Here is a little background on our area. Playa Hermosa is part of a group of beaches that make up what is known as the Golfo de Papagayo, Playa Ocotal, Playas del Coco, Playa Hermosa and Playa Panama.

We are located in Guanacaste province on the NW Pacific coast region of the country – known as the ‘Gold Coast’. Costa Rica is very reminiscent of Hawaii in the 60s and 70s with active volcanoes, spectacular beaches and great climate. Costa Rica is recognized world-wide for its biodiversity, housing over 5% of the world’s plant and animal species.

Although tourists have been coming here for years, just recently investors from all over the globe are increasingly attracted to the peaceful lifestyle and excellent infrastructure that Costa Rica has to offer. Over the last few years, Guanacaste has been the focus of that investment, and most recently, the Gulf of Papagayo.

The Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia is only 20 minutes away, with daily flights from Delta, United, American, US Airways, Air Canada, British Airways, Berlin Air, LACSA, and Frontier with plans for more European flights as well.

Copa Airlines is providing flights from South America and will allow easy connection to Panama City which will open up the whole Caribbean, Central and South American Region. Nature Air and Sansa provide an extensive in-country and regional network of flights daily to all corners of Costa Rica.

Add to that newly paved roads, municipal water, new developments, excellent private schools, first rate medical and dental services, great golf courses, world-class fishing and scuba diving, pristine beaches and some of the best surfing in the world – you begin to see the allure.

The Four Seasons opened their newest gem a $500 million resort with a CRGA rated Arnold Palmer Golf Course directly across the Gulf of Papagayo from our beaches. Just up the road from our office is the new Papagayo Golf and Country Club. There are currently plans for over a dozen resort hotels to be built here in the Papagayo Region including the Ritz Carlton, Miraval Hotel and Spa, One & Only, JW Marriott, Hilton Papagayo, Aman, Rosewood, Sol Melia Papagayo Bay, Viceroy, Starwood Luxury Collection, RIU, Canyon Ranch, Westin, Andre Agassi Resorts, Bulgari, and the Hyatt.

There are plans for a major marina in Playas del Coco to compliment the newly opened Marina Papagayo adjacent to the Four Seasons Resort. All of this has everyone very excited as property values, tourism and business will skyrocket over the next few years making this one of the best investment opportunities in the world.

There are many reasons why the majority of investment is focused on the Papagayo Region.

Proximity to Liberia International airport:

The new Liberia airport, with its new $18 Million terminal, is located just 20 minutes from this area, and is expanding at an almost mind boggling rate. Its first year open, 2003, there were 3 weekly scheduled flights into Liberia, all with Delta. Now there are 54, with almost all major airlines arriving from most major cities. Now tourists and investors can arrive in a matter of only hours to our area and be on the beach within minutes of exiting the plane.

There are currently plans for massive development of the area around the airport, from the new Airport Hilton to a Hampton Inn and numerous malls and shopping centers. Boeing is planning a large training center and there are plans for millions of dollars of expansion to the airport, including hangars private jets and freight centers for international shipping.

Close To Hospitals and Quality Medical care:

There is a 400 bed state of the art hospital located just 25 minutes away in Liberia. There is currently plans to construct two more hospitals, a CIMA and a Clinica Biblica hospital and medical center directly across from the new airport. They have both begun construction in the last few months and the CIMA is now opening its first phase.

Weather & Beaches:

The Papagayo Region and the Northwest coast of Costa Rica has the best weather in the country, with over 320 days of sunshine. The beaches of the Papagayo are the best in the country, as they are the only beaches that are not surfing beaches, making them excellent for resort and residential tourism. Snorkeling, scuba, fishing and a number of other water activities are very popular here.

Growing Expat Community:

The Papagayo Region is known as a community of Americans and Canadians. Many people choose this as their home or retirement as there are a number of foreigners that live here.

Quality Education with Private Schools

Since so many North Americans are relocating with children to the Papagayo area, we have seen some wonderful private bilingual schools open in this area over the last few years. If you would like more info on the schools please let me know…

Infrastructure:

Due to all of the growth and development in this area, the Papagayo Region has some of the best roads in the country. It is one of only a fraction of areas that has access to municipal water and high speed internet, as well as all of the comforts of home. There are dozens of restaurants in the area and shopping as well, and with all of the malls and marinas being built, those comforts will only increase.

The Four Seasons opened in January of 2004. Since that time, the hotel has been operating at almost 100% occupancy daily and has been booked for months in advance sometimes. Ocean view lots within this exclusive community start at $1.2 million and go up with the lowest priced home starting over $4 million. This of course is fantastic for the rest of the developments across the bay, as your average investor is looking for something a little less pricey.

Properties range in all prices. You can find a great one bedroom apartment a few hundred meters from the beach for as low as $50,000 and Ocean view condos start at about $250k. There are 2 and 3 bedroom single family homes just a short walk to the beach starting at $200,000.

Playa Hermosa and the surrounding beaches are most famous for their spectacular ocean view properties. Although most of us come to Costa Rica with the vision of living on the beach, we soon find out that living on a hill, overlooking the Gulf of Papagayo and the Pacific Ocean offer views that are unmatched anywhere in the world.

Once you have seen this in person you are drawn back time and time again. There are a few fabulous new communities with ocean view lots, currently selling at this time. These are all gated communities with paved roads, electricity, municipal water, cable TV, phone and internet access.

Lots in these developments run anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 depending on size and view. This is a steal compared to other areas of the world and even Costa Rica. Having lived in Southern California for ten years, I was blown away at what my money could buy me here in this area. A view like this in Hawaii or Malibu California, if you could still find one, would run into the millions of dollars.

Over the last 5 years we have seen some phenomenal homes built on these hills and a few of them can be purchased for the right price. Obviously with the down turn in the US economy it has never been better to be investing in Costa Rican Real Estate.

Investing in Costa Rica is not like investing in the States or Canada. You can’t just buy anywhere. You have to pick your spots. The government of Costa Rica, compared to other Central American countries, is very well off. But they do not have an unlimited supply of money. So when they decide to focus on an area, like they have here in Guanacaste, they are going to make sure it succeeds. They can’t afford to make a mistake, because they can’t afford to throw money away.

The government has decided that this is where all of their investment dollars will be going over the next 10 years. They have sunk millions into upgrading the infrastructure: roads, municipal water, telephone, internet and cable and satellite TV. They have backed hundreds of projects from golf courses to resort hotels to marinas and have even expanded the airport to handle all of the incoming traffic.

We believe that investing your money into the Papagayo Region is about as safe of an investment as you can get.

What we are seeing is that due to the poor returns most people are getting in the stock market back home and due to the stagnant economy and real estate market in the US and Canada, more and more people are moving their money to offshore investments such as real estate here in Costa Rica. We expect to see some major growth in the Papagayo Region over the next 5 to 10 years as hundreds of millions of dollars continues to be invested in our area by major resort developers, hospitals and government infrastructure.

It has the best weather, the best beaches, the calmest bays, a brand new airport and hospital.

In my humble opinion, the Papagayo region is the crown jewel of Costa Rica!

To see a long and very impressive list of happy customer testimonials for our Recommended Realtor Michael Simons in Guanacaste, please visit this page.

For more detailed information about homes, apartments and land for sale in the Guanacaste area please contact our Michael Simons using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.