As the world’s largest boat share brokerage, we understand the power of escapism. Thanks to our yacht syndicate expertise people like you can connect with the perfect boat, whether it’s berthed in Africa, Australia, Canada, the USA, Europe or any of the other magical places we offer to our clients.

At times like this, with Covid-19 raging around the planet, escapism matters more than ever. If you’re waiting for the crisis to end before you explore yacht shares for sale, here’s some inspiration. Welcome to the delights of exotic Costa Rica, a yacht syndicate haven that also just happens to be one of the happiest countries on the planet.

Costa Rica and the Happy Planet Index

Costa Rica has come top of the Happy Planet Index rankings several times, a lush tropical Central-American nation that’s home to more species of creature than any other place in the world. At the same time, Costa Rica’s per capita GDP is less than a quarter of most Western countries, mainly based on tourism, agriculture and exports.

Costa Rica may not be rich, but it is very happy indeed. Despite the lack of wealth Costa Ricans admit to much better levels of well-being than most wealthy countries including the USA and the UK. They live longer than North Americans. The country abolished its army in 1949, spending the money instead on education, health and pensions. In fact, proportionately, they have regularly invested more in education and health than we have here the UK.

Why, exactly, are the Costa Ricans so satisfied with their lot? According to experts it’s down to the people’s natural inclination to form unusually solid social networks of friends, families and neighbours. It’s also down to the green stuff – this country is a world leader in environmental protection. The government uses taxes raised by fossil fuel sales to invest in green energy, and the nation is on track to hit its target to become completely CO2 neutral by the year 2021.

The two faces of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea on the northern side and the Pacific Ocean to the south, and the two coasts are very different. As a rule the island’s Pacific coast is the one with the most tourist destinations and places of interest. But what the Caribbean side lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. You’ll find perfect white sand beaches, black volcanic sand beaches, and magical hidden beaches on both coasts. While the Pacific coast of the island is lively and buzzing the Caribbean features a few scattered villas and small bungalows, less busy and more picturesque.

Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is divided into two, with Tortuguero to the north and Puerto Viejo to the south. Tortuguero, a tiny town with not a lot going on, is reachable by plane or boat only, famed for its magnificent National Park, canals, and sites where rare turtles nest. If pristine jungle is your thing, it’s perfect. Puerto Viejo is the main tourist town in the South Caribbean, with gorgeous beaches and lots of natural attractions. Despite being the most visited, it remains undeveloped and very lovely. The small town of Cahuita is popular too, loved for its national park and coral reef, just 13km or so north of Puerto Viejo.

The Pacific coast of Costa Rica is home to Playa Conchal, divided into North Guanacaste, South Guanacaste, Nicoya Peninsula, Central Pacific, South Pacific and the Osa Peninsula. Northern Guanacaste covers the Gulf of Papagayo and Salinas Bay, home to many gorgeous beaches and great for fishing and scuba diving. Southern Guanacaste offers brilliant surfing, fishing, and scuba diving, too.

The Nicoya Peninsula – including the Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Montezuma, Paquera and Tambor beaches – is nice and remote and offers top-class surfing. The South Pacific coast incorporates the Costa Ballena, offering plenty of rural, less developed beaches like Dominical, Uvita and Ojochal. The Osa Peninsula is your destination if you want to experience the most biologically diverse place on the island, and the Corcovado National Park is ideal if you love hiking and wildlife.

The Central Pacific coast is probably the most touristy of all. If you’d like to meet up with fellow yachties and sample the vibrant crowds, head for Northern Guanacaste and the Tamarindo, both popular with North Americans and offering lots of all-inclusive holiday facilities. The Central Pacific’s Jaco and Manuel Antonio are extremely busy, developed for mass tourism.

The weather in Costa Rica

The Caribbean coast is humid and it can rain all year round. The summer falls in September and October, and the months with the most rain are June and November. Temperatures are steady all year round, in the high 80s during the day and cooling down at night.

The Pacific coast features typical rainy and dry tropical seasons. The wettest months tend to be October and November, and the hottest March and April. The South Pacific coast is a lot more humid, which means the vegetation stays green. The Guanacaste coast has a longer dry season with more sunny days and temperatures of over 100F during March and April.

Cool places to visit and cool things to do on Costa Rica

• Cahuita National Park
• Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge
• La Ceiba Private Nature Reserve
• The Jaguar Rescue Center
• Bocas del Toro – giving you access to Panama
• Surfing and snorkelling – don’t miss Cahuita National Park, with a long coral reef that provides top class surf when the conditions are right
• White water rafting at Rio Pacuare – one of the world’s best
• Party the night away in Puerto Viejo
• Bonfires on the beach
• Fish the Gulf of Papagayo and the waters around Cano Island, Drake Bay, Flamingo and Playas del Coco
• Surf to your heart’s content at Tamarindo, Jaco, Guiones, Avellanas, Dominical, Matapalo and more
• Horseback riding
• Ziplining
• ATV tours
• White water tubing
• Sky diving
• Visit the waterfalls: Catarata Llanos de Cortes, Montezuma waterfalls, Nauyaca Waterfalls and Uvita waterfall.
• Visit the Turrialba Volcano
• Experience the Cloud Forest
• Explore Guanacaste mountain corridor, Miravalles Volcano, and Tenorio Volcano National Park
• Encounter the Corcovado National Park and Osa Peninsula
• Take a day trip to Nicaragua
• Rent bikes or scooters

Begin your boat share journey here

We have a plethora of brilliant yacht shares for sale. If you’d like to place stunningly lovely, happy Costa Rica at the heart of your yachting adventures, we’ll be delighted to make it happen for you. Let’s talk.