Country Guides Country Guide: Costa Rica

Date Published:

22/06/2009

El Penon del Sol, www.tropical-felgate.com

Where to look? There's a wide choice, as long as you have the budget.

Where To Buy

For year-round living, in addition to the new Gold Coast, the Central Valley has a temperate climate and easy access to San José, the country’s rather ugly capital, but its economic and cultural centre. Small-town charm a half-hour away from the capital is offered in the mountains of Heredia to the north. The warm climate on the hills of Escazú, west of San José, is said to be a favorite with North American expatriates.

Elsewhere, the Caribbean beaches, especially those near the Panamanian border, are heralded as some of the most beautiful and unspoiled in the country. A representative of Emerald Forest Properties, said: 'Jaco Beach was really a hippie town, but eight months ago some developers came in, and now that place is booming. Things are just crazy on the beaches. Hermoso has done very, very well in the past two years; it’s seen the largest increases in the country.'

What To Buy

Properties for sale to westerners tend towards Spanish colonial and hacienda style homes. Península Papagayo, on the new Gold Coast, is heralded as the most luxurious development locally. Developed by Alan Kelso, a Costa Rican developer, Península Papagayo has a Four Seasons resort and more than 1,000 luxury homes planned, selling for US$2 million to $12 million. At Hacienda Pinilla, hundreds of condominiums and villas are being built around 4,500 acres of nature preserve by the Atlanta, US-based owner, Hoover Gordon Pattillo. Prices start from US$580,000 and upwards into the $million dollar bracket.