The Papagayo Edit
Our favorite corner of Costa Rica
A year ago, almost exactly, we boarded a plane to Costa Rica for the first time knowing very little about the country and unsure if it was the right trip for us. I had injured my foot and was in a boot, my kids aren’t very adventurous and we were tired from a lot of ongoing travel and life-stuff.
When we picked Costa Rica last time, the idea of going to the city, the Caribbean coast, Pacific coast, cloud forest, jungle, rainforest, volcanoes… it was too much. We strategically picked two relatively easy to get to locations in different climates and left it at that.
We knew we couldn’t explore the entire country in a week so we settled into our choices and planned our trip around them knowing we could always go back another time.
We visited Peninsula Papagayo for five nights and when we left for La Fortuna at the foot of the Arenal volcano for our last three nights of the trip, we were all so sad to leave.
We enjoyed the rain forest, hanging bridges, horseback riding adventure around the volcano and more, but ultimately our fondest memories from that trip were from Papagayo.
So, when this year we were all exhausted again from a lot of travel (I know, tiny violins for us!), I booked a long weekend at our favorite Costa Rican hotel and was thrilled to have a trip I’d barely have to do anything to plan.
It’s so nice to visit a familiar place — and there are monkeys!
The Papagayo Edit
The Papagayo Peninsula is a 1,400 acre private luxe peninsula on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Think dramatic volcanic cliffs, tropical dry forests, and white sandy beaches.
This is the second part of a two part Costa Rica Edit. You can find part one from our February 2025 trip here.
Read on for:
Where to stay (and how to book it with points)
The two dinners you must book at sunset
The place to go that makes Papagayo incredible for families
The restaurants worth leaving your hotel for
and more…