We had been camping along the Pacific coast and felt like a bit of luxury so we ditched our tents in favour of the spacious Safari tents at Rafiki Beach Lodge.
The lodge is on the coast at Playa Matapalo and hidden amongst a few other places and what looked like holiday homes.
The beach itself is beautiful and quite sparsely populated, but there is a lovely restaurant nearby (5-10 min walk) and a small supermarket just next door to the restaurant.
There were only 4 tents so there was enough space to feel some privacy but still enjoy the shaded sunbeds or cool off in the small but immaculate pool.
The tents had very comfy beds and a fan to cool down as well as electric lights in and outside. It had a huge bathroom with a lovely shower and a fridge/honesty bar.
The breakfast was included and gave a choice of pancakes, eggs and toast or Gallo Pinto all accompanied by fresh fruit juice and coffee. All options were delicious.
We were lucky to chat to the owner Lautjie and his wife who were incredibly welcoming a and gave us some great tips about the general area. They were knowledgeable about the surrounding area and wildlife and were extremely helpful whenever we asked.
I would love to go back for longer and would love to try the jungle lodge as well. We had a great experience and would completely recommend this for a stay by the sea. Total tranquility.
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We absolutely loved staying at Rafiki beach camp, this small place right on the beautiful Matapalo beach. Our tent was very comfortable and clean, and faced the ocean. The whole place had a relaxing vibe and a great atmosphere. The best thing about the whole stay, was the owners and staff of the camp. They were so welcoming, friendly and helpful under our whole stay. We already miss it and hope to come back one day.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had an absolutely wonderful experience at Rafiki Beach Camp. It was so peaceful! Lots of animals, a beautiful, sandy beach with next to no people, a fantastic kayak tour with our guide Alex to the mangroves - one of the highlights of our 3 week trip - and four days of peace and quiet. We would recommend it to anyone looking for some time to connect back with nature. 🌴⛺️☀️🇨🇷
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have never before written a negative travel review (or any negative review) but feel compelled to share this so as to save someone else from the stress of this visit. Our stay at the Rafiki Beach Resort ranks as possibly my worst travel experience and not at all as marketed. I spent $2,000 on this 5-night visit to their two properties and felt quite misled by the beach camp.
When I first reached out to the owner last summer to discuss whether Rafiki was a good fit, I was clear I’d be traveling alone with two children and our most important needs were quiet, restful time/space, safety and fun. Lautjie assured me that the beach would be very quiet other than perhaps a “few” fireworks “down” the beach on New Years’ Eve ending just after midnight. I asked repeatedly about the quiet and emphasized our need for that. He marketed a private and "relaxing" beach resort with peace and just a few families around. I was NEVER told that our tent was on a public beach.
Bottom line: there were loud dogs barking starting at 5:30am, people partying (his staff!) until 2am a few feet from our tent and incessant cigarette and cooking smoke inundating our tent all day. It was not at all private and not at all peaceful or restful.
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Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What a beautiful place. Danny and Mauren went out of their ways to help our family enjoy a perfect stay. Great waves, warm conversations and nice breakfast atmosphere every morning. Amazing staff in total - we will be back!
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Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had a fantastic stay at Rafiki! What a wonderful , authentic and zen place this is. We intended to stay 2 days, but prolonged to 5 days. The nature, animals, ocean, accommodation, staff, breakfast, kajak trip with Alex in the mangroves, … all were toprate, and lifted our holiday trip through Costa Rica to the best we ever had! Thanks Rafiki beach, hope to see you again
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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I rated all accommodations 'very good' on this trip. It really was! Also the Rafiki Beach Camp: SUPER!! Incredible location right on the Pacific..endless beach, great waves. And the tent..luxurious..well decorated, nice bathroom..sea noise. Even at breakfast we could not imagine anything better.
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Date of stay: November 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A very nice and relaxed place with beatiful surroundings. You can do a lot of activities our just watch the tide roll in and out... Our family stayed for three nights in a beachfront tent. The space was ok with two teenagers but you shouldn´t bring to large suitcases....;) The bech is endless with amazing sunsets but with quite a surf so the nice pool is better for swimming. If you have a rental car you also can visit some very nice restaurants in the area. The best one is Langosta Feliz, that serves large plates of fresh lobster, fish and other seafood - the best eat in Costa Rica according to our family! And don´t miss Manuel Antonio, the owners can help you book a guide which I highly recommend.
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Date of stay: January 2015
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Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were looking for a place near Manual Antonio, decided on this place because we wanted to be on the beach. Also we were traveling with our 21 year old daughter and thought she would love it. She did, and so did we. Its probably about a 30 minute drive to Manual Antonio, but you can easily do that park in a day, so the extra drive is worth it. We had a tent with nothing except trees and hammocks between us and the beach. Beach is basically deserted. The pool and grounds are clean and nice. The owners are very friendly and helpful. Breakfast is served by the pool. We did the kayaking trip, and had an excellent guide in Alex. We stayed 3 nights, but wish we could have stayed longer and done the river rafting trip. Saw sloths right on the property. Even though the lodge is isolated, there are several good restaurants nearby, especially the Happy Lobster. The bathroom is actually a solid building, not a tent, that is connected to the back of the tent, and is very large and clean. One night, while we were at a restaurant, it rained harder than I have ever seen in my life, but not a single drop got into the tent. These tents are from South Africa and are extremely well constructed.
Take a break from the norm. Don't stay in a cookie cutter hotel in Manual Antonio, make the effort to seek this place out. It's worth it.
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Date of stay: May 2016
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Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Obviously, the place thrives on its location. Reasonably, you cannot get any nearer to the beach with your bed and the open structure of the tents garantuees you of a full-fledged surf sound. Given these assets and the small size of the enterprise (only four tents), we were a little surprised about the apparent lack of care by the owners and the service staff to make us feel really welcome. Some features of the tent were simply not well thought out and/or not in adequate maintenance (lamp not working, towel rail missing from the fixture). While it is a neat idea to use sand-filled backs as foundation for your benches in the breakfast area, you could certainly add a little more style to the set-up with clean cushions. Compared to other places in CR (of that size) the welcome and the breakfast service were somewhat listless and impersonal. Moreover, the breakfast was rather meager both with respect to finesse and volume. We used the Beach Camp only for a one-night stopover and, in the end, were happy to move on. While the location is really grand, the overall experience does neither justify the advertised "luxury" experience nor the comparably high price. Thus, overall maybe a nice experience for vacationers who seek a little variation from a big beach-side hotel for a night, but in the context of other individual accommodations in CR (including other "tent-type" places) just average
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Date of stay: December 2014
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Playa Matapalo area.
PRICE RANGE
$130 - $150 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of PuntarenasPlaya Matapalo
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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