An infinity pool with fountain jets glows orange and pink at sunset, framed by palm trees and hills.

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

A Costa Rica Honeymoon in Manuel Antonio

Ocean-view suites on a rainforest point, sunset over the Pacific every evening, and the national park a few minutes away. Land in the morning, be on the balcony by mid-afternoon.

Plan your honeymoon See the suites
  • World Travel Awards 2025: Mexico & Central America's Leading Resort
  • Two adults-only pools, five in all
  • A 20-minute flight or a 2.5-hour drive from San José

Why couples come here

A honeymoon resort on a forested coastline

Parador sits on the Punta Quepos promontory with the Pacific on one side and 12 acres of rainforest on the other. The suites face the water, the trails run through the forest, and the monkeys, sloths and toucans are on the grounds rather than in a brochure. Manuel Antonio National Park, the beaches and the town are a few minutes down the hill; the resort is quiet enough that most couples do not go down often.

Five pools instead of one, five restaurants and bars, a spa, a gym and a full tour desk. Two of the pools are reserved for adults, a quiet pool and a plunge pool set apart from the family area, and the Beachfront Suites at Miamar, our adults-only property on Playa Espadilla, are adults-only altogether. You choose how much company you want.

Palm trees silhouetted against an orange and blue sunset sky over the ocean.

Why Costa Rica

Why Costa Rica is a honeymoon destination worth the flight

Costa Rica is a small country with two coasts, a spine of volcanoes and more wildlife per square mile than almost anywhere on earth, and it has spent fifty years protecting all of it. A quarter of the land is national park or reserve. That is why couples come: not for a resort that could be anywhere, but for mornings that start with howler monkeys and end with the Pacific going orange.

It is also easy in the ways that matter on a honeymoon. Direct flights from most of the United States and Canada land in San José by early afternoon. The water is safe to drink, the roads are paved, English is spoken wherever tourists go, and the tico habit of pura vida, an unhurried good nature, is real rather than a slogan. The two of you can be barefoot on a balcony the same day you left home.

The choice is which coast and which forest. Guanacaste in the northwest is dry, hot and golf-course flat. The Caribbean is wetter, wilder and a long drive. Manuel Antonio, on the Central Pacific, is the one place where the rainforest runs straight down to the beach and a national park, with the country's best mix of restaurants and tours within a few minutes. That is where Parador sits.

Built for two

Honeymoon suites at Parador

The four suites couples ask for most, plus the adults-only option on the beach. Every one has a private balcony or terrace and a view; the name on each card opens its page.

Bedroom with white bedding, a television showing the Parador logo, a red armchair, and a cream chaise lounge near a window. Aerial view from a Parador Penthouse balcony over the pool deck, jungle canopy, and Pacific Ocean with rock islands. Penthouse kitchenette at Parador Nature Resort with dark wood cabinets, granite counters, wine rack, and an ocean view window over the sink Penthouse living room at Parador with cream leather sofas and open sliding doors leading to a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean and rock islands

Penthouse Suite

Top floorPanoramic ocean view

The top of the hillside and the widest view on the property. Sunrise from the bed, sunset from the terrace, and the ocean in between.

In the suite: King bed, sitting area, private terrace over the Pacific

A king bed with floral linens beneath a dark wood alcove with open mirrored shutters and an orchid, beside an orange accent wall. A private terrace with a round jacuzzi tub, a glass railing, treetops, and sliding glass doors reflecting the ocean. King bed and sitting area with sofa and glass table in the Parador Master Suite, balcony with red curtains open to a hillside view. A jacuzzi tub in a tiled bay window nook with an orchid on the ledge, beside a sliding glass door open to an ocean-view terrace.

Vista Master Suite

360-degree viewsPrivate Jacuzzi

Ocean on one side, rainforest on the other, a Jacuzzi in between. The suite couples book when they plan to stay in.

In the suite: King bed, private Jacuzzi, ocean and rainforest views from every side

A hotel suite with red curtains, a bed with orange pillows, a white chaise lounge, and a glass table set with pastries. A bedroom with a dark carved wood headboard against a red wall, an orange accent bolster pillow, and dark leather and gray seating, with a framed painting partly visible on the adjacent wall. A hotel balcony with a wicker lounge chair, a sun hat, a corner jacuzzi tub, and a view of rocky islets in the ocean. A soaking tub beneath windows overlooking the ocean, with flowers and a bottle of wine with two glasses on a nearby table.

Vista Pacífico Suite

Ocean and jungle viewPrivate balcony

Panoramic ocean and jungle views from the balcony, a lounge inside, and the quiet pool a short walk away.

In the suite: King bed, sitting area, balcony facing the water

Wide view of a wooden beach gate and palm trees framing loungers on the sand, with a swimmer in the ocean waves beyond. Infinity pool edge with lounge chairs, cream umbrellas, and the main building framed by palm trees under a clear blue sky. White manta-shaped loungers floating in the resort pool, with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and the thatched-roof building in the background. Sitting area in a Miamar suite with two armchairs, nesting side tables, and a woven pendant light.

Beachfront Suites at Miamar

Adults-onlyOn the sand at Playa Espadilla

Parador's sister resort on Playa Espadilla is adults-only. Stay at Miamar and use everything at Parador, or split the week between the two.

In the suite: King bed, plunge pool, ocean-view terrace, Parador's pools, spa and restaurants a free shuttle away

A wide hotel suite balcony with a railing overlooks a forested coastline and the ocean under a blue sky.

The resort

A luxury honeymoon resort on twelve acres above the Pacific

Parador occupies the tip of the Punta Quepos promontory, with the ocean on three sides and the forest behind, a few minutes from the gates of Manuel Antonio National Park and above a beach most visitors never find. The 130 rooms and suites climb the hillside, so the higher you stay the more ocean you see; the suites at the top look down on the pools, the canopy and the islets in the bay.

The property is built for staying put. Five pools, two of them reserved for adults, are terraced into the hill. Five restaurants and bars run from a breakfast buffet to sushi to a seven-course tasting menu. The Pacífica Spa is tucked into the trees. Trails leave from the gardens and the monkeys, sloths and toucans come to the grounds on their own schedule. When the two of you want to leave, the tour desk sends you rafting, sailing, riding or walking with a naturalist, and brings you back for sunset.

In 2025 the World Travel Awards named Parador Mexico and Central America's Leading Resort. The staff have been here for years and know the difference between a couple who want to be left alone and a couple who want the surprise on the balcony when they get back from dinner. Tell us which you are.

About ParadorAmenitiesDining

A week, loosely planned

Seven ways to spend a honeymoon day in Manuel Antonio

Nobody does all seven. Most couples do three and repeat the best one.

Sunset view from the bow of a fishing boat, sun low on the horizon with a golden reflection across the Pacific Ocean.

Sunset on the water

Board Vuelto Loco or the ocean catamaran in the late afternoon and watch the sun go down from the Pacific side of the point.

Tours
Two white-faced capuchin monkeys in a tree, one hanging upside down and the other looking toward the camera.

The national park at opening time

Walk Manuel Antonio National Park with a naturalist guide before the day warms up: sloths, capuchins and the beach at the end of the trail.

Park walk
Parador Nature Resort pool deck with white columns, a small stone waterfall feature, and white loungers under umbrellas.

The quiet pool

One of the two adults-only pools, a book, the ocean below. The pool bar brings lunch to the lounger.

Pools
Pacifica Spa staff member smiling at the front desk beneath an iron chandelier, with candle stands and an arched doorway in the background.

An afternoon at Pacífica Spa

Massages, facials and body treatments in a spa built into the forest. Book the same hour for two.

Spa menu
Elegant private dining room at Parador Nature Resort with a long wooden table, carved leather chairs, chandelier, and wall tapestries

Dinner for two

A private dinner set up for the two of you in La Reina or the Cava, or a seven-course tasting menu at La Fragata with the view. Sushi at Nama when you want something lighter.

Restaurants
Aerial view of a forested hillside with flowering trees above Biesanz Beach, a house visible at the ridge and the beach with visitors below.

A day of doing something

Rafting on the Savegre, horses to a waterfall, kayaks through the Isla Damas mangroves, or parasailing over the bay. Back by four.

Adventures
A red-eyed tree frog grips a green stem with one leg stretched far below its body against a black background.

A night walk in the forest

Mysteries of the Night: a guided walk on the trails after dark, when the frogs, kinkajous and night monkeys come out.

Night walk
Aerial view of Parador Nature Resort & Spa on the Punta Quepos point, with the pools, red tile roofs and rainforest above the Pacific.

Practical

Getting to Manuel Antonio, and when to come

From Juan Santamaría airport in San José it is a 20-minute domestic flight to Quepos or a scenic two-and-a-half-hour drive down the coast; we arrange either. Check-in is at 3:00 PM and check-out at 11:00 AM, with late check-out on request. December to April is the dry season, with the clearest skies and the busiest calendar; May to November is greener, quieter, and the rain usually arrives in the afternoon, after the beach and before dinner.

How to get hereAll rooms and suitesWeddings at Parador

The property

A Manuel Antonio honeymoon, in pictures

Suites, pools, the spa, the water and the forest. Click any photo to see it full size.

A stone waterfall feeds an infinity pool beside the hotel building, with heliconia flowers in the foreground. Lounge chairs and umbrellas beside the pool deck with a fountain jet and the ocean beyond. A king bed with a dark carved wood headboard and white linens in a hotel suite. A straw sun hat rests in the foreground of a view toward a rocky sea stack and the open ocean. An aerial view of a forested rocky point meeting turquoise water at Biesanz Beach. An ocean view framed by two palm trees at dusk, with a lit tiki torch in the foreground. A terrace dining table set for two under a red umbrella, with the pool and ocean in the background. An infinity pool and waterfall feature seen through overhanging tree branches, with the ocean on the horizon.

Questions couples ask

Costa Rica honeymoon FAQ

Is Manuel Antonio a good honeymoon destination in Costa Rica?

It is the one place in the country where rainforest, Pacific beaches and a national park sit within a few minutes of each other, with the widest choice of restaurants and tours on the Central Pacific coast. Parador adds an ocean-view suite on a quiet point above it all, so the honeymoon can be as busy or as slow as you want.

Can Parador put together a honeymoon stay for us?

Our reservations team puts together honeymoon stays around your suite and your dates, and what is on offer changes with the season. Send your dates and we reply with what is available on them.

Is Parador an adults-only resort?

No, and for many couples that is the point: five pools, five restaurants and bars, a spa and a tour desk instead of a single quiet pool. Two of the pools are reserved for adults, set apart from the family area. If you want adults-only altogether, the Beachfront Suites at Miamar, our sister resort on Playa Espadilla, are, and guests there use everything at Parador with a free shuttle.

Which suite is best for a honeymoon?

The Vista Master Suite if you plan to stay in: 360-degree views and a private Jacuzzi. The Penthouse Suite for the widest view on the property. The Vista Pacífico Suite for the balcony over the water at a gentler price. The Beachfront Suites at Miamar if you want the sand outside the door and no children anywhere near it.

When is the best time of year for a Costa Rica honeymoon?

December to April is the dry season: sunny, clear sunsets, and the busiest months, so book the suite early. May to November is the green season: everything is greener, the resort is quieter, rates are lower, and the rain tends to come in the afternoon. Whale season on this coast runs roughly July to October.

How do we get to Parador from San José?

Either a 20-minute domestic flight from San José to the Quepos airstrip, a short drive from the resort, or a two-and-a-half-hour drive along the coast. Our reservations team can book the flight and arranges private transfers from either airport.

Is Parador all-inclusive?

No. Rates include the suite and the breakfast buffet, and the rest is à la carte across five restaurants and bars, the spa and the tours, so you pay for what you actually do. Couples who want meals or activities bundled in can ask reservations to put that together around their dates.

Keep reading

Planning a honeymoon in Costa Rica

Why Manuel Antonio Is One of Costa Rica's Most Romantic DestinationsThe case for this coast, beach by beach. Romantic Getaways in Manuel AntonioResorts, wildlife and sunset views, and where to stay for each. A Culinary Encounter with Chef Rodrigo SalazarThe chef behind the tasting menus and the private dinners. Pacífica SpaMassages, facials and body treatments in the forest. Weddings at ParadorIf the wedding is here too, the honeymoon starts without a transfer.