Hawaii hands down.

Anonymous wrote:My kids loved both, but if asked which they would go back to they would say Maui. It took a lot more effort to get around Costa Rica and the beaches were a bit more rugged. I felt safe in CR, but there were things I would never do there like leaving stuff on the beach while we all went into the water, that I had no worries doing on most beaches in Hawaii. The food is also 100x better in Hawaii. CR food was fine but nothing all that memorable.

Your description of what you didn’t like about Costa Rica is exactly why I no longer go there. You want it to be the USA.

We did HI (Oahu) last year, although DH and I did Maui + Big Island pre-kids, and CR this year. Both were great, but on balance I would say CR with kids, HI without. Our younger one (9 in HI, 10 in CR) really struggled with jet lag in HI and after we were home, and while HI was gorgeous, the ease of getting to CR and the fact that legit 5 star resorts are more affordable (especially after you factor in airfare), CR made for the better trip. We did 3 days at the Andaz and 3 days at Nayara Tented (absolutely top 5 hotels ever) with private drivers and excursions for less than HI and it was honestly magical. Wildlife everywhere, the loveliest guides, and just so much fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both attract the same demographic: generic upper middle class white folks with no imagination or sense of adventure. You might as well go to Disney.

Please tell us all what makes you such a non-conforming rebel traveler.

Well, for starters I don’t go to Costa Rica anymore. I stopped over a decade ago, because there are too many of you there.

Anonymous wrote:We went to Oahu and Kauai. The stores and the currency and the language and the airlines and the car rentals are the same as in this area, which makes things easy to navigate. Kauai is stunning. The flight is long.

In Costa Rica we flew into Tamarindo airport which is basically a roof with open sides. The fire department was a fire extinguisher beside an orange cone. We were weighed along with our suitcases. That was a bit of an adventure. We also stayed in one of the best hotels I've ever experienced in the capital San Jose.

For the record, the tamarindo airport is now stunning. I was there when it was corrugated metal roofing open on the sides but I’ve also been back since and it’s totally different. No more iguanas running around customs.

I would personally choose CR over Hawaii any day; I’ve been to Kauai and Honolulu and while I enjoyed both, I’ve enjoyed CR as more or more— with less jet lag and lower expense

We loved both but Hawaii is a favorite hands down. CR was so much fun but we aren’t looking to go back. We always want to go back to Hawaii. We have spent lots of time in Kauai, Maui and Oahu and I still feel there are so many more places we haven’t gone to yet and I always want to go back to my favorite spots in Kauai still.

But honestly you can’t go wrong with either option! Have so much fun. The capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica were a blast. I loved watching them from my hotel balcony, they would stop and knock things over on purpose and steal sugar packets from the breakfast buffet over like cute little delinquents. And then the gentle howler monkeys would stop by and watch us while we were in the pool. The wildlife in CR was really cool.

My kids loved both, but if asked which they would go back to they would say Maui. It took a lot more effort to get around Costa Rica and the beaches were a bit more rugged. I felt safe in CR, but there were things I would never do there like leaving stuff on the beach while we all went into the water, that I had no worries doing on most beaches in Hawaii. The food is also 100x better in Hawaii. CR food was fine but nothing all that memorable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Costa Rica is so much closer

How is that relevant?

The jet lag, time at destination, price of plane ticket.

Hawaii, specifically Maui. It’s just so much more beautiful. Snorkeling is great. Beaches, mountains, volcanoes, hiking, adventure, sites and attractions and so much easier to get around. The resorts are so much better too.

Costa Rica is nice but beauty doesn’t match Hawaii. It doesn’t offer as much to see and do as Hawaii. It’s a little more difficult to get around and amenities definitely not as nice as Hawaii.

But Hawaii is further and more expensive. So that is that. If you don’t have at least 8-10 days then I would do CR

Anonymous wrote:Both attract the same demographic: generic upper middle class white folks with no imagination or sense of adventure. You might as well go to Disney.

Please tell us all what makes you such a non-conforming rebel traveler.