Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras

[Texan]

I'm contemplating taking a 4-6 day trip somewhere this fall. I'm not sure if I'm going to talk anyone else into taking the time off to go or not, so i'm looking for some place with a beach that is relaxing yet also has a decent nightlife.

I've had someone reccomend Caye Caulker, Belize. Any thoughts?

Also, where in Costa Rica would you reccomend?

I've done Mexico and Jamaica but any other central America destinations are welcome.

I'm planning a trip to Brazil next January/February so I'll hold off on South America suggestions for now.

 

[GM Platter]

Costa Rica - best trip I've ever taken. Here's what we did - Rent a 4x4 in San Jose (the CR "roads" are beyond bad). drove to Monteverde - hiked the cloud forest, didthe canopy bridge deal. Then head to Tabacon Resort and go to hot springs at foot of active volcano. Out of this world beautiful, we caught a clear day and could see smoke and lava flowing. Then drove to the Pacific coast side to the beach. Cool ferry ride on the way. Great vacation if you are adventurous and like to get off the guide-lead trail. Took my kids and drove all over the country and felt safe the entire time. Seriously, though the driving is not for the faint of heart.

 

[bradford702]

The wife and I went to Belize last summer. We spent a total of 8 days in the country. Half was in the Cayo District outside of San Ignacio the other half on Ambergris Caye. The most relaxing vacation I have ever took. In the Cayo District we stayed at the Hidden Valley Inn. I forgot how many acres the property is but they have 8-9 waterfalls on site. Some of these you can actually swim in the pool below or stand on top to see the water go over. Hiking through the rain forest just her and I was pretty cool. You can hire a guide if you want but their trails are well marked. The will also give you a two way radio if it makes you feel better. You can look it up on trip advisor.

Ambergris was great. We stayed in condo about 40 yards from the beach. We did the snorkel and reef fishing. After fishing the guide filleted our fish for us and then we took them to a local restaurant who cooked them.

Why I choose Belize over C.R.. Belize is a English speaking country and it was a less than 3 hour plane ride direct from DFW.

I planned the whole trip myself with the help of tripadvisor.com. We rented a small 4x4 suv and drove ourselves to the Cayo District. Then took a small puddle jumper to the island.

With that being said next stop is C.R.!!!

 

[Tex Pete]

Costa Rica is great.

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

Disclaimer:
I'm more of a fan of travel that's a little more rugged and off-the-beaten path, meeting more locals and getting a feel for the local culture. It can be a lot more intimidating and uncomfortable at times, but I like to eat at hole-in-the-wall type places and practice foreign languages, etc. I've done it both ways, and as I've gotten older I'm starting to travel a little more posh, but the best part of travel is the cultural exchange, at least for me.

I've been to every country in Central America except Belize and El Salvador. My favorite spot was probably in Nicaragua, about 30 miles from the Costa Rica border in a town called San Juan del Sur. Most amazing sunsets I've ever seen, beautiful water, and great surfing. We stayed at a little "hotel" on the beach for about $5 a night and surfed all day.

The beaches in southern Costa Rica are gorgeous, and easily the best in C. America. I did feel like Costa Rica had more Californians than Ticos, and the country is VERY tourist-friendly, but I would say to a fault.

Panama is beautiful as well. Bocas del Toro is a really cool spot with good beaches and some monster surf.

But I would give anything to relive that week in San Juan del Sur, sipping on a $4 bottle of Flor de Cana, staring out of our room at that amazing sunset.

I find the most relaxing spots to be the small towns near the beach with fewer tourists. Seeing tons of other tourists is stressful to me and takes the escapism out of it for me.

Anyway, my $.02.

 

[RunTex]

CR is the way to go. Belize is actually way worse when it comes to being over run with Gringos. Roatan and the Bay Islands are getting pretty over run as well but not as bad. If you really want to just sit in a hammock and have GREAT scuba diving then go to the Bay Islands, if you are looking for more, go to CR.
Go pick up a travel book or look at some of their websites for suggested itin's, see what towns appeal to your style and then ask specific questions about your planned trip.