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Bicerin tastes like a sweet sip of Italy.

Founder’s Note: Learning AFAR

Embrace a rustic, woodsy vibe at these timber lodges such as the Fairmont Le Château Montebello in Quebec.

Guaitil Pottery Studio in Tamarindo is a truly unique experience. Here, owner Arbin Espinosa Guevara displays and sells his Guaitil pottery, and gives lessons to visitors interested in learning the craft themselves. One of the few remaining indigenous crafts still practiced in Costa Rica, this organic coil-built pottery is beautiful and intricate. Browse the studio, watch artists at work, or take lessons in this ancient tradition yourself.

El Be Tamarindo Beach Club will never go out of style. Take your pick between the bar terrace and DJ—ideal for dancing all night—or the Sandbar, where you can relax on the beach. In either spot, you’ll enjoy an authentic Costa Rican kind of party, with friendly locals and surfers, and happy travelers.

Located in southwestern Greece, Messenia sits on the beautiful Ionian Sea, with a rich history stretching to the bronze age. Visit to experience a more authentic side of Greece, with impressive ruins, pristine beaches, and cultural activities like olive harvesting.

Located in southwestern Greece, Messenia sits on the beautiful Ionian Sea, with a rich history stretching to the bronze age. Visit to experience a more authentic side of Greece, with impressive ruins, pristine beaches, and cultural activities like olive harvesting.

While Tamarindo in Costa Rica is no longer a sleepy beach town known only to a lucky few, we can still settle ourselves onto the sand and feel like we have the vast skyline to ourselves. Staying in Playa Langosta, the beach just south of Tamarindo, provides a welcoming relief from clusters of tourists while keeping us close enough for sunsets like this! Extra bonus: Have a friend or loved one in one hand and a cocktail in the other.

The Gold Coast is a legendary surfing destination, and veteran surfers make pilgrimages from all over the world to catch these waves. Playa Grande is the granddaddy of all Costa Rican surfing beaches, and it doubles as a nesting ground for leatherback sea turtles. Other popular surf spots in the area are Playas Avellanas & Negra (where the 1994 surf classic The Endless Summer II was filmed), and Tamarindo. If you’re a beginner or novice and need lessons, Point Break Surf is a great option.

What better way to rejuvenate than a yoga class and massage on the beach? Lorena at ReFLEXion Yoga Tamarindo is a gifted and soothing yoga instructor and healer. Besides the yoga classes (for all levels), she also offers an array of other healing therapies for the body and mind, including massage and reiki sessions. Sometimes being on vacation can start to get... well, stressful. This is the perfect solution.

Nestled under an old tree, Lazy Wave offers fresh Asian, Latin, and European fusion cuisine. The setting is wonderful, with fluffy cushioned couches and candle-lit tables in an exotic garden.

From roast pork, empanadillas, and plantains to street snacks, seafood, and freshly-made ice cream, Puerto Ricans enjoy many hearty local flavors. To really experience local culture and customs, you must take time to try each region’s culinary specialty. These foodie delights could be a unique twist on non-Puerto Rican food, or a delicious concoction of fruit and juices, to sandwiches stuffed with three kinds of meats. Locals love the flavors, and you will too!

Even if you don’t have anything specific in mind to buy, go to browse Tamarindo’s main avenue for well-priced souvenirs. Here you’ll find traditional coffee and chocolate next to art and wood crafts. There are also supermarkets, drugstores, and jewelry and boutique stores. Whether it’s a valuable artwork or lovable trinket, it will remind you of your visit to this beautiful country.

Atenas (whose name means Athens, as in Greece‘s capitol) is actually a quaint agricultural town in the province of Alajuela, about a 45 minute drive west of San Jose. With a population of only 27,000 people, and surrounded by coffee plantations and mountains, this is the absolute perfect place to experience Costa Rica as it truly is. The village has cute shops, some eateries, and stores that will carry any items you may need during your stay. The town square is adorable, and the various restaurants (all very casual) have excellent food based on local fresh catches and fresh-from-the-farm fruits and vegetables. The particular view above is from a lookout point on a private gated property. However, there are three housing developments in the area, and various owners rent out their places for very reasonable rates, and plenty have a view like this. Another fast fact about Atenas: it’s claimed to have one of the best climates in the world according to National Geographic, and you will come to know the phrase ‘El Mejor Clima del Mundo’ because it is proclaimed everywhere - and it’s true.

Occupying 28 ocean-front acres on the northwest coast of the Bay of Culebra, Andaz Peninsual Papagayo evokes its natural surroundings at every turn. Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher took an organic approach to the design of the buildings, modeling rooflines on shapes found in the shells and cocoons that appear on local shores and in the jungle canopy.

Even standard rooms—which are sprinkled over a hillside that’s bookended with beaches—elicit a strong sense of place with hand-carved artifacts, forest views, and walk-in rain showers that open to large balconies, blurring the line between indoors and outside. (Luxury seekers can upgrade to a suite to take advantage of soaking tubs and private plunge pools.)

For the actively inclined, there’s a golf course, tennis course, and access to nearby zip-lining, though no one would blame you for kicking your feet up by a pool overlooking the bay; there’s an adults-only infinity pool as well. Ostra serves fresh seafood caught in local waters, while Chao Pescao offers the ultimate expression of pura vida with tapas and small plates, a first-rate mixologist, and live music and dancing on Saturday nights.