Never been to Azores. Went to CR and stayed at the Four Seasons. It's a great resort but no matter what anyone says do not go during the brown season. The resort was lush, but the vistas were ...brown. We were there end March early April. Honestly I didn't like CR that much. I found the jungle tours and volcano expedition not that compelling. A lot of people do like CR,even in the brown season, but I don't get it.

I far far prefer Tulum in the category for beachtime, pampering, food.

I have only been to CR and we loved it. We were there in Dec. We stay 1/2 in Arenal area and the other 1/2 in Tamarindo Beach.

We hiked, fished, zip-lined, kayaked, cloud forest tour, yoga, and ate lots of really good food. The people/tour guides there are wonderful and so knowledgeable about their country. There is a real sense of pride that you get from them for being so eco-friendly. I would go back there for sure.

We took a family vacation to CR the summer of ‘18. We had a blast! That said...it doesn’t seem to be the ideal place for the vacation you are describing. CR is a country with different climates/vegetation depending on the region. We broke our trip into two sections: the “jungle” section and the “beach” section. The north central part of the country is where the Arenal volcano is located, and where we started at first. We stayed at The Springs resort which was gorgeous and smack dab in the middle of the jungle. Don’t be frightened by the fact that the hotel has been featured on both the Bachelor and Keeping Up With the Kardashians...it isn’t cheesy. There are a million hot springs located all over the property, plus regular pools, and there is an activity area right on property that offers river rafting, a wildlife refuge, climbing, gah... so much! They also have a spa, but I didn’t even use it bc we were so busy. We all went zip lining which was spectacularly beautiful but terrifying! I adored the wildlife...nothing like seeing sloths in their natural habitat and howler monkeys!!! The only thing that I disliked about this part of the trip was that we went in July, which is what they euphamistically call the “Green Season!” Little too green for me...I needed more sunshine! You would be fine in Apr/May.

We spent the last part of our trip on the Pacific Coast in a little town called Las Catalinas. It was divine...Las Catalinas is one of those “made up” villages...similar to Alys Beach or Watercolor, one of those planned communities. We rented a gorgeous 3 bedroom villa, which comes with a staff person who tidied up and comes over to cook breakfast and do laundry each morning if you want. I loved this part of the trip bc it was sunnier and so decadent...but the jungle part of the trip was more typical “CR,” This little village had an amazing dive school if you want to get scuba certified. We also enjoyed the fact that this part of the country was more authentically Spanish...less people spoke English so we got to use our very basic Spanish. We took a sunset cruise one day, and a snorkeling trip another.

Let me know if you have any specific questions! Honestly, though, I think CR is really more of an jungle destination, rather than just a lie on the beach, caribbean-type place. Nothing wrong with that...I just had better beach type trips in the islands, rather than CR.

This was the view from our bed at the Springs....I had a couple of fleeting thoughts of what we’d do if Arenal erupted, lol!

I've been to CR twice, second time around Easter. Loved it, especially the springs, Arenal as well as beaches.

Now with Azores, if beach is your thing, the weather in April/May probably won't comply unless you're the hardy type. Average high is 66 F, still 12 days of rain in May, sea temp 64 F.

https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/azores

If you just want to spend time on a beach, I highly recommend one of the three Excellence resorts on Playa Mujeres, about 20 mins cab ride north of Cancun. Very easily accessible, they're gated at the end of little development to begin with, adjacent to a very long empty beach. There are some activities, great food, very relaxing but you still can access Isla Mujeres or Cancun.

https://www.theexcellencecollection.com/our-resorts-2/

I visited Terceira Island in the Azores, but it was 20 years ago in July. I absolutely LOVED it, but I had the advantage of staying near Praia da Vitoria with dear friends who were stationed there at the time. Weather was ideal, flora was amazing, golf course was *pristine*, food and coffees were wonderful -- but choices were limited. Terceira is a dairy island so lots of good cheese, nice pottery, beautiful linens/embroidery. I stayed near Praia da Vitoria and visited Porto Martins (gorgeous), Angra do Heroismo, Biscoitos, Furnas de Enxofre (active sulfur pits) and Algar do Carvão (down into a volcano) ... it's such a small island that you can hardly miss seeing the ocean from any spot.

Not sure about the pampering part of your wish list, because the locals were very poor.... conditions were often 'rustic', to put it very nicely. I suspect one of the larger islands is set up better to handle tourists and the kind of pampering you'd like.

Here's a small photo from Porto Martins.... the beach area. :)

Have been to CR, Azores (3 islands), and Boquete. CR would be your best bet for beach time and hiking. I don't remember seeing many sand beaches in the Azores but the scenery is stunning and nearly tourist-free. Accommodations are not lux but very decent ones can be found. Boquete is beautiful but there would be no beach time. Lower humidity though, always a plus in my book!

Yep, no beach at Boquete. Did you go hiking there, whatsayyou? That's our preferred activity and one of the reasons we put it on our list for "some day."

Ha! I should have done a little more research on my own first. We will save the Azores for a warmer time of year.

My only experience with Mexico was a trip to Cancun in about 1988, in a fairly gross motel. Then, more recently, a friend went to the Mexican riviera and came home with a parasite that caused her to be sick for the better part of a year. I know it's ridiculous to base my whole impression of Mexico on these two incidents... I should look further.

This is a 30th anniversary trip and while we love the idea of basking on a beach, we know we will be bored after two days of that. So I'm thinking a combination of beach and adventure, but I don't want to switch locations/hotels halfway thru the week. We have done enough of that lately. Other ideas are welcome! We also considered wine country in CA, as well as a tulip-time cruise in Holland, but we don't seem to be super excited about either of those options.

Back to say, wow, The Springs resort in CR looks fantastic! In looking at it, I realized DD would also love it, and we're also considering a trip with her after school gets out in May. Those hot springs would be perfect for her after her first year in college gymnastics!

Iceland. Just go to Iceland. Talk about hot springs galore!

I long to return and would love to see the northern part of the country. Akureyri looks to me like perfection.

But I digress. Again.

ETA: I think I remember now that you've been to Iceland, Sue. Never mind. ;)

I feel like every fall I try to figure out a place to go for spring and it's tough. It always seems like beach or ski.

Have you been to NZ? won't be warm enough to sunbathe but if you haven't been I'd put it on the list.

I hear you about Mexico, until Tulum became very hot in my circles I didn't consider Mexico at all even though they certainly have many very luxurious resorts. We had no issues.

For travel for two, I have this place on my list, Sugar Beach St Lucia. Really just for the bungalows.

ETA we stayed 2 places in Tulum; Esencia http://hotelesencia.com/

And LeZebra (we had a great villa right at the ocean's edge... wouldn't want to insure it. But if it were adults only id choose https://betulum.com/. Many great places to eat but this is one of the best https://www.hartwoodtulum.com/

I’m with Mtn...for a couples trip I’d pick St Lucia or Turks & Caicos or something.

But your dd would LOVE the Springs!! My dd loved it (she was 15 at the time.)

Yes, we have been to Iceland! Loved it.

New Zealand is a little ambitious for this trip. We're only taking a week. I'd want longer for NZ.

We have not been to St. Lucia...off to look at the resorts mentioned above. Thanks!

I'd be happy to go to Paris, which is what we did for our 20th. For whatever reason, DH isn't excited about it this time.

The main thing I would caution you about Costa Rica is that the pollen count is extremely high, and I had the worst allergic reaction there in my entire life. If you do have allergies, make sure you take plenty of allergy medicine because the drug stores there run out of it, and it costs more there.

We only went to one beach in CR, and I did not especially like it, except for the food. The sand was a dark color and was too hot. It's difficult to beat the Caribbean for beaches.

SueB, I am partial too Costa Rica and have been many times. We usually go in January and you just can't beat the weather.

We like places right on or walking distance to a beach. We never rent a car and prefer to have drivers when we travel from town to town.

As Nini has described, Costa Rica has a varitety of climates.

If you want a sandy beach, you need to go south, as the northern beaches are volcanic. One plus to the north is that it is arid and my hair looked fantastic! (But, I digress.)

A company that we use and I highly recommend is Anywhere.com. When they started, it was AnywhereCostaRica. They have now branched out. Look at their website. They can help you with as little or as much as you like. Talk to Lester, but they are all helpful.

I would jet into Liberia. JetBlue goes direct. If you choose Costa Rica, I can list the places and towns that we have stayed.

We have used Costa Rica in the way that you are describing. DH desperately needs downtime in the winter. I don't know anywhere else for the price that you can be right on the beach.

I was thinking Paris as it sounds so romantic. In all my trips across the pond, I've never been but would love to. You sure you can't convince your DH? ;)

I would spend a week at the Hotel Aflonso XIII in Seville. We loved it there. Here's the link:

https://hotelalfonso.grandluxuryhotels.com/en/h/468/hotel-alfonso-xiii-a-luxury-collection-hotel?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjOrtBRCcARIsAEq4rW5UKocGDNiIv1Dnoem2wGcJ-bnHH31dH1vjD-lVlVLU1d4dWxBYD7UaAsiIEALw_wcB

And here are some shots of the suite upgrade we stayed in. Hands down the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in.