Itinerary: Nayara Tented Camp
James Bond meets Jurassic Park
The first time I visited Costa Rica was with my wife in the fall of 2022. It was our “late late honeymoon” after our wedding in the summer of 2020. As you can guess, our initially planned trip the year of our wedding was cancelled due to uncontrollable circumstances, and for the next two years our international options were limited. Well, “limited”, unless we wore a piece of cloth on our face, got an experimental vaccine, stayed distant from others, and took a nose swab test that hopefully didn’t turn positive. With that being said, and in consideration of our overall health, we opted to remain stateside until the madness subsided.
When we finally arrived in 2022, it was very much worth the wait. Costa Rica is lush with dramatic coastlines, dreamy rainforests, and incredibly kind people. But what made the trip for us, and what brought us back to the country again, was arguably one of the most amazing destinations in all the world…Nayara.
Nayara is a resort destination in the city of Fortuna, which sits at the base of the Arenal Volcano. It’s about a three hour drive from both major airports in the country, which are at Liberia and San Jose. The resort is broken up into three different stays: The family friendly Nayara Gardens, the adult only Nayara Springs, and Nayara Tented Camp, which is the ultimate glamping experience where we stayed.
There’s a moment on the drive up to Nayara Tented Camp when the road narrows, the jungle closes in, and you start climbing the hillside above the rest of the Nayara complex. That’s when you know you’re somewhere different. This isn’t just another all inclusive resort tucked into the rainforest. It’s a property built with an obsessive level of detail, and I mean that as the highest compliment I can give a place I paid to sleep in a tent.
The Tents Are the Whole Point
The whole design of the resort leans into a kind of “African safari meets Costa Rican jungle” aesthetic, or as I like to describe as “James Bond meets Jurassic Park”. Nothing about it feels like a gimmick. It feels like somebody actually thought through every square foot of the property. One of the best parts, it’s intentionally built into nature and not on top of it, leaving the wildlife you see around the property undisturbed.
Calling these “tents” is technically accurate and also a little bit of a con. Yes, the walls are canvas. Yes, the whole structure is built up on stilts, angled into the hillside so you’re eye level with the rainforest canopy instead of looking up at it. But inside, you’ve got a king size bed with canopy drapes, wood floors, a soaking tub big enough to actually stretch out in, and an indoor and outdoor shower situation that makes you rethink what a hotel bathroom is supposed to be.
Then there’s the plunge pool.
Every tent has its own plunge pool, fed directly by the property’s natural mineral hot springs, which means you’re not filling a tub with tap water and calling it a spa experience. This is the real thing. Heated from the volcano, mixed in with natural water (for temp regulation), and piped straight to your deck. We spent more time there than we did anywhere else on the property, and found the best time was during an afternoon rain shower. It’s an experience that truly can’t be beat.
Speaking of water. One of the first things my wife (and now I) do whenever we travel anywhere is go straight to the store to buy an excessive amount of bottled water. Here in Costa Rica, however, that’s not necessary. They make a point of telling you up front that their tap water is safe drink, which is one less thing to worry about. The La Fortuna area utilizes a clean local aquifer and spring sources managed by national and municipal systems that meet high potability standards. Glorious, both in the way it tastes and the positive effects on the skin.
Eating Your Way Around the Property
Your stay at the tented camp gives you full run of the entire Nayara ecosystem, which includes the two other resorts on the same property. There’s Asia Luna for Costa Rican Asian fusion, Mis Amores for northern Italian, and La Terraza for an easy, Latin style breakfast and dinner with volcano views. If you want to go all out, Amor Loco at Nayara Springs runs a seven (or ten) course tasting menu, adults only, from a chef pulling in French and Japanese technique with local ingredients.
Nayara Tented Camp has its own restaurant, Ayla, which serves Mediterranean food with a Middle Eastern lean, all set inside an elegant tent overlooking the infinity pool and, on a clear day, the volcano itself. The bread and dips alone are worth the trip up the hill. There’s also a fun wine bar called Nostalgia that sits on its own with self serve wine dispensers and appetizers. It has a fun Spanish decor to it, and will have you reconsidering for a moment whether you’re still in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest or off an alley way in Barcelona.
A golf cart service shuttles you between all of it, which sounds like a small thing until you realize how spread out this property actually is. All you have to do is send a text or let one of the workers call a cart for you. Service unparalleled.
What’s Waiting Off Property
Fortuna is the adventure hub of Costa Rica for a reason, and Nayara puts you close enough to all of it that you don’t lose a full day just getting there.
Ziplining. Admittedly, this was my first high level (literally) zip line I’d ever experienced, but it was epic. Imagine coming down at high speed and high elevation through the Costa Rican rainforest, and looking over your shoulder to see the Arrenal Volcano staring right back. Sky Tram does it right, and is a great partner of the resort.
The hanging bridges. These are strung through the rainforest reserve near Arenal, some suspended well over 200 feet above the forest floor. It’s a completely different way to see the jungle. Instead of looking up at the canopy, you’re walking through the middle of it, eye level with the birds and, if you’re lucky, a sloth or two. It’s a really cool way to experience the rainforest.
La Fortuna Waterfall. It’s a long stairwell down to see the La Fortuna Waterfall, but very well worth it. Picturesque and powerful, this was great way to cool off and be immersed in another natural wonder of the area after the hanging bridge tour (grab a pair of Set shorts for easy transition) The waterfall has an approximate 230+ foot drop, which made it entertaining to watch tourists attempt to swim close to the base only to be aggressively pushed back to the shore.
Worth the Trip Up the Hill
Between the tents, the hot springs, the restaurant lineup, and everything Fortuna has to offer just down the road, Nayara Tented Camp earns its reputation as one of the best stays in Costa Rica. It’s not cheap, and it’s not meant to be. But if you’re looking for the best deal, my recommendation is to stay in the months of September or October. It’s rainy season then, which tends to turn away tourists, and that also is the time you’ll see the most wildlife. Besides, going to a rainforest in the “dry season” is kind of a joke, isn’t it?
Pura Vida!