I have been to Hawaii and Costa Rica. Me and my family much prefer Costa Rica for several different reasons. Compared to Hawaii - Costa Rica is more rustic/unrefined. The main roads are good, the side roads can be a little rough. The locals "Ticos" are wonderful and very welcoming of tourists. There are plenty of good restaurants and you can also have chefs come cook your meal if you are staying at a condo/house. The outdoor activities are great: surfing without sharks is everywhere on the Pacific coast, snorkeling, 4 wheelers on beach or jungles, sailboats, fishing, crocodile tours, estuary tours, monkeys/birds/wildlife everywhere and even at hotels/condos, mud baths, waterfalls are amazing, tubing is legit and not like a lazy river at all, zip lines through the junglesolcano, scooters to tour the towns, etc. The beaches can be crowded or pretty sparse depending on where you go. The rainy season in Guanacaste isn't really rainy - a cloud/storm may roll in around 3:00 - 4:00 pm and cool things off for a bit and then it's gone. Jungle areas may be different, but we haven't experienced the huge rains in the jungles as we usually go from May-July. Not near as many people as Hawaii. It gets dark about 6:00 pm, but sun rises about 6:00 am. The Liberia airport is about one hour to the beaches near Tamarindo and about 30 minutes to an hour from the jungle/waterfall area. We like to go for about 12 days, this year we are sneaking in a 7 day trip in early July since we will be traveling to Italy in May. If you like to be active and don't have to be pampered all the time, Costa Rica is worth a try. Pura Vida!