If there’s one place I love to escape, it’s Costa Rica…
I’ve just done yet another boots-on-the-ground scouting trip there and it’s every bit as beautiful and relaxed as you imagine…
In times of turmoil, the idea of escaping somewhere peaceful, laidback, and calm is tempting. A place where you can soak up the sun, take morning walks on long, almost deserted beaches, and spend your days browsing the local markets, swimming in the warm ocean waters, and enjoying sundowners with friends as the day winds down.
When I think of a lifestyle like that, Costa Rica springs to mind first. It helps that this small Central American country also offers some of the best real estate opportunities on my beat.
(Get your paradise in Costa Rica here.)
Long known for its political stability and commitment to democracy, Costa Rica is among the most expat-friendly countries in Latin America. With no standing army since 1948, Costa Rica invests heavily in healthcare, education, and environmental preservation.
Living and doing business here is easy, English is widely spoken in many areas, the locals—known as Ticos—are famously friendly, and the culture is warm and inclusive.
Then there’s the country’s breathtaking natural beauty. Picture misty cloud forests, active volcanoes, lush rainforests, and hundreds of miles of pristine beaches. Wildlife is everywhere—scarlet macaws, sloths, toucans, and sea turtles are common sights.
But perhaps the most appealing part of life in Costa Rica is the pace. Here, pura vida—this literally translates as “pure life”—is more than a slogan. It’s a way of life that just moves slower.
Costa Rica has been on my real estate radar for almost two decades and it’s a place where members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group have done well (more on that later).
As I say, I recently took another scouting trip to Costa Rica and I’m excited about the opportunities I saw there and the potential deals that could be on the cards for RETA members in the months ahead.
If you know where to look and who to deal with, Costa Rica is a land of opportunity…and the kicker is that it’s also an incredible place to spend time, whether its part-time, full-time, or just a few weeks a year.
Starting today I’ll be sharing some of the best places in Costa Rica for real estate investment—and giving you a taste of the amazing lifestyle that comes with them.
Let’s start with the northwestern province of Guanacaste on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast…
The sunsets on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast are not to be missed.
Families, groups of friends, tourists, expats, and locals alike gather on beaches up and down this coastline to watch the sun sink over the bay. You can watch this spectacular natural light show from a beach bar or restaurant that lines the beach or you can just grab your own little patch of sand.
As sunset nears, conversations quiet down. There is a communal hush of anticipation…then, showtime! The sky bursts into a palette of coral, tangerine and cotton-candy pink.
Guanacaste is where you find the Gold Coast, known for having some of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, some would say Central America. This is a part of Costa Rica that I love. And I’m not the only one…
Over the years, the Gold Coast became not only an expat haven but also one of the most popular vacation spots in Costa Rica thanks to its beaches and activities like surfing, fishing, and outdoor eco-adventures. The region is notable for its many peninsulas, gulfs, and bays, with hundreds of white-sand, golden-sand, and even volcanic black-sand beaches. The water is warm year-round.
Like elsewhere in Costa Rica, beaches on the northern Pacific can be “wild,” with the jungle running right up to the sand—they are undeveloped and often protected natural areas. You also have funky seaside havens attracting a bohemian crowd to traditional slow-paced fishing villages to denser developed areas with condo towers and resorts, cafes, boutiques and high-end dining. The Gold Coast has all of that in spades.
Sports fishing is big here all up and down the Gold Coast, whether in high-end crewed and captained charters with all the latest fishing finding tech—and price to match—or in the small wooden open boats with outboard motors called pangas. That’s the local fishing fleet. You just ask one of the guys in a hammock how much to take you out for the day.
And red snapper is just the start of what you might get on the line. Dorado (mahi mahi), yellowfin tuna, wahoo, even big-game fish like marlin are abundant here.
Tamarindo is probably the most well-known town along this coastline.
First popular with surfers and sportfisherman in the 1970s and ‘80s, more mainstream travelers started arriving in numbers in the region in the mid-‘90s to early 2000s.
Soon it became the site of some of the country’s largest and most exclusive residential communities. Luxury ocean-view condos and gated communities also became popular and these lux developments, as well as the large all-inclusive resorts from the likes of the Four Seasons that dot the coast, gave the area its nickname: the Gold Coast.
This region also boasts its own international airport in Liberia, which opened in 1995 with a flight to Miami. Flights are constantly being added from North America, even seasonally from Europe. And the airport regularly expanded over the years with new terminals and gates.
Liberia, the inland capital of the Guanacaste province, also features big box shopping, major supermarkets, government offices, medical clinics and hospitals and other services. It’s 30 minutes to an hour drive from most of popular beach towns like Tamarindo and Flamingo.
Right in the center of the Gold Coast, is the community of Playa Flamingo. It’s only an hour from the international airport and is home to a brand-new, full service marina. In the last number of years, Flamingo, and the Gold Coast in general, has become a billionaires playground. Private jets line the runaways of Liberia airport and billionaire groups are pouring money into the region to get a piece of this jet-set market.
Within an hours drive of Playa Flamingo you have resorts like the Four Seasons, The Westin at Reserva Conchal, the JW Marriott at Hacienda Pinilla, Secrets Papagayo…nightly rates run into thousands of dollars and branded-residences into the many millions. The Discovery Land Group have one of their signature global golf and beach communities close by at Zapotal. And a Dubai-based group is building a 7-star resort while a Waldorf Astoria is set to open in the region soon.
Click here to take a video tour of Playa Flamingo
Playa Flamingo is where in March 2024, I brought RETA members an off-market deal to own incredible luxury homes in a community with world-class amenities like pools, a co-working lounge, an indoor-outdoor gym, and more…all close to the new upscale marina and Playa Flamingo beach. Members could own two-bed homes here for RETA-only pricing from $286,800. I expect these two-beds will be worth $525,000 three years after delivery. That’s a gain of $238,200.
This was an amazing deal.
When I visited the site last month, the developer told me that two-bed homes similar to those that RETA members could buy last March were listing for about $80,000 more…in six months!
Hence why I had boots on the ground here last month hunting for more opportunities to bring to RETA members.
If you want to be first to hear about all the new deals and opportunities I uncovered in Costa Rica on my recent trip, you need to be a RETA member. You can join here.
Not only do you get access to all the deals I bring to RETA members, you’ll also get a wealth of resources…real time updates from my team of scouts as they comb the globe for the best opportunities…access to my personal rolodex of global contacts, from lawyers to real estate agents…invites to exclusive members-only gatherings…and much more.
Like I said, Costa Rica has so much to offer right now…both for investing and as a lifestyle play. And RETA members will be the first to hear about my next deal there.
Become a RETA member here now and get access to the next opportunity I bring to the group.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
