Most of the proposals we plan here start the same way: a couple sees a sunset over Playa Conchal or Flamingo on a trip, and something clicks. They come back to actually propose. We work around the tide and the light — timing it so the sun drops right as she turns around, or blocking off a quiet stretch near Playas del Coco an hour before anyone else shows up.

There's more to Guanacaste than the coastline, though. Llanos de Cortés has a waterfall and a natural pool that most visitors never even find — the kind of spot where proposing feels like it's just the two of you and no one else knows this place exists. Further inland, Rincón de la Vieja and Miravalles bring the volcanoes into it: steam rising off the hot springs at the base of an active crater while you propose. It's not what people picture when they think "Guanacaste beach vacation," and that's part of why it lands so well.

Some couples want their feet in the sand when they propose. Others start the day on a boat off Papagayo and end up on a private beach only reachable by water. Either way, we get on a call first and figure out what actually feels like the two of you — not just what looks good in photos.

Everyone pictures the volcano when they think about proposing here, and we get it — but Arenal is unpredictable. Clouds roll in and out all day, and there's no guaranteeing it'll be fully visible at the exact hour you propose. So instead of gambling on the sky for the proposal itself, we usually plan it in two parts.

For the moment itself, we like Kurú Natural Springs — a jungle trail leading to natural spring-fed pools, quiet and private enough that it feels like no one else knows it's there. Or La Fortuna Waterfall early in the morning, before the crowds and before the clouds build up for the day, with the water loud enough that no one nearby can overhear a thing. Both work well specifically because they don't depend on the volcano being visible.

Then comes the part where the volcano gets to show up: a private picnic with a personal chef at Arenal 1968, where we book the space exclusively so it's just the two of you with an open view of the volcano. By that point, you're already engaged, the pressure's off, and if Arenal decides to clear for you, it's a bonus — not something the whole proposal was riding on.

Uvita and Dominical are still something of a local secret — this stretch of coast hasn't been discovered by most tourists yet, which is exactly why we like proposing here. This is also some of the most biodiverse coastline in Costa Rica — it's not unusual to be walking toward the spot with monkeys moving through the trees overhead, or to look up right as a pair of macaws flies past together. We can't promise wildlife on command, but this is the part of the country where it actually shows up more often than not, and there's something about a pair of macaws overhead at the exact moment you propose that you couldn't script if you tried.

At low tide, Uvita's Whale's Tail sandbar reveals itself — a stretch of sand shaped like a whale's tail from above, empty enough at the right hour that you could believe you're the only two people on the coast. Dominical works differently: it's a surf town, looser energy, and we usually time proposals around sunset when the beach empties out and the light turns everything orange. Then there's Nauyaca — a hike out to a two-tiered waterfall where the only sound is water hitting rock, no crowd noise to compete with.

What connects all three is that privacy here doesn't have to be arranged — it's already part of the place. That's what makes the moment feel like it's actually yours.

Manuel Antonio is the one place where you get both at once — rainforest and coastline in the same view, and more ways to propose in Manuel Antonio than almost anywhere else we work.

A sunrise proposal at Playa Biesanz is one of our favorites for the early risers — the beach is nearly empty that early, and the light does something no editing can fake, all pink and gold over the water, which makes for photos that don't need much help. If you'd rather propose somewhere completely out of sight, there's a hiking trail we use that most visitors never find, ending at a lookout over the ocean with no one else around — just the two of you and the view. Playa Playitas is another option for a beach proposal, with a handful of small islands sitting right offshore in front of you as you propose, close enough to feel like part of the scene.

For something further out, a private yacht proposal at sunset puts just the two of you on the water while the sky changes color. Whichever version you pick, we can build a private proposal picnic with a personal chef into the day too — we just plan it to wrap by 6pm, while there's still light to enjoy it by.

The Caribbean side runs on its own calendar. When the rest of Costa Rica is deep into rainy season, a Caribbean coast proposal in Puerto Viejo often works better — this side tends to have its driest, clearest stretch when everywhere else is grey. Come in October, when most of the country is having its worst weather, and this coast is often having its best. It's the kind of detail most people planning a proposal in Costa Rica don't know until we tell them.

It's also a different culture entirely — Afro-Caribbean roots, reggae drifting out of open-air sodas, a slower rhythm than the rest of the country. Want to try rice and beans made the Caribbean way, coconut milk instead of the version you'll find anywhere else in Costa Rica? This is where you do it.

One thing to plan around: this coast faces east, so it's built for sunrise, not sunset. A sunrise proposal at Playa Cocles, Punta Uva, or Playa Chiquita means watching the sky come up over the water instead of go down. A Punta Uva beach proposal tends to have the calmest water of the three, closer to what you'd picture in the Caribbean islands than typical Costa Rica. Whichever beach you propose on, we build the day around getting there before the light does.