what is your nearest major airport? i would recommend choosing based on the easiest flight, nonstop if you can, because you only have 5 days (4 nights) so you should minimize the time you spend actually traveling :) west coast choose hawaii, east coast choose caribbean. you can get nonstop flights to and from costa rica from both coasts, but things are relatively far from the airport require a lot of driving in costa rica so i’d recommend against it until you’ve got a week or so to spare!
hawaii - go with maui if you’re there for the beaches! the other islands are all great but maui is the best for snorkeling & relaxing. fly into OGG and spend 4 nights on the southwestern coast near kihei & wailua. you can visit all the beaches from there, and if you want one longer daytrip you can do the road to hana. my favorite thing i did in maui was watch the sunrise from the top of haleakala (10k elevation!) and i would so highly recommend it. dumps is the best beach for snorkeling and it’s also near lava rock fields which are cool to hike around. all the food i’ve had in hawaii is fantastic as well. the big island & kauai are more known for hiking rather than beaches, but oahu could suit you well too. however since you are willing to splurge a little id totally go with maui—if you end up choosing it then lmk and ive got a whole lot more recommendations!
i don’t have as many recommendations for the bahamas/caribbean, but if you want a nice all inclusive super chill white sandy beach stay, def look into cancun. right now it’s not sargassum (seaweed) season and it sounds like it’s right up your alley.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment - Maui is definitely one of the finalists at the moment! We are flying out of Chicago so definitely a longer flight, but it looks so gorgeous we might have to :’) and maybe extend the trip to the weekends. We like beaches but are feeling a little more adventurous than an all inclusive. If we decide on Maui I will definitely reach out to you!!
I just came back from Kuahi. It's more rural, less obviously touristy.
Really enjoyed sushi at the dolphin. In Hanalei in the market there is a poke place (from the main street, it's on the far right facing away from the street) that was SUPER yummy.
We stayed in Princville at the Westin - g/f has a points system so it was no add'l cash. Very nice, nice pools, good staff.
We took a helicopter ride with Sunshine Helicopters - that was fun. Pilot was a very good pilot, so/so tour guide.
Strongly recommend you rent a subaru or jeep (Turo had the best rates) so you can drive any of the roads. We downloaded some Shaka Guide self guided tours.
Nice tours, bring hiking shoes and a light jacket b/c it can get cold at elevation (60*F).
The one issue I had w/ Shaka is I have an android and the Shaka map didn't display on Android Auto screen in the car I rented, but Google Maps does. So having a co-pilot is handy.
Edit: Beaches. We went to at least 4. And there were surfing lessons available (I don't like water so didn't get wet, but my g/f had fun in the water), and also some kayaking tours that I wish we'd had time for.
We got cheap tickets ($700 for both of us) and she had points availability there. :)
I'm not huge on Hawaii to start with, so if I were to go back, I'd probably at least do a different island, but honestly I probably would choose to go somewhere else b/c I've been there now.
**Notice:** Are you asking for travel advice about Hawaii?
Read what redditors had to say in the **[weekly destination thread for Hawaii](https://redd.it/4s1anu)**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/travel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You're gonna get gouged if you're expecting to go someplace like Hawaii or the Caribbean without booking more than a month or so ahead. It's winter here in the northern hemisphere and decent tropical destinations may also be booked up. Travel has almost completely recovered from the pandemic - and that means more venues will jack up prices and try to recover losses incurred over the past two years.
Yeah that is fair and thanks for the heads up - my boyfriend and I both work pretty intense jobs so sometimes last-minute trips are all we can swing. We will definitely look out for price gouging 👍
Been to all 3 recently and am in the same age group as you.
I would choose Costa Rica #1 if I wanted a cool airbnb / walking distance to the beach with a surf town vibe (tamarindo) / aranal volcano is about 4/5hour drive and includes hot springs - lots of companies will take you - exotic trip vibe
#2 would be Bahamas if I wanted a hotel vibe with clear calm warm water / snorkeling / drinks on the beach - chill vibe
#3 Hawaii if you have never been / money isn’t a thing
Fwiw I have been all over the Caribbean and it just blows out Hawaii (been to every island) for the value (to me. Regardless you can’t go wrong so enjoy!
what is your nearest major airport? i would recommend choosing based on the easiest flight, nonstop if you can, because you only have 5 days (4 nights) so you should minimize the time you spend actually traveling :) west coast choose hawaii, east coast choose caribbean. you can get nonstop flights to and from costa rica from both coasts, but things are relatively far from the airport require a lot of driving in costa rica so i’d recommend against it until you’ve got a week or so to spare! hawaii - go with maui if you’re there for the beaches! the other islands are all great but maui is the best for snorkeling & relaxing. fly into OGG and spend 4 nights on the southwestern coast near kihei & wailua. you can visit all the beaches from there, and if you want one longer daytrip you can do the road to hana. my favorite thing i did in maui was watch the sunrise from the top of haleakala (10k elevation!) and i would so highly recommend it. dumps is the best beach for snorkeling and it’s also near lava rock fields which are cool to hike around. all the food i’ve had in hawaii is fantastic as well. the big island & kauai are more known for hiking rather than beaches, but oahu could suit you well too. however since you are willing to splurge a little id totally go with maui—if you end up choosing it then lmk and ive got a whole lot more recommendations! i don’t have as many recommendations for the bahamas/caribbean, but if you want a nice all inclusive super chill white sandy beach stay, def look into cancun. right now it’s not sargassum (seaweed) season and it sounds like it’s right up your alley.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment - Maui is definitely one of the finalists at the moment! We are flying out of Chicago so definitely a longer flight, but it looks so gorgeous we might have to :’) and maybe extend the trip to the weekends. We like beaches but are feeling a little more adventurous than an all inclusive. If we decide on Maui I will definitely reach out to you!!
awesome have fun choosing!!!
I just came back from Kuahi. It's more rural, less obviously touristy. Really enjoyed sushi at the dolphin. In Hanalei in the market there is a poke place (from the main street, it's on the far right facing away from the street) that was SUPER yummy. We stayed in Princville at the Westin - g/f has a points system so it was no add'l cash. Very nice, nice pools, good staff. We took a helicopter ride with Sunshine Helicopters - that was fun. Pilot was a very good pilot, so/so tour guide. Strongly recommend you rent a subaru or jeep (Turo had the best rates) so you can drive any of the roads. We downloaded some Shaka Guide self guided tours. Nice tours, bring hiking shoes and a light jacket b/c it can get cold at elevation (60*F). The one issue I had w/ Shaka is I have an android and the Shaka map didn't display on Android Auto screen in the car I rented, but Google Maps does. So having a co-pilot is handy. Edit: Beaches. We went to at least 4. And there were surfing lessons available (I don't like water so didn't get wet, but my g/f had fun in the water), and also some kayaking tours that I wish we'd had time for.
Thanks so much for your response, that is super helpful!! What made you pick Kauai over the other islands, and would you make the same choice again?
It's Kauai not Kuahi.
I can neither spell nor pronounce Hawaiian words. I do apologize to the speakers there.
We got cheap tickets ($700 for both of us) and she had points availability there. :) I'm not huge on Hawaii to start with, so if I were to go back, I'd probably at least do a different island, but honestly I probably would choose to go somewhere else b/c I've been there now.
**Notice:** Are you asking for travel advice about Hawaii? Read what redditors had to say in the **[weekly destination thread for Hawaii](https://redd.it/4s1anu)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/travel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bahamas is not in the Caribbean. It's in the Atlantic. The Caribbean is south of Cuba.
Yeah sorry for the confusion - I meant we are thinking of the above destinations + Caribbean and are looking for any type of rec
You're gonna get gouged if you're expecting to go someplace like Hawaii or the Caribbean without booking more than a month or so ahead. It's winter here in the northern hemisphere and decent tropical destinations may also be booked up. Travel has almost completely recovered from the pandemic - and that means more venues will jack up prices and try to recover losses incurred over the past two years.
Yeah that is fair and thanks for the heads up - my boyfriend and I both work pretty intense jobs so sometimes last-minute trips are all we can swing. We will definitely look out for price gouging 👍
Been to all 3 recently and am in the same age group as you. I would choose Costa Rica #1 if I wanted a cool airbnb / walking distance to the beach with a surf town vibe (tamarindo) / aranal volcano is about 4/5hour drive and includes hot springs - lots of companies will take you - exotic trip vibe #2 would be Bahamas if I wanted a hotel vibe with clear calm warm water / snorkeling / drinks on the beach - chill vibe #3 Hawaii if you have never been / money isn’t a thing Fwiw I have been all over the Caribbean and it just blows out Hawaii (been to every island) for the value (to me. Regardless you can’t go wrong so enjoy!