50 People, 3 Days, Zero Burnout: Our Costa Rica Incentive Trip

I've planned a lot of incentive trips. Cruises, all-inclusives, resort weekends, you name it. And the feedback is usually some version of "That was great, thanks!" Which is nice. But it's also kind of the baseline when you're sending people somewhere beautiful on the company's dime.

This trip was different.

This was the first time advisors went out of their way to come find me and tell me how grateful they were. Not just "Hey, that was fun" grateful. Like, pulling me aside, getting a little emotional, telling me this was the nicest place they'd ever been and that they actually felt recharged heading home.

That word, recharged, kept coming up. And it's the opposite of what usually happens. Most groups come back from incentive trips and need a vacation from their vacation. This group came back and hit the ground running.

So what did we do differently? Honestly, we just stopped trying to pack everything in.

The Destination

We flew into Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR if you're looking it up) and partnered with NAMU, a local tour operator, to handle all the ground logistics. From Liberia, it's about a two-and-a-half-hour drive to La Fortuna. The landscape changes fast. Dry plains near the coast turn into green hills and then suddenly you're in rainforest with a volcano sitting right in front of you.

I pushed hard for Tabacon Resort & Spa as our base. There were cheaper options. Trust me, I heard about it. But I knew this was the right call, and the feedback proved it.

Tabacon is a luxury property in the middle of the rainforest at the base of Arenal Volcano. Natural thermal springs are included for all guests. The spa does treatments in open-air huts surrounded by jungle. There are multiple restaurants on-site. And most importantly for a group this size, the property naturally encourages the kind of relaxed interaction that no amount of structured networking can manufacture.

We came in under budget by about $700 per person. So no, intentional doesn't mean expensive. It means smart.

Day 1: Setting the Tone

After check-in, we did a private dinner at AVE, one of Tabacon's on-site restaurants. Custom menu with starters served family style, everyone picking their own entree and dessert. We'd negotiated a per-person food and beverage rate on a master account, so drinks were included without anyone dealing with receipts or reimbursements later.

No presentations that first night. No agenda. Just good food, good drinks, and people settling in. The vibe was relaxed from the jump, which was exactly the point. You set the tone on night one, and ours said "You're here to enjoy this."

Day 2: Where the Magic Happened

Breakfast at Tabacon is included and it's the real deal. Omelet station, waffle station, tropical fruit, cappuccinos, fresh breads, seasoned butters. You're not rushing through a hotel continental breakfast here.

After breakfast, we loaded up for a volcano hike at Arenal National Park with Quercus Travel as our private guides. The hike was about an hour and a half. We had a couple of pregnant attendees and someone with a previous back injury, so the guides adjusted the trail. That's exactly why you hire local experts instead of winging it.

Back at the resort, box lunches were waiting. Then the group had their two-hour field leader meeting on the terrace at AVE.

Here's what made it different: everyone showed up in swimsuits and robes.

Same meeting. Same business. Same goals and strategy. But it didn't feel like a fluorescent-lit conference room, and that changed everything about the energy.

After the meeting, the group headed to the thermal springs. And this, right here, is where the trip earned its reputation.

Leaders and advisors ended up shoulder to shoulder in the hot springs, drinks in hand, having the kind of conversations that just don't happen in an office. One advisor was sharing plans for a finance podcast he's launching. Others were swapping LinkedIn strategy tips. People were talking about real goals in a real way, because nothing about the environment felt forced or performative.

No icebreakers. No "Okay, now turn to the person next to you and share something." Just genuine human connection in an incredible setting. That's what everyone keeps bringing up months later.

That evening was dinner at Tucanes, Tabacon's fine dining restaurant. This was the affirmation dinner, where leaders stand up and spend two to three minutes recognizing each advisor personally. What they've accomplished, why they're proud of them, what makes them one to watch. It's powerful stuff, and doing it in that setting made it hit different. After dinner, Bosque Bar was open for anyone who wanted to keep the night going.

Day 3: Adrenaline Meets Freedom

Morning was Go Adventure Park. Seven ziplines spanning about two miles through the Costa Rican canopy, with an optional 50-meter cliff rappel at the end for anyone who wanted the extra rush. Photos were included in the package, which was a smart call. The shots of people flying through the rainforest are incredible content.

Lunch was serrano ham and manchego cheese croissant sandwiches, which ended up being a crowd favorite honestly.

And then we did something that felt radical at the time: we gave people the entire afternoon off. No group activity. No scheduled anything.

Some booked spa appointments. Some headed up to Shangri-La Gardens, the adults-only section of the thermal springs that's only accessible to hotel guests, where one of the trip sponsors hosted a happy hour. There were piña coladas served in actual carved-out pineapples. Were they $30 each? Yes. Were they worth it? Also yes. At least for the photos.

Day 4: Pura Vida

One last breakfast, everyone on the bus by 8:30 AM, two-and-a-half-hour drive back to Liberia, flights home.

What I Learned Planning This Trip

Unstructured time is the secret weapon. The moments everyone talks about (the hot spring conversations, the Shangri-La happy hour, the post-dinner drinks) were all unscheduled. I used to feel like I needed to fill every hour to justify the spend. This trip taught me the opposite is true.

The property does the heavy lifting. When you choose the right resort, you don't need to manufacture experiences. Tabacon is stunning enough that "go explore the thermal springs" is a perfectly valid afternoon plan. Stop overcomplicating it.

People remember how they felt, not what they did. Nobody came back talking about the meeting agenda or the specific zipline route. They came back saying they felt connected, recharged, and grateful. That's the ROI your company is actually looking for.

You can do luxury under budget. We came in approximately $700 under the per-person budget. Knowing where to spend (the resort, the dining) and where to save (box lunches for activity days, negotiated master account rates) makes all the difference.

This trip changed how I think about incentive travel. More space, less schedule. More intention, less activity. And when people come find you to say thank you with tears in their eyes? That's when you know you got it right.