Costa Rica Smart Splurges

Set amongst lush, flower-filled gardens, this secluded tropical paradise offers seven one-bedroom and three two-bedroom villas with spacious, open-air designs and handpicked art and furniture. Apart from being certified for sustainability, there’s a yoga studio, stone pools with manmade waterfalls literally right in the middle of the jungle, the acclaimed Pan-Asian restaurant Nectar, and private helicopter excursions. It’s also only steps from one of the most beautiful stretches of sand on the Nicoya peninsula. A 5-day minimum stay is required during peak season from mid-December through mid-January.

Created by a gringo, Jim Damalas, just over a quarter-century ago, one of the area’s most appealing and amenity-stuffed is located on a ten-acre hillside plot near the top of Manuel Antonio’s rain-forested hill. Damalas designed the resort to be as undisruptive as possible to the surrounding rainforest and he continues to make a big deal out of being green, relying extensively on recycling, solar power, and eco-friendly, biodegradable products. Guests enjoy the pair of pulchritudinous pools with swim-up bars and jacuzzis, two restaurants (one fine seafood dining, the other a laid-back Latin/Tex-Mex joint with live music), a 1600-foot spa, a no-extra-charge movie theater, and nature-oriented attractions like a butterfly garden and a 30-acre private wildlife refuge with hiking trails. Furthermore, Sí Como No is one of the best local choices for families, thanks especially to features like the jungle-landscaped pool with 30-foot water slide. The 52 air-conditioned rooms, which are spread among several two-level buildings, are spacious, and most have private balconies (some of them with rocking chairs). Décor is tastefully subdued: white tile floors, tan stucco walls, attractive fabrics in muted colors; upper-floor rooms are a bit more dramatic thanks to their high vaulted wood-beam ceilings.

This one-day catamaran excursion to Isla Tortuga may be touristy and pricey, but the picture-perfect island destination just off the Pacific coast makes the indignity of going along with the crowd worth it. Choose a weekday trip to have more white-sand beach to yourself.

Although Costa Rica is small (around the size of West Virginia), it’s inhabited by nearly 900 bird species, more than the total number in the U.S. and Canada combined. Randall Ortega Chaves, who runs Costa Rica Birding Journeys, loves taking guests out to spot his country’s feathered wildlife. Be on the lookout for the scarlet macaw and the endangered quetzal, revered by the ancient Mayans.

A onetime two-Michelin-star chef at Pied á Terre in London, English chef and owner...more