Costa Rica all inclusive vacations - Leave your wallet behind

The best thing about Costa Rica all inclusive vacations is that much more than accommodations are included in the price. Most all-inclusive resorts in Costa Rica include meals, activities, tours, and other services and amenities in the price of the room or suite.

This means that instead of digging out your wallet every time you want to eat or do something, you can just slip on your sandals, grab your sun hat, and head out to enjoy yourself.

Best Costa Rica resorts

Choosing from the many Costa Rica all inclusive vacations can be difficult, but the one you want to book will depend on the hotel resort (or resorts) you'd like to stay at.

When you travel to Costa Rica, you'll find that the country has plenty of resorts on sandy beaches from which to choose. However, it's small enough that if you want to visit some other attractions, it's possible to get away for a few days into the cities or rainforests. The best resorts we've found are:

• Westin Playa Conchal: This luxury resort, based on the north coast of Costa Rica, is near the towns of Liberia and Tamarindo. The main unique selling point of this resort is its eco-friendly credentials, which include responsibly sourced building materials, plus solar panel heated rooms and swimming pools. You'll enjoy all the usual sports facilities here, as well as a range of water-based activities such as scuba diving and deep-sea fishing.


• Four Seasons: Widely recognized as the king of all Costa Rica all inclusive vacations, the Four Seasons offers you first class treatment from gourmet world cuisine to luxury foam mattresses and in-suite Jacuzzis. The resort overlooks the Gulf of Papagayo on the less developed west coast of Costa Rica and the premier rooms open out on the beach giving you wonderful warm sea breezes right in your room.


• Hilton Papagayo: Also on the west coast, the Hilton Papagayo offers 200 rooms all with an ocean view and the most expansive grounds of all resorts in Costa Rica. You can see right into the mountains from the beautiful tropical gardens, and the resort specializes in organizing group tours out into the rainforest on day trips. You can also take advantage of the clear waters to go for a scuba diving expedition or wildlife spotting from one of the hotel's many boats.

These do represent the top of the Costa Rica all inclusive vacations, but the experience is well worth the expense. However, if these are out of your budget, try to keep to the west coast of Costa Rica, as this less developed so you'll find more wildlife and natural beauty.

What to look out for

Each resort and tour operator will be looking for your business and will advertise different aspects of their offer to try to entice you to book with them. However, to make sure you enjoy your stay and don't have any unpleasant surprises, you should ask some specific questions:

• What is included in the price? Some resorts will charge extra for day trips and for using some of the facilities.


• What is the travel time to the airport? Nearly all international flights land at San José in the center of the country, so you'll need to transfer to a local airport or take a bus. Check how much time this will add onto your itinerary.


• Do all rooms have ocean views? With so much space available, every resort should have plenty of ocean facing rooms. However, some offer rooms facing away for a discounted price, so you'll need to decide if this is important to you or not.

Above all, when researching Costa Rica all inclusive vacations, try to set yourself a reasonable budget. It is very easy to be drawn in and pay for all the additional extras, so be strict with yourself and only pay for what you want and what you'll use.

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