Wellness in Motion: Center of Joy, SUP & Hot Springs Adventures for Couples

Some destinations ask you to choose this or that, A or B, wellness or adventure. But not at Las Catalinas.

Here, mornings can begin on the water, where paddleboards drift across an easy, welcoming bay and the world feels simple for a while. Later, wellness shifts to the Center of Joy for a grounding class or a moment of stillness before the next part of your day. Its open-air spaces and calm energy help you settle, breathe, and reconnect without effort.

The next day, you could find yourselves somewhere entirely different: soaking in natural hot springs framed by canyon walls, listening to the low hum of the forest as warm water loosens every muscle you worked that morning. It’s a reminder of how good it feels when your day has room for both movement and stillness.

For couples, wellness becomes something shared at Santarena Hotel, a boutique beachfront hotel in Las Catalinas, Costa Rica. It’s not a checklist. Not a program. Not another thing to do. Instead, it’s a way of being together in a place that supports the pace you’ve been craving.

Wellness in Motion, Defined by Las Catalinas

Movement shapes the way you experience Las Catalinas. The town’s pedestrian design invites you to slow down without stopping. Each walkway, staircase, and shaded plaza encourages presence. You walk to breakfast. You walk to the beach. You walk to dinner. You follow cobblestone paths that wind through courtyards and toward the forest trails that rise just behind the hotel.

There’s no traffic to navigate, no logistics to coordinate. Whether you’re walking barefoot to Playa Danta or wandering through Beach Town after sunset, the pace of this place naturally aligns with the idea of wellness as a lived experience rather than a scheduled event.

Morning Calm on the Water: Paddleboarding for Two

Stand Up Paddleboarding, a.k.a. SUP, might be one of the simplest activities you can do together, but it also holds an unexpected kind of intimacy. There’s a quiet that belongs only to early morning on the water. The bay is glassy. The horizon is still glowing. And the breeze is soft enough to be an invitation rather than a challenge.

You begin together. You balance together. (You might even fall in together. All part of the fun!) You look out across the same stretch of water and feel the same rise-and-fall of the board under your feet. SUP in April is especially welcoming for beginners, since the ocean is warm and calm, and visibility across the surface feels endless.

Choose a self-guided paddle or a relaxed, beginner-friendly lesson that introduces the basics: stance, rhythm, balance, and navigation. The guided version often becomes a favorite because it removes all pressure: There’s room to wobble, to laugh, to pause, and to understand why movement can be a form of wellness. You learn the rhythm of your paddle stroke, the timing of a gentle turn, and how to move as a pair without forcing it.

Out on the water, small moments become the ones you remember. The shadow of a ray gliding beneath the surface. A pelican diving nearby. The sun rising behind the headlands. When you drift beside each other, sharing the same stretch of meditative silence, you feel the day open in a way that’s grounding and connective. It’s a simple ritual, but it sets the tone for everything that follows.

A Midday Reset at Santarena Hotel

After your time on the water, Santarena’s oceanview rooftop terrace becomes the perfect backdrop for slowing the day down. The pool catches the breeze that rolls in from the Pacific. Terraces offer quiet corners where the light changes as the afternoon progresses. Meals at Ponciana carry the relaxed atmosphere of a place that understands the value of unhurried moments.

These in-between rituals matter. They give you time to feel the calm you earned on the water and prepare you for the restorative warmth of what’s to come. Slow travel is about the quality of each moment, not the quantity of what you do, and Santarena’s design supports that rhythm with ease.

Center of Joy: The Wellness Heart of Las Catalinas

A short stroll from the hotel, Center of Joy offers a deeper layer to the wellness experience. This serene space is designed for grounding, reflection, and gentle transformation. Light moves through open-air studios. Classes unfold at a pace that encourages presence. And the atmosphere is calm enough to make you feel like you’ve stepped into a softer version of your day.

You can join yoga, breathwork, guided movement, or sound journeys that help regulate the nervous system and open space for connection. The Center of Joy also hosts workshops and creative sessions that turn shared curiosity into shared meaning. Cooking classes, journaling moments, and expressive art experiences all invite you to notice the subtle ways you return to yourself and to each other.

Everything here is crafted to encourage stillness and renewal, so that when you transition to the next phase of your day, you do so with intention.

Warmth and Renewal: Hot Springs and Canyon Experiences

Travel inland and the world shifts. At Río Perdido, the forest opens into a canyon cut from pale volcanic stone, and a natural thermal river winds through it in surreal shades of blue and green. The landscape feels almost otherworldly, with hidden movement and the stillness of presence.

Step from rock-based platforms onto suspended ones, glide along zip lines that reveal the canyon from above, and make your way across soft-adventure elements like a pendulum cable, a 50-foot swing, a 90-foot challenge bridge, and short via ferrata routes anchored into the canyon walls. Each new adventure feels intentional, offering a new perspective of the Río Blanco gorge without overwhelming the senses.

What you’ll love most isn’t the adrenaline, but the feeling of discovery. You’ll look down into the glowing river, listen to the echo of your footsteps against stone, and watch the canyon shift colors as light moves across its walls. You’ll help each other along sections that require balance and a touch of bravery. You’ll pause on platforms to take in the view. And you’ll laugh when the swing surprises you more than you expected.

This is wellness in motion at its most genuine: moving together through a landscape that asks for your attention, rewards your curiosity, and leaves you with a sense of awe that lasts long after you leave the canyon.

Why April Is the Sweet Spot

April brings the tail end of dry season, offering a moment when the weather feels warm and reliable but the energy of high season has faded. The ocean is calm in the mornings, perfect for paddleboarding. The afternoons carry a soft heat that pairs beautifully with hot springs. The town is lively enough to feel welcoming, yet quiet enough to feel like it belongs to you.

It’s also the perfect month for a three-night micro-escape. You can experience it all without feeling rushed, giving each moment the space it deserves.

A Wellness-In-Motion Itinerary for Two

Day 1
Arrive, settle in, and enjoy a relaxed dinner in Beach Town.

Day 2
Start with a guided or self-guided paddleboard session on the glassy morning bay. Spend the afternoon unwinding at Santarena, then visit the Center of Joy for a calming movement class or sound journey.

Day 3
Head inland for the Hot Springs and Canyon Adventure, letting warmth and nature guide you into deeper relaxation.

Each day feels full, but never hurried. That’s the beauty of wellness in motion.

Let Us Shape Your April Escape

If a slow, movement-centered getaway feels like the reset you’ve been needing, let our concierge help you shape the perfect itinerary. Ask us to pair your paddleboarding morning with a hot springs afternoon, or let us customize a full weekend of wellness experiences designed for two, to bring you back to what matters most.