marly_g

Hi all,

My fiance and I REALLY want to go to somewhere jungle/tropical like Costa Rica or Belize for our honeymoon. However, we will be leaving Sept 30 and returning Oct 9, which Ive read is rainy season & possible hurricanes.
Im debating if we should chance it or put that off for another trip down the road. We are in our early 30s and just want to make it there while we still feel adventurous.
If not there, any other suggestions? We also were looking into Greece or Fiji but they are both very expensive compared to Belize or Costa Rica
Looking for any advice!
Thanks!

volcanogirl

https://costa-rica-guide.com/travel/...-map-rainfall/ shows general rainfall patterns by month for Costa Rica. Just mouse over the areas you're interested in. We love the Manuel Antonio area, but I'd expect it to be rainy in October. Very pretty beach inside the park, and lots of wildlife like monkeys and sloths. Good infrastructure there. The Caribbean side and northern Guanacaste beaches tend to get less rain than the south. Costa Rica is outside the hurricane belt; it would be very rare to get a hurricane there.

suze

Hawaii?

I do think it's only realistic to be worried about the weather in October for Belize or Costa Rica (and I'll throw in Mexico and much of the Caribbean).

volcanogirl

People in Costa Rica have been saying it's been a very dry year due to El Nino. I don't know if that will continue. They actually want some rain right now. The good thing is that everything goes on as planned in Costa Rica even if it's raining. We also really like the Arenal area - it has the volcano and lots of great adventure activities.

hopefulist

I haven't been tempted by Costa Rica but love Belize. We've visited many times during the summer months and twice in October/early November. In my experience rain has fallen mainly at night and hasn't slowed us down. One August a hurricane passed close enough to mess up our plans but we just rearranged the trip and then visited again the next year or so with the travel insurance compensation. In other words GO! Have a blast! But consider travel insurance if you pay out a lot of nonrefundable deposits.

With a week I'd split between a jungle lodge in the San Ignacio area as a base for caving, hiking, and Maya sites, then spend the rest on the water. With 10 days you could add a stop and I'd choose an overnight trip to Tikal - gobsmacking Maya site and lots of wildlife. Lots of add'l options on the mainland and islands.
Here’s a link from an old forum thread I like with good descriptions of beachy options in Belize:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntre...readID=1737076

For what it's worth, my husband and I are twice your age and still feel adventurous, enjoying diving, fishing, caving, and multi-day treks in Central America several times/year. My photos with blog links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there.
Congratulations and happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

volcanogirl

I do think Hawaii is another great suggestion; that's where we went for our honeymoon. It's expensive though.

november_moon

That's the rainy season on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, but the dry season on the Caribbean side. We went to the Caribbean side last September and it was really good.