If you’re looking to splurge on a hotel in Costa Rica, then you must check out the Peace Lodge. This small lodge is only a one hour drive from San Jose, yet ensconced in the magical tropical cloud and rain forests.
It also has an on-site nature park with an animal sanctuary and 5 waterfalls, making it one of the best places to visit Costa Rica, especially for families. The Peace Lodge’s intimate atmosphere and cozy rooms also make it a great place to stay for a Costa Rica honeymoon.
For those of you who are debating on which hotel to splurge on, read our review of the Peace Lodge and La Paz waterfall gardens (and get 7% off the nature park tickets)!
Peace Lodge Location
The Peace Lodge and La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park is in the small town of Vara Blanca in the Heredia Province, in between the Poas and Barva Volcano.
Directions and how to get there
How to get to the Peace Lodge and La Paz waterfall gardens from San Jose:
Driving is the best way to get to La Paz waterfall gardens and Peace Lodge. The drive from San Jose to La Paz waterfall gardens is about 1-1.5 hours depending on traffic. You can use Waze to navigate through the city up towards Vara Blanca. Be aware that the road going up gets very narrow and curvy so drive slowly.
There aren’t any shared shuttles that go to La Paz waterfall gardens. A private shuttle from San Jose costs around $140-170 one way. From San Jose or Alajuela, you can take the bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui and get off at Vara Blanca. From Vara Blanca, you will need to taxi to the La Paz waterfall gardens.
The Peace Lodge Property
First of all, the Peace Lodge is one of the most beautiful boutique hotels in Costa Rica, surrounded by nature and lush jungle. The Peace Lodge only has a handful of rooms, all with splendid views of the cloud forest.
Right below the rooms is the animal sanctuary and there is direct access from the rooms to the nature park.
They also have 6 different restaurants and a large trout pond so you can go fishing for your own lunch! The restaurants serve excellent food, I had some of the best fish sandwiches and tuna salads I’ve ever had. The breakfast buffet is equally as good with plenty of freshly cooked plantains, gallo pinto, pastries and fresh fruit.
The Rooms
All the rooms are extremely nice with a fireplace, outdoor Jacuzzi and balcony but there are a few differences between the standard and deluxe. The standard guest room is 60 meters squared (200 sq feet) and the deluxe is 74 meters squared (242 feet) so the bathroom is bigger with another Jacuzzi.
We absolutely loved the fireplace and hard wood floors. It made us feel like we were staying at a cabin during a winter vacation. It got cold at night (around 50s F or 10 C) when we were there (June) and rained every night so we curled up in front of the fireplace with a nice cup of tea.
And when we felt like we needed more relaxation, we jumped in the outdoor Jacuzzi!
This bathroom was so big that I was able to do yoga and Zumba in there!
All the balconies have hummingbird feeders so every morning we saw the pretty birds zoom around. It was so relaxing to have a hot cup of coffee while looking at the view too!
They also have two large villas: Monarch and Villa Lago which fit large groups or families as they have all the comforts of home.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
The privately owned 70 acre (28 hectares) waterfall garden offers splendid cloud forest views, nature trails and waterfalls. The animal sanctuary provides an educational and fun experience for people to learn about conservation and native animals of Costa Rica. Hotel guests have complimentary entrance and exclusive access before and after opening hours.
This is incredibly nice since the gardens can get absolutely packed during high season from around 10 AM – 3 PM. We wondered over there at 8 AM and had the entire park to ourselves, including the waterfalls! We got to take our time and had all the viewpoints to ourselves. It gave us ample time to experience, enjoy and take in the breathtaking beauty of the waterfalls.
La Paz waterfall gardens hours and entrance fee
For outside visitors, the La Pa Waterfall Gardens are open everyday 8 AM – 5 PM. The entrance fee is $45 per adult foreigner and $27 per child (3-12). You can also add a buffet lunch so the entrance + lunch is $59 per adult and $38 per child.
La Paz waterfall gardens map
Here is a map of both the Peace Lodge and La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
There are over 3.5 kilometers of walking trails that go through the animal sanctuary and viewpoints of the 5 waterfalls.
The waterfalls
There are 5 waterfalls in the park: Templo, Magia Blanca, Encantada, Escondida and La Paz. The trails are all well built and very sturdy with hand rails so even for those who are not in good shape can do it.
Here are some of the photos we took of the waterfalls.
La Paz waterfall is the one you can see from the main road for free.
Animal Sanctuary
Their animal sanctuary has monkeys, toucans, sloths, jungle cats, parrots, ducks, snakes, frogs and other animals. The MINAE, or Costa Rican Ministry of Environment donated these animals which were confiscated as pets or injured to the sanctuary.
The La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a great place in Costa Rica for families with little kids as they can get up close with the animals and learn more them. There is also a butterfly laboratory, aviary, serpentarium and frog exhibit.
La Paz waterfall gardens tour
For those who are staying in San Jose and don’t have your own transportation, you can take a tour which includes roundtrip transportation, guide and entrance fees. Tour companies combine La Paz Waterfall Gardens with Doka Coffee Tour or Poas Volcano. This is one of the best day trips from San Jose.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens Discount
If you have your own transportation and want to visit La Paz Waterfall Gardens on your own, we have an exclusive discount for Mytanfeet readers!
Click here to get your La Paz Waterfall Gardens discount
Overall Thoughts
We loved our time at the Peace Lodge and La Paz Waterfall Gardens. It’s a high end boutique hotel for a reason and they exceeded all our expectations of a luxury hotel. The friendly staff, delicious food, spacious and cozy rooms and incredible views make it well worth the money to visit.
It’s not a cheap place to stay but for anyone looking for a luxury hotel for a honeymoon or with a family, this is an excellent choice. The location is amazing and is worth staying at least one or two nights. I have to say that having access to the gardens before opening and and after closing hours was awesome!
If you’re traveling onto La Fortuna, Peace Lodge has a sister property called The Springs Resort & Spa. We also have a $10 discount for their Club Rio multi adventure package where you can go kayaking, tubing, horseback riding or hiking on their beautiful property. Also includes a 2 day hot spring pass!
Catherine Wickham says
Hello! I’ve been trying to get in touch with them directly to find out if you can still utilize the grounds on the day you check out? We are planning to stay there for the day and then head back to SJ that evening as we fly out the next AM. If we have to vacate the property as soon as we check out or pay the park fee, we’d want to change our plans. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Catherine, we don’t work with the part of the lodge so you will have to contact them directly – they have a toll free number I believe that you can call
Melissa says
We’ll be driving from SJO to Tabacon near La Fortuna. Should we make a detour to visit Waterfall Gardens or will that take away too much time? We’ll be leaving SJO at approximately 10 am. Thank you!
Sammi says
It could be possible but it depends… immigration and customs have been taking really long at SJO, and the park closes at 4 PM additionally, I’d give yourself at least a good minimum 3 hours at the park to enjoy it all. If you get out of the airport and get your car by noon, it’s about 1.5 hours to the park, and then it closes at 4 PM so I feel like you won’t really be able to enjoy it all if you have to hurry in 2 hours
Kelly says
Hi,
Is the road from SJO airport to Peace Lodge doable in the dark? We get in around 7:45pm. Trying to decide if we should get a hotel in San Jose and then head to Peace Lodge in the morning.
Thanks!
Sammi says
I would go the next morning, even though the road is paved, it is extremely narrow, curvy and without many street lights once you get up there, especially if you’re visiting for the remainder of rainy season.
George says
Hi
What is the best route to La PAz from Adobe car rental at SJO? Is this one place you can leave your luggage in the car?
Sammi says
Hi George, it is recommended to use a GPS to get to La Paz as it’s up in the small town of Vara Blanca outside the city and the GPS (or gps app like Waze) will help you navigate out of San Jose.
The La Paz gardens has a large parking lot and there is always a lot of movement through there since it’s a popular place, if you need to leave your luggage in your car make sure it is covered and not visible.
Jennifer H says
We will be taking a private transfer from SJO to Arenal in the afternoon of 11/20, adults and children. Would this be a good place to stop for a late lunch on the way?
Sammi says
You will need to check with your transfer company because the waterfall gardens is a different route than the normal one they take from San Jose to La Fortuna so there is probably an extra cost.
soujanya says
hi
I didn’t receive the 10% discount yet.I want to visit la paz gardens with meals included for 2 adults and 1kid. Could you plz email me.
thanks.
by the way your blog is awesome. Lots of info that’s looks very genuine.
Keep it up.Thx
Sammi says
Hi Soujanya, we just sent you an email!