Where we work(Southern Nicoya Peninsula)
Architects in Montezuma
(Studio CAVA)
Houses, villas and boutique hotels in Montezuma, designed for its sun, wind and rain.
An architecture and interior design studio working across Costa Rica: the study of the lot before you buy, the design and the interiors, the permits with the Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano and the works, with an early cost range.
Montezuma is in the canton of Puntarenas, in the province of the same name, 18 m above sea level. A year here brings 2,905 mm of rain, 98% of it from April to November. Permits for a lot go through the Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano.
As architects in Montezuma, we start every project with a site visit: we walk the lot in the morning and again in the afternoon, note where the sun lands and where the breeze comes from, and only then start drawing.
(Our services in Montezuma)
One studio, from the lot to the keys.
A project usually takes them in this order, and each one can also be hired on its own.
All services →-
(01)
Lot study
Before you buy in Montezuma: what the rules, the water and the slope let you build on a lot, and roughly what it costs.
2 to 4 weeks · Fixed fee
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(02)
Master planning
For land that will hold more than one house: where the road, the lots, the houses and the shared buildings go, decided after reading the land.
6 to 12 weeks · Fixed fee
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(03)
Architecture
Houses, rental villas and small hotels, from the first sketch on the lot to the drawings the permit and the builder need.
About 5 months for 250 m² · CFIA: from 6% of the works
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(04)
Permits
We file the project with the CFIA and the Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano, and answer every observation until the licence is issued.
About 3 months · Included when we design
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(05)
Interiors
Kitchens, bathrooms, built-in furniture, lighting and finishes, designed with the house or for a remodel.
With the architecture, or 2 to 4 months · Agreed fee
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(06)
Construction supervision
Weekly site visits, the site logbook, payments checked against work done, and a report with photos after every visit.
The length of the works · CFIA: 3% or 5% of the works
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(07)
Sustainable design
Houses and hotels designed to a sustainability standard, with RESET or LEED® certification if you want the label.
Alongside the design and the build · Separate, agreed up front
(Montezuma at a glance)
- Canton
- Puntarenas
- Permits
- Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano
- Elevation
- 18 m
- Rain
- 2,905 mm a year
- Dry season
- December to March
- Liberia airport
- 3 h 20 min by road, 170 km
- San José airport
- 5 h 25 min by road, 267 km
- Sunlight
- 2,000 kWh/m² a year
- Solar power
- 1,625 kWh a year per kW of panels
(The year in Montezuma)
The dry season runs from December to March: 4 months under 60 mm of rain. The wettest month is September, with 551 mm.
Afternoons are hottest in February, at 30 °C on average, and coolest in October, at 27 °C. Nights stay between 24 and 25 °C.
Best time to start*
The best time to start building here is from November to March. Those 5 months bring 340 mm of rain in total; the other 7 bring 2,565 mm, 8 times as much.
Earthworks, foundations and concrete pours need dry ground, and many roads to the lots only stay passable without rain. On a day with 10 mm of rain or more, that work usually stops.
A 4-month phase of earthworks, foundations and structure that starts in November meets about 6 such days here; the same phase started in April meets about 28. Starting in November saves about 21 days of stopped work: some 3 weeks of crew and machinery paid to wait, and the pumping and drainage that wet excavations need. So the permit should be ready by October. Still, it is a recommendation, not a rule: building goes on through the rains, more slowly, and no project should sit for months waiting for the dry season.
(The wind in Montezuma)
Up to 7 km/h7 to 1414 to 2222 to 29Over 29
In the dry season the afternoon wind at Puntarenas comes from the south.
Rooms that open to the wind on one side and away from it on the other cool themselves, and a roof that sheds the rain lets them stay open in the wet months too.
(Wind and sun around Montezuma)
(The sun in Montezuma)
Each dot is the sun at a whole hour, every three days: each figure-eight is one hour across the year, and the lines are the 21st of each month. Orange and red dots are the hours when the sun should stay off the glass.
The sun here is never far from overhead. At noon it stands 80° high in March and September and 57° in December, and from April 16 to August 28 it passes north of overhead, so walls and glass that face north take sun as well.
What heats a house is the low afternoon sun. It sets at 294°, west-northwest, in June and at 246°, west-southwest, in December. That side needs the deepest roof.
Sunrise falls between 5:18 and 6:02 all year, and sunset between 17:16 and 18:05.
The ground here gets 2,000 kWh of sunlight per m² a year, and solar panels make about 1,625 kWh a year for each kW installed.
(Building in Montezuma)
(Permit route tool)
Which permits you need to build in Montezuma, and in what order
The building permit in Montezuma comes from the Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano, but it is the last of several approvals: the water letter, SETENA when the project calls for it, the CFIA and the Ministry of Health among them. This tool draws the route for your project: every permit it needs, in order, and who gives each one.
- (1)Choose what you are building and its size. It starts with a house of 300 to 500 m².
- (2)Tick what applies to the lot.
- (3)Read your route below. It redraws with every answer, and the steps marked Not needed do not apply to yours.
(Your permit route)
The Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano issues the permit. Ask whether a covers the lot.21,29
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(01) The lot and its rules
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(02) The environment
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Not needed: under 500 m².8
Not needed
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(03) Drawings and the CFIA
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For a house, or a building of 300 m² or less, Health approves on the professional's .12
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No review for a house or fewer than 4 apartments, though the fire rules still apply.12
Not needed -
The Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano approved projects in 20.6 days on average in 2024-25, 18% at the first submission.29
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(04) Licence and works
Within 200 m of the ordinary high-tide line the maritime zone law (Ley 6043) applies: the first 50 m are public and cannot be built on, and the next 150 m are held under a concession from the municipality, not owned. Check where a lot sits before you buy.
Montezuma is in Cóbano, the district that also holds Santa Teresa and Mal País, and that runs its own permits through a district council instead of the municipality of Puntarenas.
(Our work in Costa Rica)
(Questions about building in Montezuma)
Where is Studio CAVA based, and how do you work in Montezuma?
We work from San José and Guanacaste. We visit Montezuma for the analysis of the lot and, during construction, for the supervision visits; the rest happens by video and email, in English or Spanish.
Can you design my house in Montezuma if I live abroad?
Yes. The first call is free and by video, and each stage of the design ends with drawings you review and approve at a distance. We walk the lot in Montezuma ourselves, and during construction we send a report with photos after each visit.
How much does it cost to build a house in Montezuma?
A 250 m² house with a pool comes to about US$733,000 to US$1,130,000 in Montezuma, with a high finish, design, permits and VAT. Our cost estimator gives the range for your own size, finish and lot, with the schedule month by month.
What should I check before buying a lot in Montezuma?
The land use certificate from the Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano, which sets the use, setbacks, coverage and height; water availability in writing from AyA, the local ASADA or a well; the setbacks from any river or spring; whether the lot is within 200 m of the high-tide line, where the maritime zone law applies; and the slope. Our lot study checks it in 2 to 4 weeks, before you sign.
When is the best time to start building in Montezuma?
Ideally from November to March, so that the earthworks, foundations and structure fall in the dry season. A 4-month phase of that work started in November loses about 6 days to heavy rain, against about 28 if it starts in April, about 21 days of crew and machinery. It is a recommendation, not a rule: building goes on through the rains, more slowly, and no project should sit for months waiting for the dry season. To start then, have the permit ready by October.
Who issues building permits in Montezuma?
The Concejo Municipal de Distrito de Cóbano. The drawings are filed first with the CFIA, through its APC platform, and the permit comes after the land use certificate and the water availability letter.
Can I build near the beach in Montezuma?
Not in the first 50 m from the ordinary high-tide line, which are public. The next 150 m are held under a concession from the municipality rather than owned, with their own rules. Beyond 200 m, a titled lot follows the normal permit process.
How hot does it get in Montezuma?
Afternoons average 30 °C in February, the hottest month, and 27 °C in October. Nights stay between 24 and 25 °C. Shade on the west side and air moving through the rooms do more for comfort than anything else.
How far is Montezuma from the airports?
By road, without traffic, 3 h 20 min from Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia (170 km) and 5 h 25 min from Juan Santamaría airport in San José (267 km).
Rain: CHIRPS climatology (CHPclim v2, Climate Hazards Center, UC Santa Barbara). Temperature and wind: measured at Puntarenas, 43 km away, typical year 2011 to 2025 (Climate.OneBuilding.org TMYx, from NOAA observations), temperatures adjusted for elevation. Heavy-rain days: NASA POWER (MERRA-2), 2001 to 2020. Sun: calculated for the town's coordinates. Elevation: SRTM. Roads and places: OpenStreetMap. Gathered October 2026.