Costa Rica

>>>>i know that the Pacific side is more built up and supposedly safer, but we don't want built up.

Have you looked into the Oso Peninsula in the southwest corner of the country?   Pretty wild area and relatively inaccessible, except by boat or plane.

I stayed in Bahia Drake on the north side of the Oso Peninsula a few years ago.  Not much of a town, but it is on the edge of the Corcovado National Park.  There are jungle trails on the edge of town that generally follow the coastline and lead to all sorts of white sand beaches and troops of monkeys.   There are a lot of "eco-lodges" in the area and the majority of the tourists stay at those (you have to take a panga from the beach in front of the town to reach them), but we stayed at a pretty nice cabana in town on a hill overlooking the bay.

We flew into the town on a puddle jumper from San Jose.  There is one dirt road back into Bahia Drake and it makes six river crossings with no bridges, so its only accessible by land if it hasn't been raining hard. 

If you are into diving or snorkeling, there are a couple of dive shops that run trips out to Cano Island about ten miles north of the bay.

Yep.  For budget adventure travel, Central America really can't be beat.    I try to get down there or Mexico once a year, especially when it is all dark, cold, and rainy up here.

In fact, I am going to Costa Rica in three weeks.   We are flying into Liberia in the northwest corner of the country and then spending a day at the beach and doing a dive trip.  We will then head up to the highlands the next day to check out the volcanoes.  I hear Arenal stopped erupting a few years ago and wondering if any of the other volcanoes in that area are currently active?  Then we are crossing over to Nicaragua and will spend the rest of the trip up and down the Rio de San Juan.  

Round trip airfare was only $425 and don't plan on spending much when I am there, especially when we will be in Nicaragua where you can get lodging with AC for around $20 a night.

I have a friend living in nosara.  It's on the pacific side but she loves it. 

Also many friends skipping Costa Rica all together now and heading straight to Nicaragua.

if Costa Rica is the new Hawaii then Nicaragua is the new Costa Rica?

we went pacific side for the 1st time last year. i really didn't care for it much. and its hot as fuck.

i met a cool 25 yr + transplant argentinian, he said come back in nov...

Matapalo on the Osa Peninsula is a beautiful area; 3 top quality surf breaks; trails; beautiful beaches and lots of wildlife. You can drive, take bus to Puerto Jiminez; not too far from there.