Costa Rica, the sexiest destination in Latin America?

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Last December, the readers of Recommend (a monthly travel industry magazine) named Costa Rica as “Latin America’s Sexiest Romance/Honeymoon Destination” in the publication’s 15th annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey.

I’ve been to enough travel trade events and award ceremonies to know that the awards and acclaims are sometimes made for political reasons. At other times I roll my eyes, thinking that the readers or other judges simply don’t know diddly.

But this time they got things right.

There was a good reason, for example, that the producers of ABC’s hit prime-time reality series The Bachelor chose Costa Rica for the sixth episode of the 2011 series. (See my blog post Costa Rica’s The Springs Resort Hosts The Bachelor. See a clip here.)

As viewers soon realized, the steaming, night-lit cascades of The Springs are certainly sexy, and the hotel’s combination of sublime accommodations and views are certainly conducive to romance. Even if I’m not convinced that taking your potential belle zip-lining over the treetops or rappelling down a treacherous waterfall constitutes a “romantic” date.

But since thrilling adventure can definitely be a tingling turn-on, on that score alone Costa Rica deserves to win the sexiest romance/honeymoon destination hands-down.

Then there are the dozens of absolutely amorous accommodations, from intimate boutique hotels amid coffee fields to treetops houses where you can be as wild as you want with the monkeys.

Here are five not-to-be-missed experiences to guarantee that your Costa Rican vacation is a romantic, even sexy, indulgence…

• Make love in the honeymoon suite at Finca Rosa Blanca, followed by a lingering soak in the suite’s him-and-her tub, then horse-back riding on the hotel’s own coffee estate.

• Raft the Pacuare River and end with dinner on a private riverside terrace and a night snuggling under thatch at the Pacuare Lodge.

• Enjoy a catamaran cruise to Isla Tortuga with Calypso Cruises for a day of sunning, snorkeling and sea-kayaking, or to the company’s private Punta Coral Reserve for the same.

• Watch the sun set over the Pacific from the hillside amphitheater at Villa Caletas—there’s no more romantic view in the country—then dine on the open-air terrace and overnight in one of the hotel’s sensual suites.

• Open-minded couples who like to live on the wild side can indulge in eroticism at Copacabana Desire Hotel, in Jacó. This all-inclusive couples-only adult fantasy hotel invites couples to experience a clothing-optional atmosphere, plus weekly sensual themed parties.

For complete information about romance and travel in Costa Rica, buy Moon Costa Rica

If you're traveling only to San José and the Caribbean, buy Moon Spotlight Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast pocket guide.

If you're traveling only to the beaches of Nicoya, buy Moon Spotlight Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula pocket guide.

If you're traveling only to Arenal and/or Monteverde, buy Moon Spotlight Costa Rica's Arenal&Monteverde pocket guide.

Learn more about Christopher P. Baker.

Disclosure: I occasionally accept free or discounted travel when it coincides with my editorial goals. However, my opinion is never for sale. The opinions you see in Cuba & Costa Rica Journal are my unbiased reflection of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Copyright © Christopher P. Baker