Choosing A Costa Rica Hotel: Why Location Is Key

Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

Choosing a Costa Rica hotel is like deciding on real estate. It’s all about the location!

You hear it all the time: location, location, location. Whether you’re buying a house, settling on a school district for your kids, or picking a community to host your business, the element of where is key in making a smart investment.

The same goes for choosing a Costa Rica hotel for your vacation. A hotel’s location can hugely impact your travel experience, so giving it some thought—before committing to any property—is a critical step in building a successful, enjoyable, time- and cost-efficient Costa Rica trip.

When I coach travelers about planning their trip to Costa Rica, I stress this point: Although there are a lot of factors to consider when picking a Costa Rica hotel, one factor that is nonnegotiable is the hotel’s location, and getting that aspect right or wrong can make or break the vacation by leading to supremely satisfying or utterly disappointing travel experiences. To help ensure the former and avoid the latter, familiarize yourself with our recommended considerations below.

Choose a Costa Rica hotel that has a location that won’t set you up for impossible, uncomfortable, or stressful travel

Hotels want you to choose their property, so they’re not always forthright with information that might cause you to look elsewhere. Do some research to learn about the conditions of the roads and terrain around the hotel(s) you’re considering to avoid surprises (or problems) after you arrive. Some hotels like to advertise the proximity of their property to sought-after sites of interest, but they stop short of confirming that the five-minute walk to the beautiful beach is down a steep hill, or the five-kilometer drive to the wildlife refuge is on an unpaved bumpy road that takes a half-hour to travel, requires a 4X4, and includes a river crossing. If these situations are deal-breakers for you, you’ll appreciate knowing them before you commit to your accommodations. Even if they aren’t major turnoffs, it’s important that you’re aware of them in advance, so you can best and safely prepare for the visit.

Choose a Costa Rica hotel that has a location that is eligible for free tour transportation

As we explain in our related article, Costa Rica Tour Transportation: Hotel Pick-Ups And Drop-Offs, several tour operators and transportation service providers provide free hotel pick-up and drop-off services, but only at qualifying hotels. If you do not plan on renting a car in Costa Rica, or even if you do but you want to take advantage of free tour transportation, choose a Costa Rica hotel that is eligible for complimentary transportation, to avoid having to pay unnecessary hotel pick-up and drop-off fees (or in some cases, if you choose to drive yourself to tour sites, unnecessary parking fees).

How to know if a hotel qualifies for free transportation

To help you determine whether a particular Costa Rican hotel is within the zone where tour operators and transportation service providers typically provide complimentary hotel pick-up and drop-off services, we created a target-based system.

To use the system, start by picturing the logo of the American retailer giant Target. You know the one… with a red outer circle, a white inner circle, and a red dot in the center. Imagine the entire target is a Costa Rica tourist town, with the red dot in the middle representing the town’s downtown core, the inner white circle representing the town’s immediate outskirts, and the outer red circle representing the remainder of the region that surrounds the town.

Now, imagine if we plotted on the target every hotel that exists in the tourist town’s vicinity. Instantly, you would see that the assortment of hotels dots all three rings, symbolizing that hotels in Costa Rica span all three geographical areas of a tourist town (i.e., the downtown/core, the immediate outskirts, and the general region at large). Next, imagine a black line dividing the two innermost rings from the outer ring; the black line represents the divide between hotels that qualify for free tour transportation and hotels that do not qualify for free tour transportation. If you stay at a hotel inside the black line (i.e., in the downtown/core or on the immediate outskirts of town) you can get picked up and dropped off at the hotel for free. If you stay at a hotel outside of the black line (i.e., in the region at large that surrounds the town) you’ll pay extra for hotel pick-up and drop-off services.

To put this target-based system into practice, let’s apply it to four of Costa Rica’s most well-known tourist destinations: La Fortuna, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, and the capital city of San Jose.

La Fortuna / Arenal hotel locations

• The red dot in the middle (downtown core) represents the town of La Fortuna, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in this area include (in alphabetical order) Arenal Montechiari, Hotel El Volcan, Hotel Fortuna, Hotel Las Colinas, Hotel Monte Real, Hotel San Bosco, Hotel Secreto La Fortuna, Hotel Villa Fortuna, and other hotels.
• The inner white circle (immediate outskirts) represents the area west of La Fortuna (between the town of La Fortuna and Lake Arenal), where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in this area include (in alphabetical order) Arenal Country Inn, Arenal Green, Arenal Kioro, Arenal Kokoro, Arenal Manoa, Arenal Nayara, Arenal Paraiso, Arenal Springs Resort (Hotel Arenal Springs), Arenal Volcano Inn, Casa Luna Lodge, Cerro Azul, Cerro Chato Ecolodge, Hotel Campo Verde, La Pradera Del Arenal, Lomas Del Volcan, Los Lagos, Magic Mountain, Montana De Fuego, Mountain Paradise, Royal Corin, Silencio Del Campo, Tabacon Resort, Villas Vilma, Volcano Lodge, and other hotels.
• The outer red circle (region at large) represents the area further west of La Fortuna (west of Lake Arenal), as well as areas near the communities of El Castillo, Monterrey, and Chachagua, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs typically have a cost. Hotels in these areas include (in alphabetical order) Arenal Lodge, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Vista Lodge, Finca Luna Nueva, Hotel Linda Vista, Leaves & Lizards, Lost Iguana, The Springs Resort & Spa, Tilajari, Tree Houses Hotel, Villa Decary, and other hotels.

Monteverde / Santa Elena hotel locations

Be aware: Monteverde, the tourist destination, is comprised of three contiguous geographical areas: Santa Elena (considered the downtown core of Monteverde), Cerro Plano (an area immediately east of Santa Elena), and Monteverde (an area immediately east of Cerro Plano).

• The red dot in the middle (downtown core) represents the town of Santa Elena, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in this area include (in alphabetical order) Camino Verde, El Viandante, Hotel Cipreses, Hotel Ficus, Hotel Finca Valverde, Hotel Poco a Poco, Monteverde Rustic Lodge, Monteverde Villa Lodge, and other hotels.
• The inner white circle (immediate outskirts) represents the areas near the communities of Cerro Plano and Monteverde, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in these areas include (in alphabetical order) El Establo, Hotel Bellbird, Hotel Jardines De Monteverde, Hotel Fonda Vela, Hotel Heliconia, Hotel Montana Monteverde, La Colina Lodge, Los Pinos, Manakin Lodge, Monteverde Country Lodge, Trapp Family Lodge, and other hotels.
• The outer red circle (region at large) represents areas beyond the communities of Santa Elena, Cerro Plano, and Monteverde, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs typically have a cost. Hotels in these areas include (in alphabetical order) Vista Verde Lodge, and other hotels.

Manuel Antonio hotel locations

• The red dot in the middle (downtown core) represents the community of Manuel Antonio at beach level, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in this area include (in alphabetical order) Cabinas Playa Espadilla, Hotel Playa Espadilla, Hotel San Bada, Hotel Verde Mar, Jungle Beach Hotel, La Posada Jungle, and other hotels.
• The inner white circle (immediate outskirts) represents the rest of the community of Manuel Antonio (between beach level and the town of Quepos), as well as the town of Quepos, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in these areas include (in alphabetical order) Arenas Del Mar, Best Western Kamuk, Buena Vista Luxury Villas, Byblos Resort, Espadilla Ocean Club, Falls Resort, Gaia Hotel & Reserve, Hotel California, Hotel Costa Verde, Hotel Mimos, Hotel Parador, Hotel Plaza Yara, Hotel Tres Banderas, Hotel Mandarina, Issimo Suites, La Colina, La Mansion Inn, La Mariposa, Los Altos, Makanda By The Sea, Mango Moon, Mono Azul, Si Como No Resort, Tulemar Bungalows, Villas El Parque, Villas Nicolas, and other hotels.
• The outer red circle (region at large) represents areas beyond the community of Manuel Antonio and the town of Quepos, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs typically have a cost. Hotels in these areas include (in alphabetical order) Clandestino Beach Resort, Cocomar, Hacienda Pacifica, Kayak Lodge, La Foresta Nature Resort, La Palapa, Layla Resort, and other hotels.

San Jose hotel locations

• The red dot in the middle (downtown core) represents the city of San Jose, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in this area include (in alphabetical order) Apartotel La Sabana, Gran Hotel, Hotel Aranjuez, Hotel Balmoral, Hotel Grano De Oro, Hotel Le Bergerac, Hotel Presidente, Hotel Santo Tomas, and other hotels.
• The inner white circle (immediate outskirts) represents the area northwest of San Jose (between the city of San Jose and the SJO Airport/Alajuela), where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are typically free. Hotels in this area include (in alphabetical order) Country Inn & Suites, DoubleTree by Hilton Cariari, Hampton Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Wyndham Herradura, and other hotels.
• The outer red circle (region at large) represents areas beyond the city of San Jose and the immediate SJO Airport zone, where hotel pick-ups and drop-offs typically have a cost. Hotels in these areas include (in alphabetical order) Beacon Escazu, Casa Bella Rita, Casa De Flores, Hotel Buena Vista, Hotel Luisiana, Hotel Robledal, La Terraza, Terrazas De Golf, Xandari Resort, and other hotels.

Choose a Costa Rica hotel that nears the restaurants you want to dine at, and don’t assume those restaurants are in a town center

Travelers often erroneously assume that staying as close as possible to a town or community center is best. That isn’t always the smartest plan; in several cases, accommodations on the outskirts of towns provide quieter stays, unobstructed views, and shorter drives to sites of interest. But part of the allure of staying directly in a town is having access to a cluster of restaurants. While this benefit can be great, especially if you don’t intend to rent a car and you would prefer to stay within walking distance of several places to eat, what really matters is proximity to places you actually want to dine at. In other words, what good is staying near 20 restaurants if you’re only going to eat at two or three restaurants during your visit, and what if the restaurants that appeal to you the most aren’t even in town but on the outskirts of it? Unless you plan to eat multiple meals at the restaurant(s) at your chosen hotel, you’ll likely make a few trips (either drives or taxi rides) to and from your preferred restaurants in the area you’ve decided to visit. Fortunately, you can shorten those trips and save yourself some time, effort, and money by keeping the location of restaurants in mind when choosing a Costa Rica hotel.

Pura vida!

Do you have questions about hotels in Costa Rica, want help determining whether the locations of particular hotels will help or hinder the experiences you want to have, or need help coordinating visits to various hotels during your vacation? No problem! When you’re ready, make an appointment here to communicate with me (Nikki) privately and we can discuss these and other topics to get your questions answered fast and your Costa Rica trip poised for success. Pura vida, amigos! 🙂

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