A Moon for me and my Honey: Part I

Me: "Babe, what exactly do you want for our vacation? I mean..what do you have to have?"
He: (While watching football game) "Water. Activities. Warm. Anywhere in the Caribbean would be fine. Somewhere with reasonable flights. But not Jamaica."
Well, at least he's not picky!

I am happy to present to you honeymoon option #1:
The Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort and Spa
Playa Bavaro, Higuey, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

This sea-side, all inclusive resort is constructed on a 320,000 square metre site and is next to two other resorts which we'd have full access to. It's surrounded by a coconut palm plantation and tropical vegetation. Also, there's a coral reef.
There are 11 restaurants, 3 buffets in the beach area, 12 bars, 4 pools with swim-up bars and sunbeds, 2 theatres, clubs, casino, golf, scuba diving, watersports (motor, too), shopping, tours...you get it!
To put the icing on the cake, it has a Tripadvisor rating of 4 stars and is one the most popular resorts in the area.







So, why are we thinking DR for vacation?
A few reasons.
1. It's a wonderful value for what you get.
2. We can afford 6 nights in the very best of their accomodations.
3. The history of DR. (Well, maybe that's my personal reason)

As you may know, DR is an island-nation on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola which it shares with neighbor Haiti.



Both Haiti and DR are historically conflicted/tumultuous regions, colonized, marred by national government corruption, foreign economic interference in the country, and a rift between rich and poor.
90 % of the contemporary Dominican population has African ancestry, and the country is a part of the African Diaspora.
The African diaspora is the diaspora created by the movements and cultures of Africans and their descendants throughout the world, to places such as the Americas, (including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America) Europe and Asia. Much of the African diaspora is descended from people who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade, with the largest population living in Brazil.
For more on the African Diaspora go here
Or here
So this is why the trip would be important to me...besides the beauty/fun/relaxation potential. (Anyone who knows me knows I love being black and I love being able to "touch" my history, and make it, too... (Maybe I'll be able to afford a trip to Africa someday?)
That said, I don't like being a "tourist" when travelling. And though that may seem like a joke staying at an all-inclusive "mega-resort," it means a lot to me to be able to take something more away from our journey than pretty photos.
I really would like to spend some time away from the resort (the feasibility which I still need to research).

Apparently, it's a bit too far out from our honeymoon dates to search for travel with most airlines, but I did find a very reasonable rate with Expedia and expect to do more research into airfare using a comparison site like Farecast. I always use Sidestep for flights within the US--basically it lets you see flight prices side-by-side from all the big search engines and airlines (except Southwest for some reason.

Do you have any tips on searching for honeymoon locales or airfare? What did you, or others you know do for their honeymoons?