# Island Adventure with Rainforest, Hiking, and Ruins?



## Darlene (May 11, 2013)

We are looking for a vacation that not only has nice beaches, but other things to do. We like hiking, and other outdoor activities. We trade through II, and I would appreciate any info on the resorts, too. We will be trading our Kona Coast II week 52, and looking for something in March. 

These are some of the places I have thought about-
1) Costa Rica - I think that most people have indicated that it's best to stay on the pacific side. It seems to have a lot to offer. Is it easy to get around? Do you think it's safe? 
2) Cancun - We have been to Cancun several times, and it is a nice area with lots to offer, including the ruins. I'm not sure how safe Mexico is right now. 
3) The Caymans - We have been here once & stayed at Morritt's. I liked the Caymans. We always felt safe, and there was lots to do, including Stingray City, but not much hiking or a rain forest. 
4) Belize - We have never been there. It seems to have the same variety of things to do as Cancun. 

We have been to Aruba, Puerto Rico, Dominca, St. Thomas, Barbados, Cancun, the Cayman's, and the Bahamas. What can I say? I love nice beaches, but my husband gets bored with just being on the beach. 

Any other places that you have been that had a variety of things to do and that you liked? Just so you know, we have been to Hawaii, and hope to go back to Kauai next year, too.


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## siesta (May 12, 2013)

I was gonna recommend Cancun, because it has great beaches, and is a very active destination with lots to do, and ruins to see.  And even tthough certain parts of Mexico are seeing increased crime, Cancun is still safe to visit.  However since youve been there, you may want to switch it up.  You could try Mazatlan, MX, they have one of the longest stretches of sand in all of latin america, its a great beach, great food, and a lot of culture and history since its a port city first, tourist city second, unlike most tourist destinations in MX. Also, they are known for thheir shrimp.  We were there in 2010 and had a blast. Also, I havent been,  but St Lucia looks very nice, i have my eye on windjammer landing.  Also, you said Bahamas, but Harborside Atlantis has more then just the beach.  We were recently in Turks and Caicos and had a good time, but mainly a beach destination, not much else going on.

Let us know what you go with.


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## winnipiseogee (May 12, 2013)

*St Lucia*

I think you would really like St. Lucia.  World class hiking.  Ruins of the old sugar plantations.  Gorgeous beaches.  The only question is what can you find as a good trade?  The Windjammer villas is really the only good option of the island but the island is awesome.

We've been to costa rica a dozen times and we love it but the country is much larger than a small island.  That means the nice beaches can easily be a 3 or 4 hr drive from the great rain forest hiking.  Quepos would be a great area for you because it has nice beaches, an amazing natural preserve and a nice tourist town.  Again just not sure about the exchange options.  

Finally take a look at the "mayan riviera" area of mexico that is about an hour or two south of cancun.  Lots of great resort, amazing opportunities (Xel Ha, cenotes, rainforests, tulum ruins etc).  

Best of luck!


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## Laurie (May 12, 2013)

The island of Guadeloupe would probably qualify. I haven't been there yet, but have considered it for that reason. It's almost like 2 connected islands, with the beaches and timeshares on one side, and the dramatic scenery, including a sometimes active volcano, on the other side, so would involve some driving to the hiking areas. I had narrowed down our timeshare choice, but I'm in RCI. 

If you'd like to go further afield, consider the Canary Islands. They have beaches, ruins, hiking (Tenerife has an amazing National Park there, with Spain's highest mountain), volcanoes, architectural and historic features - as well as lots of timeshare availability. We've been to 4 of them and highly recommend this destination.


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## VegasBella (May 12, 2013)

Your thread title was "Island Adventure with Rainforest, Hiking, and Ruins?"
And you listed four options. Only one of those options is an island (set of islands). Maybe go with that one.


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## LisaRex (May 14, 2013)

I was looking for a similar island, and I settled on St. Maarten.  It has snorkeling, ziplining, hiking, tons of beaches, plus affordable day trips to Anguilla and St. Barth's. Plus it reportedly has very good restaurants. Our itinerary is shaping up to be something like this:

Day 2) Land & sea tour of the island
Day 3) Snorkeling at Pinel Island
Day 4) Ziplining/Hiking
Day 5) Day trip to St. Barth's
Day 6) Kayaking or snorkeling or jetskiing/Sunset catamaran


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## tashamen (May 15, 2013)

Laurie said:


> The island of Guadeloupe would probably qualify. I haven't been there yet, but have considered it for that reason. It's almost like 2 connected islands, with the beaches and timeshares on one side, and the dramatic scenery, including a sometimes active volcano, on the other side, so would involve some driving to the hiking areas. I had narrowed down our timeshare choice, but I'm in RCI.



I'd also suggest Guadeloupe.  We've been there twice and loved it for the hiking and the wonderful food!  There are no II ts, but one of the RCI rental outlets has rentals fairly often: http://www.endlessvacationrentals.com/


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## Laurie (May 15, 2013)

LisaRex said:


> I was looking for a similar island, and I settled on St. Maarten.  It has snorkeling, ziplining, hiking, tons of beaches, plus affordable day trips to Anguilla and St. Barth's. Plus it reportedly has very good restaurants. Our itinerary is shaping up to be something like this:
> 
> Day 2) Land & sea tour of the island
> Day 3) Snorkeling at Pinel Island
> ...


Just came back from St. Maarten - fyi in our case, no fish to see snorkeling at Pinel Island.  It was beautiful though; you can easily kayak over, we ended up taking the ferry. 

We didn't go on any snorkeling tours - others staying at the resort who went on a few reported they weren't worth it, and not comparable to snorkeling destinations like Hawaii, Cozumel or Grand Cayman. They/we didn't go over to Anguilla, which was on our list of possibilities for snorkeling, but we never went. 

St Maarten was worthwhile for many other reasons, not the least of which was Carnival - daily events which spanned over 2 weeks, from mid-April to May 2 - for anyone still looking at various dates.


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## Laurie (May 15, 2013)

tashamen said:


> I'd also suggest Guadeloupe.  We've been there twice and loved it for the hiking and the wonderful food!  There are no II ts, but one of the RCI rental outlets has rentals fairly often: http://www.endlessvacationrentals.com/


Yes, Green Blue Houses is the RCI resort I'd chosen which I see is one of their rentals. (In fact a few years ago we had a confirmation which I ended up having to cancel because of a schedule conflict.)  

Glad to know you found Guadeloupe worthwhile for the hiking, still hope to get there someday.


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## billwright1 (May 15, 2013)

we went to Puerto Rico this past January and did all of that and enjoyed it. A nice side trip is ferry to Viequez Island and stay at Hacienda Tamarindo for a day or so.


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## Darlene (May 15, 2013)

Thanks for all the great ideas! I like all the suggestions, and I think I will put in a request for resorts in those areas, and wait and see what matches I get. 
My only concern is Mazatlan. I'm not even sure if cruise ships stop there right now. I'll have to look into it. Being in Utah, we get lower airfares to the west coast of Mexico, so that would be good. 
My only concern is airfare. It has just climbed so high.


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## LisaRex (May 16, 2013)

Darlene said:


> My only concern is airfare. It has just climbed so high.



That's one of the reasons we chose St. Maarten.  From Cincinnati, we have reasonable airfares, and travel times, to just a few locations in the Caribbean: St. Thomas, St. Maarten, or Grand Cayman are the 3 I was focusing on.  

Originally, I wanted to go to St. Croix.  But getting there was a minor PITA, so we opted for St. Maarten.


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## akp (May 21, 2013)

*Costa Rica*

I'm a little late to this thread but wanted to answer the questions OP raised in the first post about Costa Rica.

We went in march 2014.  We felt perfectly safe at all times.

It is fairly easy to get around.  We rented a car and drove from LIR (LIberia airport, the one you'd likely fly into if you're headed for the Pacific coast) to the Arenal volcano area.  People acted like we were crazy and I know there is a lot of discussion on TripAdvisor etc about how bad the roads are. 

Our GPS didn't work and our rental car had broken A/C, but even so it was quite doable.  Many people we met had hired a car service to transport them but for us that would not be necessary.  

We stayed at the Hilton Papagayo (just so so) and the beach was not wonderful; just south of there around the Marriott property in Tamarindo I understand the beach is terrific and it is a great place to learn to surf.

Tons of opportunity for outdoor activity (hiking, ziplining, white water rafting, etc.) but as another poster already mentioned, it is a big country!  Our drive from LIR to Arenal was maybe 4 hours?

Anita


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## sun&fun (May 21, 2013)

You might also consider St. Kitts and Nevis. I would rule out Belize unless you charter a bareboat or crewed catamaran to sail the Cays in Belize. Fantastic snorkeling and diving with unbelievably clear water and lots of sea life. I think that's the best way to appreciate Belize. Then do the land trip for 3-4 days at the end to hike mountains, forest and Mayan ruins.


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