In March 2016, the 4 of us decided to do something we rarely do when we travel: do nothing! That’s right, we went to Costa Rica for a RELAXING vacation, not the zip-line, rafting, volcano hiking, horseback riding vacation that usually comes to mind when you say Costa Rica. Of course, we did “some” things as you can see below, but we only stayed on the Papagayo Peninsula of the Guanacaste Region. It was definitely La PURA VIDA and we will definitely need to go back to this wonderful country to do the usual activities.
Where to stay:
Andaz Hotel: Wonderful hotel hidden in the hills of the Papagayo Peninsula. Room #728 is THE BEST for a family with two teenagers. This room is practically a villa, not a hotel room. Just amazing.
Where to eat:
Andaz Hotel: We did not venture much outside the Andaz resort since this was a “DO NOTHING” kind of vacation. The restaurants at the hotel were so-so for the pricing but their breakfast buffet was really amazing. So stuff up in the morning! Of course, they had great coffee as well. Their room service was also very good and quite affordable.
The Dive Bar: The Marina is only a 5 min ride from the Andaz Hotel and we had dinner at the Dive Bar one night. It’s an open-air restaurant in the marina. Very low key but quite good.
Activities:
Surfing: Go South! Great instructors for beginners to expert level. They offer LOTS of water activities. Great great staff. So much fun!
Golf: The only course on the Peninsula, the Four Seasons course offers unbelievable views of the ocean on a challenging course.
Spa: The Onda Spa at the Andaz Hotel offers several services but I think the volcanic rub is really special since this is not something you can get at other spas. The spa rooms are AMAZING! Very romantic too!
Best Place to see the Sunset on the Peninsula: The Prieta Beach Club is a great place to spend a day for water activities, dinner/lunch and the best sunset on the Peninsula.
Special Mention:
Albee Adventures: We actually had a difficult time organizing this trip at first. For some reason, our internet research was not providing much with good Costa Rica information (besides the usual stuff). So after hours and hours of not finding exactly what we wanted out of our “DO NOTHING” vacation, we stumbled upon “Albee Adventures”. We had never used a 3rd party organization to help us organize our trip, but I have to say, it was THE BEST thing we could have done for this particular trip. We highly recommend them.
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