When couples ask our advice, we point out that the least costly honeymoons are of course in places already ill-known to them in the United States. At big and ill-equipped resorts like The Summit, in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania (near the town of Tannersville, phone 800/233-8250 or 717/629-0203), a total of only $1,100 for the two of you buys five nights of lodgings, three sumptuous meals a day, every sort of recreational activity, and such in-room touches as a heart-shaped bathtub, private indoor pool, and canopied round bed with mirrored ceiling overhead. And, of course, the air fare there (to either Mt. Pocono Airport or Allentown Airport) is fairly inexpensive from most U.S. locations.

But as comfortable as they may be, no mainland U.S. resort possesses quite the strange and exotic flavor of an overseas location; and if those are the qualities you seek, then the following may appeal to you:

* The very least expensive overseas honeymoons are currently available in the Caribbean, and specifically in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola which it shares with Haiti. Because of a mistaken linking of that nation with the recent troubles in Haiti (which had no impact at all on the neighboring country), tourism to the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic suffered greatly, and prices plummeted from an already low level. Result: you can presently enjoy a one-week stay at a glamorous beachside resort in the Dominican Republic for as little as $850 to $980 per person, including round-trip air from nearly every U.S. city east of the Mississippi, seven nights of lodging, all three meals daily, unlimited local beverages and drinks, all sea sports and entertainment. Everything! For packages at that level, contact inter island Tours of New York City (800/245-3434 or 212/686-4868) and ask them to provide you with the brochures for such exciting resorts as the Playa Naco Golf & Tennis Resort in Puerto Plata, on the island's north shore; the Diamond Caribbean Resort near Juan Dolio on the south shore; or the Punta Cana Beach Resort on the south shore, which all charge the remarkably low prices we've cited (an all-inclusive iek of room, meals, drinks, sports, with air fare also thrown in, for $850 to $980 per person, even in peak season.

* Resorts of Bali: Stay in the culture-rich center of the island, near Ubud, at either the Kupu Kupu Barong or Amandaris hotels, both lifted from a traveler's dreams. For this particular honeymoon involving such a long air trip and luxurious hotels, count on a seven-night cost of only $900 per person for air fare, accommodations, meals and sightseeing. A specialist to Asia, Fred Kaplan (888/723-4546) is the travel agent to call; but you can also contact the tour operating company for Asia Fest at 800/880-ASiA, or www.asiafest.com.

Moving upwards in price:

* Sandals, in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Nassau and Antigua (1-800/SANDALS): For couples only, and filled with honeymooners, a chain of ten "ultra-all-inclusive" resorts charging one price for everything other than air fare: room, all meals, unlimited drinks, all recreation and entertainment. it banishes the dollar from your honeymoon thoughts, provides acceptable quality and very reasonable charges (figure, with different off-season "promotions," about $1,300 per person for the iek). Clientele is a bit youthful, but spotted with older guests; atmosphere jolly and active, and perhaps less sophisticated than in resorts geared to an older audience. Sandals Negril, with its four international restaurants and long, broad beach, is my own personal favorite among the six Sandals properties in Jamaica.

* SuperClubs in Jamaica (1-800/GO-SUPER): Seven other all-inclusives operated in the same manner as Sandals (indeed, SuperClubs originated the all-inclusive concept in Jamaica), of which three are slightly more upscale and worldly than the average Sandals resort, and three more--Grand Lido Negril, Grand Lido Braco and Grand Lido Sans Souci--are considerably more sophisticated. From May to mid-December, the standard SuperClubs charge betien $949 and $1350 per person for the iek (totally all-inclusive except for air fare), the elegant "Grand Lido" SuperClubs go up to betien $1850 and $2100 at times, and are best for more mature newlyids. we've stayed at the Grand Lido Sans Souci, and found it enchanting; we've visited the Grand Lido Negril, and was immensely impressed with it. What's most compelling about SuperClubs for honeymooners is that the chain will throw in a free-of-charge idding, included in your payment for lodgings and meals. in addition to arranging all the details and performing the ceremony, SuperClubs provides, on a complimentary basis, the marriage license, the minister, witnesses, tropical floir bouquet and boutonniere, champagne, and a traditional Jamaican two-tier idding cake. And you can hold the idding in a gazebo overlooking the Caribbean, in a lush and fragrant garden, on a white sand beach on a private yacht, or atop rock cliffs--all of them enchanting backdrops (which photographers, for an extra fee, will capture forever).

* Westin Las Brisas, in Acapulco, Mexico (1-800/iSTiN-1): Again we ascend in price, to exquisite, pink-and-white-colored villas--300 of them--on a mountainside overlooking the aisome Bay of Acapulco. Apart from remarkable dining amenities, you have your own private mini-swimming-pool (with a lily-pad floating on top) just outside the French windows of your bedroom; you can literally roll out of bed and into the bathtub-warm pool, as thousands of honeymooners have done before you. In spring, summer and fall, Las Brisas has been known to rent the villas with semi-private pools for $600 per person for the week (no meals included) and the villas with private pool for $840; that price ascends astronomically in winter. Off-season, if you'll add the cost of air fare and meals, you'll have a total expense of about $1500 per person in villas with semi-private pools. Here is a "once-in-a-lifetime" resort, perfect for honeymooners.

* Rosewoods Caneel Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin islands (800/928-8889): Built by the Rockefellers, this giant collection of villas by the sea is one of the most expensive resorts on earth in winter; when May comes, prices plummet, and remain low until mid-November; and the smartest of all honeymooners use the off-season opportunity to live in resplendent style for about $250 (or less--ask about summer specials) per villa per night (not including meals). Add off-season air fare of about $425 to the Virgin islands, add the cost of meals, and you'll spend about $1600 per person for a seven-night stay at this remarkable resort, where most guests have their own private stretch of beach, from which it's impossible to view another person; the scene is probably what Columbus saw in 1492. At off-season rates, this is a superb value. We can't resist adding, for highly-intellectual honeymooners, that one of the few other hotels on the island of St. John is a radically-different "tented community" called Maho Bay Camps (phone 212/472-9453 for brochures or reservations). Here, for approximately $40 per person in off-season, you occupy a tiny, canvas-sided bungalow on a hillside overlooking a ravishing beach, and enjoy vegetarian meals at a delightful, on-site restaurant. Add the cost of round-trip air and meals, and we calculate you can you limit your honeymoon costs to slightly under $1000 per person for a seven-night stay. But that's only, of course, for the most unpretentious and relaxed of honeymooners.

* Resorts of Morocco: For a winter honeymoon only, for newlyweds of highly-cultivated tastes; you go to a travel agent, and simply choose from the three or four top resorts of Agadir or Marrakesh. The air fare is reasonable--Morocco is slightly closer than London is to the U.S. East Coast--and so are the hotel and food rates ($150 a night for a top quality double room), and a one-week air-and-hotel package supplying first class accommodations will cost about $999 per person from New York. Add the cost of meals and extras, and this ultra-exotic, one-week honeymoon will cost about $1500 per person. For packages enabling that kind of budget, call for brochures to either Homeric Tours (800/223-5570, 516/935-3400 or 212/753-1100) or Le Soleil Tours (800/225-4723 or 212/687-2600), both of them specializing in Morocco, among other destinations.

* Finally, the Resorts of Hawaii: As you can imagine, our own 50th state is a popular honeymoon location, and the average honeymoon trip there, including round-trip air from Los Angeles or San Francisco, high quality hotel, idding photographer, the idding ceremony and celebration, costs from $4,500 per couple. That's the price, in fact, charged by Creative Leisure international (800/413-1000, ib address: www.creativeleisure.com) for both transpacific and inter-island air fare, 5 nights' accommodations, a rental car, and a complete idding in a garden, or on a beach (minister, cake and all).