Costa Rica

Our Costa Rica Honeymoon Review

I think for the price, our Costa Rica Honeymoon trip really delivered on value and we would want to book something similar in the future. It was great having all the transfers arranged and not having to worry about logistics.

Did it meet or exceed your expectations?

Nayara far and away exceeded our expectations. The food, service, tours etc. were spectacular. We did the coffee and chocolate tour through the resort and a nature walk one morning. Both were so fun and we felt like the coffee tour was a great bang for your buck.

We had a good experience with the transfers as well other than the one between the resorts.

Every minute spent at Nayara was a highlight. We saw so much wildlife, had amazing food (breakfast there was unbelievable!!). We enjoyed the wine bar and the pools and our coffee tour. The staff helped us arrange for a taxi into town to grab dinner one night too. The room was to die for and they even gave us a special heart shaped dessert and decorated the room for us when we checked in. We saw sloths on property too and just really enjoyed all our time there.

As far as Secrets Papagayo The service was pretty good. We did get a couples massage that was very nice and they gave us a bottle of champagne in our room and decorated our door for our honeymoon. We did a private romantic dinner that was nice. The food was great and we had our private server which made it feel very special. I’d recommend this to future clients.

While we were at the beach we did a sunset snorkeling cruise with Kuna Vela Sailing which was amazing.

We also booked a private romantic dinner through Secrets that was very special and probably the best food we had at the resort. It was very intimate and nice.

 

Since neither of us are particularly fond of planned activities or overly structured trips, we were at first skeptical about the idea of letting someone else plan our honeymoon. Our concerns were quickly put to rest once we started working with Heather at Unforgettable Honeymoons. She was extremely helpful and attentive and treated us like we were the only couple she was working with. We ended up honeymooning in Costa Rica, and spent three nights on the coast at the Westin Playa Conchal and three nights in the jungle at Nayara Hotel Spa and Gardens. Heather made sure that all of our accommodations and transportation were taken care of and everything wentseamlessly once we were on the ground in Costa Rica. Basically she took care of all of the tedious, boring details that we didn’t want to deal with, and all we had to worry about was which amazing restaurant to eat dinner at or if we should go zip-lining or hike a volcano that day. It was the perfect balance of relaxation and adventure. The Westin was an all-inclusive set on a beautiful white sand beach with several excellent restaurants. We spent an afternoon on a fishing trip, but other than that, we mostly took advantage of our time at the Westin to relax. Nayara was also an immaculate resort, but since it was set in the jungle, this was our time to get off the resort and explore. We hiked a dormant volcano and swam in the crater and zip-lined on one of the country’s largest zip-line courses. Overall, our honeymoon was perfect. See the links below for pictures of our incredible experience…

Costa Rica at Arenal Nayara and then Secrets Papagayo
Arenal Nayara was absolutely perfect! The staff were amazing- friendly, accommodating and definitely willing to go the extra mile with personalized service! The resort grounds are beautiful, well maintained and the location was absolutely gorgeous. The food was some of the best food I’ve ever had and very fresh! There are also lots of excursions and things to do in the area as well as free on-site activities (yoga, bird-watching). Outdoor showers/jacuzzi were awesome as well. Also, we had a great experience with their spa/massage services.

Secrets had good food and the staff were very attentive and friendly. The grounds were also beautiful and had a great ocean view. Nayara met and surpassed our expectations (we will definitely return here). Secrets met our expectations (aside from the hiccup below) and was good for what it was- drinking/eating to excess and sitting by the pool.

Costa Rica overall was awesome! The people were very friendly and seemed to genuinely enjoy entertaining and educating tourists about the history of Costa Rica. We did various excursions (hanging bridges tour, zip lining, horseback riding, hot springs) through Nayara. We always felt very safe, had no problem only speaking English, it was easy to use dollars and they are very gay friendly! We would (and plan) to return to Costa Rica for an anniversary trip at Nayara.
The genuine and personalized service we received at Nayara as well as the time we spent at that resort.

Arenal Nayara, Dreams Las Mareas, El Presidente

How did the honeymoon turn out in general?
It was awesome, first of all let me say that my expectations were within the budget my wife and I planned. We didn’t expect to get as much as we did. Unforgettable Honeymoons really does a great job finding the right spots and getting the best out of your money, and of course, the places we stayed at exceeded by far our expectations.

What did you like best about the resorts you stayed at?
At Nayara, it was everything. Since the moment you get to the resort people are super nice, they have great attentions, the place itself is a paradise. The rooms are luxurious and perfectly designed. The views, the rainforest around it, the privacy. It seems like they know exactly when to do the house keeping; we never saw anybody and nobody knocked on the door for house keeping while we were in the room. The Restaurants are awesome, they have like 4 or 5 restaurants with different foods and they are all better than excellent. The staff is awesome they are always very serviceable, eager to answer your questions and help you out if you need anything. There are a lot of things to do, from adventure tours to relaxing in real hot springs from volcanic heated waters or a great spa, even staying just at your room is great. Overall it might be the best place I have ever stayed.
At Dreams Las Mareas we had a totally diferent experience, we went from a tropical rain forest to a tropical dry forest. The weather was a little hotter, which made it great for pool and beach days. They have good attention at the hotel. Restaurants are quite good too. It’s a nice all inclusive resort. There are also a lot of water sports activities, seadoos, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing. Near the resort are other nice activities to do as well.

At El Presidente we had a nice 2 night stay, rooms aren’t as big as the other to resorts, but they are very nice. The restaurant is good too, plus you are in the heart of San Jose. You can walk out the hotel door and stand right in downtown San Jose where you will find plenty of things to do and restaurants to eat and museums to explore.

What about the destination(s) in general?
Great places all of them, very different. It seams that every other place you go to in Costa Rica is a different country, diferent views, etc. Every single one of them great. People are awesome, probably the nicest I’ve met and I’ve been to several other countries. It really is “Pura Vida” like they say.

Highlight of the honeymoon ?
Totally the Nayara resort. It blew our minds off. Great place, great people, great food, you never get bored, overall great experience. I would totally go there again and maybe go to a beach at the Carribean side to a more “clear turquoise water/white sands and jungle behind you” kind of beach.

Anything that you wish you knew beforehand that you could pass on to us for future clients?
Just that, probably I didn’t researched the places we were going good enough. Costa Rica has like 6 to 7% of the worlds biodiversity, so is has a lot of different kind of places and forests and beaches. Every single one of them is great! Just make sure you get to the place you have in mind.

Any other comments?
Do not get me wrong, I am answering this questions you asked. I did had the best time in Costa Rica, it was an Unforgettable Honeymoon and we are very greatfull with your team.

Was our service what you expected?
It was better that what I expected. I would defenitely book a trip with Leah again!

Could we have done more to make your trip smoother?
Not really, everything was great, it was a beautifull honeymoon and an excellent vacation. We enjoyed it a lot, so much that we expect to go again someday!

How did the honeymoon turn out in general?   

It was amazing. Everything went so smoothly. We are so grateful to have gone through an agency so we did not have to plan that much. Renee promptly answered all of our questions we had prior to leaving so we would be set up with no hassles.

What did you like best about the resorts you stayed at?

The food and the views, delicious and beautiful. We felt like we were in another world.

Highlight of the honeymoon?

Secrets Papagayo was more of our relaxing resort – we went snorkeling, did some crafts, ate, had couples massage, and nightly shows

Nayara Gardens was relaxing and where we had all of our excursions. We went zip lining in the jungle (the volcano was on one side and Lake Arenal on the other side), horseback riding in the jungle (near the volcano and Lake Arneal), hiking in the jungle to a beautiful waterfall (private tour guide was so nice, he stopped various times on our way there to get out of the car and show us wildlife [a family of howling monkeys, toucans, parrots, vultures, viper in the jungle]), couples massage, hot springs, we hired a professional photographer who took amazing pictures of us, romantic meals

Was our service what you expected?

Yes, it was so helpful. We were definitely feeling decision overload from the wedding so it was so nice to have it be taken care of by a trusted company.

Could we have done more to make your trip smoother?

Honestly, no. We felt very taken care of.

Costa Rica Package Nayara & RUI Palace

How did the honeymoon turn out in general? Absolutely amazing! This is such an incredible Costa Rican experience. It was the best of both worlds, we got to experience the Central American rain forest as well as the beautiful coast.

Well not only were they both beautiful, they were both so different! My favorite was Nayara, it is honestly like you are in your own little rain forest. The whole resort if full of beautiful plants, it just livens up the whole fact that you’re in THE RAIN-FOREST!!!! The rooms are so cool. We had two showers, a traditional shower with a sliding glass door to the outside shower! The outside shower was super pretty, and in every corner are beautiful plants. Our view from our bed was to our patio, which has a hot tub Jacuzzi, two chairs and a hammock. Oh and did I mention a beautiful view of your OWN RAIN-FOREST. It’s cool too, because when your just hanging out on the patio you really feel like its just you two and the wild.

You can’t really see anyone else’s bungalow (unless you really try) and all you hear is nature. So it was super romantic and intimate for us. It also had beautiful spas and a cool swimming pool with a swim up bar. Oh and the food was amazing. I liked that fact that anything you did there was just charged to your room so we didn’t need to bring money around, we could just leave all that safe in the room.

The second hotel was also beautiful! They views were amazing and it was very modern. My favorite thing about this resort was that food and drinks were included! That was trouble only because I felt like I was ALWAYS eating and ALWAYS drinking haha! This resort also had a swim up bar, which is always nice at the beach. It was super muggy at this resort, so the pool was our best friend. We took an awesome jet ski tour around the gulf of papagayo too which was amazing!

In general, Costa Rica was a beautiful country. The transportation and hotels were extremely professional and I always felt like we were in good hands ( and we heard horror stories before we went) but we always had a safe shuttle or private bus and the hotel staff were always really nice. We had awesome tours at both places and we just really soaked up the fact that we were on this amazing adventure together.

The least?
There isn’t much I could say that I didn’t like about this trip. Besides our trip home, but that’s the airports fault! lol

Highlight of the honeymoon ?
I would say the highlight of the honeymoon would be the rain-forest experience. It was the most beautiful sight, all three days were amazing. The whole environment was just new and exciting. My husband’s favorite was all the adventures and sights we saw. He loved such having such an awesome view of Arenal Volcano.

Anything that you wish you knew beforehand that you could pass on to us for future clients?
You sent us a very helpful email full of advice, I feel we went in very prepared. If you could pass anything on, it would be to have Leah Macdonald as your travel consultant. She seriously was super supportive and kept in great contact the weeks prior. With being stressed about having or planning a wedding, it was nice to have such an awesome person to make traveling to another country easy and comfortable! I wish I could plan all my vacations with Unforgettable Honeymoons.

Was our service what you expected? yes!

Could we have done more to make your trip smoother? no!

Costa Rica Honeymoon Review – Upgraded at Nayara Resort! 

Costa Rica was a magical honeymoon destination!!   We liked the rain forest more than the beach but both areas were so different and unique. The locals were welcoming and genuine and we never felt like we were being taken advantage of as visitors.

At Nayara Resort , we were upgraded from the bungalow to the private villa suite which was the nicest room we’ve ever stayed in. It was incredible! We’re so glad we stayed 4 nights there. All the staff was so friendly and hospitable and treated us like royalty. The food at all the resort’s restaurants was incredible. It was also nice being there during the low season because it felt like we had the whole resort to ourselves.

The transportation service was prompt and on time and also very friendly. I only got slightly car sick once on the drive from Nayara to Secrets Papagayo.

Secrets Papagayo was also very nice and the all-inclusive perks were fun. The food wasn’t as good as at Nayara but it was good. We enjoyed paddle boarding, massages, and lots of eating at the resort.

How did the honeymoon turn out in general?

Overall the honeymoon was indeed unforgettable! Thank you for putting together such a killer itinerary and coordinating our trip. We wouldn’t have changed a thing!

What was the highlight of your honeymoon?

Getting upgraded at Nayara to the private villa suite part of Nayara Springs and having our own private plunge pool and outdoor shower.

Did you go exploring, how was the scenery? The people?

For our excursions in the La Fortuna area, we visited the hanging bridges, Tabacon Springs, La Fortuna Waterfall and saw a ton of wildlife in their natural habitat. We signed up for a group tour for the hanging bridges but due to low season, we had the guide to ourselves making it feel like a private tour. She was extremely knowledgeable and personable and enhanced our time exploring the hanging bridges.

On the coast, we went on a sunset catamaran cruise and saw the most beautiful sunset on the water along with whales, turtles, and dolphins. Also included in the cruise was lunch, an open bar, and snorkeling at a remote beach.

Was Unforgettable Honeymoons service what you expected for honeymoon planning? 

Yes, it was great. It was nice not having to plan the trip myself and let someone else take care of it so I could focus on the wedding.

you guys were great super helpful with sharing information to help guide us in planning our itinerary and very responsive and communicative leading up to the trip. We knew exactly what to expect when it came to the transportation service and the resorts.