We just returned from an amazing spring break trip funded mostly by points and miles to Costa Rica. In February 2024, I booked five nights at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo after hearing rave reviews from multiple people. 

The Andaz was a Category 6 Hyatt property (21-29k points per night) when I booked it, but a few days after booking, they announced that the property is going up to a Category 7 (25-35k points per night). Shortly before we left for our trip in March 2025, it was announced that his property is moving to Hyatt’s top bracket – Category 8 (35-45k points per night), and has since done so. You can find a copy of Hyatt’s award chart here.

I booked our room using 116,000 Chase UR points transferred to Hyatt for four of the nights. Initially I had booked a 5th night, but I traded this night out for a Category 1-7 Free Night Award that I earned when I hit 60 Hyatt Elite Nights last year. Each night that I booked was at peak pricing for Category 6 properties – 29,000 points. The overall cash value of the nights at the hotel was just over $7000 ($7033), making this an amazing use of my Chase points. 

7033/116,000 = 0.0606 x100 = 6.06 Cents Per Point (CPP)

After booking these five nights, I needed to wait until flight calendars opened for to book our flights. I researched possible routes. FlightConnections.com is one of the best ways to research possible routes for a trip. The best options for us were with American Airlines or Southwest. Knowing it was a very busy travel time being spring break, I was antsy to get something booked and didn’t want to wait for the Southwest calendar to open much later than the rest of the airlines. 

I don’t have an American Airlines miles, and this was before the pathway from AMEX to Hawaiian to Alaska was open. I was able to book myself and my two girls on Qantas using points transferred from AMEX to Qantas. For some reason, I was only able to book a round trip ticket from Nashville to Liberia, Costa Rica and back. After attempting multiple times I wasn’t able to find any one way flights involving Liberia. Strange quirk I guess? I also didn’t find any viable options via any other partners such as British Airways. I transferred 172,800 points from AMEX to Qantas and paid $386 in taxes and fees for the three of us. The value of the flights was around $2,700. This was one of my worst redemptions, but it saved me from paying $2,700 out of pocket. 

(2,700-386)/172,800 = 0.013 x 100 = 1.33 Cents Per Point

When I started looking into tickets, flying on Wednesday was much much fewer points than flying on Thursday or Friday. We decided to travel from Wednesday to Wednesday. Another benefit of off cycle travel was that it allowed me to come home and work part of the break. This is always helpful when every ER doctor with kids in my group wants to go on vacation during the same week. 

I had the Andaz booked for Friday to Wednesday. I needed to find something else to do for another two nights. We decided to go to the La Fortuna area to experience a completely different area of Costa Rica for our first two nights.

Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival and Drive to La Fortuna, Frog Tour at Tifakara
• Day 2: Mistico Hanging Bridges, Breakfast near Lake Arenal, Ziplines at Sky Adventures, Massage at Reborn Spa
• Day 3: La Fortuna Waterfall, Baldi Hot Springs, Drive to Papagayo
• Day 4: Aerial Adventures Course
• Day 5: Outrigger Canoe and Snorkel Excursion, Casa de Playa Beach, Kids Club Evening Party
• Day 6: Kids Club, Becoming a Barista Class, Jet Ski Tour
• Day 7: Relaxing Resort Day, Casa de Playa
• Day 8: Pool Time, Depart Andaz at 11:30am, Flights Home

Day 1

• Arrival and Drive to La Fortuna
• Frog Tour at Tifakara

After a flight cancellation the day before that moved our layover from DFW to MIA, we had a 5:27am flight from Nashville to Miami. Our flight to MIA landed 36 minutes late, resulting in us running through the Miami airport to get our flight to Liberia. We landed at 9:30am and our flight to Liberia left at 10:07am! We were the last people on the plane and they were announcing our names overhead. Yikes.

Arrival to Liberia was easy. The airport is new and customs was a breeze. They do want to know where you are going and you must have proof of a return ticket. It may be busier on weekends, but we waited less than 10 minutes to go through immigration and customs. 

We rented a car through National via the Capital One portal. I had $102 left in my Capital One VentureX Business travel credit. The Ford Bronco Sport was $395 for the week, so I paid $293 and earned 10x points on that amount.

Pick-up was easy, but the rental facility is offsite. There were multiple people in the airport to guide us to the correct place and correct shuttle. We only waited about 5 minutes for the shuttle to arrive, and the drive was less than 10 minutes to get there. We waited behind one couple before being attended to.  The rental agent does a very thorough walk through with the vehicle to be sure any damage is marked before renting. ALWAYS make sure to take photos and videos before you leave with your rental as well. They even encouraged me to do this. 

We landed at 11:56am in LIR and by 1:05pm we were on the road to La Fortuna.

The road didn’t last long because 10 minutes later we stopped at McDonalds in Liberia. 

But after hitting the road for real just after 2pm, we spent the next three hours driving to La Fortuna. The roads were in impressively good condition. Everything was paved with minimal potholes! However the drive still took a long time because of many many many switchbacks. We arrived at Noah’s Forest just before 5pm. 

Noah’s Forest is a luxury boutique hotel with about 20 bungalows onsite. Each of them features it’s own hot tub. The bungalows are spacious and highly functional. I booked this hotel directly through their website for the best price and used my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to earn 3x points. 

After unloading and acquainting ourselves with the adorable hotel, including a dip in our hot tub, we went to the hotel’s sister property – Tifakara. They have complimentary night walks to look for frogs and other wildlife. We saw lots of frogs and toads. We went to dinner in town at Restaurante Fortueneno, recommended by a friend. The restaurant was adorable and the food was very good. 

Day 2

• Mistico Hanging Bridges
• Breakfast near Lake Arenal
• Ziplines at Sky Adventures
• Massage at Reborn Spa

Our days in La Fortuna were packed since our time there was limited. 

We went on a self guided tour at Mistico Hanging Bridges park, with an arrival time of 7am. The drive was about 30 minutes from the hotel, and it turned out that we passed it on the way into town the night before. 

I booked our tickets via Viator using the Rakuten portal to earn extra AMEX points on the purchase. I try to book all of our travel excursions this way when Viator is more than 10x points (10% cash back). This usually happens around holidays or other popular shopping days at least once per month.

The bridges were amazing, but not for the faint of heart or those afraid of heights. We saw a lot of wildlife including monkeys and beautiful birds. I loved it, but my youngest called it “boring.” Boring is one of her favorite words, so I wouldn’t necessarily follow her advice. 

After the Hanging Bridges, we drove towards the Arenal volcano. Our next activity was booked for 11:30. We had a few hours to kill so we ate breakfast at Restaurante La Mesa de Mama.  The restaurant itself was nothing impressive. It is located super close to the lake but has zero view of the lake. The food was good, and there weren’t many other options in that area. 

We headed over to Sky Adventures for our zipline tour a little bit early. They have a restaurant with a beautiful view of the volcano and a lovely patio to sit on and relax. They also have a nice gift shop if you are looking for any souvenirs. 

I also booked our Zipline adventure via Viator through Rakuten. You don’t get the actual credit until the trip is complete, but as of the time of writing, I’ve gotten credit for both of the excursions mentioned above.

The zipline tour was an absolute blast. Everything felt extremely safe. The guides were friendly and professional and clearly enjoy their jobs. I opted to wear a go pro helmet and paid $40 at the end for all of the footage. I also purchased the professional photographer’s photos, since I’m a sucker for photos. I asked for a discount for purchasing both and they gave me 10% off. I believe I paid $95 for the photos and videos. 

After our amazing zipline experience, my au pair, who used to live in La Fortuna, booked me a surprise massage with Rebecca at Reborn Spa. The massage was fabulous and the outdoor setting on the river at the base of Arenal was absolutely stunning. She and the kids enjoyed the hotel pool and hot tub while I was gone.

Day 3

• La Fortuna Waterfall
• Baldi Hot Springs
• Drive to Papagayo

After our packed day the day before, I planned for an easy morning, but everyone woke up before 7am on Day 3. We had an amazing breakfast at the hotel and headed out to the La Fortuna Waterfall.

This was a late addition to our schedule, so we walked up and purchased tickets at the entrance. My 7 year old was free, but my 9 year old was the same price as an adult – $20. There are a lot of stairs at the waterfall – over 500 – so plan accordingly. They do not have any handicap accessible option that I am aware of. 

I’m so happy we added this side trip to our plans, the waterfall is gorgeous! The water is absolutely freezing, but totally worth getting in!

We traded the freezing water of the La Fortuna waterfall for the amazing warm water of Baldi Hot Springs.  There are many hot spring options to choose from in the La Fortuna area. Tabacon is an SLH hotel with its own hot springs. 

Tickets included free parking in the Baldi lot. There is parking outside of the resort as well that doesn’t appear very secure. The parking in the Baldi lot felt very safe. We also chose to purchase tickets that included lunch. The lunch was edible and the restaurant had a great view, but I would save your money and eat elsewhere before or after enjoying the rest of the facility.

We chose Baldi because it is a bit more “fun” according to our local source – our au pair. It has slides and a kids area so I figured that the kids would enjoy this more. I was right! We had a great time exploring all 25 hot spring pools with temperatures varying from 95 to 152 degrees Fahrenheit. The slides were FAST and resulted in A LOT of water up my nose. I spent the entire next 10 days worried about getting a brain eating amoeba infection. My recommendation would be to plug your nose with your fingers if you choose to go down the slides. I don’t know why the worker at the top doesn’t tell you this before you plunge into the hot spring pool and get a giant nasal enema of hot spring water!?

For a $10 cash deposit, you can get a towel to use in the showers at Baldi. You get your $10 back when you return the towel. We didn’t need the towels while walking around but it was nice to use one before we changed back into our clothes.

My goal was to depart La Fortuna by 2pm to make it to the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo before sunset. We ended up leaving Baldi by 2:15pm. Not bad!

The drive to Peninsula Papagayo from La Fortuna takes you back by the Liberia airport and then onward from there. The Andaz is only about 30 minutes from the airport without traffic. We hit terrible traffic – it was 5pm on a Friday – and ended up arriving exactly at sunset to the Andaz. 

After a very long drive, we were so happy to be out of the car and ready to be in one place for several days. We were greeted with fresh cold coconut water in the gorgeous open air reception area. Check-in was quick but thorough. After an orientation to the property, globalist benefits rundown, and discussion of additional options – we were taken to our room in a golf cart. 

As a Globalist, the Andaz concierge was in touch with me almost a month before our trip to discuss booking any excursions or activities at the hotel. I arrived with our major excursions already booked. I would highly recommend booking excursions early if you are going to be there during a busy time. 

Day 4

• Breakfast at Rio Bhongo
• Aerial Adventures Course with The Explorers
• Relaxing by the Rio Bhongo Pool

I woke up early and explored the property which is truly beautiful. There are a lot of stairs involved in getting around the Andaz property, but you can utilize the golf cart service at any time to get almost anywhere. 

There are two breakfast options for Globalists at the Andaz Papagayo. The main breakfast is served at Rio Bhongo. There is a large buffet as well as a menu to order from. The other option is at Ostra, which is only open to Globalists and other select guests. 

We ate at Rio Bhongo most mornings and loved it. Their food was delicious. The buffet is similar but not the same every day. They have delicious coffee. I could live on the fresh fruit, sweet plantains, and banana bread for the rest of my life! 

Our first excursion in Papagayo was the Aerial Adventure Course with The Explorers. The Explorers partner with the resort for excursions and we were totally impressed with everything they did. While you cannot book their excursion via Viator (that I could find), we were able to charge their excursions to the room. I paid our final bill with my personal Hyatt card which earns 4 points per dollar on charges at Hyatt. 

The Aerial Adventures Course was a bit more relaxed ziplining than we did in La Fortuna, paired with a choose your own adventure ropes course. They picked us up from the resort in an awesome camouflage painted open air safari truck. The journey to the adventure course is less than 10 minutes. 

The Explorers think of everything you might need while you are with them. They have lockers for our belongings, ample sunscreen and bug repellant, and amazing guides. After the zip lines they had fresh (as in cut open with a machete right there) coconut water and bottles of water for us. They prioritize safety and all the equipment appeared very new. It is clear that they cater to an area that only has 5-star resorts. My daughter broke open an existing scab and they had a great first aid kit too. Honestly I wasn’t concerned at all about her minimal blood on her leg as an ER doctor. They gave her much better care than I would have administered at home!

After our adventure-filled morning, we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the main resort pool and then had another delicious dinner at Rio Bhongo. The resort has more pools than I can really count, but the main pool area has three separate pools. The largest of which has a zero entry area which is great for the littlest members of your family. My children were mermaids in their former lives and absolutely loved playing in the pools. 

Day 5

• Outrigger Canoe and Snorkel Excursion
• Casa de Playa Beach
• Kids Club Evening Party

Our second excursion with The Explorers was a journey on an Outrigger Canoe to a secluded beach with snorkeling off of the beach at a small reef. Again, The Explorers truly think of everything you may need. They had plenty of sunscreen before we set out (which we should have used more of), dry bags to put our belongings in for the day, and multiple beverage options for us during the adventure. As a huge Lululemon stan, I think of them as the Lululemon of excursion outfitters. They think of it all!

We managed to see trumpet fish, puffer fish, an eel,  many variations of tropical fish, and two turtles during our snorkeling. Unfortunately we also came in contact with a few jellyfish. My oldest daughter was unphased by the jellyfish but my younger daughter decided to enjoy the sea from the comfort of the canoe after her first brush with the jelly.

After snorkeling we played on the beach, enjoyed fresh coconut water, and then motored back to our starting point while enjoying a cold beer. 

The Explorers Nature Center is close to the Andaz beach club, Casa de Playa, so we decided to make our way to Casa de Playa after we finished our snorkel excursion. We managed to find a family of capuchin monkeys on the way to the beach! My kids made friends with the other two children on our excursion and enjoyed playing with them in the pool and the sand for the afternoon. 

After a long day and too much sun exposure, we took the complimentary water shuttle back to the main Andaz beach. For the evening, the kids went to the Pinata Party at Cambi, the Andaz kids club, while I enjoyed a delicious South American tapas meal at Chao Pascao. 

Day 6

• Breakfast at Ostra
• Kids Club
• Becoming a Barista Class
• Jet Ski Tour

Ostra is the most upscale restaurant at the Andaz Costa Rica, and Globalists can eat complementary breakfast there. The food was delicious with lots of offerings and multiple courses. I would definitely recommend eating here on a morning where you have extra time to graze and enjoy the ambience.

After an evening at the Cambi kids party, my kids couldn’t wait to go back for more. I was more than happy to drop them off and enjoy some time alone by the pool. After too much sun the day before, it was good for them to spend the majority of the day indoors. 

In the afternoon, I attended the Becoming a Barista class offered at the Andaz coffee shop, Coffee & Vinyls. The class was fantastic. I’m a relatively new coffee drinker, but I love science and chemistry and it was so fascinating to learn about the science behind brewing coffee. We tested the same coffee bean brewed four different ways and a bonus shot of espresso. I would highly recommend this class for anyone even remotely interested in coffee.

In the late afternoon, I finally caved to my kids’ persistent requests to rent jet skis. There is a station at the main resort and at Casa de Playa to rent jet skis or take a tour. I opted to take the tour. It was some ridiculous amount of money and probably not worth it, but my kids absolutely loved it. We went to the beach by the newly opened Ritz Carlton Reserve which is home to a few sea caves that you can enter during low tide. It was fun to go inside but not worth the $$$ price tag of the tour. 

Day 7

• Relaxing Resort Day
• Casa de Playa

I purposely wanted a few relaxing days to just enjoy everything our resort had to offer. There is plenty to explore and enjoy at the resort without booking extra excursions. The multiple pools entertained us for the morning and we took the water shuttle to Casa de Playa for lunch and some afternoon beach time. 

We ate lunch at their restaurant and enjoyed playing multiple of the games that they have out for anyone to grab. We played Uno, Scrabble, and Jenga and they had several other games to choose from. 

My 9 year old and I also used the complimentary snorkel equipment to snorkel off of the beach. Sadly we just saw a few fish and lots of jelly fish. Thankfully no stings!

After a peaceful water shuttle journey back to the resort, we relaxed in our room and had another dinner at the resort. We went to La Piazza, the pop-up italian restaurant at the Andaz. Food was very good. I would skip the nutella pizza dessert next time.

Day 8

• Pool Time
• Depart Andaz at 11:30am
• Flights Home

I spent a lot of time prepping our suitcases and packing up our things the evening before so that we could enjoy our last morning in paradise at the pool instead of packing! The pre-packing definitely paid off.

We had a few lovely hours by the pool in the morning, soaking up all the bliss we could manage. The snorkel folks at Casa de Playa told me the snorkeling was better at the main beach, so I went snorkeling by myself after both of my children refused to join me. It was AMAZING. Turtles, fish, coral, starfish galore!

After our morning at the pool and in the water,  we finalized our packing, put on our travel clothes, and checked out of the hotel. The check-out was as seamless as the check-in, but a lot less fun because it meant we were leaving. 

The journey to the airport was easy and we had zero traffic. We returned the rental car, and while we had no lines to get the rental car, there were many more people at the rental car return when we were departing. We waited in a long line to get on the shuttle to the airport, but only waited about 15-20 minutes in total. 

Lines at the airport were long but moved quickly. The airport was full and there wasn’t much seating. We managed to find seats immediately next to our boarding area, but had to crawl under ropes and over a few people to get to them. 

Our flight departed on time and boarding was seamless. We boarded from the tarmac, without a jetway. I love boarding the plane via the stairs, but I love it a little less when I have to carry my carry-on and that of my youngest travel partner. 

We landed in MIA and breezed through immigration thanks to Global Entry, but the lines for regular immigration were also quite short. Our au pair went through regular immigration and we waited less than 10 minutes for her. 

We trekked through the airport to find the Centurion Lounge where I ponied up $90 to pay for my three companions to enter with me. I hate that the AMEX lounges require payment for any guests. I do appreciate that the agent assumed my 26yo au pair was less than 18 when he charged me for three children instead of 2 children and one adult. The lounge was very full when we arrived but cleared out significantly by the time we left at closing to get to our gate and board our flight home. We ended up in first class for our final flight because that was the only way I was able to book these tickets. It was nice to end in a comfy seat, but totally unnecessary for the 2 hour flight. Thankfully the kids even realized that!