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We’re excited about new opportunities for our guests to experience the authentic heart of these wild and wonderful destinations, always tailored to individual style and aspirations. Here’s Journey Costa Rica’s roundup on how to travel in 2026.
HIGH-TOUCH ADVENTURE IN THE WILD
We’re rewilding Costa Rica’s luxury travel landscape: re-centering on immersion in raw nature, stepping off the classic circuit, and embracing the reward of moving beyond the familiar. This doesn’t mean sacrificing ease or comfort – we know how to balance both. It’s about returning to the sense of discovery, spontaneity, and adventure that we love about travel, supported by our proactive service rooted in care and connection.
REMOTE BOUTIQUE HOTELS
The rise of luxury boutiques in more secluded regions of Costa Rica is drawing travelers off the beaten path and encouraging multi-destination journeys. After 2025’s launch of several ultra-luxury resorts, 2026 brings a new wave of intimate high-end openings:
- Beachfront Fermata in Santa Teresa
- Origins Astral (great for families!)
- Coastal Santa Lucía at the threshold of Cararas National Park
- Reimagined Punta Islita, Nicoya Peninsula (late 2026)
UVITA AND THE OSA PENINSULA
We’re looking to the town of Uvita on Costa Rica’s southern Pacific Coast as a standout base thanks to a surge in luxury villas surrounded by rainforests, wildlife, and grand forest and ocean views. We’re excited to unlock high-impact, nature-rich itineraries pairing stays in Uvita with the Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth.
- The area has no town center by design, creating a nature-immersed atmosphere
- Luxury villas boast top-notch accommodation and service.
- Full staffing, curated picnics, BBQs
- Waterfalls, curated picnics, national parks, ziplines, hikes
- Wildlife and adventure galore on Osa’s Corcovado Peninsula
- Snorkeling and diving on epic Isla Caño in Golfo Dulce
- Stay at the recently renovated Corcovado Wilderness or, Tibo in late 2026
PAPAGAYO EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES
The gorgeous Papagayo Peninsula is a go-to for luxury travelers in Costa Rica, with flagship resorts like the Four Seasons, Andaz and the new Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve that opened in 2025. The Waldorf Astoria also opened its doors this year across the bay on the Cacique Peninsula, next to Hermosa Beach.
We’ve created an exciting program of exploration by air, land, and sea to complement stays at these world-class properties while reintroducing a sense of wild. Our seamless logistics, elevated comfort, and thoughtful touches keep the adventure luxurious, while exclusive access, insider creativity, and high-touch design enhance Papagayo’s resort community experience:
- Heli-surfing, heli-biking, heli-rafting and heli-supported hiking into remote landscapes (the country’s top helicopter is now positioned in Papagayo!)
- Jet-ski expeditions to secluded beaches
- Marine wildlife encounters and conservation on dives with ocean explorer, Ernst van der Poll
- Overnight stays on a private catamaran anchored in a protected bay
- Secluded waterfalls and natural hot springs paired with champagne and curated picnics
- UTV rally challenges and guided off-road routes into rugged terrain
- Castaway-style retreats complete with bonfires, fresh-caught fish, and full service
ULTRA-LUX VILLAS, PRIVATE ESTATES AND INFINITE POSSIBILITIES
A new way to villa
We’ve got something super exciting for Costa Rica guests staying in private homes: the Your Villa, Elevated Program. Whether it’s a couples, friends, or multi-generational family trip, we’ve designed a menu of curated activities that bring culture and connection to the privacy of your home away from home. These are resort-level experiences in Journey Costa Rica style – intimate, creative, and fully personalized.
Choose in-villa moments across four themed experience categories, bringing in local talent – chefs, mixologists, musicians, ceramicists, sommeliers, photographers, wellness instructors – to match your party’s dynamic. We want to spark our guests’ inspiration to imagine what’s possible in a villa setting:
- Learning how to scuba dive in your pool before exploring open ocean
- Dynamic Spanish lessons for all ages
- Family jam sessions
- Fire dancers and illusionist performances
- An evening of zesty ceviche and salsa dancing
COSTA RICA’S NEXT-LEVEL VILLAS
We’re excited about the ultra-luxury villas we’ve found across Costa Rica, including several properties completely new to market and brand-new builds. These properties are ideal for families and multigenerational groups, offering the privacy, space, and comfort needed for curated, personal stays. Stir your imagination with some of our favorites below, our team is always ready to chat luxury villas!
PRIVATE ESTATES ACROSS COSTA RICA AND PANAMA
Demand for stays at private estates continues to grow as guests seek space, privacy, and a deeper sense of place. These properties often unfold across expansive grounds, offering trails, viewpoints, and ecosystems to explore. At their best, they feel like having your own national park as a backyard!
Check out a couple of our favorites below:
Tranquility Project | Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica: We are so excited to launch this extraordinary property in one of the country’s wildest regions. Journey Costa Rica guests have exclusive access to stay at the nine-bungalow estate, the private home of the owners behind Africa’s Singita Grumeti conservation-forward luxury lodges. This is hands down one of the most unique places in Central America.
Reserva Azuero | Panama: The scale of this coastal property is incredible, elevating the private-estate model with a beach club, pool, tennis courts, hiking trails, and private beaches for surfing and pristine wilderness open space, all for guests. True luxury in nature.
INTRODUCING COSTA RICA’S FIRST OCEAN SAFARI
Journey Costa Rica is bringing new ways to explore the Pacific coast: marine-wildlife-focused safaris hosted by super interesting experts. Conceived as a five-day route, but equally powerful as flexible one-off day experiences, we’re making rare encounters accessible to travelers through our relationships with marine biologists, conservation NGOs, ocean explorers, and on-the-ground fixers. Each element takes a deep dive into Pacific marine life and can feature in broader itineraries – we love pushing the boundaries of adventure, nature, and insider-led exploration.
- Osa Peninsula with Misión Tiburón for responsible hammerhead shark observations
- Golfo Dulce to interpret marine behavior, capture drone perspectives, and listen for humpback whales
- Isla Caño, snorkel or dive one of Costa Rica’s most vibrant Pacific reefs
- Meet the teams who assisted BBC crews in filming mega pods of spinner dolphins
- Guanacaste, diving with renowned underwater explorer, Ernst van der Poll
- Las Catalinas and Murciélagos Islands, get up close with white-tip sharks and giant manta rays
TRAVEL THAT TEACHES
HANDS-ON CITIZEN SCIENCE
Travelers are increasingly seeking journeys that deepen their understanding of the natural world. We’re leaning into this shift from observer to participant with a growing suite of citizen-science experiences. Through close relationships with leading NGOs in Costa Rica and Panama, guests can take part in fieldwork usually reserved for researchers like:
- Learning about and assisting with coral restoration
- Setting and reviewing wildlife camera traps
- Jaguar tagging in Panama’s Darién rainforest with founder and director of the Yaguara Foundation, Ricardo Moreno
GO HOME WITH FUN NEW SKILLS
Alongside these scientific programs, we’re seeing a strong appetite for trips that develop personal mastery. Whether guests want to refine a passion or learn something entirely new, Journey Costa Rica designs and delivers experiences that pair expert instruction with the landscapes where these skills come alive. Our skill-building portfolio spans:
- Surfing
- Sailing
- Kite surfing
- Mountain biking
- Horseback riding
- Scuba diving
- Freediving
- Spearfishing
- Golf
- Tennis
- Wilderness survival
JOURNEY INTO 2026 WITH US!
2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for travel in Costa Rica and Panama. From rewilded luxury to ocean safaris, private estates, and insider-led exploration, our journeys invite travelers to experience these destinations with more curiosity, creativity, and connection. The door to discovery is wide open – we guide adventures that feel personal, purposeful, and impossible to forget.
