Las Catalinas is a car-free, pedestrian community built around the idea that the best version of a coastal destination keeps cars out and nature in. Leave your keys at the hotel and everything from Santarena is on foot — plazas, open-air restaurants, shops, and the trailheads that connect the town to over 40 kilometers of coastal and hillside paths.
The trail network is one of the destination's most genuinely praised features — routes range from easy shoreline walks to longer climbs with sweeping Pacific views, and they start steps from the hotel. On the water, the options are equally broad: surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, paddleboarding, and open-ocean swimming are all accessible directly from Playa Danta. Back on land, tennis and pickleball courts round out the options for guests who want structured activity alongside the more open-ended exploration the trails offer. For something further afield, horseback riding through the Guanacaste countryside is available at nearby La Estancia — the concierge can arrange it.
Las Catalinas is still growing. New buildings, restaurants, and spaces are regularly added to the community, which means the destination guests return to tends to be more developed than the one they first visited — and that the occasional sound of construction is part of the current experience. It's a place worth discovering now, with more still to come.