Inbound

For this year’s Memorial Weekend I ventured down to Clearwater Beach, Florida to enjoy the beautiful beach with my girlfriend and a couple of friends. Our Southwest direct flight from Indianapolis to Tampa Bay left early Saturday morning. Now I am not big on spending money so I used my Southwest points to fly three of us and only paid $33.60. The best part is I just earned my Southwest Companion pass so my girlfriend flies free when I fly whether I pay cash or with points. I earned most of my points through my Southwest Credit card. The flight itself went without any problems and we landed at 8:30 AM at Tampa Bay International Airport and that is where I made a rare travel blunder….

After taking Uber all the way from Tampa Bay to our hotel in Clearwater Beach I realized I had left my bag on the curb… So I took the same Uber driver all the way back to the airport and the bag was already gone but my water bottle was still sitting there. I contacted lost and found, talked with all the airline baggage attendants, and even talked with traffic officers and the bag was gone. Luckily it was one of my smaller bags and I didn’t have any of my valuables in it. I didn’t have to take an Uber back as my friend was driving in at the same time so that was fortunate as well. On the way back we stopped by a grocery store to pick clothes for myself, lunch, drinks, and food for the weekend. Despite landing at 8:30 AM I didn’t really get to Clearwater Beach until noon but my girlfriend was able to enjoy the hotel.

Overview

The final part of our week long adventure in Central America was to the surprisingly beautiful El Salvador! While most people don’t know anything about El Salvador and if they do it usually because of the possible dangers there… Well I have to admit I was a little apprehensive spending two nights in San Salvador but I am so glad we did as it was my favorite part of the whole trip! We enjoyed delicious pupusas and hiked up the beautiful Santa Ana Volcano (also know as Ilamatepec).

Read up on some of my other Costa Rica and El Salvador posts!

The Setup: Upcoming Trip to Costa Rica & El Salvador

Part 1: Costa Rica Ziplining & Borinquen Resort

Part 2: Costa Rica, Andaz Papagayo, & Beaches

Part 3: El Salvador & Santa Ana Volcano

Overview

On to the second part of our Costa Rica trip where we stayed at Hyatt’s Andaz Papagayo for 4 nights! The best part was this beautiful resort was free thanks to my Chase Sapphire Preferred! At only 15,000 points per night it was a great value as it was going for $500+ per night for Easter week. Whereas our first couple nights in Costa Rica was on a volcano, this was directly on the beach on the Papagayo Peninsula in Guanacaste. It was truly a beautiful area as we explored the nearby Prieta Beach Club and drove to the beach town Playas del Coco.

Overview

The first part of our adventures to Central America was to the Borinquen Resort just outside of Liberia, Costa Rica. The resort is situated on the side of the Volcan Rincon de la Vieja National Park, an active volcano.  Our goal here was to soak in as much adventure as possible in our two night stay here. This included hiking, horseback riding, and ziplining… We did manage to also get in some nice downtime on the beautiful property at the pool, volcanic hot springs, natural saunas, and mud baths.

For this year’s spring trip my girlfriend and I will be venturing to Costa Rica and El Salvador for a week long adventure! This will include 6 nights in Costa Rica and 2 nights in El Salvador! While we haven’t ventured to Central America yet we both think it fits our travel style of nature, hiking, adventures, and beaches. Plus it will great to get some much needed sun and relaxation! Our trip is broken down into 3 separate parts. The first part will be consist of adventures in the mountainous region of the Rincón de la Vieja National Park. From there we will venture forth to the peaceful Culebra Bay with a stay at the luxurious Andaz Peninsula Papagayo. The final part will be in El Salvador which is typically not a tourist destination but I am excited to explore the country.  Below are the basic details of my trip and I cannot wait to share my experiences!