Best Wedding Venues in Costa Rica
The best wedding venues in Costa Rica depend on how you want the day to feel. Start with Pangas or Sueño del Mar for a Tamarindo-area beach celebration; Papagayo for resort settings; Las Catalinas for architecture beside the sea; Manuel Antonio for ocean-and-forest scenery; or Arenal and La Fortuna for an inland nature-focused wedding.
We’re Adri and Lucas, and we have each worked in weddings in Costa Rica since 2013. This is our photography-led guide to 20 venues and locations, with photographs from our archive, real wedding stories and questions that help you compare the experience—not just the view.
Substantively refreshed September 7, 2026. Venue details can change; confirm event availability, capacity and terms directly with the venue or your planner. The numbers below are navigation, not a ranking.
Start with the setting that fits your wedding
- Beach celebration with a town as your base: compare Pangas and Sueño del Mar. Check where guests stay and how they reach the ceremony.
- Resort wedding weekend: compare Andaz, Four Seasons and The Westin at Playa Conchal. Compare the exact event spaces, not only the hotel brands.
- Private-villa experience: investigate Casa Puros Dieces, El Chante, Finca Austria and Villa Punto de Vista. Event permission and sleeping capacity are separate questions.
- Architecture plus the coast: explore Las Catalinas. Name the particular plaza, hotel or house you want before comparing proposals.
- Forest or waterfall setting: explore Arenal-area properties and La Paz and Peace Lodge. Treat waterfall attractions as locations requiring specific approval, not private venues by default.
Our starting recommendation: pick one region, then shortlist three properties. A planner or venue coordinator can confirm availability and logistics; we can help you think through light, photographs and the rhythm of the wedding day.
Jump to a venue or destination
- Tamarindo and nearby: Pangas · Sueño del Mar · Casa Puros Dieces · El Chante · Hacienda Pinilla.
- Northern Guanacaste coast: Dreams / Costa Elena · Andaz and Prieta · Four Seasons · Las Catalinas · Conchal / Westin.
- Nicoya coast: Nosara area · Finca Austria · Santa Teresa.
- Manuel Antonio: Punto de Vista · Costa Verde · Beach locations.
- Inland and waterfalls: Llanos del Cortés, Bagaces · Arenal and La Fortuna hotels · La Fortuna Waterfall · La Paz, Vara Blanca.
Already have a shortlist? Jump to the photography checklist, venue-quote questions or frequently asked questions.
20 Costa Rica wedding venues and locations to compare
1. Pangas Beach Club — Tamarindo
Setting: Oceanfront restaurant and event venue in Tamarindo, Guanacaste.
Shortlist it for: a beachside celebration with the town as your wedding-week base.
From our experience photographing at Pangas, there are two trees used for wedding ceremonies, and both make beautiful settings. When the reception and dance floor are being set up around one tree, the ceremony is usually held at the other. We recommend choosing the ceremony spot alongside the reception layout, rather than from a photograph of the backdrop alone.
Before booking: Ask which areas your event reserves, where dinner moves if it rains, and how the ceremony, tables and dance floor fit your actual guest count. A restaurant reservation and a private wedding event are different arrangements.
Pangas official website · See Marianela and Karla’s Pangas wedding.
2. Sueño del Mar — Playa Langosta, Tamarindo
Setting: Beachfront boutique hotel on Playa Langosta.
Shortlist it for: an intimate, house-party feeling beside the ocean.
Sueño del Mar is in the Tamarindo area, but its beachfront setting is specifically Playa Langosta. Its gardens, hacienda character and shoreline offer a different feel from a large resort. Jennifer and Todd’s wedding shows how the celebration can move from seaside vows into an evening with the people closest to you.
Before booking: Confirm the accommodation arrangement, event exclusivity, reception layout and covered alternative. Ask about the route to the sand at your planned ceremony time; a beautiful shoreline is not the same as a step-free ceremony space.
Sueño del Mar official website · Jennifer and Todd’s wedding photographs.
3. Casa Puros Dieces — Tamarindo
Setting: Ocean-view private rental villa.
Shortlist it for: a wedding-week home base with a smaller group staying together.
At a villa, the shared spaces can become part of your story: getting ready, family time and quiet moments between events. Casa Puros Dieces offers an elevated view rather than a ceremony automatically taking place on the sand. Decide whether you want to celebrate at the house or use it as accommodation for a wedding elsewhere.
Before booking: Obtain written event approval from the manager. Confirm event attendance separately from sleeping capacity, along with catering access, transport, rain arrangements and music restrictions. Do not assume a vacation rental includes permission to host a wedding.
Casa Puros Dieces property listing.
4. Dreams Las Mareas archive — the Costa Elena resort transition
Location: Playa El Jobo, Guanacaste.
Important distinction: the wedding photographs in this section were made during the Dreams Las Mareas era, not at the newly branded JW Marriott.
The property is transitioning to JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive. As checked on September 7, 2026, Marriott advertises an opening date of September 30, 2026. An announced opening is not confirmation that your wedding date, event space or package is available.
Before booking: Request current event-space photographs, available wedding dates, layouts and a written proposal directly from the resort. Use our historical photographs for visual context, not as proof of the new resort’s finished spaces or present-day service.
Current Marriott resort information · Nicole and Cameron’s historical Dreams Las Mareas wedding story. This is a different property from JW Marriott Guanacaste in Hacienda Pinilla.
5. Andaz and Prieta — distinct Papagayo options
Setting: Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste.
Shortlist this area for: resort architecture, coastal scenery and a hosted wedding-week experience.
Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort and the Clubhouse at Prieta Beach are not interchangeable venue names. Andaz offers its own wedding spaces; Prieta is a separate club setting within the peninsula. Booking accommodation at one property does not by itself establish wedding access to another.
Before booking: Have your proposal name the exact ceremony and reception spaces, the responsible operator, guest access and transfers. For photographs, compare the view from the ceremony position and the covered backup—not just the resort’s best-known beach image.
Andaz official website · Peninsula Papagayo club information.
6. Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica — Peninsula Papagayo
Setting: Coastal resort on Peninsula Papagayo.
Shortlist it for: a resort-based celebration with different settings across the wedding weekend.
Elizabeth and Kyle’s wedding is a useful example from our archive: their ceremony paired an elevated setting with the coast in the background. That is a different photographic experience from standing directly on a beach. Look at the whole sequence of a wedding, including the reception, before choosing a space from one scenic photograph.
Before booking: Compare the specific ceremony and dinner locations, transfers between them and the rain alternative. Ask to see a layout for your guest count with the dance floor included.
Four Seasons wedding information · Elizabeth and Kyle’s Four Seasons wedding.
7. El Chante — Tamarindo
Setting: Private villa in the Tamarindo area.
Shortlist it for: a shared stay where the house and its gathering spaces are part of the experience.
El Chante belongs in the private-villa comparison, not in a list of interchangeable hotel packages. Start with how your group will use the house, then determine whether the current rental agreement allows the celebration you have in mind.
Before booking: Separate overnight guests from event guests. Ask the property manager about outside vendors, deliveries, music, parking and a covered dinner layout. From a photography perspective, check usable getting-ready space as carefully as the view.
Current El Chante property listing.
8. Las Catalinas — Santarena, town spaces and Casa Chameleon
Setting: Coastal town and distinct hotel venues in Guanacaste.
Shortlist it for: architecture, plazas and beach scenery in the same visual story.
Las Catalinas is a destination, not one venue with one capacity. Santarena’s spaces, the town’s plazas and Casa Chameleon require separate consideration. For example, the official Plaza Danta listing advertises up to 200 people; that is not a seated-dinner or covered-backup capacity for every Las Catalinas space.
Before booking: Name the exact plaza or hotel space in the proposal. Check walking routes, steps and transfer needs rather than assuming a pedestrian town is fully accessible. Compare the light in the streets with your ceremony and dinner schedule.
Official Plaza Danta details · Santarena wedding information · Our Las Catalinas wedding guide · Julianna and Ty’s Las Catalinas gallery.
9. Hacienda Pinilla — a community with several wedding settings
Setting: Coastal community in Guanacaste.
Shortlist it for: comparing a villa stay, resort celebration or other specifically approved event space within one area.
Hacienda Pinilla is not a single wedding venue. A private house, a beach-club arrangement and JW Marriott Guanacaste are different bookings. The choice affects where guests stay, who manages the event and how everyone moves between the ceremony and dinner.
Before booking: Ask which spaces are actually included, whether a ceremony and reception require separate reservations, and how guest and vendor access works. If your celebration uses more than one location, protect time for transfers and portraits.
Hacienda Pinilla official website. JW Marriott Guanacaste here should not be confused with JW Marriott Costa Elena at Playa El Jobo.
10. Llanos del Cortés — Bagaces waterfall location
Setting: Waterfall visitor attraction near Bagaces, Guanacaste.
Consider it for: an adventure-oriented portrait session or a small ceremony only if the operator approves the plan.
A waterfall is a location to investigate, not an automatically bookable private wedding venue. The photographs show the appeal of the setting, but they cannot establish current event permissions, privacy or a guest limit.
Before committing: Confirm the permitted activity, access arrangements and current conditions with the operator. Discuss the walking route, footwear, changing arrangements and a backup location. Do not build a ceremony around a promise that other visitors will be absent.
Costa Rica tourism board’s Llanos del Cortés listing.
11. Reserva Conchal and The Westin — Playa Conchal
Setting: Coastal community and resort options in Guanacaste.
Shortlist it for: a resort wedding with Playa Conchal as part of the setting.
Reserva Conchal is the wider community; a wedding at The Westin is a particular resort arrangement. A private rental inside the area is another arrangement again. Brooke and Gericke’s Westin wedding provides a real example to explore alongside a current venue proposal.
Before booking: Confirm the exact resort or property, ceremony space, dinner location, room requirements and outside-vendor terms. For photography, consider the getting-ready rooms and route to portraits as well as the beach.
Reserva Conchal official website · Brooke and Gericke’s Westin wedding.
12. Nosara and the surrounding Nicoya coast
Setting: A destination area, not one property.
Shortlist it for: a nature-focused wedding week with a retreat or villa as your base.
Bodhi Tree Yoga Resort is a Nosara option to investigate. Hacienda Barrigona is a separate coastal retreat outside Nosara, not another name for a venue in town. Compare exact property locations rather than treating the whole area as one walkable wedding base.
Before booking: Map accommodation, ceremony and reception locations with the people arranging your transport. Ask about the route for your month and vehicle, as well as the venue’s event approval. A relaxed wedding week still benefits from a clear wedding-day travel plan.
Bodhi Tree official website · Hacienda Barrigona official website.
13. Finca Austria — Nosara-area villa and event setting
Setting: Villa and event property in the Nosara area.
Shortlist it for: a celebration built around a shared stay and natural surroundings.
Finca Austria currently presents itself as a wedding and retreat venue. Instead of assuming every villa and gathering space is included, ask which parts of the property form your booking. The useful comparison is the event layout and guest experience, not simply the total number of beds.
Before booking: Confirm the covered plan, catering arrangements and transfer route. For portraits, decide whether you want to stay with the scenery at the property or schedule a separate beach outing; the second choice needs time in the day.
Finca Austria official website.
14. Santa Teresa — beach-town wedding locations
Setting: Coastal destination on the Nicoya Peninsula.
Shortlist it for: a beach-centered wedding week with a surf-town feel.
Santa Teresa offers different types of properties; it does not have a single wedding capacity. Banana Beach appears in this guide’s existing venue references, but any current event arrangement should be confirmed with the venue through a trusted contact.
Before booking: Choose the exact property and work through the arrival plan before inviting guests. Do not assume that every route from San José requires a ferry, or that accommodation nearby on a map means an easy wedding-day walk. Check transfers, ceremony access, weather backup and where dinner will take place.
Photo priority: Leave space for portraits within the event’s actual route, instead of planning several beach stops that pull you away from your guests.
15. Villa Punto de Vista — Manuel Antonio
Setting: Private villa estate in Manuel Antonio, on the Central Pacific coast.
Shortlist it for: a hosted villa celebration with ocean and forest scenery.
The property’s official information identifies a roof deck and ballroom among its event spaces. That gives you concrete alternatives to compare, rather than assuming the same layout works for every part of the day. Ask which villa, spaces and services your proposal includes.
Before booking: Confirm seated capacity for dinner with the dance floor, the covered ceremony option and how guests move between levels and event areas. For photography, look at the indoor or covered setting with the same care as the panoramic view.
Villa Punto de Vista official website.
16. Hotel Costa Verde — Manuel Antonio
Setting: Hotel and wedding spaces in Manuel Antonio—not Tamarindo or Guanacaste.
Shortlist it for: forest-and-ocean scenery with hotel-based event options.
Costa Verde’s wedding information includes its wedding deck and other celebration settings. An elevated deck and a beach ceremony create different experiences: compare the actual guest route, viewpoint and reception plan rather than treating them as the same booking.
Before booking: Ask which location is reserved for each part of the day and what changes in rain. Check steps, transport and the route between accommodation, ceremony and dinner, especially if any guests need step-free access.
Costa Verde’s official wedding information.
17. Manuel Antonio — beach ceremony or portrait location
Setting: A coastal destination with different beach and property arrangements.
Consider it for: couples who want the shoreline to be part of their wedding or elopement story.
Be precise when someone says “Manuel Antonio beach.” A hotel event space, a beach outside the national park and a location inside the park are not interchangeable. Past photographs do not establish permission for a new event.
Before committing: Have the planner or location operator identify the exact site, permitted setup, access and contingency plan. Think about guest seating, shade, footwear and where everyone goes after the ceremony. A nearby hotel or villa may make a better event base even when portraits take place by the water.
Explore our Costa Rica elopement photography approach.
18. Arenal and La Fortuna — resort and rainforest settings
Setting: Inland destination around Arenal and La Fortuna, San Carlos.
Shortlist it for: forest, gardens and a possible volcano backdrop rather than an ocean wedding.
Nayara Gardens, The Springs, Los Lagos and Amor Arenal are separate properties. Ask each about the specific event you want; a room with a volcano view is not confirmation of a bookable ceremony space. Cloud cover can also change the view, so choose a setting you love even when the summit is hidden.
Before booking: Compare covered spaces, accommodation locations, guest access and transfers. Tina and Duke’s Arenal wedding is one real-wedding reference. The “Lush and Secret” imagery included in this archive is styled inspiration, not a client wedding or proof of a standard package.
Nayara Gardens · The Springs · Los Lagos · Amor Arenal · Tina and Duke’s Arenal wedding · Lush and Secret styled elopement.
19. La Fortuna Waterfall — an adventure location to assess carefully
Setting: Managed waterfall attraction near La Fortuna.
Consider it for: an adventure-oriented session or ceremony only after confirming the permitted arrangements.
The operator describes approximately 530 steps on the route to the waterfall. That is an important planning consideration for clothing, equipment and every person joining you. It should not be presented as an effortless or universally accessible wedding venue.
Before committing: Ask the operator about current hours, ceremony and photography permissions, visitor access and conditions. There is no promised crowd-free time in this guide. Plan a different location if the descent and return climb do not suit your group.
La Fortuna Waterfall operator information · See our La Fortuna waterfall elopement story.
20. La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Peace Lodge — Vara Blanca
Setting: Nature park and lodge in Vara Blanca, Alajuela.
Shortlist it for: an intimate celebration with forest and waterfall scenery.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Peace Lodge offer wedding services through their own coordinator. This is a different location from La Fortuna Waterfall. Kelli and Chris’s elopement is a useful visual reference from our work here.
Before booking: Confirm the specific ceremony site, accommodation, guest arrangements and what the package actually includes. Ask about walking distances, steps and covered alternatives for your chosen locations; a nature-park wedding still needs a practical plan for getting ready and dinner.
Official La Paz and Peace Lodge wedding information · Kelli and Chris’s La Paz elopement.
How we would compare your final three venues
A spectacular view is only one part of a wedding gallery. Use these five checks with your photographer and planner before choosing the space:
- The light where you will actually stand. Ask for recent photographs of the ceremony location at a similar time of day. A sunset behind you can look beautiful, but your faces, your guests’ comfort and the ceremony direction matter too.
- A rain plan you would still choose to photograph. See the covered alternative set up for a real event. Ask whether it holds your ceremony and dinner, what the background looks like and when the weather decision is made.
- The whole-day route. Trace getting ready → ceremony → portraits → dinner. Check walking time, vehicle transfers, steps and lighting after dark. Shorter routes can leave more time with your guests.
- Portraits without disappearing from the party. Pick the locations you care about most. Do you want street scenes, ocean portraits or forest images? Trying to do all three may cost you the part of the celebration you most want to experience.
- Evidence beyond a hero image. Look at a wedding sequence, not only a venue’s sunset photograph. Review getting ready, the ceremony, group photographs, dinner and the dance floor. Ask whether the example is a real wedding, a styled shoot or an older version of the property.
What to ask for in a venue quote
Send the same brief to each venue so the proposals are comparable: your preferred date or month, estimated guest count, accommodation needs and the kind of celebration you want. Then ask for:
- The named ceremony and reception spaces, plus a layout with seating, service areas and a dance floor.
- Capacity for that layout and the covered backup—not just the largest attendance number on the website.
- Event fees, food-and-beverage requirements, room commitments, taxes and service charges, with inclusions and exclusions clearly identified.
- Outside-vendor requirements, access times, music limits and any separate arrangements for a beach or off-property ceremony.
- The guest route, step-free options, transport plan and who coordinates each part of the day.
For a small celebration, compare the total experience rather than assuming a villa or waterfall is automatically less expensive. A rental, transport, catering and a weather alternative can be separate items. Venue pricing is confirmed by the venue; photography is a separate service.
Costa Rica wedding venue questions
Which part of Costa Rica should we choose for a destination wedding?
Start with the scenery and guest experience you want. This guide covers beach and resort options in Guanacaste, town and villa settings on the Nicoya coast, ocean-and-forest options in Manuel Antonio, and inland settings around Arenal and Vara Blanca. Choose the region before comparing individual properties, then check arrival and wedding-day transport for your actual itinerary.
Is a resort or private villa better for our wedding?
Choose a resort if its accommodation and event arrangements fit your group. Choose a villa if a shared home base is important and the manager approves the event. Neither is automatically more private, simpler or cheaper: compare the named spaces, staffing, guest limits and full proposal.
Can we have an outdoor wedding during the rainy season?
An outdoor plan needs a workable covered alternative. Costa Rica’s tourism board describes different climate patterns across the country; the Pacific and Caribbean do not share one universal wedding season. Choose the month and exact location together, and agree on the weather decision with your venue and planner. See the official Costa Rica climate guidance.
Can we get married at any beach or waterfall?
Do not assume so. Ask the responsible venue, operator or planner to confirm whether your particular ceremony, photography and setup are permitted. A past wedding photograph or an admission ticket does not establish current event approval or exclusive access.
Why does this guide not give a fixed guest capacity for every place?
A destination such as Las Catalinas or Hacienda Pinilla contains different properties and event spaces. Even one venue may have different limits for a ceremony, seated dinner and covered backup. A layout confirmed for your event is more useful than an undated maximum that may describe a different arrangement.
Are Dreams Las Mareas and JW Marriott Costa Elena wedding photographs the same thing?
They can show the same property in different eras. Our Dreams Las Mareas photographs document weddings before the JW Marriott transition and are labeled as historical work. Ask Marriott for current space photographs and wedding availability. JW Marriott Guanacaste in Hacienda Pinilla is a different resort.
Tell us the places you are considering
You do not need a finished timeline to start the conversation. Send us your date or month, the venues on your shortlist and what you want the day to feel like. We can discuss the photography approach while your venue or planner confirms the event arrangements.
Talk with Adri and Lucas about your wedding photography · Planning an elopement instead?
