My BFF are going to take a big trip in July. We are thinking Costa Rica but I want to consider one or two other options (plus the flight is $800 for me which seems a bit high). Also, do we need to be concerned about hurricanes there in July?
What we are looking for: beach, fun adventure activities like rafting, hiking in the rainforest, zip lining, nightlife (hot single guys maybe, we are both single), not a "couples destination"
We want to leave the continental US and we'd be going about a week so not too far - less than 8-10 hrs flying time max. She lives in Atlanta and I am in Memphis.
We haven't really set a budget yet, we're just getting started in planning.
Any ideas?
Re: XP: Alternatives to Costa Rica?
Nicaragua is still cheaper and less developed than Costa Rica, but it takes more work to put together your itinerary. If you speak Spanish, it's doable. If not, I think it would be a little harder. I traveled there with a good friend a few years ago and we spent a lot of time asking around to find out basic bus schedules, how to get to the ziplining place, etc., but we had a really good time. The rum was outstanding and the volcanos we saw were really incredible.
We went in January, however. I think July anywhere in Central America or the Caribbean will be really humid and hard to enjoy activities like hiking.
We haven't really established it yet, trying to get a feel for the different options and costs.
ok st lucia, barbados, puerto rico, grenada and jamaica come to mind.
my dh is german and slovenian so your idea of hot and mine may differ a bit-but really-there's good looking and bad looking guys everywhere no?
where makes a big difference as there are many microclimates. i was in CR south of puntarenas for my birthday week (end of july) and it was maybe 10 mins in the afternoon some days.
$800 to CR is insane! Panama has beaches, rafting, hiking and ziplining.Nicaragua has hiking, ziplining, beaches, hot surfers but no rafting. It's also very cheap once you get there, same with Panama. Belize has ziplining (I think), Mayan ruins, and snorkeling. I haven't been but St. Lucia would fit the bill too. However, airfare might be expensive and it's a very popular honeymoon spot.
We went to Nicaragua & Costa Rica last year and we both liked Nicaragua better. I would expect the flights to be similar in price to CR, but it was so cheap once we were there.
I also think Puerto Rico might be a good option for you.
$800 single person R/T is too high! DH and I went last year (in November) and we paid $900 for the both of us R/T from JFK to San Jose.
I would also check Panama, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico. I have not been to these three, but when DH and I were looking at options, they seemed to all have similar activities. One of my good friends lived in Bogota, Colombia and she loved it (she is from Michigan and not Latin American at all, so this was a new experience for her), maybe check that out too.