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!

Growing up in the Midwest and being an avid snowboarding I know not to expect too much at the local ski resorts but I have been pleasantly surprised every time I have been to Perfect North. First off, Perfect North is an Indiana ski resort which right there doesn’t make much sense with Indiana being as flat as a pancake. Last year I went to Perfect North for the first time after record snowfall in Indiana and hit all the most difficult runs on my snowboard but this year I wanted to learn how to ski there and thought it would be the perfect place to try.

To start off with I went there on a day trip with a group of 9 friends and most had not skied or snowboarded ever. While heading to the line to get a lift ticket a lady stopped us and offered for us to join their group to get discount lift tickets. This was awesome as the price came out to $48 total for an 8 hour lift ticket and rental compared to the standard $47 for a lift ticket and $25 for rental. For future reference groups must register online before coming but can add any amount of people as long as their is a minimum of 15 people. After getting the tickets situated we headed to down to the basement of the lodge to pickup rentals and it was packed like any typical Midwest ski resort. I found a decent pair of ski boots and struggled to put them on as I am used to snowboard boots which are not only easy but relatively comfy.