Live Out Your Daydreams In Las Catalinas, Costa Rica
Picture this: you wake up on a Monday morning facing floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the coast, feeling recharged from a weekend
Victoria Liotta
Picture this: you wake up on a Monday morning facing floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the coast, feeling recharged from a weekend of farm-to-table eating and positive lifestyle activities and you walk out of your front door to live it all again. Now, you’re probably wondering why we would get you lost in such a daydream. Well, that’s because it’s more accessible than you think.
Costa Rica’s newest beach town, Las Catalinas, it’s everything but a dream. According to representatives for the enclave, the philosophy is simple, it is “dedicated to creating a way of life that is healthy, sustainable, fulfilling, and fun. Las Catalinas is undergoing exciting expansion and innovation, guaranteeing this to be a remarkable year for this new seaside town and Costa Rican history.”
About The Enchanting Beach Town
Located on the Guanacaste Coast of Costa Rica, Las Catalinas is absolutely stunning. The very walkable beach town is free of motorized vehicles but full of houses, shops, restaurants, small hotels and inns, pedestrian streets, plazas, parks and recreational facilities. Its natural environment makes your daily coffee shop stroll an adventure with every street leading to an overlook of the picturesque landscape.
The dream come true about Las Catalinas is its strength in practicality alongside the unspoiled nature and calm energy that mixes in so seamlessly with your day-to-day business. “We believe that people need a new vision of ‘the good life.’ The ‘more and more stuff, more and more isolated’ approach isn’t working. Ecologically, it’s a disaster. Socially, it’s leaving us fragmented. Personally, it’s leaving us disconnected. Our way of living should be sustainable. It should be healthy—allowing us to enjoy our physical selves and be physically active. It should be connected to nature and connected to other people. It should celebrate and revel in beauty. It turns out that this way of living is intimately dependent on the design and function of where we live. Las Catalinas is meant to be a place where this vision can flower, spectacularly,” the website details.
Sensational Experiences
One side of Las Catalinas is engulfed by over 1,000 acres of tropical dry rainforest where you can experience notable hiking and biking. On the other side, facing the Pacific Ocean, you will find two of Costa Rica’s finest beaches—perfect for swimming, paddle-boarding, kayaking, boogie-boarding and snorkeling.
Recently added is the Market Plaza. Here you will discover a “splash pad” fountain centerpiece which was designed for play. Surrounding that is newborn storefronts, a preschool and education center for kids and an outdoor gym called CORE by ChakFitness. CORE is owned by the renowned and longtime Miami trainer Chakiris Menafacio. It’s composed of a “Flintstones-esque strength building experience with all weights and machines made almost entirely of wood.” And for those of you who can’t [emotionally] disconnect from your big city fitness classes, don’t worry. CORE also has a schedule full of classes led by Menafacio himself.
For foodies there is a brand new restaurant called Pots & Bowls Food Truck. Here you can indulge in fresh and healthy farm-to-table meals with an extensive list of raw vegan options. And coming soon is the Las Catalinas Collection. Give your wallet a pep talk before walking in because this boutique will have a fabulous array of tropical resort wear and accessories, luxury consignments and– milkshakes? Have you booked your flight yet?
Make Home Of It
As of 2020 Las Catalinas has 136 single-family homes, 14 flats, six commercial spaces, five restaurants and a well-being center. And, by the end of 2021 the newest neighborhood, El Prado, will be completed. El Prado is on the other side of Main Street and is three times the size of Beach Town. It will have 93 affordable lots ranging from $95,000 to $650,000. This has been a five-year project with the plan to open up everything in a significant way. Residents can expect an increase in commercial and retail spaces along with sporting facilities including soccer pitch, tennis courts and a lap pool. There will also be a new public stairclimb to McHenry Peak—known to be one of the best places on earth for sunset. Add in a bottle of wine to that stairclimb and you’ve got yourself a great workout with an even greater reward.
In total, Las Catalinas has 136 homes and 200 full-time residents with both of those numbers continuously growing. So, before we snap you back into this daydream, book your flight to wake up on a Monday morning energized by the sun shining along the coast surrounded with undefiled nature.