Costa Rica - where do I begin?

[Anonymous]

I’m about to start planning a trip to Costa Rica for my family of 4. Kids 10 & 14. We will have 9 or 10 days (this includes travel).
What are your recommendations on where to go, what to do, where to stay, what to see? Should I plan the trip on my own or do you recommend hiring a travel agent to help - I’ve never used on before. If so, please recommend a good one. We want to make the most of our time there.

[Anonymous]

Tripadvisor is a good place to start your research. or google 10 day CR itinerary and note down things that sound interesting. I recommend a combination of beach and the Arenal area. If you're used to planning travel, it should be very easy to plan, but if not maybe agent is the way to go for you

[Anonymous]

I used an agent but I don't think I needed one. I would choose the places to stay and then kind of connect the dots from there for transportation. The hotels can hook you up with drivers that will pick you up from the airport and/or take you on to your next destination. I wouldn't rent a car there but that's me-- I thought their roads and signs were confusing. Our itinerary was flying into San Jose, transport to Arenal, stayed at the Springs resort (not super authentic but very fun-- kids will love), then transport to the Manuel Antonio area where we stayed at the Parador Hotel. Another one that looked even better was Arenas del Mar. A lot of people go further north on the coast instead-- there are some bigger resorts there, even a Four Seasons. On the way back we stayed a night in San Jose to make flying home easier-- we just picked a Marriott for that. Next time, I'd like to go to the Osa Peninsula, but you really need to fly there. Anyway, I'd just get some recs like those for hotels, check out their websites and Tripadvisor reviews, and make the reservations. Once you're there, the hotels have activity desks that will set up tours like ziplining, hikes, etc. That ends up being expensive, like $50-100 pp, so budget for that. It was all very easy and safe.

[Anonymous]

I actually really appreciated using an agent for CR. She booked all of our activities, transfers and hotels, had someone meet us at the airport, get us through immigration (told us to use the short line, which we knew we could do, but forgot about in the moment), help with luggage, etc. She made restaurant recommendations (reservations not required were we ate and when we traveled) and was generally helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I'd use them again and have suggested them to others, too, with similar results. It's Costa Rican Vacations, and dyonneburgers at namutravel.com. I love planning trips, but she took the headache out of it! That said, we didn't do any fancy itinerary at all and probably could have done it in our own.

Itinerary was similar to PP before me: San Jose to Arenal (Hotel Silencio del Campo is quaint but really nice; our kids both liked it, and there were hot springs all around; it might be sleepy for your older kids) Baldi Hot Springs (kitschy but we had a ball there; your kids might like Kalambu), hanging bridges tour (loved), volcano hike (loved), quite a few things we didn't do that you could do with older children.

We drove ourselves to Quepos and stayed at the Arenas Del Mar, which we LOVED... highly recommend. Probably my favorite hotel anywhere ever. I want to live there and never return! Lol. It is a bit isolated and the drive from the main road in the dark is terrifying. Did beaches, Manuel Antonio hike (I would have enjoyed a second day there just on the gorgeous beach), and a mangrove tour. One thing we did which i highly recommend is a guide for all the major hikes. We would have missed 90% of the wildlife on our own, but with a guide we saw tons, including pit vipers literally right next to us, toucans, howler monkeys, sloths, capuchin monkeys, so many other birds, crabs, snakes, lizards, etc.

If we had gone for 10 days like you, with older kids, I would have added the cloud forest Monteverde.

I'm planning our next trip back!

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you so much! Looks like our trip is going going to be Saturday AM through the next Saturday PM based on available non stop flights/rates. So, 7 1/2 days. Hope that’s enough to fit everything in! We are so excited! I will look in to all the above resources and check back for more. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

OP, I often recommend it on here. But with that amount of time, I’d look at the super lekker package through the rafiki safari lodge. Best family vacation we have ever had.

[Anonymous]

OP, we went last summer with 3 kids (two teens, one tween) and loved it. I did use an agent which was helpful, but not totally necessary, though I found it difficult to figure out hotels, etc in a country to which I had never been. She arranged hotels, transfers and activities that we scheduled in advance. We rented a car when we were in the Manual Antonio area which I highly recommend and I wish we had rented a car when were were in Arenal. I would NOT recommend driving between destinations as the roads are not clearly marked and we did have some rainy periods which made driving more difficult. The car rental company will bring the car to your hotel and pick up when you are done.

Having the activities arranged ahead of time was very helpful and allowed me to mix in the other activities. We had a great time and you will love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually really appreciated using an agent for CR. She booked all of our activities, transfers and hotels, had someone meet us at the airport, get us through immigration (told us to use the short line, which we knew we could do, but forgot about in the moment), help with luggage, etc. She made restaurant recommendations (reservations not required were we ate and when we traveled) and was generally helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I'd use them again and have suggested them to others, too, with similar results. It's Costa Rican Vacations, and dyonneburgers at namutravel.com. I love planning trips, but she took the headache out of it! That said, we didn't do any fancy itinerary at all and probably could have done it in our own.

Itinerary was similar to PP before me: San Jose to Arenal (Hotel Silencio del Campo is quaint but really nice; our kids both liked it, and there were hot springs all around; it might be sleepy for your older kids) Baldi Hot Springs (kitschy but we had a ball there; your kids might like Kalambu), hanging bridges tour (loved), volcano hike (loved), quite a few things we didn't do that you could do with older children.

We drove ourselves to Quepos and stayed at the Arenas Del Mar, which we LOVED... highly recommend. Probably my favorite hotel anywhere ever. I want to live there and never return! Lol. It is a bit isolated and the drive from the main road in the dark is terrifying. Did beaches, Manuel Antonio hike (I would have enjoyed a second day there just on the gorgeous beach), and a mangrove tour. One thing we did which i highly recommend is a guide for all the major hikes. We would have missed 90% of the wildlife on our own, but with a guide we saw tons, including pit vipers literally right next to us, toucans, howler monkeys, sloths, capuchin monkeys, so many other birds, crabs, snakes, lizards, etc.

If we had gone for 10 days like you, with older kids, I would have added the cloud forest Monteverde.

I'm planning our next trip back!

Do you mind sharing about how much you spent and whether the travel agent charged a fee? thanks

[Anonymous]

We loved Arenal and stayed at Tabacon which had amazing hot springs. We did not like Manuel Antonio. I also used a travel agent which I rarely do but I couldn’t make the hotels work on my own. We also rented a car which gave us lots of flexibility. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually really appreciated using an agent for CR. She booked all of our activities, transfers and hotels, had someone meet us at the airport, get us through immigration (told us to use the short line, which we knew we could do, but forgot about in the moment), help with luggage, etc. She made restaurant recommendations (reservations not required were we ate and when we traveled) and was generally helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I'd use them again and have suggested them to others, too, with similar results. It's Costa Rican Vacations, and dyonneburgers at namutravel.com. I love planning trips, but she took the headache out of it! That said, we didn't do any fancy itinerary at all and probably could have done it in our own.

Itinerary was similar to PP before me: San Jose to Arenal (Hotel Silencio del Campo is quaint but really nice; our kids both liked it, and there were hot springs all around; it might be sleepy for your older kids) Baldi Hot Springs (kitschy but we had a ball there; your kids might like Kalambu), hanging bridges tour (loved), volcano hike (loved), quite a few things we didn't do that you could do with older children.

We drove ourselves to Quepos and stayed at the Arenas Del Mar, which we LOVED... highly recommend. Probably my favorite hotel anywhere ever. I want to live there and never return! Lol. It is a bit isolated and the drive from the main road in the dark is terrifying. Did beaches, Manuel Antonio hike (I would have enjoyed a second day there just on the gorgeous beach), and a mangrove tour. One thing we did which i highly recommend is a guide for all the major hikes. We would have missed 90% of the wildlife on our own, but with a guide we saw tons, including pit vipers literally right next to us, toucans, howler monkeys, sloths, capuchin monkeys, so many other birds, crabs, snakes, lizards, etc.

If we had gone for 10 days like you, with older kids, I would have added the cloud forest Monteverde.

I'm planning our next trip back!

Do you mind sharing about how much you spent and whether the travel agent charged a fee? thanks

We went on the shoulder season, early May, which saved us. Weather was fine. It's always rainy in the rainforest, and we had only one rainy day in MA (I have a hard time understanding anyone not liking MA....it's such a quintessentially Costa Rican type activity!... maybe our experience was better being slightly off season). We spent about $6k including flights for 4 (SWA from BWI), all transportation and activities, hotels, breakfast daily. We were on our own for lunch and dinner, except for the activities which included a meal. The agent didn't charge a separate fee. Pretty sore they make money by recommending different tour outfits and hotels, but I found the ones they recommended to be top notch. She was also willing to adjust tours, hotels, etc until we were satisfied.

[Anonymous]

Www.pacifictradewinds.com. they will wirk it all out for you based on your interests.

[Anonymous]

+1 for Rafiki safari. We did 4 nights in the jungle, 3 nights at the beach, then we added on 2 nights at an animal rescue reserve.

[Anonymous]

This was our itinerary, and it worked perfectly for 10 days.

JW Marriott in Guanacaste for relaxation/pool time, light hiking, beach walks, etc.

Drove about 4-5 hours to Arenal/La Fortuna. We hired a driver (Diego and Alvaro through http://www.odysseytourscr.com/).

Having a driver was awesome because we got to stop at a few off-the-beaten-path areas on our way and relax without the stress of trying to navigate.

In the La Fortuna area, we stayed at Arenal Nayara. It was okay, not spectacular. If you like a more intimate cabin experience, it would be great. If you like more of a resort feel, try Springs Resort.

In Arenal, we used the following vendors:


Sky Trek in Arenal (ziplining)

Pure Trek in Arenal (rappelling, white water rafting)

Jacamar Tours for hiking tours.

Sergio with Jacamar was great and very informative. We did a hike around the volcano.

We used Odyssey Tours to then drive us from Arenal to San Jose. We stayed at a coffee plantation, Finca Rosa Blanca. That was my favorite by far. We did a plantation tour, coffee tasting, etc. Rooms are very unique/quaint. It was a good final destination for two days before flying out of San Jose.

[Anonymous]

Just got back from CR. Flew into San Jose and did our first night at the Peace Lodge which I would highly recommend. Beautiful waterfalls and an amazing animal sanctuary. You only need a night there, but it was on the way to Arenal so a great way to break up the drive. Stayed at Tabacon in Arenal which is great and connected to the Hot Springs which were awesome to go to in the late afternoon after excursions. We did the hanging bridges/waterfall tour and the zip lining. Both tours were fantastic. Went from there to Manuel Antonio. It’s a VERY long trip driving and not great for people with motion sickness issues. We stayed at Los Altos which worked well for our group, but nothing spectacular. I would skip the Manuel Antonio National Park tour. Was very underwhelming after being Arenal. I think if I were to plan the trip again, I would do Peace Lodge, Arenal and Guanacaste. Manual Anotonio beaches are really nice, but I’m not sure it was worth such a long drive and I think the hotels in Guanacaste are nicer depending on your budget and interests. I agree with pps who recommended using a travel agent. I used Debbie at Costa Rica Travel Impressions and highly recommend her!