NJ B.S. Thread

Pura Vida

I could of went in November with a buddy that gets free stay at a surf house but other plans derailed that
Been to Costa four times and this house three of them
http://www.costaricawavehouse.com/

 

That place looks awesome! Too bad I don't know how to surf. I should really learn to do that one of these days

This is my first time going and I didn't really have any idea of what I wanted to see or do, so we're staying in Arenal and Manuel Antonio.

 

Theres tons of beauty to see everywhere. Its such a mellow place (once you leave the airport). There alot to do depending on where you are, but for me I like to get to the coast and chill out with the locals

 

Yea seems like it. We'll be happy as long as it's warm and there's good drinks haha. For the price it seems worth it, and then the next cruise will have room for improvement.
That seatrek does sound awesome

Do you know the gleasons? http://www.surfcosta.com

 

I know of them. That crew is more local up by you. But Mike Gleason hangs out alot with Sam Hammer who is our local pro. These dudes dont even work, just surf.

 

In NJ?

I was gonna go drive around Island Beach State Park, but realized you need a whole slew of things to get on the beach and its not really for driving on. I may try the pine barrens.

 

I stayed at Loma Del Mar Surf Camp in Hermosa back in 2000, which I don't think is there anymore. I would love to get back to Costa Rica again.

 

Yep. Surf and party and get paid to do it.
My friend Kyle is mikes roommate.

Most importantly you need a pass to be able to drive on the beach. And it's not cheap.

 

Yeah, I looked that up, twas too much moola

 

It's a beautiful place for shore

It's not that expensive considering you go there enough to make it worth it. It is technically a "beach buggy fishing permit" so you do need relevant fishing gear and some recovery gear. It's better off that way, otherwise you would have a chaotic scene of everyone trying to get on and most getting stuck. The summer can get bad enough with people that do follow the rules yet still don't know what they're doing. I've seen a mini van stuck in the beach access road. But if you consider the pass $190 for 1 full year of access including summers where you can get like 30' of beach to yourself campared to a walk on pass at a local beach being $15-20 per day, $40 for 3 months, plus sitting amongst the crowds and meter parking, it's not so bad. Island Beach is my favorite beach. Respect it and nobody bothers you.

 

Yeah, I hear ya, it keeps the people like me who just wanna drive on it off lol. I don't fish really and have never driven on a beach, so idk how/where you could get stuck. Unless you don't air down, then your screwed. I may just go for a walk along it, entry for one car is like $5 last time I went..off season though.

And I don't live close enough to use the permit enough either.

 

You ever get out in the snow?

 

Nice! I'm jealous. It's been a while since I have been offroad. Hopefully fixing that by March.

 

I just did a similar cruise in December. Out of Bayonne, NJ though and 8 days. If it's cold weather the days at sea down and up suck. You can't hang out by the pool which limits the entertainment value a bit.

Echoing what was said about Nassau it's not a great port. We should have done the snorkel/booze cruise which everyone said was a blast. Instead we tried to wing it at a local beach and it was a dump. Coco Cay on the other hand was awesome. Nice and relaxing, HOT, plenty of beautiful beach space. We did the Disney transfer in Port Canaveral, you don't really get much time at the park. I think it was like 5 hours total in the park. There's a beach by the port that's supposed to be decent.

It is definitely very convenient driving to a cruise rather than flying.

 

Thanks Dalton!

Royal Caribbean? snorkel/booze cruise is an excursion in nassau? yea i figured the disney transfer would be too much $ for not enough time.. gatorland and air boat ride looks cool though.

 

Yeah I was on Royal Caribbean. And yup, it was an available excursion in Nassau.

 

did you buy the alcoholic drink package? Ive been trying to figure out how much me and my g/f can drink in a day. the top of the line package is $55 and it gets you anything you want. I'm pretty sure we'll drink more than $100 a day in margaritas and mixed drinks and shit. beer menu doesn't look too special.

 

Yes, if you drink only a handful of drinks at a minimum every day it's totally worth it. Especially if you do mixed or frozen drinks. The prices are high, beers are around $6, mixed/frozen around $10+. Plus the package includes tip. It pays for itself on the at sea days. And the convenience of it is amazing.

Edit: Also meant to add you can always get the drink package on the boat. So if you're not sure, just wait, look at a menu when you get on, do the math, realize the sticker shock, and go with the drink package.

 

Drink package FTMFW. It pays for itself very quickly even if your a casual drinker

 

I live 15 minutes from Sparta 20 from stokes. I may be down but depends what the weather does idk what time I'll be home from work sunday.