6 Off-the-beaten-track Honeymoon Spots in Costa Rica

Kyo photographed Heather and Paco’s wedding in Costa Rica a number of years ago, and it was an unforgettable experience. They got married in San Gerardo de Dota, a tiny hamlet nestled in the cloud forest on the the Talamanca mountain range. To get there, guests piled into a few 4-wheel-drive trucks, which strained over rock-strewn paths about halfway up the mountain. Eventually the paths narrowed and even the 4-wheel-drive couldn’t make it, so we had to clamber out and hike the rest of a narrow trail up the edge of the mountain, until we emerged at a small grassy ridge with a spectacular view over the cloud forest. (We’ve posted some pictures from their wedding at the end of this post.)

There is a reason why Heather and Paco were able to plan a wedding like that. They own a Costa Rican tour company, Cotinga Tours, specializing in eco-tours and bird-watching, so they know Costa Rica inside and out. For their wedding, they wanted a rustic experience that would be a celebration not just of their marriage, but of the wild, lush landscapes that are so much a part of their lives.

Recently we’ve spoken with several brides and grooms who were considering Costa Rica for their honeymoon, and we realized that Heather would have the perfect inside scoop on the most interesting and romantic honeymoon spots in Costa Rica. So I gave Heather a call and asked her what resorts and lodges she’d most recommend. By the end of our conversation, I vividly imagining our next trip to Costa Rica: the impossibly lush mountain meadows, the technicolor birds twittering from the treetops, the coffee plantations spilling over hillsides, the waterfalls, the animals you never thought you’d see in the wild, like sloths and tapirs and gigantic toucans….

Here are Heather’s top recommendations for honeymoons and destination weddings in Costa Rica, in her own words.

6 Off-the-beaten-track Honeymoon Spots in Costa Rica

The Arenal Nayara

This is one of the most romantic hotels — they really take care of you. In fact their specialty is honeymoons. It’s not 4-seasons luxury, it’s what I would call “eco-luxury”, so it has a more natural feel. It’s very beautiful with large suites and everything is made from natural building materials. They have a wine bar and a sushi restaurant and overall the food is very good. The Arenal area in general is great for honeymoons because even though it’s a touristy area, almost all the hotels are nestled off the road, as if they’re in their own sanctuaries. There’s lots to do in the area: adventure hikes, zip-lining, waterfall-rapelling, visiting the volcano…. It’s touristy for a good reason.

The Arenas del Mar

Manuel Antonio is a popular region because it’s so great for seeing wildlife. There are lots of monkeys, sloths, toucans — you will definitely see wild animals there. The views are beautiful; it’s beach and jungle together. Of course, because it’s so beautiful and wild, there are lots of people.

I recommend Arenas del Mar because it’s right on the beach in a kind of hilly, steep area, so even though Manuel Antonio is a crowded area, you feel a level of seclusion and exclusiveness at Arenas del Mar, and it has a semi-private beach. All beaches are public in Costa Rica by law, but some hotels like Arenez del Mar are able to offer a “semi-private” beach simply because of the way the hotel is situated in the terrain, the only way to access the beach is through the hotel.

You really feel the rainforest at Arenas del Mar, and it’s a smaller resort so it doesn’t have a corporate feel. They pride themselves on giving you personalized attention; you’ll really feel pampered there.

El Silencio Lodge & Spa

This eco-resort is in the cloud forest of Alajuela. It’s a little bit of a chilly climate, so it can feel ultra-romantic — all you want to do is bundle up and cuddle with your sweetie. It also offers so many wonderful amenities and activities: guided hikes, cultural tours, cooking classes, massage, and more.

Lapa Rios

This is high end eco-luxury. You have to take a “puddle jumper” domestic flight from the capital city of San Jose to the airstrip at Puerto Jimenez, a 45-minute ride away from the hotel. Lapa Rios is located in a private, 1000-acre rainforest preserve and offers incredible guided hikes, propeller plane tours of the Osa Peninsula, horseback riding on the beach, private lunches at a waterfall, and an award-winning open air restaurant.

Luna Lodge

Luna Lodge is not as luxurious as Lapa Rios, but it’s just a really special place. The owner, Lana Wedmore, is an American and a yoga instructor, and she built the lodge from scratch in an absolutely spectacular part of the forest. It is truly off the beaten path — in order to get there, you have to drive until the road ends and then keep going where there isn’t any road anymore! It’s a quirky and unique place. It has eight adorable thatched roof bungalows for guests. They also offer many different kinds of massage, yoga, and tai chi, in addition to guided hikes where you’ll see a stunning array of wildlife (the area where it’s located is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet).

Copa de Arbol

This resort offers the closest thing to luxury on the Osa Peninsula, which is one of the most remote and wildest regions in Costa Rica. It is very, very secluded; it’s actually somewhat difficult to get there — the only way is by private boat or small plane.

It has 11 rooms and 35 staff members, so with a 2 to 1 staff to guest ratio, they really take care of you. There’s whale watching, playing with dolphins, snorkeling, kayaking, and a nearby National Park where you can do the Sirena Park Station visit. The boat ride to Sirena is very rough so I only recommend it to people with strong constitutions, but once you’re there, you’ll have an unforgettable experience. You might see peccary, various types of monkeys, scarlet macaws, king vulture, parakeets, all kinds of reptiles, tapir, or even (though it’s unlikely) large cats like jaguar, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, and puma.

Costa Rica Wedding Pictures: Heather and Paco

Heather and Paco’s off-the-beaten track wedding was definitely one of Kyo’s favorite jobs he’s ever had as a wedding photographer. Below, I’ve posted a few highlights: Paco’s niece smiling from a car window; shots of the utterly gorgeous Costa Rican landscape as we travelled the country; the trek up the mountainside to get to their ceremony location; their wedding rings in a hummingbird’s nest; a few wedding portraits and, in closing, some pictures of the foggy mountain road near their home.