Bequia and Mustique. A word of caution is in order, though. The ocean surrounding Young Island can be quite rough, so only those with strong stomachs should sign up.

Our honeymoon at Young Island Resort was a once in a lifetime experience. It was a perfect way to wind down after the hectic weeks leading to our wedding. I would whole-heartedly recommend a stay at Young Island Resort to anyone looking for a quiet, pleasant Caribbean honeymoon.