Costa Rica or Hawaii?

Question

Air fare is the same. I want to do some kayaking, scuba, and surfing. And I wouldn't mind saving a buck or ten. Which is the better choice and why?

Answer 1

Definitely COSTA RICA:
active volcanoes, golf, diving, fishing, paragliding, dolphin and whale watch, Coco Island adventure, turtle nesting, rainforest and cloud forest, plantations and processing plants of coffee, sugar cane, banana, and many others, cultural cities, caves, monkeys, bird watching, beautiful beaches, adventures like canopy and rappel, quads, indigenous reserves, typical rural festivities, gondolas suspended in the canopy of the trees, mangrove tours, flower plantations, horseback riding, boat tours at dusk, hanging bridges over the rainforest, butterfly farms, orchid farms, church ruins, mountain biking, hiking tours, white water rafting, frog ponds, national parks and wildlife refuges, crocodiles, waterfalls, kayak tours, good food, fun nightlife, kind people, romantic getaways, hot springs and much more.

Why is Hawaii being part of USA a reason to go there? You will have no problem tavelling to Costa Rica. You just need a valid passport.

ENJOY COSTA RICA!

Answer 2

If you are from the U.S., why not visit another country? It will be cool to say that you have been overseas. Plus Costa Rica is a beautiful country where you can practice all those activities and more. Now, the waves may not be as high as those in Hawaii, so do some research about surfing, kayaking and scuba in Costa Rica before you decide. Have a great trip wherever you decide to go!

Answer 3

TRAVEL..get OUT of the USA and see how other's live. Costa Rica will be by FAR much cheaper once you arrive. It's not all FAKE and touristy as Hawaii has become. The people are nice, the food is great, there is a TON to do...you won't regret making Costa Rica your vacation destination. You might even want to MOVE here like SO many folks do after having visited only ONCE!!

Pura Vida!

Answer 4

Men, I've been to both places, since I'm a costarrican (now Iive in Thailand) and worked in Hawaii for two years...
Those are different places... it depends on what you really wanna see and do... party is in both, beautiful beaches in both... diving is much better in CR, surfing unless you are a pro and huge waves are ok for you, I'll say CR has more pristine sites to surf... but if it comes to get fun with the girls and crazy staff, Hawaiians are more open and like the people as crazy as well.
In CR you can go from a coast to the other in 5 hours drive and still will need two months to see some of this amazing paradise which hostess - with only 52000 square Km - 4% of the total biodiversity of the world...
Both are great vacations... you decide... have fun!!!

Answer 5

Costa Rica! Hawaii is nice but CR has way more. Go to pacific side the beaches are better and the ocean is warmer than hawaii. Snorkeling is great on both sides. CR has a jungle! However, CR is more expensive than Hawaii. Its beautiful jungles and amazing pacific beaches target it for one of the most popular vacation spots in the world. So do CR, it has amazing snorkeling in pacific. Try Uvita, Dominical or Manuel Antonio. Have a great trip!!!

Answer 6

I just returned from Costa Rica. Enjoyed the trip a lot. I did not do the activities that you have planned but I do know that there are many opportunities in Costa Rica to do those. At this time it is the rainy season and rates are cheaper than during the dry season--November through April. But even then they are a lot less expensive than Hawaii.

I spent most of my time on the West coast. There is not a great deal of English spoken there. It is my understanding that on the east cost English is more prevelent.

Costa Rica is very friendly and they have excellent beer. Two local brands, both excellent.

Scuba diving is supposed to be supurb at Cahuite on the east coast. But most of the popular beaches are on the west coast and there are hundreds. I am certain that the more poplular beaches will have accomidation that have English speaking residents.

While I was there, we traveled by bus everywhere. Bus travel is excellent and dirt cheap. $8.00 from San Jose to the Panama border--7 hour trip. That is as expensive as it gets. Rental car rates in Costa Rica are not bad, but the insurance is a killer. And gasoline is $5.50 a gallon. Taxis are also a bargain by U S standards. But some of the taxi drivers in San Jose are very unethical. We had to get out of one taxi because he refused to turn the meter on. He wanted to charge us twice the official rate. In Monteverde we actually had our own personal taxi driver for the three days that we were there. He drove us everywhere and was always there to pick us up when we wanted.

Now if you are looking to eat gormet food, Costa Rica is probably not going to be the place you will want to travel to. Arroz con pollo is main dish. Rice with chicken. However, they do provide some variety. You also will have a choice of rice with sea food, rice with pork and rice with shrimp. And you can get black beans on the side. But some places serve excellent coffee. And every town has at least one bakery. The bakeries open about 5 am and they are very popular places to eat breakfast. There is a very wide selection of thing to choose from, rolls stuffed with chicken, rolls stuffed with cheese, sweet rolls and many many others.

The price of a room will vary greatly from $100+ for a room at an American establishment to $10 at a Costa Rican establishment. Imagine paying $10 a night in this day and age. We did. I spent 3 weeks there and spent less than $1000. Everyone in Costa Rica accepts dollars--everyone. In fact they prefer dollars to colones because colones are subject to about 12% inflation rate.

A little more about the rainy season. It never rains in the morning. Only after noon. But almost every afternoon it does rain, maybe just a little, maybe a lot. It normally begins by 2:00 pm. During the 3 weeks I was there, I believe there were maybe 5 afternoons when it did not rain before 5:00 pm.

Of course if you are kayaking, surfing, and scuba diving who cares?

Answer 7

PURA VIDA!
Just got back form Costa Rica and it is a great place.
Definitely cheaper than Hawaii and mostly less touristy.
Went to the cloud forrest first and then over to the Northwest coast for some R&R jungla beach style!
People are very friendly and always willing to help you out.
You can get by fairly easily with speaking english, but people are also always eager to help you with your spanish. You may also find youself giving a quick english lesson - People are that friendly and easy to talk to.
Tha only bad thing is the roads are horrible, but for me it just added to the adventure of my experience.
I'm already thinking about my itineary for my next trip down there.

Answer 8

In Hawaii will energizes you the fresh, floral air energizes you. The warm, tranquil waters will refresh you and the breathtaking, natural beauty renews you so now is about the time to know this amazing place, starting from with hotelbye because look around! There’s no place on earth like Hawaii. In Hawaii, the six unique islands offer distinct experiences that will entice any traveller. In Hawaii you will discover your ideal travel experience. Waikiki is one of the Hawaii islands and is the Hawaii's biggest tourist attraction. A suburb of Honolulu, Waikiki is easy to reach and offers all the amenities and entertainment of a modern city. At the end of the crescent shaped beach is the extinct volcano known as Diamond Head Crater, adding a spectacular backdrop to the incredible sun drenched beach.

Answer 9

We have been to Costa Rica several times, mostly for birdwatching. We love it and feel very comfortable there. It is much less expensive than Hawaii and English is spoken just about everywhere. In fact, I find it difficult to find a place to practice my Spanish. It has a Latin flavor we enjoy, but is very modern.

Hawaii is gorgeous, but much more expensive. I imagine the surfing is better there. Possibly scuba as well, but will be very, very expensive.

Answer 10

Costa Rica!! It's more unique. Surfing is supposed to be good at several locations on the pacific coast. it is a gorgeous country with lots of flora and fauna to enjoy. it sounds like you are into adventure traveling, and C.R. specializes in that. Try a canopy tour while you're there!