Tiny House Atlas

The 12 best tiny houses in Costa Rica — from Arenal to the southern Pacific

Costa Rica's checked inventory spans an active volcano, a cloud forest and two Pacific coastlines across five destinations. These twelve are the pick, with live prices and guest ratings.

Photo: Bernard Gagnon / CC0

Costa Rica's tiny house map runs from an active volcano to two different coastlines, and the checked inventory now covers five destinations: La Fortuna and the Arenal volcano region, the surf town of Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Peninsula, the cloud forest around Monteverde, and the southern Pacific split between Costa Ballena (Uvita and Dominical) and Manuel Antonio. Sixty-one small stays have passed our size and type checks across the five, with La Fortuna and Santa Teresa carrying the largest clusters.

Prices and guest ratings on the cards below are live from our database. None of these stays carry a research-verified amenity layer yet — where a host's own listing name or description mentions a pool, air conditioning or a jacuzzi, we say so as the listing's own claim rather than a confirmed extra. Method: how we verify tiny houses.

Arenal & La Fortuna

1. Casita Don Eliber. A one-bedroom cabin for up to five guests, rated 9.8 from 22 reviews — among the highest review counts of the La Fortuna set, at a rate around €70 a night for two.

2. ParadiseTropical Garden Cabin. A one-bedroom cabin for four with a 9.9 from 9 reviews, and per the listing a private jacuzzi in the garden — a common La Fortuna touch given the area's hot-spring reputation.

ParadiseTropical Garden Cabin with private jacuzziCabin

La Fortuna & Arenal · Costa Rica

ParadiseTropical Garden Cabin with private jacuzzi

9.9 9 reviews on Booking.com · 4 guests

Hot tub / sauna
€142/ nightPrice checked August 8, 2026
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3. Lake Cabin #2. A single-bedroom cabin sleeping up to four, confirmed through a syndicated listing as a genuine one-bedroom unit with a balcony over the lake. Rated 9.0 so far.

Nicoya Peninsula & Santa Teresa

4. High Tide Bungalow. A standalone casita for two inside the small Surf Casitas compound, with its own king bed, ensuite bathroom and kitchen confirmed independently of the listing. A perfect 10.0 so far.

High Tide Bungalow _ Walking Distance To The Surf and RestaurantsCabin Verified

Santa Teresa & Mal País · Costa Rica

High Tide Bungalow _ Walking Distance To The Surf and Restaurants

10.0 on Vrbo · 2 guests

€111/ nightPrice checked August 8, 2026
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5. Buena Onda – Bungalow Carmen. One of six identical wood-and-bamboo bungalows a short walk from the beach, each with its own patio, kitchen and bathroom. Also rated 10.0.

6. Nest Bungalow. A two-bedroom standalone bungalow for four inside a small gated community, with a shared pool per the listing. Rated 9.4, and the priciest of the Santa Teresa picks here.

Nest Bungalow _ Pool - Walking Distance To The Beach - Security 24/7Cabin Verified

Santa Teresa & Mal País · Costa Rica

Nest Bungalow _ Pool - Walking Distance To The Beach - Security 24/7

9.4 on Vrbo · 4 guests

€186/ nightPrice checked August 8, 2026
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Monteverde

7. Chalet in the Mountain #1. A one-bedroom mountain chalet with two bathrooms that sleeps up to six, rated 9.4. Third-party listings independently confirm the bedroom count and floor size.

Chalet in the mountain #1Cabin Verified

Monteverde · Costa Rica

Chalet in the mountain #1

9.4 on Vrbo · 6 guests

€145/ nightPrice checked June 27, 2026
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8. Jungle Living Tree Houses. A one-bedroom treehouse for two with the largest review base of any Monteverde stay on this list — 9.2 from 152 reviews.

Jungle Living Tree HousesTree house

Monteverde · Costa Rica

Jungle Living Tree Houses

9.2 152 reviews on Booking.com · 2 guests

€147/ nightPrice checked August 14, 2026
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9. Cloud Forest Sunset Cabin. A rustic three-bedroom cabin the owner built himself on forty acres of private land next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Rated 8.8.

Cloud Forest Sunset Cabin, Monteverde Costa RicaCabin Verified

Monteverde · Costa Rica

Cloud Forest Sunset Cabin, Monteverde Costa Rica

8.8 on Vrbo

€149/ nightPrice checked August 14, 2026
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Southern Pacific: Costa Ballena & Manuel Antonio

10. Mimosa Casita. A standalone two-bedroom casita for four near Uvita, on a paved road and, per the listing, with air conditioning and a shared pool. Rated 10.0.

11. Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge. A one-bedroom eco-tagged cabin for two on the river, with the deepest review history of the Costa Ballena cluster: 9.5 from 104 reviews. Priced accordingly, at the upper end of the region.

12. Igloo Beach Lodge. A dome for four near Manuel Antonio, and by a wide margin the most-reviewed small stay on this whole page: 8.2 from 921 reviews. The other checked stays near Manuel Antonio carry no ratings yet, which makes this one the safe pick for the beach end of the list.

Igloo Beach LodgeGeodesic dome

Manuel Antonio · Costa Rica

Igloo Beach Lodge

8.2 921 reviews on Expedia · 4 guests

€109/ nightPrice checked August 14, 2026
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Where exactly — and what it costs

La Fortuna sits at the foot of the Arenal volcano, its hanging bridges and hot springs built around a still-active cone. Santa Teresa and neighbouring Mal País face the open Pacific on the Nicoya Peninsula's western tip, a surf town that has grown fast around one long beach. Monteverde climbs into the Tilarán mountains and its cloud forest reserve. Costa Ballena — Uvita and Dominical — runs along the southern Pacific coast, known for the whale-tail sandbar at Marino Ballena National Park; Manuel Antonio sits further north on the same coast, paired with its own compact national park. The table below computes live medians per night across every checked stay in each destination — well beyond the twelve above:

DestinationVerified tiny staysTypical priceGuest rating
La Fortuna & Arenal, Costa Rica22€949.4
Santa Teresa & Mal País, Costa Rica16€1099.4
Monteverde, Costa Rica12€1358.7
Uvita & Dominical (Costa Ballena), Costa Rica12€979.5
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica4€3228.2

Live from our database — these numbers recalculate on every page view.

Booking notes

December through April is Costa Rica's dry season and the easiest stretch to plan around, on both coasts and in the mountains. May to November brings the rains, usually concentrated into a few hours each afternoon rather than all day, with September and October the wettest weeks in most regions. None of the five destinations above sit on the Caribbean side, which runs on its own, less pronounced seasonal pattern and isn't part of this list. For the full checked inventory by place, see La Fortuna & Arenal, Santa Teresa & Mal País, Monteverde, Uvita & Dominical and Manuel Antonio, or the full Costa Rica overview.

See all 22 tiny houses in La Fortuna & Arenal →

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Good to know

How were these twelve picked?

From the 61 checked stays our database holds across Costa Rica's five destinations — La Fortuna, Santa Teresa, Monteverde, Costa Ballena and Manuel Antonio — spread across the volcano, both coasts and the cloud forest, and weighted toward guest ratings with a real review history. Twenty of the 61 carry a documented evidence source confirming size or room count; none carry amenity verdicts yet, so any pool, AC or jacuzzi mention above is quoted from the host's own listing, not independently confirmed.

What do these tiny houses cost?

Card prices are live snapshots for a two-night stay a few weeks out. At publication in September 2026 the twelve picks ranged from about €70 to €224 a night; the live table further up shows current medians per destination across the full checked inventory, not just these twelve.

Which destination suits which trip?

La Fortuna pairs the Arenal volcano with hot springs and hanging bridges. Santa Teresa is the surf and beach town on the Nicoya Peninsula. Monteverde is the cloud forest, cooler and wetter, built for wildlife and canopy walks. Costa Ballena and Manuel Antonio share the southern Pacific coast, each with its own stretch of beach and a national park next door.

When is the best time to visit?

December to April is the dry season and the easiest stretch across all five destinations. May to November brings rain, usually concentrated in the afternoon, with September and October the wettest weeks in most of the country. Costa Rica's Caribbean coast runs on a different pattern and isn't part of this list.

How we choose what counts as a tiny house

Booking sites don’t have a “tiny house” category — they file these stays under the generic “Accommodation” label. So we check every place by name and type and list only genuine free-standing small homes: tiny houses (on wheels or fixed), cabins, glamping pods, shepherd huts, yurts, domes and tree houses. No hotel rooms, no ordinary apartments.

The atlas currently lists 2845 hand-checked small stays across 373 destinations in 76 countries — 1716 of them additionally verified through independent research with a documented source.

Prices and availability come from our booking partners and can change at any time. Booking links are affiliate links — booking through them supports this site at no extra cost to you. Property type is checked from the listing name and category; if you spot a mistake, let us know.