Villas Rio Mar, Dominical - Retired in Costa Rica

Our group spent one night here on the “Live in Costa Rica Tour” on the Pacific Coast half of the tour which I highly recommend for those considering a move here. Cozy cabins in a tropical forest along a river less than a mile from the beach where the Baru River runs into the Pacific Ocean, thus the name “Rio Mar.” See their Website.

Baru River just before the Pacific, Villas Rio Mar, Dominical. Clean & Tico families swim & fish here!

Would I Go Here Again?

Yes. I liked it and their food was good, plus I enjoyed exploring along the river! 🙂 But my exploring nature is such that when I return to a place with several hotels, I tend to want to try a different one most of the time and one near here promotes birding. 🙂 But since this trip I’ve always gone further south to Uvita, Golfito, or Puerto Jimenez with more nature promised! 🙂

Likes

Great rooms & very good food!
And it was perfect for our tour group’s overnight stay with only a little time to explore (like me) or swim in pool (like half or more of the group). And I got several birds and other nature shots.

Dislikes

None that I remember. Unless it was wanting more time there to explore more, but we were on a broad tour of many places! 🙂

Villas Rio Mar NATURE Slide Show . . .

Yellow-throated Toucan
Ruddy Ground Dove, female
Spiny-tailed Iguana
White-faced Capuchin Monkey
Ringed Kingfisher

Nature & Other Activities

I got my only toucan photo of the tour there, plus other birds and other nature shots. The river is another world across the road from hotel and then a third world down the road a bit to the beach. So many nature opportunities if staying longer than we did!
Nearby Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge, which features hiking trails through tropical forests and opportunities to spot exotic wildlife.
Marino Ballena National Park for whale watching in nearby Uvita.
Caño Island Snorkeling and many other water sports, surfing, fishing.
And my favorite waterfall in all of Costa Rica is in Dominical: Nauyaca Waterfalls, which you can choose how to get up the mountain to, by horseback or by vehicle or by hiking.

Nauyaca Waterfalls, Dominical, Puntarenas Province.

Rooms & Food

Excellent as I remember them! A large “Villa” with everyone having their own cabin or villa as I remember it. Below is a photo of the one I was in.
The food was excellent as I remember it.

My Room or Villa, Villas Rio Mar, Dominical.

Getting There

From Atenas it is 175 km or a 3 hour drive + stop time enroute! 🙂
There are multiple buses to or stopping in Dominical from Atenas or of course more from San Jose. Check your options on https://thebusschedule.com/cr/
Sansa doesn’t fly to Dominical, but north of there is Quepos Airport (La Managua) and south of there are Drake Bay & Golfito airports, none very close. Right now as I checked they are not currently flying to Perez Zeledón or Playa Ballena or Palmar Sur, all three of which would be closer or equal to Drake Bay. Check the Sansa web page for changes. Many of these smaller airfields, they add and subtract based on customer demand. 🙂