The most expensive vacation rental on Airbnb in Costa Rica for Thanksgiving weekend costs more than 10.5 million colones, or about $23,300, for two nights, according to a September search of the platform’s listings reported in the local business press. The search, run on September 24, looked at entire homes with at least four bedrooms for the nights of November 27 to 29 and ranked them from highest to lowest price, regardless of size or rating.
The ten most expensive listings ranged from about 2.8 million colones ($6,200) to 10.6 million colones ($23,300) for the weekend. At the top is a two-level, Mediterranean-style villa in Las Catalinas, the car-free beach town near Potrero in Guanacaste. It sleeps eight in four bedrooms and has ocean views, a covered private pool and a private jacuzzi, and it sits about a five-minute walk from Playa Danta.
Its price of 10,582,184 colones works out to roughly $11,700 a night. Second is Casa de Luz in Ojochal, on the southern Pacific coast, listed at about 9.3 million colones ($20,450). The six-bedroom property for ten guests sits on 600 acres (243 hectares) of preserved forest and advertises infinity pools, wellness spaces and farm-to-table experiences.
Casita ColibrÃ, a four-bedroom home near Playa Ocotal in Guanacaste with a rooftop terrace about 150 steps from the ocean, came in third at about 9 million colones ($19,800). Villa Serenity, a rainforest house in Savegre between Manuel Antonio and Dominical with an infinity pool and private trails to a stream, ranked fourth at about 8.3 million colones ($18,300).
The fifth spot went to an unexpected location. Casa Roja, in Desamparados de Alajuela, sits about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from Juan SantamarÃa International Airport and was listed at about 6 million colones ($13,300) for the weekend. It offers a private office and a third-floor terrace with 360-degree views of the Central Valley.
The rest of the top ten included Villa Jupiter at Origins Astral in Bijagua de Upala, at about $8,560, and two more Las Catalinas homes. Casa Brewer, a three-story villa that sleeps 14, was listed at about $7,975, and StuCasa, on the town’s beachfront road, at about $6,790. Green Forest Villa La Fortuna, a rainforest cabin with views of Arenal Volcano, came in at about $6,280, and Cielo Sueños in Playa Carrillo, which includes a dedicated host, at about $6,200.
Price did not track size. Casa Brewer sleeps 14 people for roughly a third of the cost of the top villa, which sleeps eight. Las Catalinas accounted for three of the ten listings, more than any other community. The luxury listings sit at the top of a large market. A recent industry study cited in local reporting estimated that Costa Rica has nearly 49,000 active short-term rental properties, that 83.3% of listings are entire homes and that about two-thirds are run by hosts who manage more than one property.
The same study put annual short-term rental revenue in Tamarindo alone at about $103 million. Since 2019, anyone who rents property to tourists, including through platforms such as Airbnb, has been required to register with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute’s non-traditional lodging registry. The registry is public, so travelers can check whether a rental is listed.
The institute shares registration data with the tax administration, and hosts must also register as taxpayers for value-added tax and income tax. Hotel groups have long argued that short-term rentals do not face the same labor, tax, municipal and health obligations that hotels carry. Airbnb declined to answer questions about its Costa Rica operations.
The high end of the rental market has grown alongside the country’s luxury hotel scene, which includes the only new three-key Michelin stay in the Americas and a remote Osa eco-lodge that recently joined Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Guanacaste is also gaining air access, with new Southwest flights from Austin and Nashville.
Airbnb prices change constantly and can rise or fall as dates approach, so the figures reflect a single snapshot taken in late September. Dollar amounts are converted at the Central Bank’s October 20 rate of 453.56 colones to the dollar.
