Ideas for a graduation trip for 18 yr old
 

I'm in the beginnings of planning a trip for our 18 yr old granddaughter for mid June-July 2015 & love to get others suggestions. My thoughts are to take her to Costa Rica but am aware that June is rainy season & don't want to spend 7-10 days dripping wet. My husband & I have been to CR twice & absolutely love the adventures it has. So far here are my thoughts:
2-3 nts Tortuguero to see the turtles
2 nts Puerto Viejo for beach time & animal viewing
Pacuare river raft trip with Rios Tropicales
2 nts Alejuela for volcanos, hot springs, zip lines
Monteverde ? didn't make it there before
From there not sure. I know Manuel Antonio was so hot in March that we about died. Have never been to the Osa Peninsula or Nicoya Peninsula.
Our granddaughter is very athletic & we are in good shape so hoping to find things that are active but not too extreme. I'm opened to other areas for this time of year that might be better.

If she's adventurous and athletic, she would love the Arenal area. You can zipline and go waterfall rappelling there, and there's some nice hiking at the waterfall, Hanging Bridges, and volcano. Eco Termales and Tabacon are nice for hot springs. We also loved tubing at the Springs Resort and Spa. We went to Tortuguero in July and it did pour rain a lot, but we were still able to see and do everything we wanted. Two nights is about right there. You mentioned Alajuela above, but I think you meant Arenal; if so, two nights isn't really enough to do it justice. I'd do three or four if you can. Personally I wouldn't bother with Monteverde this trip - too much moving around. You can raft in the Arenal area too if you don't have time for the Pacuare. How many days are you thinking overall? If I were 18, I'd want to go to Manuel Antonio for the gorgeous beaches, good restaurants, and easy wildlife spotting. March is the hottest time to go to CR for a lot of area, but most beach locations will always be pretty hot although the rain helps to cool things off a little.

thanks for the advice VG. Yes I did mean Arenal. We stayed at Paraiso Arenal last time & enjoyed their many hot springs & did their zipline. I'm thinking 10 days all total since we lose two days just traveling. Our granddaughter does volleyball, ice hockey & track plus a 4 gpa. They live in northern Idaho so do whitewater rafting most days in summer. Will Manuel Antonio be rainy as well?

Happy to help, Idaho. http://costa-rica-guide.com/Weather/WeatherMap.html is a nice link to show you general weather patterns. You can mouse over the areas you're interested in. We've been to Manuel Antonio in July, and it did rain each day but mostly in the afternoons. We just did our plans early in the day, came in during the afternoon rain, and then it was usually clear by dinner time. There's a weather occurrence in July called the little summer where there's a letup in the rain. We even went to the Osa in July and didn't get a drop of rain. You never really know, but I would go for it.

Having lived on the Nicoya Peninsula and the Osa I can add this. If you want to visit Arenal, the drive/ride down to the Osa will be a full day drive + from unless you fly to the Southern Zone from San Jose. The drive over to the Nicoya Peninsula will take less time (4-6hrs) and given the time of year you are considering-roads will be in better shape and weather a bit milder.Having said that, the two are very different in that the Nicoya Peninsula is one of the worlds last dry tropical rainforests and the Osa is Tropical Rain Forest. Wildlife will be similar but a little different, and in more abundance on the Southern Zone. In July, there is also typically a two week period where rains let up, beginning of June is beautiful anywhere in the country!

If your granddaughter is outdoorsy and athletic, I think she would enjoy the Puerto Viejo area because you can bike all along the coast, stopping off at different beaches. If you don't plan to rent a car, Gecko Trail Adventures can arrange a loop of Arenal/Pacuare/Tortuguero/Puerto Viejo. They can just coordinate your transfers, or they can book hotels for you, too. Rafting the Pacuare is a great way to break up the long trip to the Caribbean side, the scenery is stunning, and you basically get the transfer for free. You can also arrange the rafting transfer yourself and contact Exploradores Outdoors directly.

I forgot to mention - wow, you are awesome grandparents for taking this trip with your granddaughter. Sounds like she deserves a wonderful trip too!

Good suggestions. I do think keeping the trip to 3 destinations is plenty. My husband hates to be in a car for long. No need to have a car for the first part of the trip. I do recall people getting picked up in SJ for their Tortuguero trip. We booked with Fran & Modesto Watson & would do that again. Still keep in touch with them. They were superb. Then probably take a bus to Puerto Viejo. Stayed at Banana Azul last time & loved it but might find a different place. From there we would head to Arenal & explore. Would like to have a car by then. Last trip did the zipline & got to come in upside down over the river. That was fun. Unfortunately my hubby came flying in hot & near broke his leg. He may be our picture taker on that one.
Do think we will plan a trip to Panama maybe via Osa early 2016. Got to keep moving till the end.

There are a couple of lodges on the Pacuare River where you can stay - the Pacuare Lodge and one owned by Rios Tropicales. I've always thought that would be fun to do.