9 Costa Rica Hotels Split Between the Dry Coast and the Rainforest

Costa Rica is about the size of Denmark and contains twelve distinct climate zones. The practical consequence is that the country does not have a single best season; it has different best seasons in different places, and two of the most popular regions are close to opposites.

Guanacaste, the northern Pacific province, has a genuine dry season. From roughly December to April it barely rains, the hills turn brown, and it is reliable beach weather. In September and October it is at its wettest.

The Osa peninsula and the southern Pacific, five hundred kilometres down the same coast, is rainforest that receives several metres of rain a year and has no truly dry period. September and October, the worst months in the north, are when the whales are there.

Book both in the same week and you will be right about one of them.

How to structure a trip

Most good Costa Rica itineraries pair a rainforest or volcano stay with a beach stay, and the sequence is usually inland first and coast second, so the trip ends on a beach.

Arenal, in the northern highlands, is the volcano and hot springs region. Reliable, family-friendly, and the easiest introduction.

Monteverde, the cloud forest, is higher, cooler and misty by definition, with the canopy walkways and the best birdwatching.

Manuel Antonio, on the central Pacific, is rainforest running straight into a beach with monkeys and sloths in the trees above the sand. It is the most efficient combination in the country.

Guanacaste is the dry beach province with the big resorts and the international airport at Liberia.

Osa is the wild one: Corcovado national park, genuinely remote, and the highest biodiversity density on earth.

The ten below are grouped by region.

Guanacaste, the dry Pacific

December to April is close to guaranteed sunshine.

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo occupies a peninsula between two bays with an architecturally remarkable main building, three beaches, a golf course and the best service in Central America. It is the most complete resort in the country.

Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo sits on the same peninsula, lower-key and design-led, with a beach club and a strong emphasis on local craft and food.

El Mangroove, Autograph Collection occupies a mangrove-fringed bay near Papagayo with contemporary rooms, a good beach and considerably lower rates than its neighbours.

Arenal, the volcano

Hot springs, waterfalls and the most reliable family region.

The Springs Resort & Spa at Arenal sits in gardens below the volcano with adults-only villas, each with a private plunge pool fed by thermal spring water. It is the best hotel in the highlands.

Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa occupies a large site with a network of thermal river pools running through rainforest, which is the most impressive hot spring complex in the country.

Nayara Springs sits on a ridge with volcano views from every room, several pools and a wildlife rescue centre on the property.

Manuel Antonio, rainforest meeting beach

The central Pacific. Rainforest, wildlife and sand in the same place.

Arenas del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort occupies a private reserve running down to two beaches, with sloths and monkeys in the trees between the rooms and the sand. It is the only property here directly on the beach inside the forest.

Tulemar Bungalows & Villas sits on a hillside above the national park with villas among the trees, a tram down to a private beach and the most space of the Manuel Antonio options.

Monteverde and Osa

The cloud forest and the wild south.

Senda Monteverde Hotel occupies a site on the edge of the Monteverde reserve with rooms among the trees, birdwatching from the terraces and a serious conservation programme.

Lapa Rios Lodge sits on a ridge above the Osa peninsula in a thousand-acre private reserve, with bungalows open to the forest and Corcovado national park at the door. It is the most remote property on this list and the most extraordinary.

What we have left off

The all-inclusive complexes along the Guanacaste coast are excluded. They are good value for a straightforward beach week and they are the opposite of what most people come to Costa Rica for, which is a country that has protected roughly a quarter of its land and built a tourism industry on it.

What to do

Wildlife, and take a guide. The difference between walking through a rainforest and walking through it with someone who knows where to look is the difference between seeing four species and forty.

Zip-line in Monteverde, where it was invented, and walk the hanging bridges early when the birds are active.

Whitewater raft the Pacuare, which is one of the best runs in the world and can be done as a day trip or with a night at a river lodge.

In Manuel Antonio, go into the national park at opening. Sloths, capuchins, howlers and scarlet macaws are routine.

Osa is a commitment: a small plane or a long drive, then a boat. It is also the closest thing left to untouched neotropical rainforest.

Practical notes

San José is the main international gateway; Liberia in the north is far more convenient for Guanacaste. Internal flights on small aircraft save many hours over the roads, which are slow and mountainous.

December to April is the dry season across most of the country and the peak. May to November is the green season: afternoon rain, lower prices, and better wildlife in many areas. September and October are the wettest in the north and among the best on the Caribbean side and in the south.

Distances take longer than the map suggests. Two regions per week is the right pace; three is a week of driving.

Questions people actually ask

When should you go?

December to April for guaranteed dry beaches. May to November for lower prices, greener forest and better wildlife, with afternoon rain.

How many regions?

Two in a week, three in ten days. The driving eats more time than people plan for.

Guanacaste or Manuel Antonio?

Guanacaste for reliable beach weather and resorts. Manuel Antonio for wildlife and beach in the same place, with more rain.

Do you need a guide?

For the national parks, emphatically yes.

If you only book one

Search 4 and 5 star hotels in Costa Rica