Tomorrow marks the start of our first 'Confetti' trip! What in the heck is a Confetti trip you ask?! BHW and I have decided not to celebrate my birthday (April 5), our anniversary (April 27) and his birthday (May 12), smash them into one event, and take a big trip! This idea came about after we got married. Last year around this time we went to Turkey & Greece, but that was our honeymoon, so this is the first official Confetti trip! We are headed to Costa Rica! We are spending 4 nights in Arenal, home of a beautiful volcano (no, not the one that just erupted), and then 3 nights at Playa Flamingo, a beautiful beach! Another first is that my momma bear is joining us for the adventure! I haven't taken a trip with my mom in years! It should be a ton of fun! She is a great travel buddy, always up for anything and everything! Thankfully, I did the planning this time.. when she plans vacations, we end up on the wrong side of countries (Ahem.. Remember Mexico mom?). We were looking at some of the places we're hoping to visit while in Costa Rica and we just got so giddy! Thanks for coming along mom, hopefully I can still say that at the end of the trip. I kid, I kid, it's going to be a blast! We are also taking our first trip together where we actually sleep in hotels! This may seem like a crazy thing to have a 'first' with but not for us! BHW and I always use AirBnB or Couchsurfing when traveling. On occasion we have stayed in a hostel. For those of you that have not tried one, the other, or both, I highly suggest doing so! It's a great way to experience a place up close and person, away from all the tourist traps. AirBnb costs money to stay the night, but you can often rent an entire apartment or house to yourself! Couchsurfing is completely free but it's just that.. you're sleeping on someone's couch, or in a spare room if you're lucky! I prefer AirBnB when traveling with BHW, just to have some privacy.. but when traveling with friends, I'm all for Couchsurfing! I also prefer AirBnB because you have a quiet place to relax midday if you choose, and also a kitchen to prepare meals so you don't have to eat out 3 times a day (or more if you're BHW). The last, and maybe most terrifying, first is that we got this trip on Groupon. For those of you that don't know what Groupon is; it's a website that's basically coupons for almost anything and everything you can think of. From trips around the world to ice cream down the street, there's a deal for it! BHW and I often use this website to find new restaurants to try near us. A lot of the deals are something like buy this Groupon for $12 and you get to spend $24 at the restaurant. As sketchy as it may seem, we have so far had a lot of really great experiences with Groupon! We've had a couple so-so ones too, but nothing's perfect, right? I found this trip while looking for other deals and thought it was worth a shot. The deal went like this $XXX.XXX for airfare, 4 nights in the rainforest, 3 nights at the beach, and a rental car. Pretty close to a tour, but far enough away that I remained interested. I talked it over with BHW and we decided to try it. The reasons being because 1) It was a good deal. 2) It involves a rental car. and 3) You can do literally whatever you want once you there, no mega tour buses filled with older folks or families, just you and the open road of Costa Rica. The Groupon was through a travel agency called Jet Set Vacations. I wish I had good things to say about them, but so far I have none. So, at this moment in time, I suggest avoiding them. Maybe I stumbled upon their one bad travel agent, I don't know, but I wish I would have skipped the Groupon and planned it myself. Hopefully at the end of the trip I will stand corrected. Please check back to get daily updates with pictures of our adventure in Costa Rica! We are so excited for the warm weather, rainforest hikes, waterfall swimming, and throwing the disc on the white sandy beaches! We fly out tomorrow morning and should land in Liberia by noon (they are 2 hours behind)! The map above is a brief view of where we will be. Liberia (the one not in Africa) is where we will be flying. We will then drive to Kokoro Arenal (our hotel for 4 nights). After the 4th night we will travel to Playa flamingo and spend 3 nights on the beach before returning to Liberia to fly back home. I couldn't get the drive time off the screen, but that's from hotel to hotel, not from the airport to our first hotel.
1 Comment
The Masons
3/15/2015 09:38:53 pm
Have a blast!!!
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