Quick answer: The Discovery Trip is three to five guided days on the ground before you commit a dollar to an investment. You tour pre-vetted qualifying properties, meet the legal team, open banking conversations, and leave with a written investment shortlist and cost breakdown. The $5,000 fee is credited toward any advisory package if you proceed within 90 days. Here is what the days actually contain.
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Why the trip exists
Because committing capital to a country you have spent a long weekend in is the mistake we most want to prevent. The trip is deliberately structured to answer the real questions — does this place fit my family, does the process make sense, are these properties sound — before any irreversible decision. It is the on-ramp, and it is designed to be deductible against what follows.
Day one: orientation and the Central Valley
Arrival and settling in around San José and Escazú. The first substantive session is orientation — where the residency routes actually differ, what your realistic options are, and what the following days will test. Then the first curated property tours in the Central Valley corridor, chosen from inventory already vetted for title, water, access and zoning, so you are comparing sound candidates rather than filtering out problems.
Day two: legal briefing and banking
A private legal briefing with your assigned attorney — the residency route that fits you, the structure questions, the title-in-your-own-name requirement for investor cases, and the honest timeline. Then bank pre-introduction meetings, because banking and source-of-funds documentation is the friction point people underestimate, and starting those conversations early is worth months later.
Days three to five: properties, place and fit
More property tours, calibrated to what you learned on days one and two — often narrowing from a broad set toward two to four genuine candidates. Time to experience the place rather than just inspect it: the neighbourhoods, the drive times to schools and hospitals, the texture of daily life. For families, this is where the abstract decision becomes concrete.
What you leave with
A written investment shortlist of two to four pre-vetted sites and a cost breakdown — not a vague impression but a document you can act on or sit with. And a credit: the full $5,000 fee applies against any advisory package if you proceed within 90 days, so the trip either becomes the first paid step of your process or a low-cost, high-information way to conclude Costa Rica is not for you. Both are good outcomes.
Why we charge for it
Because a free tour is a sales event, and this is not that. The fee buys genuine diligence — vetted properties, real legal time, real banking introductions — and its credit structure means anyone serious loses nothing. People who want a free holiday self-select out, which is the point.
What the trip is deliberately designed to prevent
The whole itinerary is built around one failure mode: committing capital to a country you have experienced only as a tourist. People fall for a place on a two-week holiday, buy on emotion, and discover the road in October, the drive time to a hospital, or the concession status of their beachfront only after the money has moved. The Discovery Trip inverts that by front-loading the unglamorous questions — legal route, banking, diligence, drive times — into a structured few days before any irreversible decision.
That is also why the properties you tour are pre-vetted for title, water, access and zoning. You are not filtering good listings from bad in real time; you are comparing options that have already survived the checks, so your attention goes to fit and preference rather than hidden risk. The trip is engineered to make your eventual decision boring in the best sense — informed, de-risked, and yours.
Why a paid trip serves you better than a free tour
It seems counterintuitive that charging $5,000 is more client-friendly than a free tour, so it is worth explaining. A free tour is a sales event — its purpose is to move inventory, and everything about it bends toward a yes. A credited, fee-based trip buys genuine diligence: real legal time with your assigned attorney, real bank pre-introductions, and a written investment shortlist and cost breakdown you can act on or walk away from.
Because the full fee credits against any advisory package if you proceed within 90 days, anyone serious loses nothing — it becomes the deductible first step of their process. And because it is not free, people looking for a subsidised holiday self-select out, which keeps the experience honest for people who are actually deciding. The structure aligns our incentive with giving you a true picture rather than a persuasive one.
Frequently asked
Is the $5,000 refundable?
It is credited — the full fee applies against any advisory package if you proceed within 90 days of the trip, so for anyone who moves forward it is effectively deductible.
How many properties will I see?
A curated set of pre-vetted sites, typically narrowing to two to four genuine candidates by the end, rather than an exhausting parade of listings.
What if I decide Costa Rica is not for me?
Then you learned that in five well-structured days at modest cost, with a clear-eyed view rather than a sales pitch. We consider that a legitimate and useful result.
Do I need to choose a property on the trip?
No — you leave with a shortlist and a cost breakdown to consider. The trip informs the decision; it does not force it.
Is the $5,000 refundable if I do not proceed?
It is credited rather than refunded — the full fee applies against any advisory package if you proceed within 90 days. If you conclude Costa Rica is not for you, you have bought a structured, de-risked assessment at modest cost, which we consider a legitimate result.
Why not offer a free tour like some firms?
Because a free tour is a sales event that bends toward a yes. A credited, fee-based trip buys genuine diligence and a written shortlist, and lets people wanting a free holiday self-select out — which keeps the experience honest for serious buyers.
How many days should I budget for the trip?
Three to five, which is enough to tour a curated shortlist, hold the legal and banking sessions, and experience the neighbourhoods without rushing. The itinerary is built to narrow toward two to four genuine candidates by the end rather than exhaust you with listings.
Can my whole family come on the Discovery Trip?
Yes, and for a family relocation it is valuable — school-corridor visits, drive times and daily texture matter as much to a spouse and children as the properties do. Seeing the place together is often what turns an abstract decision concrete.
Where to start
Decision-stage questions are best answered against your actual numbers, timeline and family situation rather than a general article. Book a strategy call and we will tell you plainly whether Costa Rica fits — and, if it does, which route and structure suit you. If a country other than Costa Rica is the better answer for you, we will say so.
This article is general information, not legal, immigration, tax or investment advice. Program terms and figures change and are applied to individual facts; those cited were accurate at the time of writing and should be confirmed. Engage qualified counsel and your own tax adviser before acting.