Costa Rica vs. Hawaii

Okay, it’s a gloomy, overcast Saturday here in Wisconsin, so let’s fly away back to warm and sunny Costa Rica and Hawaii!

Since these two destinations are kind of like “cousins” (very clear similarities, but also very clear differences!), we naturally found ourselves comparing them. Especially because we went to both places just a year apart.

For background or new readers, we went to Costa Rica in March 2023, and our itinerary was 5 nights in La Fortuna, 3 nights in Monteverde, and 5 nights in Manuel Antonio. We went to Hawaii in June 2024, and spent 8 nights on Oahu, and 7 nights on Kauai (north shore- Princeville).

I’ve had several people ask me “So, which one did you like better??” This is a hard question, though, because I loved both trips and I feel bad trying to pick a favorite.

However. After polling the family and being honest with myself/ listening to my gut, our winner is….

Costa Rica.

But but but! To be clear, this doesn’t mean we didn’t like Hawaii!! We had an amazing trip there, too. But everyone agreed that we just liked Costa Rica a little better, on the whole.

Okay, so let me try to break this down into sections, based on feedback primarily from the boys/ Ivan, with some of my own additions. I can already sense this is going to be a ridiculously long post, so go make yourself a mai tai and settle in.

Overall Vibe:

The vibe in Costa Rica can’t be beat, in my opinion. The whole pura vida thing is real. It’s just so….chill. Hawaii obviously has their own laidback surfer vibe, too, but I think Costa Rica wins here.

Especially compared to Waikiki, Costa Rica (at least once you get out of San Jose) is such a relaxed pace. Think small towns, 2 lane roads (exclusively- can also be annoying…), no interstates. It’s like stepping back in time. It’s glorious.

Kauai is more this way for sure, too (but we felt like northern Kauai was almost borderline too sleepy in some ways, and then other southern areas can be a little too crowded for the smaller infrastructure (Kapa’a is famous for big standstill traffic jams). Oahu just has a LOT of traffic. And the interstates are big and busy. (Oahu is amazingly beautiful and sooooo worth visiting, though! I feel like it can get a bad rap for having the “big city stuff”, but there’s a lot more to it than that. It is super fun and has so much to do and I think for families it’s a slam dunk choice.)

The people in Costa Rica were so friendly. In Hawaii I felt like this was more neutral. No one was really unfriendly (except one Hawaiian lady on the beach who got up in a huff and glared at me and walked away because my towel was too close to her chair, but this was a weekend in Waikiki and the beach was really busy! Everyone was close together. I couldn’t help it… Another woman nearby witnessed the exchange and came up and said, “Is this your first time in Hawaii?” When I said yes, she kind of laughed and said, “The natives don’t like haoles.” I was like, “What is that?” And she laughed again and said, “Look it up.” (Immediately pulled out my phone… “haole= a Hawaiian term for individuals who are not Native Hawaiian, primarily applied to people of European ancestry.” Oh.)

*I am sure this is not universally true, and I’m not a big fan of speaking in general terms about a group of people as a whole. Many other Hawaiians we interacted with were perfectly nice! So I don’t know. (I especially loved how when you let someone merge in traffic, instead of a little wave, they throw you the “hang loose” hand symbol out the window. haha! 🤙So fun.) But I’ll be honest, I did get the impression that maybe the native people do not love that their islands are being overrun with tourists. (Which, I mean, I get!!! And I do not blame them…)

In Costa Rica, though, they seemed legitimately excited to welcome you there. It just felt like an extremely warm country. Perhaps an economic thing, too….

Language/ Culture

So, we may be biased here since we speak Spanish, but the kids loved the fact that Costa Rica is a foreign country. Non-English speaking, a different currency, a whole other culture… this kind of thing is thrilling and makes it exciting.

Of course, this may be a disadvantage/hassle for some people. I am pretty sure tons of people speak English there, though, since Costa Rica is a booming tourist hotspot right now. So I wouldn’t really worry about that. But still, Hawaii is definitely “easier” (well, for Americans) since it’s the U.S.! No passport, no language issues, etc.

Transportation

Hawaii is easier here, too. Same driving rules as on the mainland, renting a car is simple, your regular car insurance is valid.

In Costa Rica, renting a car is expensive. I think we paid $2,500 for 2 weeks for an SUV. Yikes. (Due to the driving situation being a little…interesting sometimes in Costa Rica, it’s highly recommended to take all the max insurances, which we did. We used Vamos Rent-A-Car (based on tons of positive reviews on travel boards- some companies are more known for scams/issues there), and this worked out seamlessly. But it was pricey.)

In comparison, we paid a very reasonable $1,300 for 2 weeks in Hawaii, also an SUV. (*With some comparison shopping and by NOT going with the “biggest most well known brand”- we used Sixt in Hawaii, booked through Expedia, and had zero issues and it was perfect. There were other crazy high quotes from the big names, though.)

In Costa Rica, I think you could get by without renting a car, and many people do. There are lots of (affordable) transportation options like shuttle van companies, private drivers (reasonable prices), etc. That said, having a car was AWESOME for us. Ivan, being Mexican, didn’t bat an eye at driving in Costa Rica, but I can see that it may not be for everyone. (I have a friend who went recently (all Americans) and they rented a car and said it went fine.) The freedom of having a car is pretty unbeatable. Just make sure you’re a confident, maybe slightly adventurous driver. 😉

I would not have wanted to be without a car in Hawaii. Some people do it, but things are spread out. Unless you wanted a super chill trip just mostly staying at your hotel (in which case… why go all the way to Hawaii?!), having a car to go out exploring is the way to go, in my opinion.

Hotels

I feel like our lodging choices were great for us all across the board in both Hawaii and Costa Rica, but the boys especially loved our first hotel in Costa Rica in La Fortuna (Hotel Los Lagos).

It had hot springs on site, freshwater pools with super fun slides, killer views of the volcano (we upgraded to a Superior Room but I think most rooms have a volcano view), an incredible free hot breakfast buffet (served in a beautiful tree-house like restaurant), etc. Basically it’s a wonderful more mid-range resort, with a more relaxed vibe and a much lower price tag than say, The Springs, which is another gorgeous resort in La Fortuna (where The Bachelor was filmed!) but is $$$$. (Also- the location of Los Lagos, just outside of town, is far superior than The Springs’ location.)

Pro tip- Book early! This place is popular! I booked our March 2023 stay in May 2022!! And most rooms were sold out by the end of the summer. Costa Rica is hot right now. (Looks like prices are up nowadays, too…I swear we paid under $200/ night for a Superior room in mid-March 2023, but I just looked for March 2025 and it’s showing more like more in mid-$300s now. Or maybe I got a deal for booking so early? Idk.)

At night the adults soaked in the springs and the boys ran off, alternating between the slide pools and the hot tubs. Both boys still talk about this hotel often and would go back here in a heartbeat. I think when they think of “Costa Rica”, this is the first thing they think of, and part of why they loved this trip so much.

In Waikiki, we also loved our city hotel (Queen Kapiolani), but the pool was just a rooftop pool. No slides, etc. On the flip side, the boys did love being able to walk out the door and down to the beach, to Starbucks, etc.! Our hotel had the cutest Hawaiian themed lobby with 24/7 Hawaiian music and a great coffee shop, close to everything… it was pretty perfect in most regards. (I would hands down stay there again. My mom loved the “city feel” and the lobby so much that she repeatedly said she wanted to move in.)

There are certainly big resort places with all the pools, slides, etc in Hawaii, but most come with a hefty price tag. (Or, I didn’t care for the reviews, they sounded too overcrowded, etc.)

*Pro tip for Hawaii- watch out for the taxes and fees. Our more “budget level” hotel showed up on the travel sites in the ~$300/night range, but ended up at $440/night (booking direct and with a sale…) for 2 queen beds once all the taxes/fees/parking got added in. (WELL above what we normally spend on hotels on vacation- and I have always been perfectly happy with our lodging choices elsewhere….) This is another beef I have with Hawaii. Even the “cheap(er)” places are not really cheap, and taxes + parking are crazy. (You could save more money of course by getting a super basic room, no view, farther from beach, etc. But I wanted to balance the price with still having a really great hotel experience, which is ultimately what I think we got.)

I do personally love a place with a balcony + great views, and we did have that in both Costa Rica + Hawaii.

We also stayed at a cabin/house in Monteverde, Costa Rica, that I really loved. It had that more rustic feel and was so unique (hotel= Arco Iris Lodge, see photos below). In Manuel Antonio, CR, we stayed in a great Airbnb, and same with Kauai (VRBO). Happy to share listings if anyone’s interested.

All in all, the short version here is: The boys loved Los Lagos in Costa Rica so much it’s the clear winner for them. Overall, lodging is way more expensive in Hawaii. You get more for your money in Costa Rica. We really liked everywhere we stayed, though, in both places.

Activities

There is no shortage of activities in Costa Rica OR Hawaii. I feel like availability is pretty equal, although the activity prices are significantly higher in Hawaii than Costa Rica.

We did very fun stuff in both places, but the boys claim Costa Rica still takes the overall win in this category.

In Costa Rica, we did:

• ziplining
• cave exploring tour (super unique, extremely fun)
• hanging bridges (unguided)
• waterfall hike/ jumping (unguided)
• a safari river float
• a night jungle tour
• a coffee/chocolate/sugar cane tour
• a guided rainforest tour
• surf lessons (Asher)
• parasailing

In Hawaii, we did:

• a UTV tour (Oahu)
• a luau (Oahu)
• small airplane tour (Kauai)
• mountain tubing (Kauai)
• Pearl Harbor (unguided)
• cliff jumping (Oahu- free/unguided but a major hit)
• snorkeling (Oahu- on our own)
• botanical gardens x2 + swim in waterfall (Oahu)
• mini-golf (Kauai)

Some Hawaii activity pics:

Of course, in both places we also did lots of beach time/boogie boarding, various hikes (some paid, some unpaid- in Costa Rica especially you pretty much have to pay to access any hiking trails), lots of waterfall viewing, scenic drives, etc.

(This all sounds like a lot, but remember, we had over 2 weeks in each place to spread this all out. Some activities are short, also.)

Average activity costs in Costa Rica ranged from ~$25/person (for entrance to hanging bridges or hiking areas) to $70 (for safari float) to about $95 (for ziplining). Average activity costs in Hawaii all started well over $100, more like $150-200 per person generally. Jeeesh. This adds up FAST.

Pearl Harbor only costs $1, unless you visit some of the extra museums or do guided tours. We paid I think just $11/person for an audio guide.

The boys loved our activities in both places, and I feel really happy with the variety of things we did. But like I said, they gave the edge to Costa Rica. Favorites were the ziplining, cave tour, safari float and jungle tour.

Some Costa Rica activity pics:

Wildlife

Costa Rica wins on wildlife, too! This may not be surprising, since Hawaii is an island and all, but there’s not really an abundance of wildlife there. (Unless you count birds + marine life! Which is definitely cool!)

But in Costa Rica, there are lots of fun and unique (to us) animals. MONKEYS! SLOTHS! Colorful birds! Poisonous dart frogs! (lol).

Seeing exotic wildlife was a real hit on this trip.

Variety

We also feel like there is a bit more “variety” in Costa Rica. For such a small country, it’s pretty amazing how unique the different regions are. It’s like there are all these mini-microclimates/ ecosystems.

• La Fortuna= rainforest climate, volcanic region
• Monteverde= more of a small mountain town, cooler weather, CLOUD FORESTS! (a very rare, highly unique ecosystem, so this alone was cool to experience)
• Manuel Antonio= beach meets jungle!

In Hawaii, the two islands we visited certainly had differences, but overall they are more similar than different*. (Very green, mountainous + ocean). Kauai definitely has some highly unique spots though, namely Waimea Canyon and the breathtaking Napali Coast!!!

*I feel like I’m accidentally making this sound “ho-hum.” IT’S NOT! Hawaii is out of this world beautiful. I just mean that one side of the island is not that different from the other, whereas I felt like in Costa Rica, each area we visited had really distinct differences from the last place.

Beaches

Ooooh, this is a tough one.

Visually, the beaches in Hawaii win, hands down. THEY ARE AMAZING.

Specifically the North Shores of both Oahu and Kauai.

Need I say more?? They’ll take your breath away. The top two are north Kauai, bottom two north shore Oahu.

BUT, for other practical purposes (or for the boys, who do not care as much about just sitting and staring a beautiful scene), Costa Rica may win the beach category. Personally, I’m divided here.

In Costa Rica, we had nice sandy beaches. (The boys complained about the rocks and coral at many beaches in Hawaii.) Costa Rica had good waves for body surfing, without the same level of riptide/ danger risks like in many places in Hawaii. (Although, Asher especially loved the boogie boarding in Waikiki and a certain beach on Kauai, so he may be on the fence.)

Also, the ocean water in Hawaii was rather chilly for our taste! In Costa Rica the water was amazingly warm. And while maybe not as dramatic as in Hawaii, the beach views are not at all shabby in Costa Rica:

Scenery

And finally, my last category. Scenery!

Hawaii wins this one, for me, though again, I’m not sure how much weight most kids would put in this category. I mean, yes, they appreciated the incredible views, but kids/teens are more likely to focus on “how much fun am I having” in any given moment, you know? lol.

But there’s no other way to put it: The scenery in Hawaii is dramatic and astounding. (As I was just scrolling through my pics, I was like, OMG. I have some insane photos. I was really there?! It’s too beautiful to be real.)

Costa Rica is also SO beautiful, but in maybe a slightly more understated way. Although there’s definitely amazing scenery there, too! (The volcano is incredible! Waterfalls! Beaches! Rainforests!) Don’t make me choose.

It’s just that Hawaii’s sweeping views are especially WOWWWWWWWWWW.

(Once again, I think this a major selling point for adults. Kids, maybe not quite as much, and your mileage may vary as to how much they really care about this part.)

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So there you have it! Costa Rica vs Hawaii.

In a nutshell:

Overall win= Costa Rica

Activities/ Fun meter (and value)= Costa Rica (*though our activities in Hawaii were a little more “big scale”, I’d say- the airplane tour was sooo impressive, the UTV tour was really cool, etc. The boys still maintain firmly that Costa Rica wins this category, however.)

Scenery= Hawaii!

Bang for your buck= Costa Rica!! We spent significantly more on our Hawaii trip than any other trip in our history. 😬 Ivan really enjoyed our Hawaii trip, of course, but he just did NOT feel it was “worth” that high of a price, in his opinion. Unfortunately, I think the price tag has kind of now clouded his view of Hawaii all around, because he like, can’t get past that part and just let it go…. LOL…So… while Hawaii was great, pretty sure we won’t be going back anytime soon (or maybe, ever).

(*Travel budgets are very individual, so maybe Hawaii would be reasonable for you! You could also certainly do less/spend less/go for a shorter time than we did. For us, and how we approached it, it ended up being a lot more than we’d typically want to spend on a single trip. Also, it was a little gut punch when at the end of the (very expensive) trip, I polled the family and they all said they liked Costa Rica better, anyway. 😫)

Beaches= It depends on what you’re looking for….

Wildlife= Costa Rica

Transportation= Hawaii

Ease of culture shock= Hawaii

Best for teens (*based on highly scientific sample size of 2)= Costa Rica

Hotel value= Costa Rica

Nightlife= Hawaii (I forgot to mention this category above- Waikiki is SO FUN at night!!! Costa Rica hunkers down pretty early, definitely a smaller town feel (although Costa Rica has some super cute little restaurants and a hopping microbrew scene!! We had tons of fun at night in CR.) In contrast, Waikiki never sleeps and has a million bars, restaurants, breweries and more. Great nightlife there! North Shore Kauai was way quieter at night- everything closes pretty early, and just not an abundance of restaurants even, really, though certainly plenty for our needs.)

Food= Costa Rica. (Shoot, also forgot this above. Food in Hawaii is SO expensive (hello, island…), too, from groceries to restaurants.)

Hiking= Tie? I feel like both places have great hiking, though Kauai’s hiking is not really family friendly in many places (though some is). Oahu, YES! Costa Rica, also YES!

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A couple of disclaimers, before I get any hate mail from Diehard Hawaii fans or Diehard Costa Rica fans… This is just my (our) opinion based on our one-time-only trips to these destinations. Also, obviously there are other islands besides Oahu and Kauai! But I haven’t been to Maui or the Big Island, so, I can’t talk about those.

Also, I spell out a lot of opinions and “this is better” or “that is better” claims above. But really….. they’re both awesome places. It’s honestly apples to oranges.

So, what you really need to do is do what we did- GO TO BOTH. The end. 🙂

*Final note: I obviously spent a lot of time and energy planning both of these trips. So, please reach out in a comment or email me if you have any specific questions! I’d be happy to chat more because if you haven’t noticed, I kinda love talking about travel…. 🙂

P.S. For full play-by-play daily recaps of both trips, and a whole lot more photos (😆), see links in my Travel page.