Four Seasons is one of the best options if you intend to have a luxury vacation in Costa Rica. We explored 3 of such properties in Costa Rica, but in different parts of the country. Four Seasons remained our favourite one because of multiple reasons. Such experiences certainly come at a cost, so if you are spending that much money on your vacation, this post will help you plan your days well at Four Seasons Costa Rica with various details around activities, timings, weather, food and lot of tips & tricks to explore Costa Rica in a style. And may be it's helpful for any Four Seasons luxury resort you visit.
Let's start with some basic details about Four Seasons Property in Papagayo Peninsula :
Four Seasons Resort is located in Papagayo Peninsula which is close to Liberia city in North Costa Rica. The obvious thing comes to mind when we talk about location is about ways to reach Four Seasons Resort from different cities/towns of Costa Rica or from other parts of the world.
How to reach Four Seasons Resort in Papagayo Peninsula from different cities of Costa Rica :
1. Nearest airport is in Liberia.
2. Pre-paid Shuttles connect Costa Rican cities well, but little expensive.
3. There are buses, but may take more time and then you would need to change buses. (There is no bus which goes close to Four Seasons Resort, so beyond a point you would need to book taxi) - This is clearly not a recommended way to reach Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo.
Other Blogpost from Costa Rica - Tour of our room at Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula, Costa Rica
How to reach Four Seasons Resort in Papagayo Peninsula from different cities of Costa Rica :
1. Nearest airport is in Liberia.
2. Pre-paid Shuttles connect Costa Rican cities well, but little expensive.
3. There are buses, but may take more time and then you would need to change buses. (There is no bus which goes close to Four Seasons Resort, so beyond a point you would need to book taxi) - This is clearly not a recommended way to reach Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo.
Other Blogpost from Costa Rica - Tour of our room at Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula, Costa Rica
Why Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo is very special geographically?
As the name suggests Four Seasons is located in Papagayo Peninsula and this whole peninsula is maintained in a very special way with different kinds of luxury and unique properties around. As you reach the entry of Peninsula, you can easily make out from it's surroundings that it's going to be special. There is also an entry gate for Peninsula. One needs to confirm any booking with any of the properties at the gate. When confirmed, the person at this gate communicates to Four Seasons about the guest coming in. Whole crew is ready for welcoming you at the property.
Main entry till reception takes approx 10 mins drive through beautiful landscapes, views of the ocean and a wonderful Golf-course.
Related Blog-post from Costa Rica - Travel Guide for Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica - Pura Vida !
Kind of Rooms & Suites you can opt at Four Seasons along with their costs & some details around locations, pros & cons :
Private Residences
Suites
Guest Rooms
Related Blog-post from Costa Rica - Things not to miss in & around Jaco Town of Costa Rica - Beaches, Birds & Landscapes
Suites
Guest Rooms
Related Blog-post from Costa Rica - Things not to miss in & around Jaco Town of Costa Rica - Beaches, Birds & Landscapes
Wandering around Beaches & Hikes :
There are various day tours and many of them are for extra cost, but there are quite a few local tours for free. You have to just call at a designated phone number to book your activities and reach the meeting point. Some of the activities are :
- Day tour to Arenal Volcano
- Canopy Tour
- River tubing
- River rafting or kayaking
- Fishing
- Catamaran activities
- Day tour to Palo Verde National Park
- Adrenaline Adventure day
- Hikes around Peninsula beaches & forests
We did few local hikes which were free. We had to meet at one of the beaches around Four Seasons resort in Papagayo Peninsula, where we met our guide. Guide would give you water bottles and mosquito repellant as hikes are through forests. It was fun to hike around the property with other guests and informative details about vegetation of Costa Rica shared by our Guide.
Related Blogpost from Costa Rica - Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose City of Costa Rica, Central America
There are various day tours and many of them are for extra cost, but there are quite a few local tours for free. You have to just call at a designated phone number to book your activities and reach the meeting point. Some of the activities are :
- Day tour to Arenal Volcano
- Canopy Tour
- River tubing
- River rafting or kayaking
- Fishing
- Catamaran activities
- Day tour to Palo Verde National Park
- Adrenaline Adventure day
- Hikes around Peninsula beaches & forests
We did few local hikes which were free. We had to meet at one of the beaches around Four Seasons resort in Papagayo Peninsula, where we met our guide. Guide would give you water bottles and mosquito repellant as hikes are through forests. It was fun to hike around the property with other guests and informative details about vegetation of Costa Rica shared by our Guide.
Related Blogpost from Costa Rica - Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose City of Costa Rica, Central America
Pro Tip : When you check-in there is a chart placed in your room which lists are activities including free as well as paid. Create a clear list what all you would want to do and how your budget looks like. When list is prepared, make sure you book your activities and have a clear plan for you. Advance plan can save good amount of money.
Water-sports activities to try with trained staff :
Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula offers lot of complimentary water activities like Kayaking to the other side of Peninsula. And that includes expert training, help and equipments. So while at the resort, you have lot of things to chose from and there is no reason that you would feel bored at the property. And if not all these water activities in the bay, then there are 2 huge swimming pools to have some water fun.
- Standup Paddle-boarding
- Kayaking
- Snorkeling
Vibha and I tried Kayaking. We went inside the bay for about 300 meters. Although it was easy and lot of fun but transparent water scared us a little. It was first time for both of us to do it in the ocean. I had done Kayaking in a lagoon earlier, which was lot of fun without much risk/fear.
Related Blogpost from Costa Rica - Hiking around Blanca Beach around Four Seasons Resort in Papagayo Peninsula, Costa Rica
After Kayaking, I also tried to do standup paddle-boarding but as you can see in above photograph, it was much tougher and I couldn't even stand stably on the paddle-board. I attempted to stand 3 times and gone down into the water :). Since a rope is tied to one of the feet, it's safe and the board is always with you.
Make good use of the Golf-Karts in the property :
It's a huge property and I am sure you would want to explore it well. Every morning we used to walk around the property to see different kinds of cottages it has at some of the beautiful spots overlooking the ocean. We were in simpler room, which was pretty luxurious but Four Seasons has cottages at top of the hill with private swimming pools overlooking ocean.
And there are lot of places which are little far, so make good use of Golf-karts to take tour of the property or moving between the places.
Other blogpost from Costa Rica - Irazu Volcano National Park - Must visit place around San Jose & Cartago cities of Costa Rica
If you wish to go out of the property, resort staff can arrange cab for you but usually that's super expensive - ~$150 for pick and drop.
And there are lot of places which are little far, so make good use of Golf-karts to take tour of the property or moving between the places.
Other blogpost from Costa Rica - Irazu Volcano National Park - Must visit place around San Jose & Cartago cities of Costa Rica
If you wish to go out of the property, resort staff can arrange cab for you but usually that's super expensive - ~$150 for pick and drop.
You can also enjoy free meals & drinks Four Seasons, but there is a trick :
There are a few activities at the resorts which offer you some interesting learnings about drinks and food, along with enjoying them yourself. And these are for free. Some of the activities are :
- Cooking class
- Mixology
- Chocolate Workshop
- Coffee Tasting
- And a lot more like latin dance classes etc.
Rum is a very popular alcoholic drink in this part of the world and some of the most popular Rum brands originates from this region. We attended Rum tasting session and tried many of these brands. It was a great drinking session with our buddies and this priceless experience was for free.
Some of my friends also attended cooking session wherein they learned to cook Costa Rican food and get to have a free meal served by one of the top chefs at Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula.
Related Blogpost - How to reach and main things to do in Monteverde Town of Costa Rica (PURA VIDA)
- Mixology
- Chocolate Workshop
- Coffee Tasting
- And a lot more like latin dance classes etc.
Rum is a very popular alcoholic drink in this part of the world and some of the most popular Rum brands originates from this region. We attended Rum tasting session and tried many of these brands. It was a great drinking session with our buddies and this priceless experience was for free.
Some of my friends also attended cooking session wherein they learned to cook Costa Rican food and get to have a free meal served by one of the top chefs at Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula.
Related Blogpost - How to reach and main things to do in Monteverde Town of Costa Rica (PURA VIDA)
It's a kids friendly property :
Four Seasons is a kids friendly space with good number of staff located all around the property. During our stay, we noticed lot of kids spending time on their own and staff ensuring that they are safe & taken care. It was great to see kids having fun & parents do activities they like without worrying about the safety of their kids.
And not only that, there are lot of specialised activities planned/organised for kids. Most of the evenings have interesting activities for kids.
As you have read, there are lot of activities at Four Seasons for free. We covered only a few which we availed during our 4 days stay at Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula. So make sure you know about all latest complimentary activities and book them in advance, so that you don't regret later when you have go back to your home after your stay at Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula.
Trained & Awesome staff :
Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula has awesome staff with brilliant skills, be it people who take care of you for home-service, water-sports staff, chefs, adventure guides etc. All of them were thorough professionals and super helpful, along with great subject matter expertise. Don't hesitate to reach out to them. Some of the staff members may only know Spanish so you need to reach right people who can talk to you well.
Trained & Awesome staff :
Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula has awesome staff with brilliant skills, be it people who take care of you for home-service, water-sports staff, chefs, adventure guides etc. All of them were thorough professionals and super helpful, along with great subject matter expertise. Don't hesitate to reach out to them. Some of the staff members may only know Spanish so you need to reach right people who can talk to you well.
Make sure you are out of your room during Sunset & Sunrise:
Last but not the least, this part of Costa Rica is popular for it's Sunsets and I would say Sunrises are equally interesting. So don't sit inside your room during sunset/sunset and enjoy these colors in the sky.
Last but not the least, this part of Costa Rica is popular for it's Sunsets and I would say Sunrises are equally interesting. So don't sit inside your room during sunset/sunset and enjoy these colors in the sky.
Sunset/Sunrise is also appropriate time to take a dip into the ocean and have some fun.
Hope this blogpost helps you plan your visit to Four Seasons Papagayo Peninsula. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to drop comments below.
Related Blogposts -
.jpg)