Costa Rica bound!

I have to be honest. The coolest thing about getting married is the honeymoon. It’s the one time in your life when everyone is supportive of your traveling anywhere for any length of time.

Often when you’re planning a trip, half the battle is getting the time off of work or convincing people that it’s the right time to go. Backlash may include:

“That’s too many days off.”

“It’s the wrong time of the year.”

“That’s too expensive.”

“You should go to (fill in the blank) instead.”

“Can I come?”

The honeymoon, by definition, is immune to all of these hurdles. You can take off the maximum number of days off from work; no one questions your destination judgment; and it’s ALWAYS the right time of the year to travel. No one except your spouse expects to go along for the ride (hopefully).

Amanda and I explored traveling literally everywhere – Europe, South America, Australia – and finally found a place that fit our budget and criteria for a beach-heavy destination that we haven’t yet explored. It was probably the toughest decision we’ve had to make related to the wedding (seriously) because the wedding is just one day, but this is two weeks of relaxation, exploration and eating! This is important stuff! So, we're off to...

COSTA RICA, AMIGOS!

1,100 miles of beaches. Under $600 round-trip from Chicago for both of us. Win-win.

I booked our airfare today, so it’s finally official! We still have some accommodation work to do but I don’t expect that to be too difficult. I just need a hammock. OK. We also need baños, so we’ll look at some hotel and beach house rental options.

It’s been more than two years since I’ve been out the country (excluding Canada), and I’ve been itching my eyes out to see another part of the world. Finally, I get some relief. Bonus: I get to travel with my then-wife!

Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the greenest country in the world