My husband and I were looking for a budget friendly vacation that was relaxing but also adventurous. Costa Rica seemed like the perfect fit. When I first looked up flights to Costa Rica, the price range was about $600-$700. We were flying out of Kansas City and we were leaving in January, which is a hot tourism month for Costa Rica. We also needed lodging. The great thing about Costa Rica is that your money goes a long way. I was comparing lodging options between Costa Rica and different islands in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, you could get a private room in an Airbnb for $72. In Costa Rica, you could get a private house Airbnb for $72. My husband gave me a $1,500 budget, which had to include flights, lodging and food.
Here's how I did it:
Airline: Spirit - $290 round-trip per person
*We booked a separate flight to Orlando for ($80 RT) Then we booked a flight from Orlando to San Jose, Costa Rica for $210 roundtrip.
When: January 17-26th
Lodging: Airbnb in San Jose (1 night at $29 per night), Airbnb in Ojochal (4 nights at $72 per night) and Hotel Villa Caletas in Jaco, Costa Rica (3 nights at $150 per night) totaling $767.
*Side note: I splurged on the hotel. It was my husband's bday present.
Food: $150. *We were able to save quite a bit on food because we bought groceries and cooked ourselves.
Ready to plan a trip to Costa Rica?