Costa Rica in two acts rainforest adventure and Pacific luxury

The best decision we made in Costa Rica was not choosing between adventure and a beautiful resort. We built the trip around both: four nights in the lush Arenal region, followed by three nights beside the Pacific on the Papagayo Peninsula.

First: disappear into the rainforest

We began at Nayara Gardens near Arenal. The villas felt embedded in the landscape rather than placed on top of it, with local materials, outdoor rain showers and a private plunge pool that made returning from an excursion feel like part of the vacation—not merely the end of the day.

The property offered plenty to do, from guided walks and birdwatching to coffee and cooking experiences, but it was equally good at giving us permission to do nothing. The pools, gardens and hot springs created the kind of resort day that did not feel like a day wasted indoors.

Nayara Gardens: rooms, rates and availability on Expedia →

Private plunge pool surrounded by rainforest at Nayara Gardens — The private plunge pool was one of the villa’s best features

Three resorts, one walkable rainforest estate

We stayed at Nayara Gardens, but it is one of three Nayara resorts sharing the same Arenal estate. Pedestrian bridges and rainforest paths connect Gardens with Nayara Springs and Nayara Tented Camp. You can walk through the properties, reach restaurants and experiences across the estate and still feel that each resort has its own identity.

Nayara Gardens is the family-friendly original, with freestanding villas tucked into lush gardens and plenty of wildlife overhead. Nayara Springs is the adults-only choice, designed around privacy, wellness, fine dining and villas with mineral hot-springs plunge pools. Nayara Tented Camp sits higher on the reforested hillside, pairing elevated luxury tents and volcano views with hot-spring-fed plunge pools and more room configurations for families and groups.

That range is a real advantage. You do not have to choose between an intimate hotel and a larger resort world; you can stay in the version that fits you and explore much more than the boundaries of your own room category.

Choose Nayara Gardens for classic rainforest villas, wildlife and a family-friendly atmosphere.
Choose Nayara Springs when an adults-only setting, privacy and wellness are the priorities.
Choose Nayara Tented Camp for the most dramatic volcano views, tented luxury and flexible family or group space.
Allow time to walk the connected estate, but confirm which age-restricted spaces or reserved experiences are included with your stay.

Hot springs, a cold pool and a very good reason to stay put

The private plunge pool at our villa was only part of the water experience. Nayara’s hot-springs area placed warm soaking pools inside the gardens, with a cold pool beside them for the kind of bracing reset that makes the next warm soak feel even better.

Hassan found the tiled swing in the pool, and that photo captures the mood better than a list of amenities could. We were surrounded by rainforest, moving between warm and cold water, with nowhere else we needed to be. This was exactly why I would not schedule an excursion for every day at Arenal.

Hassan sitting on a tiled swing beside the pools at Nayara in Arenal — Hassan on the tiled swing near Nayara’s hot springs and cold pool

The excursion worth paying a guide for

At Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park, we chose a private guide arranged through the resort. It was money well spent. He noticed movement and wildlife that would have blended completely into the canopy for us, turning a beautiful walk into an experience we actually understood.

The bridges put us high inside the rainforest rather than simply looking at it from a trail. If wildlife is one of the reasons you are traveling to Costa Rica, this is where a knowledgeable guide changes the value of the day.

Hassan standing on a hanging bridge in the Arenal rainforest — A private guide helped us see what we would have walked right past

A red-and-black bird perched in the Arenal rainforest — The wildlife was often hiding in plain sight

A private guide leading a rainforest walk near Arenal — Our guide gave the rainforest context—not just a route

Coffee, cooking and a breakfast worth slowing down for

It would have been easy to treat Nayara only as a beautiful base for excursions, but some of our favorite details happened on the property. The coffee class took us beyond simply drinking a good cup: we learned more about the process, watched the preparation up close and tasted the differences with someone who could explain what we were noticing.

The cooking class was equally hands-on. I pressed plantain chips alongside the resort’s Costa Rican chef, and the beautiful open-air setting made it feel like an experience rather than a demonstration arranged to fill an hour.

Breakfast deserved time too. The buffet was abundant without feeling generic, with tropical fruit, breads and house-made accompaniments that made the first meal of the day part of the resort experience—not something to hurry through before an excursion.

This is the balance I would protect on a return trip: one substantial outing, followed by enough unscheduled time to enjoy the resort itself. A hotel this special should not become merely the place where you sleep between activities.

Jeni with an instructor during a cooking experience at Nayara — The cooking experience made the stay feel more connected to Costa Rica

A coffee instructor demonstrating a pour-over method during a class at Nayara — The coffee class turned a daily ritual into something we understood differently

Coffee being prepared during a hands-on class at Nayara in Arenal — Watching the preparation up close was part of the pleasure

A colorful display of tropical fruit at the Nayara breakfast buffet — Breakfast began with an extraordinary tropical-fruit display

Fresh breads presented on a colorful cart at Nayara breakfast — Even the breakfast breads arrived with a sense of place

A freshly prepared bowl of ceviche during a Costa Rica cooking experience — One of the finished dishes from our afternoon in the kitchen

The transfer is part of the itinerary

Moving from Arenal to Papagayo is not a quick hotel change. The drive carries you past Lake Arenal and through a landscape that gradually becomes drier, wider and more coastal. We treated it as a transition day instead of trying to squeeze in another major excursion.

That shift is also what makes the pairing work. You do not simply arrive at a second resort; you watch the country change around you before the Pacific comes into view.

Costa Rican flag overlooking Lake Arenal during the drive between regions — Lake Arenal on the journey from the rainforest toward the Pacific coast

Then: trade volcano views for the Pacific

After four nights, we moved to Andaz Costa Rica on the Papagayo Peninsula. The mood changed immediately: bolder architecture, wide ocean views and a more coastal rhythm. That contrast kept the second half of the week from feeling like more of the same.

Our room opened to a sweeping balcony view over the water and surrounding hills. It was the kind of view that changed how we used the room: coffee outside in the morning, pauses on the balcony between plans and one more look before leaving for dinner. The sunrise photograph below was taken from that perspective.

We loved the infinity-pool views and the resort’s beach-house experience, but we also rented a car and explored beyond the property. Driving through the countryside showed us how quickly Costa Rica shifts—from mountains and pasture to dry tropical coastline.

Andaz Costa Rica built into the hillside above the water on the Papagayo Peninsula — Andaz Costa Rica tucked into the hillside above Papagayo’s protected water

Sunrise over the water from the balcony of Jeni’s room at Andaz Costa Rica — Sunrise from our room’s sweeping balcony view at Andaz Costa Rica

Kayaks resting on the sand at the Andaz Beach House in Papagayo — Kayaks and a quieter stretch of sand at the Andaz Beach House

Clear blue water along the shoreline of the Papagayo Peninsula — The calm shoreline gave the second half of the trip a completely different rhythm

Why the split stay worked

Seven nights in one place would have been easier, but the two-resort plan gave us two distinct versions of Costa Rica. Arenal supplied the misty, wildlife-filled adventure we had imagined. Papagayo supplied ocean air, resort ease and space to explore the coast.

Give Arenal at least three full days if you want excursions and real resort time.
Use a guide when spotting wildlife is a priority.
Put the slower, beachier stay second—it feels like a reward after the active days.
Do not underestimate transfer time; changing regions should be treated as part of the itinerary.

A colorful open-air restaurant in Playa del Coco, Costa Rica — Exploring Playa del Coco took us beyond the resort version of the coast

JENI’S VERDICT

For a first Costa Rica trip, I would choose this contrast again. Arenal and Papagayo answer two different reasons for coming—and together they make a seven-night trip feel genuinely immersive.

Firsthand travel notes from Jeni Betts, founder of Discover & Bloom.

Costa Rica in two acts:
rainforest adventure and Pacific luxury