Costa Rica trip cost for groups: what it really costs per person
For a group of 16 to 28 staying in a private estate, a week on the ground in Costa Rica typically runs about $650 to $1,500 per person before flights: lodging, meals, transfers and activities. Here's every line item, three worked budgets, and where the savings are.
Costa Rica group trip cost, in short
- Lodging
- About $45–$85 per person per night for groups of 16–28 at our estates, depending on size and estate.
- Whole-estate rates
- Bella Vista from $1,250 ($950 in May, Sept & Oct) · Majestic Lodge $1,350 · Johnny's $1,360 per night
- Meals
- Johnny's: breakfast included, $30 pp/day for lunch and dinner. Bella Vista: about $12 breakfast, $16 lunch or dinner per person.
- Airport transfers
- Bella Vista: $175 per vehicle each way from San José (up to 8 guests). Johnny's to Liberia: $400 each way up to 12 people, $550 for 15–20.
- Flights (est.)
- Roughly $450–$900 per person round trip from the US; varies widely by city and season.
- Sample totals
- About $650–$1,500 per person on the ground, before flights, in the three budgets below.
How much does a Costa Rica trip cost per person?
It depends more on how you travel than on Costa Rica itself. A couple staying in mid-range hotels, renting a car and eating out will spend very differently from a group of 24 sharing a private estate with a cook. This guide is for the second kind of trip: a family reunion, a wedding week, a retreat or a friends' trip for 12 to 28 people.
For groups, the big advantage is that the largest costs (the house, the vans, the cook) are shared. Lodging that costs $1,500 a night sounds expensive until you divide it by 24. The rest of this page breaks the trip into its line items, then puts them together in three real-world budgets.
Lodging, meal and transfer prices below are the rates each estate publishes on its own site. Anything marked est. is our planning estimate based on typical prices, not a quote. Check current prices for activities and flights.
The line items
1. Flights (est.)
The one cost we can't control, and the one that varies most. As a rough guide, round-trip fares from US gateways to San José (SJO) or Liberia (LIR) often fall somewhere between $450 and $900 per person, higher in holiday weeks and from cities without direct flights. Open-jaw tickets (into SJO, out of LIR) are often priced close to a regular round trip. Price the group's main departure cities early; it's worth knowing before you choose dates.
2. Lodging
Whole-estate rates are fixed per night, so the cost per person falls as the group grows. Bella Vista's rate covers up to 28 guests. The Majestic Lodge and Johnny's include breakfast and up to 16 guests, then add $20 per extra guest per night. Here is the per-person nightly cost by group size, before cleaning fees:
| Group size | Bella Vista | Majestic Lodge | Johnny's |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 guests | $78 ($1,250/night) | $84 ($1,350/night) | $85 ($1,360/night) |
| 20 guests | $62 ($1,250/night) | $72 ($1,430/night) | $72 ($1,440/night) |
| 24 guests | $52 ($1,250/night) | $63 ($1,510/night) | $63 ($1,520/night) |
| 28 guests | $45 ($1,250/night) | $57 ($1,590/night) | $57 ($1,600/night) |
| 33 guests | Sleeps 28 | $51 ($1,690/night) | Sleeps 28 |
Cleaning fees are charged once per stay: $475 at Bella Vista for the whole resort (from $35 when renting a single home) and $350 at the Majestic Lodge. Bella Vista's green-season rate ($950 in May, Sept & Oct) brings a group of 28 down to about $34 per person per night. The large vacation rentals comparison has everything else that's included at each estate.
3. Meals
Cooking for 25 is a job, so most groups hire the estate's cook for at least some meals.
- Johnny's Beach Bungalow: breakfast is included; lunch and dinner are $30 per person per day.
- Bella Vista: Patricia cooks on request, about $12 per person for breakfast and $16 for lunch or dinner.
- The Majestic Lodge: breakfast is included; a lunch and dinner package is available. Ask us for current pricing.
- Eating out (est.): a casual soda lunch is inexpensive; plan on roughly $15 per person for lunch out and more for dinner at tourist-area restaurants.
4. Transfers
Bella Vista charges $175 per vehicle each way between San José airport and the estate, up to 8 guests per vehicle. Johnny's publishes its Liberia airport prices: $400 each way for up to 12 people and $550 each way for 15 to 20. Other legs (the Majestic Lodge's airport runs and moves between regions) are quoted per group. For legs without a published price we budget $400 per 12-seat van for an airport run and $450 per van for a 2½–4 hour move between estates (est.). Short runs are often quoted lower. A 12-seat van is the standard unit, so a group of 24 needs two.
5. Activities (typical prices, est.)
| Activity | Typical per person | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Zip lining | $60–$110 | Arenal (6 min from the Majestic Lodge), Guanacaste |
| Hot springs day pass | $40–$100 | Arenal / La Fortuna |
| White-water rafting | $80–$120 | Arenal area |
| Hanging bridges, guided wildlife walks | $30–$80 | Arenal, Monteverde, national parks |
| Surf lesson | $60–$90 | Playa Avellanas, Tamarindo |
| Sunset catamaran | $90–$130 | Tamarindo |
| Beach days, waterfalls, pickleball at Bella Vista | Free to low cost | Everywhere |
Most groups mix two or three paid activities with free days. We budget about $50 per person per day of a trip (est.), less for a slow beach week.
Three sample budgets, with the math
Budget 1: 16 people, 7 nights at the beach
A family reunion at Johnny's Beach Bungalow, flying in and out of Liberia, with the cook for lunch and dinner every day.
| Line item | Math | Group total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lodging, breakfast included | $1,360 × 7 nights | $9,520 | $595 |
| Lunch & dinner | $30 × 7 days × 16 | $3,360 | $210 |
| Liberia airport van | $550 × 2 (arrival and departure) | $1,100 | $69 |
| Activities (est.) | $250 × 16 | $4,000 | $250 |
| On the ground | $17,980 | $1,124 |
Add flights. That's about $161 per person per day with every meal covered.
Budget 2: 24 people, 10 nights, mountains to volcano to beach
Three nights at Bella Vista, three at the Majestic Lodge and four at Johnny's. Fly into San José, home from Liberia.
| Line item | Math | Group total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bella Vista, 3 nights | $1,250 × 3 + $475 cleaning | $4,225 | $176 |
| Majestic Lodge, 3 nights | ($1,350 + 8 extra guests × $20) × 3 + $350 cleaning | $4,880 | $203 |
| Johnny's, 4 nights | ($1,360 + 8 × $20) × 4 | $6,080 | $253 |
| Bella Vista meals | ($12 breakfast + $16 dinner) × 3 days × 24 | $2,016 | $84 |
| Lunches out at Bella Vista (est.) | $15 × 3 × 24 | $1,080 | $45 |
| Majestic lunch & dinner (est.) | $40 × 3 days × 24 | $2,880 | $120 |
| Johnny's lunch & dinner | $30 × 4 days × 24 | $2,880 | $120 |
| Vans: SJO arrival, two moves (est.); LIR departure | 2 vans × $400 from SJO + 2 moves × 2 vans × $450 (est.) + $550 + $400 to LIR | $3,550 | $148 |
| Activities (est.) | $350 × 24 | $8,400 | $350 |
| On the ground | $35,991 | $1,500 |
Lodging for all ten nights comes to $633 per person, about $63 a night. The Liberia van for 24 assumes one run at the 15–20 price and one at the up-to-12 price; we'll confirm the exact vehicle split when we quote.
Budget 3: 28 people, 5 nights on the mountaintop
A long-weekend celebration or retreat at Bella Vista, flying in and out of San José. Patricia cooks breakfast and dinner; lunches are out or on day trips.
| Line item | Math | Group total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lodging, standard rate | $1,250 × 5 + $475 cleaning | $6,725 | $240 |
| or green-season rate | $950 × 5 + $475 (May, Sept & Oct) | $5,225 | $187 |
| Breakfast & dinner by Patricia | ($12 + $16) × 5 days × 28 | $3,920 | $140 |
| Lunches out (est.) | $15 × 5 × 28 | $2,100 | $75 |
| SJO airport transfers | 4 vehicles × $175 × 2 (arrival and departure, up to 8 guests each) | $1,400 | $50 |
| Activities (est.) | $200 × 28 | $5,600 | $200 |
| On the ground | Standard / green season | $19,745 / $18,245 | $705 / $652 |
At 28 guests, Bella Vista's lodging works out to about $48 per person per night, or $37 in green season, including the cleaning fee.
Ways to save on a Costa Rica group trip
- Travel in green season. Bella Vista drops to $950 a night in May, Sept & Oct, a $300-a-night saving. Our best time to visit guide covers what the weather is really like.
- Book direct. Booking with us is typically about 10% less than the same dates on Airbnb or VRBO, because there are no platform service fees.
- Fill the beds. Because the rate is per estate, every extra guest lowers everyone's share. At the Majestic Lodge and Johnny's, guests beyond 16 add only $20 a night each, breakfast included.
- Fewer moves on short trips. Every change of estate adds a van day. Under a week, one base is usually cheaper and more relaxing.
- Let the cook cook. $28 a day for breakfast and dinner at Bella Vista, or $30 for lunch and dinner at Johnny's, is hard to beat eating out as a group of 20.
- Split it fairly. Many groups divide lodging by family or by bedroom rather than per head, with kids at a reduced share. Agree the method before anyone books flights.
Prefer one price that covers almost everything? The Majestic Lodge and Johnny's both offer an all-inclusive Presidential Package with meals, transfers and vehicles; see Johnny's packages and the Majestic Lodge's all-inclusive option. The trip builder prices any mix of estates and nights for your exact group size.
Meals, vans and hosts, sorted.
“Our family of 22 purchased the Presidential Package which provided us with two wonderful cooks/housekeepers and transportation to and from the airport in San José. The best part of our stay was the hospitality and care we received.”
“I highly recommend opting for the Presidential Package — our group loved everything about it. From being picked up at the airport, to the delicious home-cooked meals, to the activity planning, we all felt, well, presidential.”
“Our family of 13 stayed at Bella Vista for a week and enjoyed every day! Patricia cooked the most delicious dinners and breakfasts. The views were outstanding and the pool was the highlight for all ages 2 to 71.”
“We had 21 people comfortably at the bungalow and chose to do the meals included, which were all delicious. Our crew had a lovely time hanging out by the pool and spending time at the beach.”
Cost questions from group organizers
How much does a 7-day Costa Rica trip cost per person?
For a group sharing a private estate, our worked example of 16 people for 7 nights at the beach, with every meal, the airport van and about $250 of activities each, comes to roughly $1,120 per person before flights. Larger groups pay less per person for lodging.
Is it cheaper to rent a whole estate than hotel rooms for a group?
Usually, yes. A whole estate costs the same whether 16 or 28 people stay, so the per-person rate drops as the group grows: about $45 to $65 per person per night at our estates for groups of 24 to 28, with breakfast included at two of them.
How much should we budget for food in Costa Rica?
With the estate's cook, about $28 per person per day for breakfast and dinner at Bella Vista, or $30 for lunch and dinner at Johnny's (breakfast already included). Eating out as a group in tourist areas costs more; budget around $15 per person for lunch out (est.) and more for dinners.
How much do airport transfers cost for a group?
Bella Vista charges $175 per vehicle each way for San José airport transfers, up to 8 guests per vehicle. Johnny's Beach Bungalow charges $400 each way for up to 12 people from Liberia airport and $550 for 15 to 20. For other transfers we quote per group; a 12-seat van is the standard unit, so 24 people need two.
What is the cheapest time to visit Costa Rica?
Green season, especially September and October. Bella Vista's rate drops from $1,250 to $950 a night in May, Sept & Oct, and many tours and flights are cheaper outside the December–April peak.
How do large groups split the cost?
Most divide lodging per adult, per family or per bedroom, often with reduced shares for children, and split shared extras such as the cook and vans equally. Decide the method early and collect deposits from each family before booking.
Is booking direct cheaper than Airbnb or VRBO?
Typically about 10% less for the same dates, because there are no platform service fees, and you deal directly with the team that runs the resorts.
Get a real number
Send us your group. We'll send a per-person quote.
Dates, group size and the estates you're curious about: Karen replies with exact pricing for every combination that fits.
