Hello!
A good company to rely on is Adventure-Life (http://www.adventure-life.com/). They can help customize a trip across a number of countries with focus on surfing or any other activities.
I haven't been to Nicaragua or CR, but when you're in Ecuador, I highly recommend spending 2 days in Banos. In the town's center are tons of adventure companies ready to take you around the mountains - my friends and I rode horses up the side of a volcano, hiked to hidden waterfalls, and rappelled down a series of waterfalls on the last day. The local guides are the best for day trips/excursions.
Have fun!!
-Sakhi

Posted Mar 28, 2012

I would not recommend renting a car in Costa Rica. I lived there for 2 years and the roads are terrible and there are frequent mud slides and the drivers are crazy. The public buses are fine for short distances. If you want to go to the beaches on the Caribbean coast, the bus is fine. If you want to go to the beaches in the Osa, it pays to take a small airplane. There are frequent intra-country flights and they are not too expensive. Nicaragua has much better roads and renting a car there would be fine. Everything in Nicaragua is cheaper thanrCosta Rica. There is good surfing in the area west of Granada. Granada is a nice colonial town with lots to do. Buses are fine too. Nicaragua is much safer than Costa Rica and you can worry less about getting your car broken into. There are a lot of break-ins in tourist places in CR. In Ecuador, it is quite cheap to hire a driver and a guide. We used Metropolitan Tours and were happy with them. Monica Paez was our guide to the Amazon where we stayed with a Cofan indigena family in the jungle and she was fantastic! We went hiking, paranha fishing and swam with the river dolphins. We also met a Cofan medicine man and kayaked at night in dugout canoes. We also went up into the Ecuadorean Andes to Mount Cotopaxi, a fantastic climb!! But the best thing to do if you go to Ecuador is to visit the Galapagos Islands!! This is not to be missed. My favorite trip EVER in my whole life!!! Good luck. Have fun.

Posted Mar 28, 2012

Bus. and the occasional cheap flight is worth it. I traveled around Guatemala this past fall - really worth it. absolutely beautiful and so diverse. you should take it into consideration for your trip! - and the bus systems were fine. we took local buses for the most part and so long as it's day time i felt safe. i have also traveled around chile/argentina and the bus systems there are fabulous. taking a semi-cama or full-cama is a sure way to make your trip more comfortable. i also would advise against renting a car in most of these countries. the roads are unpredictable and friends of mine who rented a car in the patagonia a couple years ago got fined a LOT of money for debatable "damages" done to the car. definitely easy to get around and you'll be able to relax more using the public transport.

Posted Apr 02, 2012

Flights within Central America can be pricey and buses can take a while, but they are your cheapest alternative. I would consider staying on the Pacific NW side of Costa Rica (Somewhere near Tamarindo) where you have Turismo vans driving that part of Central America frequently. Then catch a flight from Liberia down to South America.

Posted Apr 02, 2012

If you are in Nicaragua, renting a car is the best option. My fiance came to visit me along with another couple, and we rented a car for an entire 7 days. We dropped it off back at HERTZ in Managua. It was so convenient, and the roads were very clean and easy to navigate. All the hotels/hostels we stayed at had parking.

Posted Apr 05, 2012