Villa Alberti sits in Las Catalinas, roughly an hour north of Liberia International Airport — about 45 kilometers, paved the whole way. Liberia takes direct service from a dozen North American cities and moves arrivals through faster than San José. Private transfer is arranged as a matter of course, and most guests are through the villa gates within ninety minutes of landing. No rental car is needed for the length of a stay.

What you arrive to is a car-free town with a single controlled entrance, and a villa on a private gated street of its own with a dedicated guard. Security is staffed around the clock, in town and on the street. Most guests stop thinking about it by the second day, which is rather the point — children can be sent out to the plaza, and doors get left open.

Guanacaste is Costa Rica's driest and sunniest province. The dry season runs from late November into April, bringing reliable sun, cool evenings, and calm water. The green season, May into November, brings afternoon rain, dramatic skies, and a landscape that turns emphatically alive. Both have their advocates, and we are happy to tell you honestly which suits what you are looking for.