Today we wanted to focus a bit on helping our couples find the best beach wedding venues in Costa Rica. Now, we are a bit partial to the beach so we started with these first but rest assured we will be back to cover wedding venues that are in the mountains and rainforests too.
A lot of these venues offer on-site lodging so if you’re looking at a Costa Rica Honeymoon a lot of these venues below can either double as a venue/honeymoon for your destination wedding or a relaxing honeymoon spot all on it’s own.
Dean and I have been wedding photographers for over a decade and Costa Rica wedding photographers for a little over half that time as well. When you grow up in New England you dream of warmer places in the winter and after our very own Costa Rica honeymoon many (I’m not telling you how many) years ago we made a plan to spend part of every year in this wonderful country.
While planning a destination wedding can be a bit daunting, we wanted to be of service not only when it comes to capturing your wedding with photos and video, but helping along the way with everything we can. The list below is broken up to different towns along the Pacific area, specifically the Guanacaste region, of Costa Rica – it’s the area we do a bulk of our weddings in and recommend to all of our couples because we love it so much!
The Best Beach Wedding Venues in Costa Rica
As always, we like to keep these lists up to date and will come back often to update. We’ve covered wedding venues specifically but there are also plenty of AirBnB’s and larger private properties to host weddings. We recommend enlisting our favorite Costa Rica Wedding Planners – Mil Besos if you’re looking for something off the beaten path or want exquisitely designed events at any of the properties we’ve listed.
Tamarindo Wedding Venues
Tamarindo is a busy town about an hour drive from the Liberia airport. It’s filled with beachfront restaurants, nightclubs, an all-inclusive resort and a casino. Playa Langosta is the neighboring town just a $5 taxi from downtown Tamarindo. It’s a quieter area with small B&B’s and lots of condo & Airbnb rentals – perfect for those who want to be close to all the nightlife and restaurants without being in the heart of it all.
While you’re in town you’ll probably get to hear the distinct yell of the resident howler monkeys. Several of the streets have built in “monkey bridges” for them to cross overhead without worrying about traffic. And if you’re searching for sea turtles look no further than Playa Grande, a $1 boat taxi across the estuary to Las Baulas National Marine Park where, if you time it right, can see nesting turtles and maybe even hatching baby turtles!
Cala Luna Boutique Hotel
Langosta Beach Club
Occidental Tamardino
Pangas Beach Club
Sueño del Mar
Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort
Playa Conchal and Playa Flamingo Wedding Venues
A little further north from Tamarindo is Playa Conchal and Playa Flamingo – these beaches are right next to each other and offer a wide variety of wedding venues, restaurants, all-inclusive resorts and a jumping off point for adventures throughout the area and into the volcanoes and rainforests. Playa Conchal, which translates to Shell Beach, is just that! The sand is white and made up entirely of crushed shells. At the far right of the beach, as the tide goes out, tide pools appear and are a perfect spot for sunbathing babies to enjoy the warm waters! You’ll often see horseback riding tours going across the beach and down the shaded path between the beach and resorts. I did one of these tours when I brought my sister to Costa Rica, she’s a big horse fan, I was going through all the ways I was going to die in my head the entire trip. We made it, there was beer at the end at a lovely little bar on Playa Brasilito before we left the horses and grabbed a taxi back to our apartment.
Margaritaville Resort
W Costa Rica Reserva Conchal
Westin Playa Conchal
Playa del Coco, Playa Hermosa, Playa Panama, and Papagayo Wedding Venues
I absolutely love the Playa del Coco and Hermosa location. It’s just a short drive from the Liberia airport and these beaches offer quiet seclusion and bustling nightlight. This area is our favorite jumping off point for snorkeling tours when family and friends come into town. Playa del Coco, Playa Hermosa and Playa Panama are all right in a row with about 15 minutes between the central town area. Playa del Coco is the furthest from the airport and a busy little town filled with restaurants, shopping and tours both on land and sea. Each town in quite unique and has it’s own vibe – it’s hard picking a favorite but I have to go with Playa Hermosa. It’s a sleepy little beach town made up of mostly smaller boutique hotels and condos. There’s only three restaurants on the beach with the necessities in town. Playa Panama has calmer water but also contains mostly all-inclusive resorts. If you’re looking for gorgeous spots for you and your guests to sunbathe and enjoy amazing dining experiences, this is the area for you!
Andaz Costa Rica Resort
Condovac La Costa
El Mangroove Autograph Collection
Hacienda Blu
Marlin del Rey Catamaran
Pacifico Beach Club
Secrets Papagayo
Villa Buena Onda
North Pacific Costa Rica Wedding Venues
The Northern Pacific area of Costa Rica has not been developed as much as the areas around the Liberia airport so you’ll drive through some pretty amazing untouched areas and scenic views of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park and volcanoes. If you’re looking for an all-inclusive experience for you and your guests then this is the area for you. We are one of the only photographers who seem to cover this area but we have some great small hotels in the area we stay at while we are up covering this section of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica Wedding Photos
Brittany and Dean of Two Adventurous Souls are creative Costa Rica Wedding Photographers and Videographers for weddings and up and down the west coast and inland. If you’re interested in chatting with us about your wedding please reach out!
