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Topic: recommendations for a vacation in jan - south america/caribbean ?
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venomous99
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Member # 1917
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posted
 
 
im trying to plan out my a 1 week vacation for jan and wanted to get some opinions on some vacations spots with a nice beach and also good sight seeing somewhere in south america or the caribbean.
i dont want to go to mexico or hawaii as ive been there far too many times the past few years. also want to fly where id be limited to max 8hrs of travel w/ stop overs. i was considering punta cana in the dominican republic but quickly ditched that idea as the avg flight duration w/ stop over is about 11hrs. for that flight time, i might as well go to asia.
anyone have some recommendations for places youve been before? id probably be looking for a nice hotel w/ all inclusive as ive had good experiences w/ the ones in mexico, mainly palace resorts. its nice to forget about food expenses and drinks while youre on vacation
the places im considering are:
costa rica
belize
peru - im interested in machu pichu but i know that the beaches may not be up to par w/ other places here.
puerto rico
caribean - there are tons of places here but they might be in the same category as dominican in terms of long flights.
thanks
[ August 10, 2009, 11:15 PM: Message edited by: venomous99 ]
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MKII Q7
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Posts: 4811 | From: dc | Registered: Oct 2002
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FoX GT
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Member # 4587
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posted
costa rica, my buddy owns a surf school there, i plan on going in Feb, he said the best time to go is jan-feb:
http://www.shakacostarica.com/
As an added bonus, if you stay there the money you spend goes to pay for disabled youth and adults to come to costa rica to learn how to surf.
[ August 10, 2009, 08:43 PM: Message edited by: FoX GT ]
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Posts: 1955 | From: East bay | Registered: Jun 2004
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Rigo5.0
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Member # 5247
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posted
hmmm...
I haven't been to any places in Central America or the islands but I hear Costa Rica is really nice. Expensive, but very nice.
Hear good things about Puerto Rico but seems like it may not be too diff from Mexico. I say this b/c of tourism.
Maybe not this VAC but on the next one, def consider Thailand. I had I blast for 11 days, lived like KING/BOSS playa, and only spent $2100 for EVERYTHING! (including a $900 round trip flight)
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Posts: 1454 | From: Kansas City | Registered: Jan 2005
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phil a
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Member # 6951
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posted
Of all those, I've only been to Costa Rica, but it was a really sweet place. I checked out both coasts, some great beaches, everyone was really laid back and friendly, and stuff wasn't that expensive. It's been a bit so things might have changed, but it was great when I went.
Posts: 1261 | From: toledo oh | Registered: Jul 2006
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venomous99
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Member # 1917
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Rigo5.0:
hmmm...
I haven't been to any places in Central America or the islands but I hear Costa Rica is really nice. Expensive, but very nice.
Hear good things about Puerto Rico but seems like it may not be too diff from Mexico. I say this b/c of tourism.
Maybe not this VAC but on the next one, def consider Thailand. I had I blast for 11 days, lived like KING/BOSS playa, and only spent $2100 for EVERYTHING! (including a $900 round trip flight)
yeah asia is always nice but because i only plan on taking 1week,its best staying within 6hrs away. actually went to bangkok several years back and loved it and i can imagine the beaches being even better. however, i still prefer the philippines as your money goes a long way compared to thailand and beaches are nicer/less touristy.
from what ive been reading, i think im leaning towards costa rica.
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Posts: 4811 | From: dc | Registered: Oct 2002
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t top freak
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Member # 6269
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posted
Jamaica was pretty damn fun.
all inclusive
3 buffet style meals all with fresh fruit and whatnot
bbq started at 10am and went until midnight
bars opened up at 10am and went until like 3 or 4am
all food and drink was free.
almost smuggled my way into cuba but we had to turn around or get shot at... ![[patriot]](graemlins/patriot.gif)
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Posts: 1023 | From: sacramento | Registered: Dec 2005
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N8
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Member # 6048
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posted
Jamaica or Brazil....or even Belize. Belize has the most beautiful women in abundance that I have ever seen. I spent a week there and only saw about 15 women I would consider borderline...lol. Plus it is a beautiful place. Brazil is just off the hook with the exoticness. But there are some seriously shady places there. but there is this one place we went where like 5 waterfalls combine into one. By far one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life to date.
Posts: 11638 | Registered: Sep 2005
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SF Coupe
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Member # 1810
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Costa Rica is the safest place to go by far. I spent two months there surfing and cruising all up and down the west coast. Not once was there a sketchy situation or bad vibes. Definitely the best starter country to go to if you're into exploring central and south america.
El Salvador is cool, there is incredible surfing there, way better than Costa Rica. But the country is not quite as safe as Costa Rica. I have relatives there so it wasn't a problem for me most of the time but I was walking with my wife in a beach town one day (I am half latino but look white, my wife is 100% Peruvian) and I was getting some serious stank eye from the locals.
Honduras, not much great there except for some ruins. I was told not to go out by myself at night, and I didn't. Same goes for Ecuador.
Peru has incredible surfing as well but the water is cool, not like here but definitely need a wetsuit and the west coast is basically a desert. Not at all pretty like central america. As you move into the mountainous regions the scenery is much nicer. Cuzco and Machu Pichu are sick and worth the visit. Peru is a long ways away though. I felt very safe in Peru, mostly because my wife knew where all the shady areas were.
Go to costa rica first. It a really mellow, beautiful, tourist friendly country. IMO it's dirt cheap as well. There's also a ton of hot latinas if that's your thing.
Also, do yourself a favor and go to a travel clinic and tell them which country you are going to. They will give you antibiotics and maybe shots. I never had a problem with food in all the traveling I've done until this January when I went to Peru. I got REAL sick from either the food or surfing in polluted water. The medicine they gave me didn't do a damn thing so I basically had to suffer for a few days.
Posts: 1082 | From: SF | Registered: Sep 2002
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venomous99
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Member # 1917
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im narrowing it down to costa rica but not sure which part woudl be a nice mix of beautiful fine sand beaches and tourist attractions...gotta do more reading. brazil would be nice but this vacation is far too short to be hitting the tip of south america. id love to go to peru and see all the inca ruins but im looking for a nice relaxing/beach destination this time around.
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Posts: 4811 | From: dc | Registered: Oct 2002
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Rigo5.0
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Member # 5247
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by SF Coupe:
Costa Rica is the safest place to go by far. I spent two months there surfing and cruising all up and down the west coast. Not once was there a sketchy situation or bad vibes. Definitely the best starter country to go to if you're into exploring central and south america.
El Salvador is cool, there is incredible surfing there, way better than Costa Rica. But the country is not quite as safe as Costa Rica. I have relatives there so it wasn't a problem for me most of the time but I was walking with my wife in a beach town one day (I am half latino but look white, my wife is 100% Peruvian) and I was getting some serious stank eye from the locals.
Honduras, not much great there except for some ruins. I was told not to go out by myself at night, and I didn't. Same goes for Ecuador.
Peru has incredible surfing as well but the water is cool, not like here but definitely need a wetsuit and the west coast is basically a desert. Not at all pretty like central america. As you move into the mountainous regions the scenery is much nicer. Cuzco and Machu Pichu are sick and worth the visit. Peru is a long ways away though. I felt very safe in Peru, mostly because my wife knew where all the shady areas were.
Go to costa rica first. It a really mellow, beautiful, tourist friendly country. IMO it's dirt cheap as well. There's also a ton of hot latinas if that's your thing.
Also, do yourself a favor and go to a travel clinic and tell them which country you are going to. They will give you antibiotics and maybe shots. I never had a problem with food in all the traveling I've done until this January when I went to Peru. I got REAL sick from either the food or surfing in polluted water. The medicine they gave me didn't do a damn thing so I basically had to suffer for a few days.
You lucky man...
I need to get started on my Central/South America tour.
[ August 11, 2009, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Rigo5.0 ]
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Posts: 1454 | From: Kansas City | Registered: Jan 2005
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