Best Wedding Venues in Costa Rica
I’ve been photographing weddings in Costa Rica for over 20 years, and I’ve shot at almost every venue on this list. This page covers my honest recommendations — what each venue is actually like, who it works best for, and what the day feels like when you’re there.
I’ve organized this into three sections: Guanacaste, La Fortuna, and Manuel Antonio. Each region feels completely different — different weather, different guest experience, different kind of week. The venue you pick is really a decision about what kind of trip you want your guests to have.
Most of the venues I photograph most often are in Guanacaste, where I’m based. But I also cover La Fortuna, and I’ve shot at every venue on this list.
Let’s Plan Your Dream Destination Wedding in Costa Rica
One thing I always tell couples before they pick a venue: start with the region, not the property. Where you get married determines what your whole week looks like for your guests — how they get around, what they can do, how connected everyone feels. Once you’ve decided on the region, the venue choice gets a lot easier.
This page covers non-all-inclusive venues. If you’re considering an all-inclusive resort, take a look at my all-inclusive Costa Rica weddings guide — it covers the resorts honestly with real pricing and what to expect.
Each venue below links to a full resource page where I go deeper on the ceremony spots, how the day flows, and what couples should know before they book.
Here’s where all these venues sit geographically. Guanacaste is spread out — what looks close on a map can take 30-40 minutes to drive. This gives you a sense of the distances before you start comparing properties.
Guanacaste Wedding Venues
These are the venues I photograph most. I’m based in Tamarindo, so this is my home territory — I know these properties, these beaches, and these vendors well.
A beachfront villa on Playa Langosta where every room faces the ocean and the beach is steps from the front door.
Casa de Luz is right on Langosta Beach — each bedroom faces the ocean, and you walk directly from the main living area onto the sand. Since it’s a private villa, you have the whole property to yourself. The ceremony, portraits, and reception all happen in the same space.
It’s on Playa Langosta, which is just a couple of miles from Tamarindo. Your guests are close to the restaurants and bars in town but on a quieter, more relaxed beach. That’s a good combination for a wedding week.
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Casa de Luz
Alex and Matt | A Wedding at Casa de Luz, Playa Langosta
Kaleb and Danny
Hacienda Pinilla
Hacienda Pinilla, 15 minutes south of Tamarindo
Las Palapas – The best venue in Hacienda Pinilla — and one of the best wedding venues in all of Guanacaste.
Las Palapas is right next to the beach, with the ceremony lawn, family portraits, beach portraits, and reception all happening in the same spot. Nobody is shuttling guests around. By the time dinner starts and the string lights come on, everyone is already relaxed and in the same mood.
Hacienda Pinilla is a big, spread-out development — your guests stay in villas right next to each other, share the same beach and beach club, and spend the whole week together. It’s about 20 minutes from Tamarindo on a dirt road, so plan accordingly for late nights out.
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Hacienda Pinilla
Photo Session Hacienda Pinilla: Surprise Beach Proposal at Sunset
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Annie and Jon | A Wedding at Hacienda Pinilla Palapas
Janessa and Kevin’s Elopement at the JW Marriott in Hacienda Pinilla
A beachfront restaurant right at the mouth of the Tamarindo estuary — one of the most recognizable wedding spots on the Pacific coast.
Pangas sits at the north end of Tamarindo Beach where the estuary meets the ocean. The ceremony happens right on the sand, the reception is at the restaurant just steps away, and the sunset view from there is one of the best in Tamarindo. Everything happens in one place — no moving guests around.
It’s a smaller venue, which means more personal service. The staff there knows how to run a wedding well. I’ve photographed a lot of weddings at Pangas and it always goes smoothly.
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Pangas Beach Club
Cristina & Rolando’s wedding at Pangas Beach Club in Tamarindo, Guanacaste
A boutique hotel on Playa Langosta — intimate, laid back, and close enough to Tamarindo that guests can walk to dinner.
Cala Luna is in Playa Langosta, just a couple of miles from Tamarindo. It’s a good option for couples who want the convenience of being near Tamarindo but prefer a more laid-back beach and a more intimate setting. Langosta has grown into a cool little beach town in the past few years — there’s good food, quieter beaches, and it doesn’t feel as busy as Tamarindo itself.
One of the nice things about Cala Luna is you can rent out the whole hotel, which makes the whole experience feel very personal and private. I also have a full walkthrough video of Cala Luna on the venue page if you want to get a better sense of the space before you book.
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Cala Luna and Playa Langosta
A Wedding Paradise: Inside Cala Luna Hotel in Tamarindo, Costa Rica
Sarah and Tyler
Weddings at Playa Langosta
The Marriott W in Reserva Conchal
30 minutes north of Tamarindo
Barefoot luxury on one of the prettiest beaches in Costa Rica.
The W is really modern and cool — the rooms are amazing and the whole property has this contemporary vibe that’s different from the more traditional resort feel you get at other places in Guanacaste. If your guests care about design and style, this is the place.
Playa Conchal is one of the prettiest beaches in Costa Rica. It’s about 30 minutes north of Tamarindo, which means your guests are a little more contained during the week — but the beach and resort are good enough that nobody minds.
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The Marriott W in Reserva Conchal
W Costa Rica Reserva Conchal Wedding Photographer | Playa Conchal Guide
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Cinnamon and Adam | An Engagement Proposal at Playa Conchal
Tyler and Leslie | A Wedding at the W Costa Rica, Reserva Conchal
A small hotel right on the sand, where your guests can walk out to the beach all night.
Not many venues are right on the water like this. Your ceremony is on the sand in front of the hotel, and the reception is in the outdoor pool area. If people want to walk out to the beach during the reception, it’s right there.
You can rent out the whole hotel, so your guests can just go to their room if they want to freshen up. It’s in Potrero, right across from Hemingway’s, about 10 minutes from Playa Flamingo.
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Four Seasons Papagayo
Bahia del Sol Weddings on Playa Potrero, Costa Rica
The highest-end resort in Guanacaste — and one of the best places to photograph a wedding anywhere in Costa Rica.
Anywhere you walk on the Four Seasons property, the backdrop is incredible. The landscaping, the ocean views, the architecture — it all makes for great photographs. The beach is beautiful and the service is the best you’ll find in Costa Rica.
They also have a rum tasting room on property, which is always a hit with guests. It’s on the Papagayo Peninsula — once you’re there, you’re mostly staying there, but it’s the kind of resort where that’s exactly the point.
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Four Seasons Papagayo
Weddings at Four Seasons Papagayo, Costa Rica
An adults-only resort on the Papagayo Peninsula with lush gardens, a black sand beach, and an intimate feel that’s rare for a resort this size.
Secrets Papagayo has gardens everywhere — anywhere you go on the property you feel like you’re just walking through or getting driven in a golf cart through these really nice, luxurious gardens. That gives it this feeling of intimacy. You don’t feel like there’s a whole bunch of other people around you, like you do at some of the other resorts. You don’t have random guests walking by your ceremony.
The ceremony spot is a lawn right on the beach, overlooking the ocean, with nice trees nearby. For portraits we just go out to the black sand beach. The beach has this interesting mix of dark volcanic sand that photographs really well — completely different from a typical resort beach.
The sunsets there produce amazing colors in the sky. It’s a genuinely great place for an outdoor reception. And if anyone gets lost in the gardens — which happens — just call for any golf cart and someone will come find you.
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Secrets Papagayo
Costa Rica Beach Weddings at Secrets Papagayo: Everything You Need to Know
Riu Palace and Riu Guanacaste
Playa Matapalo, Guanacaste
Two resorts on the same beach — the right choice for large weddings that need real infrastructure and capacity.
Riu is my top recommendation for large weddings. When you have 100 or more guests, you need a resort that can actually handle that scale. Riu does it well. Your guests walk from their room to the ceremony without getting in a car, and during the week they have everything they need right there.
Riu Palace is the more upscale of the two — more intimate feel, fewer people milling about. Riu Guanacaste is more social and a bit easier on the budget. The choice usually comes down to guest count and what kind of atmosphere you want. Riu Palace is currently undergoing a full renovation, so it will only get better.
The beach at Playa Matapalo is a genuinely nice beach with a good tree line that provides shade for family portraits after the ceremony. One thing to know: the beach has a strong incline at high tide, so there’s usually one good level spot for group shots. I scout this before we start so we don’t lose time.
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Riu Palace & Riu Guanacaste
Riu Palace vs Riu Guanacaste: Which Is Better for Your Wedding?
Amber & Stephen | A Catamaran Wedding in Costa Rica
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Andrea and Kevin | A Wedding at Riu Palace
Andrea and Kevin’s Engagement Session
A beach club on Playa Langosta — intimate, relaxed, and close enough to Tamarindo that guests can walk to dinner.
Langosta Beach Club sits on a quiet cove in Playa Langosta. The ceremony happens right on the sand, guests move into the open-air restaurant for dinner, and sunset portraits happen just steps away along the beach. It’s a simple, clean flow with no complicated logistics.
It works well for smaller, more intimate weddings. The beach at Langosta is quieter than Tamarindo and the sunsets there are really good. See my full Langosta Beach Club guide for more on how the day flows there.
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Langosta Beach
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Weddings at Playa Langosta
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La Fortuna Wedding Venues
If you want a volcano backdrop and rainforest surroundings instead of a beach, La Fortuna is worth the trip. It’s about 3.5 hours from Guanacaste, but couples who choose it say it’s unlike anything else in Costa Rica.
Nayara Gardens and Nayara Tented Camp
La Fortuna
Two properties in one — Nayara Gardens for a luxury rainforest resort experience, and Nayara Tented Camp for glamping done the right way.
Nayara Gardens feels intimate even though it’s a resort. Because of the gardens and the way the property is laid out, you can be walking the trails and not feel like anyone else is around. The restaurants are really good and all my clients who have stayed there have loved it. It’s one of the top properties in Costa Rica.
Nayara Tented Camp is glamping in the real sense — not camping, but proper luxury tents with great common areas and incredible views of the volcano. Guests who want something adventurous and unusual absolutely love it. I have a full resource page covering both Nayara properties if you want to compare them.
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Nayara Gaprdens and Tented Cam
Nayara Weddings in Costa Rica | Gardens & Tented Camp
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Manuel Antonio Wedding Venues
Manuel Antonio is a different experience from Guanacaste — more jungle, more humidity, more intimate. If you want ocean views with rainforest all around you and a more secluded feel, this is where to look. I photographed weddings here for 20 years before moving to Tamarindo.
Top private villa in Manuel Antonio — panoramic ocean and jungle views from the fifth floor rooftop
The rooftop terrace on the fifth floor is the iconic ceremony spot — panoramic views looking out over Manuel Antonio Bay, the beach below, and the jungle. The roof used to be open air but they added a real roof a few years ago, so you’re protected from rain but still have that full open view and the ocean breeze.
Punto de Vista is for couples who want an authentic Costa Rica experience. Your guests stay together in the villa, go to local restaurants, figure out whether to rent a car or take a taxi — it’s a real Costa Rica trip, not a resort. For the right group, it’s the best wedding week you can have here. See the full Punto de Vista guide for ceremony options, getting ready logistics, and the beach ceremony option at Playitas.
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Punto de Vista and La Isla
Weddings at Villa Punto de Vista & Villa La Isla, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Trisha and Gary
Patricia and Brent
Cynthia and Brian
Vanessa and Ernesto
Katie and Andrew
Monica and Ariel
Jamie and Christian
Anna and Kirstien
Danielle and Matt
A Twist on the Tropical: A Traditional Hindu Muslim Wedding in Costa Rica
Villas Caletas and Zephyr Palace
20 minutes from Jaco
An iconic hilltop venue near Jacó with panoramic ocean views — and one of the few places in Costa Rica where guests can dress black tie without walking on sand.
Villas Caletas and Zephyr Palace are iconic in Costa Rica. The viewpoint looking out over the Pacific coast is really special — a full panorama, and when different kinds of weather come in you can watch it from above. Seeing the sunset hitting incoming clouds from up there is genuinely something.
This is not a beach venue. It’s in the mountains overlooking the ocean, which means guests can wear heels, dress as formally as they want, and never touch sand. Couples choose it specifically for that reason — an elevated, formal setting with dramatic views. See the full resource page for Villas Caletas and Zephyr Palace.
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Zephyr Palace and Villas Caletas
Clare and Matt
Weddings at Zephyr Palace and Villa Caletas Costa Rica
A stunning Manuel Antonio estate with a rooftop suspended pool overlooking the coastline and its own private path to the best stretch of Manuel Antonio beach.
Vista Hermosa is right down the road from Playitas beach — and it has its own private path where guests can walk directly to the beach. Playa Playitas is one of the best parts of the public beach in Manuel Antonio, calm and beautiful, and most visitors never find it.
The house overlooks Manuel Antonio Beach and has a pool that is suspended on the top floor — you can just be in the pool overlooking the coastline below. This is perfect for smaller celebrations of 40 people or less.
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Vista Hermosa Estate
Vista Hermosa Estate in Costa Rica
Erica and Scott
A residential-style resort in Manuel Antonio with its own private beach — good for elopements and small celebrations.
Tulemar has a good variety of accommodation options — smaller custom villas or bungalows depending on what your group needs. All the celebrations happen down at the beach, which is Tulemar’s own private beach. It’s not private from the other guests staying at the resort, but nobody can just walk on from outside, which gives it a contained, intimate feel.
It’s a great option for elopements or small weddings where you want a beautiful beach setting without the scale of a larger resort.
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Tulemar
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A boutique hotel in Manuel Antonio where the ceremony, reception, and getting ready all happen close together — and the ocean view from the terrace is really good.
La Mariposa overlooks Manuel Antonio Beach and has a really good vantage point. What’s nice about this hotel is that everything happens really close together — from where the wedding partner gets ready to the ceremony location to the reception area, it’s all in the same spot. That makes the day flow really naturally.
Because it’s a boutique hotel it doesn’t feel like a resort. It feels like a very friendly luxury hotel where the staff actually knows you. Good for weddings of up to about 100 guests.
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The Mariposa Hotel
Weddings at La Mariposa Hotel in Costa Rica (With Video!)
One of the oldest hotels in Manuel Antonio with beautiful gardens, multiple ceremony options, and an air-conditioned reception space.
El Parador is one of the oldest hotels in Manuel Antonio and the property and gardens are really nice. Ceremonies can happen in the garden or up on the top floor where you can see the ocean — two very different vibes depending on what you want.
The big practical advantage here is the air-conditioned indoor reception space. If your guests aren’t used to the heat, having a cool room for the reception makes a real difference. It’s typically for smaller weddings — groups of under 50 people.
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El Parador Hotel
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If you’re still figuring out which region or venue is right for you, I’m happy to help you think it through. I’ve photographed weddings at every venue on this list and I know how each one actually works — not just how it looks on the venue’s website. Get in touch and I’ll share what I know.
Ready to Plan Your Costa Rica Wedding?
I’ve photographed weddings at every venue on this list. Get in touch and I’ll help you figure out which one is right for you.
You can also take a look at my all-inclusive Costa Rica guide if you’re considering a resort where food and drinks are included, or the getting married in Costa Rica guide for the full picture on legal requirements, timing, and planning. I’d love to hear about your wedding.
