Costa Rica

Costa Rica is not an all-inclusive destination in the way the Caribbean is

Most of what people travel to Costa Rica for — cloud forest, volcanoes, wildlife, the Caribbean and Pacific coasts as different countries almost — happens outside a resort fence. The all-inclusive sector here is small, concentrated in Guanacaste on the Pacific side, and serves a specific kind of trip.

That is worth saying before anything else, because choosing an all-inclusive here is a bigger decision about what your holiday is than it is in Punta Cana.

Both properties share one address

Hotel Riu Guanacaste and Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica both publish Playa Matapalo, near Sardinal.

They are neighbours on a single site. So the choice between them is not a location choice at all — same beach, same road, same drive from the airport. It is entirely about room grade and fit-out, which makes it one of the cleaner decisions in our whole coverage.

The short version: the Palace publishes six pools, five restaurants and junior suites throughout. The other publishes a water park, a children’s pool with slides, seven bars and a two-bedroom family room.

Neither publishes the transfer

Daniel Oduber Quiros International at Liberia is the airport that serves Guanacaste. Neither operator page states how far the resorts are from it, or how long the drive takes.

We have not estimated it. If the transfer matters — and on a shorter trip it will — that is a question to put to the operator.

What we have not covered

Costa Rica’s non-all-inclusive resort sector, its Caribbean coast, and the eco-lodge model that much of the country is actually known for. None of that is documented here, and a reader planning that kind of trip is better served elsewhere.

Last verified 2026-09-13.