Most Costa Rica travel regret has nothing to do with hotels. It comes from region confusion. Manuel Antonio and Papagayo Peninsula can cost the same. Same budget. Same flight length. Same vacation days. But they create completely different experiences. One is humid, wildlife-dense, jungle-forward, and woven into a national park. The other is dry, expansive, purpose-built, and designed for space and calm. Neither is better. They’re just not interchangeable. Costa Rica doesn’t reward copy-paste pl