Four green-season nights on Costa Rica's Papagayo Peninsula: a private beach club in the forest, capuchins on the daybeds, a free e-bike loop with Pacific views, and the meals worth booking around.
Papagayo Peninsula, Guanacaste, Costa Rica · 10 min read
At 5:30 in the morning it sounds like dogs barking somewhere in the trees outside the room. It takes a minute to work out that they are not dogs. They are howler monkeys, and on the Papagayo Peninsula they are the roosters. Once you know, it's funny. By the second morning you're half waiting for them.
We spent four nights here in mid-October, as a couple, and never left the peninsula. That was the point. Papagayo is a forested headland wrapped around Culebra Bay in Guanacaste, a short drive from Liberia airport, with calm water on one side and the open Pacific on the other. This guide is for travelers who want a slow, warm, wildlife-close few days without moving hotels or renting a car.
Culebra Bay from the terrace at Ostra, our first lunch.
When to go
October is the heart of the green season, and the forecast will try to scare you off. Ours showed a 90% chance of rain every single day. In reality there were two rain events in four days: one heavy downpour that started around 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and was still going at dinner, and one 25-minute shower around noon on Sunday that cleared as fast as it arrived. Mornings were dry and sunny.
The trade is the crowds, or the lack of them. Low season felt empty in the best way. Three or so families at the beach club. The gym and the sauna to ourselves. The main pool completely empty on a Monday morning. It was hot and humid the whole time, and the sea was the perfect temperature: not cold, not warm.
One thing the forecast doesn't tell you: rain affects the next day too. After Saturday's downpour, rivers washed sediment into the bay, and our Monday snorkel trip was cancelled for poor visibility even though Monday itself was bright and sunny. If water activities matter to you, book them early in the trip so there's room to reschedule.
Saturday, 4:30pm. Green season arrives on schedule, then leaves.
Orient yourself
Getting there. Fly into Liberia (LIR). Immigration and customs took about 15 minutes for us, and leaving was just as easy. We booked a private transfer with Liberia Shuttle, about $200 round trip, roughly 35 minutes each way with little traffic.
Where we stayed. The Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo. Our room was a king with a partial bay view and a furnished balcony: very comfortable, excellent air conditioning, and quiet. What stood out was the service. Staff seemed ready for anything, and the attention felt personal, from the ten-minute walkthrough at check-in to the umbrella that appeared during a downpour without anyone asking. We booked an Expedia package with flights; budget for a resort fee of about $54 a night charged at checkout, even on a prepaid package.
Getting around. On foot, mostly. Golf carts with rain shields come when you call them, which is useful at night and in the rain. A free shuttle boat runs from the hotel's dock to the beach club (more below), and a free e-bike share covers the whole peninsula.
Arriving at Playa Nacascolo by boat. The water really is this color.
What to do
Casa de Playa, the beach club
The resort's beach club sits on Playa Nacascolo, a fully private beach in a clearing of thick green forest. Get there on the free guest boat from the dock at Playa Sombrero Oscuro: 10 to 15 minutes across the bay, running roughly every 25 minutes, with a break in service in the early afternoon and the last boats around 4pm. Check the schedule at the dock.
Expect a beach that feels like a lake rather than a Caribbean postcard: shaded daybeds under slender trees, a pool in front of the restaurant, and a bar. Kayaks, snorkel gear, paddle boats and stand-up paddleboards are free for guests. Massages and jet skis are extra, through the Papagayo Quest stand on the beach. Give it half a day; we spent about three and a half hours.
You don't need the snorkel gear to see the sea life. Wade in to neck height and you can see your own feet, a crab, schools of silver fish with black tails, and small fish nibbling your toes.
The capuchins. Around midday a white-faced capuchin (a cara blanca) grabbed a guest's bag of pretzels and ran off tearing it open. Within seconds the whole troop had come down out of the trees and the quiet beach turned into a show. Earlier, a sleepy howler had been napping on a branch directly above our lounger. Keep food covered and bags zipped.
The beaches on the hotel side
Playa Sombrero Oscuro is the dark-sand beach with the boat dock, a wide stretch of wet sand under big overhanging trees, with a marina across the water. Late afternoon is the time for it, when the clouds stack up over the bay.
Playa Sombrero Claro is lighter sand, footprints, a leaning tree and volcanic rocks. There isn't much beach to begin with, and almost none at high tide. Go at low or mid tide.
The e-bike loop
The best few hours of the trip, and they're free. The PPGY Bike Share runs e-bikes across the whole peninsula, with a station at the Andaz. Download the app, create a profile, and scan the QR code on the bike to unlock it. Helmets are at the station.
Our ride took 1 hour 45 minutes and used about half the battery, with plenty of charging stations along the way. The views are spectacular: the golf course rolling down to the bay, hidden coves, and the open Pacific with its rocky islets. The terrain is hilly, so ride a practice loop near the station first to learn the modes and the throttle before heading into the climbs. And wear the helmet.
The ocean side of the peninsula, a different sea from the calm bay.
Pools, gym and spa
The adults-only pool near Ostra is the one to find: uncrowded, with an infinity edge over Culebra Bay. The main pool by Gaio was completely empty on our last morning and felt like our own; Gaio serves food poolside.
The outdoor gym is shaded and open to the forest, well equipped, with good fans and a workout of the day on a chalkboard. It's open 24 hours, and we had it to ourselves. There's also an indoor gym. The spa sauna is free for guests: hot, relaxing and private.
The adults-only pool. Uncrowded, even on a weekend.
Where to eat and drink
A note on prices first: menu prices across the resort exclude 13% VAT and a 10% service charge, so expect about 23% on top. Few places are open in mid-afternoon, around 2pm, so plan lunch accordingly.
Gaio: our favorite of the trip
We ate here more than anywhere else, and it never disappointed at dinner. The Italian menu is the reason to come: a wood-fired prosciutto cotto e funghi pizza that was the best pizza of the trip, a good burrata, and a very good tiramisu. A second night brought spaghetti with meatballs and a risotto di mare, both very good: $108 for two including tax and service, with a glass of Chianti Classico and a prosecco.
Breakfast is a different story. The coffee is excellent, but the food was just okay and under-salted. À la carte runs about $25 a person; the $42 buffet felt too expensive. For a late lunch, the Costa Rican ceviche with patacones ($18) was very good, with a Miele on the side, a non-alcoholic mix of honey, black tea and lemon.
Gaio after dark. Book a table for at least one night.
Meso, at the beach club
The only restaurant at Casa de Playa, and home to the best single dish of the trip: the toston with Sicilian crudo ($12), crisp and properly seasoned. The cucumber margarita ($15) is light and refreshing in the heat. When Sunday's rain came through, we sat under cover with a prosecco and watched it pour onto the empty loungers. Twenty-five minutes later we were back in the water.
Ostra
The view over Culebra Bay is stunning, and the seasoning is spot on. Our first lunch was a chicken burger ($24), tasty and a little spicy. A later dinner of Indonesian fried rice, a jasmine tuna bowl and a mango and passion fruit sorbet came to $107 with two proseccos: very good, though Gaio edged it. Perla, a sushi bar with high-top tables, sits inside Ostra.
Chao Pescao Tapas Bar
A menu that tours Latin America and the Caribbean country by country, with dishes from $12 to $30. The Argentine provoleta was the standout, the Costa Rican beef empanadas were good, and the Coloso cocktail ($16, from the Dominican Republic section) was very good. Everything was a little under-salted; ask for salt.
Coffee & Vinyls
Start the day here. Excellent coffee, pour-overs at the bar, and records on the shelves. Two ham and cheese croissants and two cappuccinos came to $43, and the staff added a chocolate chip cookie on the house. They also run a session on Costa Rican coffee, flavors and brewing, if you want to go deeper.
Coffee & Vinyls. The right first stop of the day.
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Money. Prices at the resort are in US dollars. Add about 23% to every menu price for VAT and service, and expect the resort fee at checkout.
Wildlife. Howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins, iguanas, hummingbirds, frigatebirds over the water. We also saw a scorpion on a path at night on the way to Ostra: wear closed-toe shoes after dark and watch the path edges.
Rain. Bring an umbrella, or rely on the staff, who bring them. Plan water activities early in your stay, not on your last full day: one heavy rain can cloud the bay for the next one.
Seasoning. At Gaio's breakfast and at Chao Pescao, ask for salt.
Early starts. The howlers may wake you around 5:30am. Let them.
Verify before you go. Boat schedules, bike-share rules, restaurant hours and resort fees change with the season. Confirm the specifics close to your dates.