Three picks in every region, close to what you came to see. I book them for you, together with the tours around them.
Price levels
A near-perfect volcanic cone above rainforest, waterfalls and naturally hot rivers.
Price level: Splurge
La Fortuna
Why I picked it
A naturally hot river flows from the base of the volcano through the gardens, forming warm pools and small waterfalls that guests can use throughout their stay.
Price level: Comfortable
La Fortuna
Why I picked it
Natural hot spring pools on the grounds, a spa beside the river and breakfast facing Arenal Volcano, about 7 km from La Fortuna.
Price level: Comfortable
Arenal Volcano National Park
Why I picked it
The closest lodge to the volcano, with its own forest trails and a view straight across to the cone.
Cool, misty cloud forest in the mountains, best seen from hanging bridges and on night walks.
Price level: Splurge
Monteverde
Why I picked it
A wood-built mountain hotel with sunset views over the Gulf of Nicoya and food from its own organic farm.
Price level: Comfortable
Monteverde
Why I picked it
Set on a 65-hectare private cloud forest reserve with its own trails, a heated pool and a zipline on the property.
Price level: Simple
Monteverde
Why I picked it
About 800 meters from the entrance to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, with rooms that look out over the garden and the forest.
Rainforest that runs straight into white-sand coves, with sloths and monkeys a few steps from the beach.
Tours nearby
Price level: Splurge
Manuel Antonio
Why I picked it
A private rainforest reserve that runs down to two beaches, with two pools, naturalist guides on site and a restaurant right on the sand.
Price level: Comfortable
Manuel Antonio
Why I picked it
Rooms look over the forest to the Pacific, with a family pool, a separate adults pool and its own small wildlife refuge.
Price level: Simple
Manuel Antonio
Why I picked it
Three cliffside pools, separate family and adults-only areas, and a restaurant inside an old cargo plane, 300 meters from the beach.
A wilder stretch of coast where humpback whales raise their calves offshore and Corcovado's rainforest is a boat ride away.
Price level: Splurge
Uvita
Why I picked it
Eight suites high on a ridge above Uvita, with an infinity pool that looks down on the Whale's Tail of Marino Ballena National Park.
Price level: Comfortable
Uvita
Why I picked it
Every suite has a balcony facing the ocean, there are family suites, and the 400 m² pool looks out over Marino Ballena National Park.
Price level: Simple
Uvita
Why I picked it
A family-run lodge where the rainforest meets the Pacific, with rooms built from wood grown on its own land, private trails and access to the beach.
The dry, sunny northwest, with long Pacific beaches, sunsets over the ocean and bubbling mud pots on Rincón de la Vieja Volcano.
Tours nearby
Price level: Splurge
Bagaces
Why I picked it
Bungalows on stilts in a private reserve, with a canyon where a hot river meets a cold one and you can bathe in natural thermal pools.
Price level: Comfortable
Tamarindo
Why I picked it
Right on Tamarindo beach at the end of the bay, just outside town, with 40 rooms set in gardens where howler monkeys often pass through.
Price level: Simple
Rincón de la Vieja
Why I picked it
A ranch next to Rincón de la Vieja National Park, where hotel guests get free access to the Río Negro hot springs and seven waterfalls.
Jungle canals you explore by boat, beaches where sea turtles nest, and the easygoing Caribbean towns of Puerto Viejo and Cahuita.
Price level: Splurge
Tortuguero
Why I picked it
All 29 rooms face the Tortuguero River, with a private nature reserve for guided walks and rubber boots and umbrellas ready for the rain.
Price level: Comfortable
Tortuguero
Why I picked it
Just 12 rooms, each with air conditioning and a private outdoor shower, and a pool right beside the canal.
Price level: Simple
Tortuguero
Why I picked it
On the main canal, five minutes by boat from the village and the national park, with a turtle-shaped pool and rooms for up to four.
Coffee farms, waterfalls and the crater of Poás Volcano in the cool hills around San José, close to the airport for a first or last night.
Price level: Splurge
Vara Blanca
Why I picked it
Eighteen rooms inside La Paz Waterfall Gardens, each with a stone fireplace and a jacuzzi, and the park's trails to yourself before 8 am and after 5 pm.
Price level: Comfortable
Santa Bárbara de Heredia
Why I picked it
An organic coffee farm in the hills above Heredia, with a bean-to-cup tour of its own plantation and 14 suites and villas, each decorated differently.
Price level: Simple
Vara Blanca
Why I picked it
A mountain lodge among the pastures of a dairy farm, with fireplaces in the lounge, its own trails and some rooms looking toward Poás Volcano.
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