Papagayo Peninsula
Luxury resorts and private bays on Culebra Bay, away from any town.
Best forLuxury, honeymoons, quiet and high standards
Think twice ifYou want to walk out to restaurants
From Liberia AirportAbout 35 to 40 minutes
Free trip planning · Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Don’t waste your time guessing where to stay in Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Tell us who is coming and what you want. A local team with more than 30 years in tourism here will tell you where to stay and design your days around you. You plan directly with us, and the planning is free.
30+ yearsin tourism in Guanacaste, Costa Rica
5.0on Tripadvisor, from 312 reviews
24 hoursat most to get your plan
$0planning fee
Sound familiar?
The questions everyone asks before they book
The average traveler spends about five hours across 141 web pages before booking a trip. Visitors from the US who fly into Liberia stay about seven nights, so the wrong base costs real days. Tap a question to see what we tell our guests.
Your plan, in four taps
Tell us about the trip you want
No email needed. You will see where we would start, and you can send it to us with one tap.
Who is coming?
Pick one.
What do you want most?
Pick up to two.
Where do you want to sleep?
Already booked? Tell us that too.
How many nights?
A rough idea is fine.
Where to stay
Where should you stay in Guanacaste, Costa Rica?
Eight stretches of coast, eight different trips. Here is how we explain them to our guests, north to south, with the drive by road from Liberia Airport (LIR).
Playa Hermosa, Panamá, Coco & Ocotal
Four beaches side by side and the closest to the airport, with restaurants, clinics, pharmacies, banks and ATMs nearby. Coco is the liveliest, with more nightlife, and the others are calmer.
Best forFirst trips, families, short transfers, day trips in every direction
Think twice ifYou want total silence in the middle of Coco
From Liberia AirportAbout 30 to 35 minutes
RIU Guanacaste, RIU Palace & Playa Matapalo
Big all-inclusive resorts on Playa Matapalo. Most of our guests here are families and couples a few days into their week.
Best forEverything on site, easy meals, private days out when you are ready
Think twice ifYou want a town at the gate
From Liberia AirportAbout 45 minutes
Las Catalinas
Not a resort: condos and rentals in a small private town above Playa Danta, with its own services and made for walking.
Best forCouples, rentals, quiet evenings
Think twice ifYou want a big resort
From Liberia AirportAbout 1 hour 20 minutes
Playa Flamingo & Playa Potrero
Quiet beach towns with restaurants and plenty of villas and condos for rent. Most of the guests we collect here are families who rented a place for the week.
Best forFamilies, groups, rentals, boat days from Flamingo Marina
Think twice ifYou want nightlife, because there is none here
From Liberia AirportAbout 1 hour
Playa Conchal & Brasilito
Full-service resorts at Reserva Conchal, including the Westin and the W Hotel, beside Brasilito, a real village of local families and small sodas.
Best forAll-inclusive weeks, families, groups
Think twice ifYou want many restaurants within walking distance
From Liberia AirportAbout 1 hour
Tamarindo & Playa Grande
Surfers, young crowds and plenty of nightlife, with good restaurants and sunsets. Playa Grande is the quiet side, just across the estuary.
Best forSurfers, young travelers, friends who want nightlife, trips without a car
Think twice ifYou want silence at night in the center of Tamarindo
From Liberia AirportAbout 1 hour 15 minutes
Hacienda Pinilla
The quietest corner of the coast: the JW Marriott and private homes, with uncrowded surf beaches next door.
Best forLong quiet stays, rentals, surf
Think twice ifYou want a lot of day trips, since drives run longer from here
From Liberia AirportAbout 1 hour 45 minutes
What kind of place
All-inclusive, adults-only, beachfront or a rental?
Each one is a good choice for someone. Pick one to see when it fits, what to watch for and how we help.
Choose it if
You want rest, easy meals and no decisions, or you are traveling with kids who need a pool and a program.
Keep in mind
You can spend a week in Costa Rica and see very little of it. Beaches and food vary a lot between resorts.
How we help
We tell you which resort area fits you, then plan private days out from your resort when you want them.
Choose it if
You are on a honeymoon or a couples trip and quiet is what you came for.
Keep in mind
Some of the quietest places feel far from everything, so ask how you will get out for a day.
How we help
We match the place to the two of you, and we pick you up there so you do not need a car.
Choose it if
Waking up steps from the sand is the whole point of the trip.
Keep in mind
Beachfront does not always mean a beach you want to swim at. Ask about the sand and the water, not only the view.
How we help
We know these beaches. Tell us if you need calm water for kids and we will say which ones fit.
Choose it if
You are a family or a group that wants a kitchen, a pool and everyone under one roof.
Keep in mind
Check recent reviews, stairs, road access and who answers if something breaks. Photos do not show the walk to the beach.
How we help
We have worked in property management on this coast. We tell you which areas suit a rental and what to ask before you pay.
Choose it if
You like small places with character, and you want to walk to dinner.
Keep in mind
In a town center, ask about noise at night. On a hillside, ask about the walk to the beach.
How we help
We tell you which towns have what you are after, and which side of town to pick.
How it works
One conversation, one plan
Tell us what you want
Use the four taps above, or just write to us on WhatsApp. Who is coming, what you love, where you want to be.
Get your plan in 24 hours at most
Where to stay, day by day, with real drive times and one closed price for your private days.
Change it until it feels right
You book your hotel or rental directly. We run the days with you, from your door.
- Where to stay, by area and by kind of place
- A day-by-day plan with real drive times
- One closed price for your private days
- A plan B for rain or park closures
- Airport transfers, if you need them
- A real person on WhatsApp, before and during your trip
Real requests, shared without names
What this looks like in real life
One day, with the grandparents
A group of six at Playa Panamá, two of them 72 and in good shape, wanted wildlife and quiet days at the resort. We planned one rainforest day with easy walking and hanging bridges, and we did not push a second.
The last day, with all the luggage
A couple in Tamarindo was flying home. Our tip: spend the last night at a hotel by Liberia Airport. Your bags ride in the van, you spend the day in the rainforest, and we drop you at that hotel.
Thirteen people, ages 20 to 81
A family renting in Potrero wanted nature walks and nothing extreme. We told them which day would suit them best, even though it changed their first idea, and kept every walk gentle.
Who plans it
The people who answer are the people who guide you
Guanadreams CR is a family-run private tour operator in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, founded in 2014 by Miller Contreras, naturalist guide and wildlife photographer, and Karol Murillo Portilla. We plan the trip around the days we run ourselves.
- More than 30 years in tourism in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and more than 20 guiding
- Years of property management and concierge work on this coast
- Relationships with the hotels of the area
- Our guides are certified by the ICT, and we hold ICT and CTP permits
- Days beyond the coast too: Arenal, the Tenorio Rainforest, Valle de los Quetzales and San Gerardo de Dota
Before you ask
Planning a trip to Guanacaste, Costa Rica: quick questions
There is no single best area. For short transfers and restaurants, look at Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa, about 30 to 35 minutes from Liberia Airport. For quiet, look at the Papagayo Peninsula, Las Catalinas, Flamingo, Potrero or Hacienda Pinilla. For surf and nightlife, look at Tamarindo. Tell us who is coming and we will narrow it to two.
Not for your days with us: we pick you up at your door, anywhere from the Papagayo Peninsula to Hacienda Pinilla. A car helps if you want to go out to dinner every night from a resort or villa far from town. We will tell you which case is yours, and our guide to getting around Guanacaste, Costa Rica compares the options.
For a week or less, one base usually works, because your days out start at your door. With more time, keep it to two bases: the coast, plus a night or two near Arenal. Our 7-day itinerary for Guanacaste, Costa Rica and our private Costa Rica itineraries show how that works.
Not if you came for rest and easy meals. You do not have to stay inside the resort either. We run private days out from the resorts on this coast, with your own guide and vehicle.
Many families stay in rentals here, and it can be a great way to travel. Choose with care: read recent reviews, make sure someone answers if something goes wrong, and know the road and the walk to the beach. Tell us the area you are considering and we will tell you what we know.
Guanacaste, Costa Rica gives you the beach and the dry forest, while Arenal gives you the volcano and the rainforest. You do not have to choose: the Tenorio Rainforest is a full day trip from the coast, and La Fortuna works as a night or two away.
Yes. Planning is free, even if you never book anything with us. We do not take commissions from hotels or concierges. We help you get a clear picture first, and when one of our private experiences fits what you want, we suggest it. Those experiences are how we earn our living.
In almost every case you book your hotel or rental directly. We tell you where we would stay and why, and we plan your days around it.
No. We are a private tour operator based in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and we plan your trip around the days we run ourselves. If you want one invoice for flights, hotels and everything else, a travel agency may suit you better. To compare operators, read how to choose a private tour operator in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Within 24 hours at most, and usually sooner on WhatsApp. Most private day tours cost from $500 to $1,000 for a group of two, taxes and hotel pickup included, and you get one closed price for your group. See what private tours cost in Costa Rica.
One message is all it takes
Close the tabs. Tell us who is coming and what you want, and we will take it from there.