Well, I was going to try and come up with some clever post title, but I just can’t hide my excitement- we FINALLY decided on Costa Rica as our honeymoon spot! I am so beyond happy to have this huge to-do checked off of our list!
You may remember that way back here, I asked for honeymoon suggestions. While we received some great comments on that post, and on Twitter, etc, Costa Rica still just stuck out as the perfect place for us. I began searching for budget friendly places, and oddly most of them showed up on the Pacific Coast. This was fine, until I learned that September is smack in the middle of the Pacific Coast rainy season- we didn’t pick an adventure filled country just to sit inside all day. Not wanting to completely eliminate Costa Rica, I moved my search to the Caribbean Coast, since September is oddly enough one of their drier months. After a bit of digging, I found an amazing lodge outside of Puerto Viejo. Not only was the price amazing, but they offered the 6th night free if you stayed five AND we get a free breakfast (coffee, fresh tropical fruit, eggs, and toast) EVERY DAY. While we definitely want to explore the area and try as much local food as possible, having one meal a day taken care of is a huge bonus.
photo from HERE (not where we’re staying)
Since the main airport is in San Jose, we have to find a way to get from there to the southern Caribbean coast. Fortunately, there are buses, taxis and private shuttles galore, so hopefully it won’t be too big of a problem. On the way back to San Jose, we are hopefully going to sign up for a whitewater rafting excursion that not only stops on one of Costa Rica’s best rivers, but also takes you from PV all the way back to San Jose. Then we’ll spend one night in San Jose before flying back home the next afternoon. It’s going to be a whirlwind of a trip, but we’re so excited!
Speaking of excitement, we are definitely not the type who will be sitting on the beach for the entire trip- the main reason we picked Costa Rica was because of the adventure-based mentality that seems to define the country. There are a ton of excursions to book- many we can book straight through our lodge. Top on our list is ziplining, rainforest hike, sloth and wildlife sanctuaries, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, and turtle watching. I’m a bit of a turtle freak (I even have a tattoo of one!) so I’m pretty stoked that we’ll be on the coast right in the middle of nesting season!
It looks like we may need a vacation from our honeymoon! Eh, who am I kidding? Brian and I live for stuff like this, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to pack as much adventure into our honeymoon as possible. There will still be plenty of time for the beach. Plus, we haven’t booked any of these excursions yet, so if we feel like we haven’t had enough chill time, we can always decide which adventure to pass on. I have a feeling I’m going to love CR so much that we’ll end up back there someday anyway!
And, of course, my nerdiness couldn’t be forgotten. Now that the honeymoon is booked, more detail had to go into the Filofax! Hey, if I wasn’t the organized one, nothing would be accomplished or remembered!
In addition to the time blocking on the monthly pages, I also printed/cut/punched our travel itineraries for both days we’ll be flying. I’m going to redo them so they look nicer, but these work for the time being.
And in case the itineraries somehow get lost, I also added the important flight details to the daily page of each day we’re in flight.
Of course as the trip gets closer, I’ll be adding way more details including packing lists, important contact info, etc. but for now this will do! And we still have to book our hotel in San Jose for our final night and arrange transportation from the airport to Puerto Viejo, so those details will be added as soon as they are finalized.
Even though there are more details to sort out, I’m so happy we finally have our honeymoon spot figured out. Have any of you been to Costa Rica? One of my best friends (since the fifth grade!)
Whitney also went to Costa Rica- I didn’t even realize that they stayed about ten minutes from where we’ll be at so she’s been super helpful with ideas and information. So, if you’ve been to Costa Rica too, it’s time to dish! What can’t we miss? Or, what should we try to avoid? We almost have our plans finalized, but there is always room for a suggestion!
Congratulations. Don't forget to take a travel journal!
I'll have to find the name of the hotel where we stayed in San Jose. It was an old house and they had breakfast in the morning and you could walk from there to some city parks and markets.
Thanks, Ray! I'll have to look into those!
Definitely let me know! We are already looking at two places- I'll totally laugh if it is one of them!
Yay! You guys will have an awesome time!
When we went to Turks & Caicos and then San Antonio, I did the same thing, put all of the airline information in my Filo. I didn't print anything out (though great idea!). I just added the flight details to the day in the corresponding time slot. Planning for a trip like this is almost as much fun as going (for us Filo geeks, anyway).
So true! I printed out the flight info when we went to Florida last year- it was so convenient! I actually also just printed out our lodge confirmation as well, so now all these (mini)documents are in the 'honeymoon' section of the Malden!