The Best Way to Experience Costa Rica: A Private House and Personal Chef

Costa Rica is a small Central American country bordered by Nicaragua, Panama, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. It’s well known for its beaches, rainforests, and volcanoes, as well as its diverse wildlife. Costa Rica is a stable democracy with a strong economy, making it a popular tourist destination. Average temperatures in Costa Rica hover around 21-27 degrees Celsius, and the country experiences a rainy season from May to November followed by a dry season from December to April. Whether you’re looking to relax on the beach, explore the rainforest, or hike a volcano, Costa Rica has something for everyone.

Arriving in Costa Rica – San Jose

San Jose is a great place to start your Costa Rica adventure! It’s located in the Central Valley region of the country, and it’s home to a number of museums, theaters, and parks. San Jose is also a popular starting point for travels around Costa Rica. The city has an airport, and it’s easy to find transportation to other parts of the country.

Our trip began here where we spent one night before heading to the home we rented on the coast. The airport was easy to traverse and we quickly made our way to the transportation area and were off to our hotel. Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica, but everyone we came into contact with spoke fluent English and we have no issues.

We spent our first night at the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen. It was a great hotel with its Spanish architecture and overlooked the city and golf course. We were contacted weeks in advance of our trip to see if there was anything we needed. In our case, our stay involved the birthday of one of our family members. They arrange a fantastic suite overlooking the golf course and provided wine and deserts already pre-staged in our room.

Lodging – Private Rental

I will start by saying this trip was unlike most that we take. Typically we will explore a significant area of the location we travel to and we will spend most of our time in the activities and culture of our destination. For this trip, we decided to for a more “home” feel and spent nearly our entire trip in one area, much of which was at the home we rented. The owners offered what can be described as an all-inclusive experience, with the option to arrange private chefs, in-home activities, and local activities. In our case, we took part in all of the above.

I know this isn’t an article about the home we sited in, but wow! The main floor, pictured above, was where you entered the home, and immediately you felt like you were in a tropical paradise. The best part it was all ours for the week, without tourists, without the hustle and bustle of the city. It was exactly what we were looking for to get off the grid and decompress.

On the same level, we made our way to the patio, which was on the second level, and overlooked the lush forest and infinity pool. There was nothing but sounds of the jungle, which Macaw’s flying overhead, and the soothing sounds of the beach below.

While not a completely private beach to the home, it was just below the home with a path leading down to it. We spent one afternoon exploring the beach and a quick hike.

To this day we speak of this trip with fond memories of our stay at this home and the seemingly luxury that would follow imagining that this was how the rich and famous must feel.

Costa Rican Cuisine

Costa Rican cuisine is a blend of Indigenous, Spanish, and African influences. Typical dishes include rice and beans, tamales, Casado (a dish of meat, vegetables, and rice), and ceviche (raw fish marinated in citrus juice). Costa Rican food is usually not very spicy, but it can be if you request it.

My family and I love this type of food and one of the goals of this trip was to try anything and everything that Costa Rica has to offer. What better way to experience Costa Rican food than with a local personal chef that cooks just about anything you want, in quantities that 10 people would be hard to consume (mind you we are a family of 4) using local ingredients and receipts that have been in their family for generations.

What can only be described as the best food ever, the week included breakfast and dinner (lunch was leftovers if we even had the room) with a wide range of foods, cooked in our own kitchen with table service and clean up all provided.

Ahead of this trip, it seemed like an unnecessary expense and not worth the money, but after experiencing it I am so glad we did it and would do it again in a heartbeat. This was far better than going to restaurants, ending up with touristy food in some cases and overall quality and convenience were outstanding. Besides, those interested in watching this delicious food getting prepared and being able to customize exactly what you want, how you want, was priceless.

For those that don’t go this route, there are certainly many places to eat, but if you have the means and desire, I would highly suggest trying this at least once, and Costa Rica was a great place to do it.

Manuel Antonio Beach

Manuel Antonio Beach is one of the most popular beaches in Costa Rica, due to its dramatic scenery and diverse wildlife. The beach is located within Manuel Antonio National Park, home to various animals including sloths, monkeys, and iguanas. Visitors to the beach can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, surfing, and snorkeling.

The house we rented was only 5min from this beach, so what little time we did spend off the property was mostly spent here or in the national park that encompasses it.

Having been to Hawaii, and the Caribbean and being a resident of Florida, the beach was nice. Nothing I would classify as a top beach in the world, but definitely nice. There are many vendors offering activities and bathrooms and other amenities were available. We arrived in the morning to take a quiet walk down the beach and had arranged several activities including jet skis, parasailing, and surfing lessons.

Costa Rica is a popular destination for surfing, due to its dramatic coastline and year-round warm water temperatures. Surf lessons are available for all levels, from beginner to expert. Lessons typically last 2-3 hours and include a brief land lesson followed by plenty of time in the water. As I was not in the mood to get a face full of water for the next several hours, my wife and daughter took to the waves.

Parasailing is another popular activity in Costa Rica, due to the country’s dramatic coastline. Parasailing typically takes place from a boat, and you’re attached to the parasail with a harness. Once you’re in the air, you can enjoy stunning views of the coast. I was the official photo taker while my wife and kids shared a three-seater as seen in this photo.

Zip Lining

One of our other outings while in Costa Rica was Zip Lining in Manuel Antonio National Park. While we have done this in other areas of the world, I would rank the one we did in Costa Rica at the top of the list.

This was not your typical zip through some trees in someone’s backyard but was an experience through the lush rain forests in Manuel Antonio National Park including zipping into the sides of waterfalls and releasing from the line into the pool below. The experience also required some simple rappels that were good for a novice.

Other Activities – Chocolate Lessons

As part of our house rental, they offered several in-home activities. One of those was a chocolate lesson. It sounded odd at the time, but we were looking to spend as much time in the home as possible, and was something that would break up one of our days.

Essentially, at the arranged time a woman showed up and proceeded to teach the family about chocolate, and the different things that impact the taste and texture, and we proceeded with sampling a number of different kinds along the way to get a sense of the different types and flavor profiles.

Once the instructional portion was over, we went to the kitchen and began to make chocolate straight from the bean. Our kids actually enjoyed this and was something that we could do in the privacy of the home.

Other Activities – Art Class by the Ocean

In addition to the chocolate lessons, we also arranged for my wife and daughter art lessons that took place at the home off the back patio. They provided all the materials and set up the back area overlooking the jungle and ocean. The first session was leading up to dinner and there was still much to do. The woman that offered it ended up leaving all the materials with us for several more days which allowed for a multi-day activity as desired.

There is something to be said about being able to work on something you enjoy while enjoying the paradise around you. It’s not something I think we would have done had it been at a place of business, but the fact it could be done in the comfort of the home as they wanted, it was a perfect activity.

Other Activities – Costa Rica’s Wildlife

Costa Rica is home to a variety of animals, including monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and turtles. The country is also home to a number of active volcanoes, including Arenal and Irazu. From our patio, at the house, we had front-row seats to the Costa Rica nature. On several occasions, a family of meccas would fly by. Maybe not a big deal for some, but for us, it was nice to observe them in nature vs a zoo or other controlled environment.

While we didn’t see any from the house, we understand the National Park that was right next door is home to many monkeys as well.

The “Bad”

There are two things I will point out before someone asks.

First, if you are wondering about the house we stayed in, I did look it up while writing this post. While it is still available for rent I am sad to report that there are new owners and apparently they have built another unit adjacent to the home that blocks some of the view, as well as folks complain of more foot traffic to the beach than before.

As such I have decided not to link to the home or recommend it directly. If you are still interested, say so in the comments and I can provide the link, but from the sounds of it, you might be better off finding something similar in the area vs this specific home. This is sad to hear as our stay was nothing short of perfect.

Second, yes Costa Rica has many mosquitoes and bugs. Only a fault of mother nature, but compared to somewhere like Hawaii where you can walk through the dense forest and not have an issue, Costa Rica is definitely the place where bug spray comes in handy. Use it!

We read about a lot of diseases in the area from mosquitoes and while I felt safe, it definitely made us more aware of putting on spray and covering up as much as possible. In addition to spraying ourselves and our clothing, we also went with some convertible lightweight pants that were especially helpful when we did the zip-lining. We could keep ourselves covered up while hiking around, but convert them to shorts when we wanted.

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