lucretia

I'm having trouble deciding between visiting Belize or Costa Rica. What are your opinions on both of these countries? Which is easier to plan a cheaper vacation? Which has more stuff to do/see? Which is easier to get around? HELP! I want a vacation with lots of adventure, ease in transportation, easy to budget, not touristy, scenery.

Timi

Hi,<BR>My husband and I went to Costa Rica last May. It was wonderful. We rented a car for 7 days and traveled around. It was very reasonable and many things to see. We really enjoyed the Monte Verde and Arenal area. Tabacon Lodge is on the more expensive site, but a must. It was great. It is less expensive during the rainy season - starting in May.<BR>We are planning a trip to Belize this year.

Bobby

Go to Costa Rica... there is more variety, more to do. Yes, Belize has better snorkeling, but Costa Rica has the mountains, coffee fields, beaches.

Susan

There have been a couple of other threads along these lines so you could maybe try a search and see what you come up with. It's been 11 years since I was in Costa Rica. I liked it so much I went back 2 years in a row. However I think it has become a lot more touristy and a lot more expensive, so I'm not sure how I would feel now. <BR><BR>I was in Belize about 3 years ago. Apart from the snorkeling (which Costa Rica doesn't have), there are some really interesting ruins to visit. Costa Rica doesn't have that. We spent time on Ambergris and San Ignacio (both of which I would recommend) and Placencia (which I thought was overrated). The people are probably the friendliest I've ever encountered in all my travels - it was like a small town everywhere you went. Because English is the official language, it's easy to get around. <BR><BR>The Belize dollar is tied into the US dollar, so that makes it pricier for Canadians (I'm from Canada). But as I said, Costa Rica may be pricier now. <BR><BR>Do the search, you can probably get more current info. Both are great destinations, so I'm sure you'd enjoy either.

Sheilah

We've been to both though not for about 8 years. Belize specifically Keye Caulker is GREAT. Kind of a throw-back to 60s where everything is friendly and mellow. There were no cars and great days getting the daily boat to snokel. Met lots of people from all over and hung out at the Tiki bar in the cut. Don't know if it's the same. Abergies felt "developed" compared to Keye C.<BR><BR>Costa Rica was wonderful too....but it's big and there are both coasts. We flew to the near Emanuel State Park. San Jose interesting CA city.<BR><BR>Think Belize was cheaper. If you want more than the beach go to Costa Rica. I remembered we picked up a taxi outside of the hotel and he took us around for the day. Wasn't expensive and we went on a great jungle walk and even saw a Getzel.<BR><BR>Well our first trip to Cozumel was when there were 3 hotels...and now. So we're always searching for the new place.