Named villas across Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Playa Hermosa and Playa Carmen in 2026, grouped by beachfront, hill view, walk to the surf, families and couples, with bedrooms, nightly rates and how to book each.
A good villa in Santa Teresa costs about $280 to $400 a night for two or three bedrooms on the hill, $800 to $1,150 for a three bedroom house on the sand, and $3,000 or more for a staffed estate, plus 13% tax on stays under 30 nights. PURE Vacation Homes has the widest range with published "from" prices, Maison Marazul and Casa Coracali are the beachfront houses I would book first, and Casa Calyx is the best hill villa for the money.
The short version
Santa Teresa villas split into four types, and the type matters more than the name. Beachfront houses sit on the sand at the north end toward Playa Hermosa and cost the most. Hill villas have the big ocean views and the best value per bedroom, and they come with a steep dirt road. Flat villas near Banana Beach and the main road let you walk to dinner and the surf without a car. Mal Pais houses are quieter and cheaper and put you 10 minutes on foot from the tide pools.
My picks: Maison Marazul for a couple or small family on the beach, Casa Coracali for six people who want the sand at the gate, Peace Villa for a family that wants to walk everywhere, Casa Calyx for a couple or four friends on a budget, and Pacific Azure in Mal Pais for a group of up to twelve. Prices below are the lowest published rate in 2026; Christmas, New Year and Easter run well above them.
Beachfront villas
Maison Marazul is a three bedroom, three bathroom Moroccan style house on the white sand of north Santa Teresa, with an infinity pool, hammocks, king beds, air conditioning, daily housekeeping, a groundskeeper, night patrol and an on-call concierge. A reef shields the beach in front and the Suck Rock surf break is a short walk down the sand. The local agency Costa Rica Beach Rentals lists it from $1,150 a night plus tax and sleeps six comfortably. It is not in the Onda directory yet. The caveat is the price: you pay for the frontage, and a hill villa with the same bedrooms costs a third as much.
Casa Coracali is a three bedroom beachfront home for up to six, steps from the water, with a pool, a fully equipped kitchen and wheelchair access. The agency Costa Rican Vacations lists it from $975 a night. It suits two couples or a family who want the ocean at the door without paying Pasha money. Book through the agency or ask them for the owner's direct terms; the agency is a Costa Rica wide operator, not a local, so questions about road noise or the tide are better put to a resident.
PURE's beachfront pair. PURE Vacation Homes lists Casa Dalila, four bedrooms for ten, from $1,000 a night, and The Beach House, three bedrooms for six, from $800. PURE is a curated collection run from an office on Calle Buenos Aires with a personal concierge, grocery pre-stocking, private transfers and an ATV ready on arrival at extra cost. Book on pure.cr or on Airbnb, where the collection carries Luxe status. These are the most polished houses at their price. The caveat is that the concierge handles everything, so you rarely meet the owner.
Casa Milya is a five bedroom beachfront villa on Playa Santa Teresa for nine adults and two children, with a private pool, daily housekeeping and a concierge, rented through santateresaluxury.com. The site publishes no rate, so ask. Four of the five bedrooms are king suites with their own bathrooms, which makes it a good split-the-cost house for three couples.
Playa Hermosa and the north end
Casa Lalu is a four bedroom house "steps from" Playa Hermosa, listed by Costa Rica Beach Rentals at $800. The agency does not say whether that figure is high season, so confirm. Hermosa is the calmer end of the coast with a long swimming beach and fewer restaurants; you will want a car or a quad. Our Santa Teresa vs Mal Pais vs Carmen guide explains how the three ends differ.
Villa Makai is the Hermosa entry in the PURE collection, two bedrooms for four from $300. It is the cheapest way into a designed villa on this side. Pranamar has oceanfront villas at $220 to $500 and a yoga programme, covered in the beachfront hotels guide, but it is a hotel with shared grounds rather than a private house.
Ocean view villas on the hill
Casa Calyx is a three bedroom jungle villa above Playa Santa Teresa, with an office, a 24 hour infinity pool, fibre Wi-Fi with Starlink backup and room for six. It rents from $185 a night, holds a 4.93 Airbnb rating from 28 reviews and Superhost status, and the Casa Calyx listing links its own site. Guests say the walk to town is about 10 minutes and the climb back is steep. That is the honest trade of a hill villa. Suits a couple working remotely or four friends who rent a quad.
Villa Sunset Hill is an ocean view house with a pool in Mal Pais, about five minutes from Santa Teresa, shown from $596 a night on one owner direct site. Its road surface is not published, so ask the host which vehicle gets up the last stretch in the rain.
Pacific Vistas Villa in Mal Pais, with a jungle view casita on the same land as a second home, is the option for two couples who want privacy. Rates are not published outside the booking platforms.
PURE has a cluster of ocean view houses too: Villa Lasai, Villa Element, The L Design Villa and Casa Mirame at three bedrooms for six from $400, Villa Koa from $350, and Casa Solana and Casa Terra at two bedrooms for four from $280. Tenowi Villa, five bedrooms for ten, starts at $900. These are new builds with air conditioning, fast internet and designer finishes; the lowest prices are green season.
Villas where you can walk to the surf
Peace Villa is a three bedroom house for up to eight in a gated community with a 24/7 guard, a private pool, fibre internet and air conditioning in every room, about 300 metres from Banana Beach on flat ground, with a 2 night minimum. The owner's site reports a 4.96 Airbnb Guest Favorite rating, and PURE now lists it from $400 a night. Suits two families who do not want to drive. Our family friendly stays guide covers it in more detail.
Villas Santa Teresa has three two bedroom villas, two with jungle and ocean views and one with a pool view, 50 steps from the beach. Each has a king bed, a second room with three singles or a queen, a shared pool, daily housekeeping, 200 Mb fibre and private parking. Rates are on the booking engine at villassantateresa.com, where booking direct gets the best price, and WhatsApp is +506 8615 5999.
Villa Fortuna is a six unit building in the middle of town with a pool, and the two bedroom Oasis sleeps four adults and two children, five minutes from the beach and 50 metres from Super Ronny's. No 4x4 is needed. It is an apartment, not a villa in the usual sense, but it is the flattest, cheapest way to be in the middle of everything.
Mal Pais houses
Pacific Azure is a Superhost operation on the Mal Pais side with rating averages above 4.8 across hundreds of reviews. Pacific Villa has six bedrooms for twelve with a pool and jacuzzi (4.84 from 81 reviews), Pacific Suite and Pacific Penthouse each have three bedrooms for six (4.91 from 356 and 4.93 from 336), and Pacific Cottage has three en suite bedrooms for six, 10 minutes on foot from Mal Pais beach. Wi-Fi is 100 Mbps and air conditioning is in every bedroom. An older agency page priced the villa at $595 a night; ask for today's number.
Playa de Pesca Resort rents three bedroom houses for seven from about $326, 25 metres from the beach at the fishing village. Casa Wahoo, a three bedroom beach house in Mal Pais, is also in the directory; ask for its rate. Playa de Pesca is the best value on the sand.
Which villa for which trip
| Trip | Book | Bedrooms | From per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beachfront couple or small family | Maison Marazul | 3 | $1,150 |
| Six on the beach | Casa Coracali | 3 | $975 |
| Walk everywhere with kids | Peace Villa | 3 | $400 |
| Budget hill view | Casa Calyx | 3 | $185 |
| Group of twelve | Pacific Villa | 6 | Ask |
| Couples | PURE Casa Solana | 2 | $280 |
| Beach on a budget | Playa de Pesca | 3 | $326 |
Roads, power and tax
The hill road decides more than the thread count. Many Santa Teresa and Mal Pais hill villas end in a steep, unpaved final approach that needs a 4x4 or a quad, and it gets worse from September to November. Ask whether the host sends a driver, whether the road is concrete in the steep sections, and whether you can walk down at night. A flat villa near the main road avoids all of this; see getting around Santa Teresa without a car.
Electricity is the quiet extra. Air conditioning is the largest cost for the owner, and some rentals cap it or charge a daily fee of $10 to $20 for air conditioning, so ask whether it is included for the whole stay. Check water as well: a tank and a pump make outages in green season a non event, and the rainy season guide explains why they happen.
Tax is 13% on stays under 30 nights, and some managers add a cleaning fee, an administration fee and a damage deposit. One Santa Teresa home lists a $135 cleaning fee, a $40 administration fee and a $70 processing fee on top of a $500 deposit, so compare totals and not nightly rates. Long stays are cheaper booked as a monthly rental, which is a different market; read monthly rentals in Santa Teresa.
How to book
Three routes exist. Direct with the owner or manager, like Pacific Azure's WhatsApp, Villas Santa Teresa's website or PURE's concierge, usually saves the platform fee. A local agency like Costa Rica Beach Rentals, in Mal Pais since 1996, quotes the owner's rate and handles the contract. A platform, Airbnb or Booking.com, gives you reviews and protection but costs more. Most owners here use all three.
December to April sells out first; Christmas and Easter need a week minimum and booking by October. Today, in the last week of green season, many houses are about a third below high season. For who runs a house after you leave, read our property management guide. For a villa with a chef, see best private chefs.
Browse every villa, casa and boutique stay in the /directory/stay hub.
FAQ
How much does a villa cost in Santa Teresa?
A two to three bedroom villa starts around $280 to $400 a night in green season and rises in December to April. A beachfront three bedroom runs $800 to $1,150, and a staffed estate starts near $3,000. Add 13% tax to stays under 30 nights.
Do I need a 4x4 to rent a villa in Santa Teresa?
For hill and Mal Pais ocean view villas, yes or at least a quad. For flat villas near Banana Beach, Villa Fortuna or Peace Villa, no. Ask every host about the last 300 metres of road.
Is air conditioning included?
Usually in bedrooms of mid to high end villas, but some owners cap it or charge $10 to $20 a day. Ask in writing before booking. Pacific Azure and Casa Calyx both advertise air conditioning in the bedrooms.
Which is the best villa for a family?
Peace Villa for two families who want to walk to Banana Beach, and Villas Santa Teresa for a family of five that wants to be 50 steps from the sand. Playa de Pesca suits larger groups on a budget.
Is it cheaper to book direct?
Often, because the owner avoids the platform fee, and Villas Santa Teresa says its website has the best price. Ask for a quote on both and compare the totals with tax and fees. Agencies quote the owner's rate.
When should I book?
For December to April, by September or October, and a week ahead for Christmas, New Year and Easter. For green season you can book a few days ahead and negotiate.
