Costa Rica With Kids: The Perfect 7 Day Itinerary
Are you wondering if you Costa Rica with kids is a good idea? If so, this post is for you!
Costa Rica is one of my family’s favorite places and it is the first international travel for my kids. It has a little bit of everything that an adventurous family would want – mountains, forests, beaches and surfing!
I’ve had many people ask me for my Costa Rica with kids itinerary as they saw how much fun we had while we were there. Having been before without kids, we knew the lay of the land that helped me curate the perfect Costa Rica with kids itinerary.
Use this itinerary below and have a family vacation that you all will be talking about for a long, long time. Puda Vida, my Free Life Friends!
Day 1:
Getting To And Around Costa Rica With Your Kids
Airports
There are two main airports in Costa Rica, Liberia and San Juan.
We have found that flying into Liberia is not only cheaper than San Juan, but gets you closer to where you want to be. A win/win for traveling with kids to Costa Rica!
Rental Car
While Costa Rica is a safe place to visit, like anywhere, there are some businesses that try to price-gauge. Unfortunately, the Costa Rica rental cars companies have a bad reputation for doing this. However, there is one company that we found to be honest and true and is the only rental car company we recommend. It is called Adobe Rent A Car.
First Stop: La Fortuna – Volcano / Rainforest Region
The Road To La Fortuna
Costa Rica’s landscape has so much to offer you and your kids it is hard to know where to start. Do you do beach, mountains, volcanoes, or jungles first??
The fact that this small country has so much to offer nature lovers is one of the reasons why it keeps drawing us back. With this itinerary, I’m going to take you and your kids to Costa Rica’s inland first to the volcano and rainforest!
So after you pickup your car, you’ll start your drive to La Fortuna. This drive is about 3 hours and is very windy as it goes around a massive lake. If you have anyone who experiences motion sickness, prepare for this ahead of time.
We, unfortunately, were not aware that the drive would be so windy and my son ended up getting sick about half way through. In some areas, the road is very small and narrow with no pull-over points so the better prepared you can be beforehand, the better.
Had we been prepared for this, we would have prepped my son with things we know that help him like the following:
Electrolytes (we love this brand because there is zero sugar and the flavors are SO good!)
Even though the drive is windy, it does have some really pretty views. Once you are in La Fortuna, you will have thought the drive was 100% worth it!
Where To Stay With Kids In La Fortuna, Costa Rica
La Fortuna means “fortune”. Once you arrive, you’ll understand why Costa Rica called this region La Fortuna as the area is super rich in what it offers its people. At the center of it all is the Arenal Volcano, which provides the region with many hot springs.
The Hotel We Recommend – Baldi Resort
Reason we love Baldi Resort #1 – Waterslides!
There are many reasons to stay here, but the thing that got us the most was that they have water slides that dump into their big, kid-friendly hot spring! If you are traveling to Costa Rica with kids, how could you not want that!?
We were stoked to be able to relax in the hot spring while the water slides entertained our kids for hours. They had SO much fun. The hot spring where the slides are located is really large and warm enough to be enjoyable but not super hot where you have to worry about your kids being in too long.
But this one hot spring isn’t the only one that they have! In fact, Baldi has more hot springs from a volcano source than anywhere else in the world! There were so many! Some were extremely hot, some had more mild temps and then a few were cold pools in case you got too hot.
Reason we love Baldi Resort #2 – Thearputic Waterfalls!
My favorite spot was the incredibly hot waterfalls that were inside of the caves. We would stand underneath the waterfall and let it beat on our backs until we couldn’t take it anymore.
Back further into the cave was a hidden steam room where you can relax and breathe in the steam.
Another family favorite was laying on these big stones underneath of the waterfall. We didn’t get a picture when we were laying there, but we got one after we stood up.
This whole place was so incredibly therapeutic. I can’t explain it well enough – you just need to go. Your body will thank me!
Not only will your body be thanking you – your kids will be thanking you for bringing them to this gem in Costa Rica too! My kids have talked about this trip and this place for years. This resort really is the best place to bring kids when visiting La Fortuna, Costa Rica! Plus, it has some awesome photo ops! 🙂
When to go to Baldi Resort:
If it looks like we had the whole resort to ourselves, we practically did! We love traveling when it is the most affordable and we got a steal of a deal by going to Baldi during their “off-season” in October. There was hardly anyone else there and the price was significantly less than what it is during peak season! Win/win for this Free Life Family! 🙂
Where To Eat
After you’ve worked up an appetite exploring the Baldi hot springs, you’ll want to go into the little downtown of La Fortuna for dinner. Make sure to have your kids try some local Costa Rican food as it is absolutely delicious! My kids still talk about how much they love the food of Costa Rica all of the time!
There are numerous places that serve up local, fresh food that will hit the spot for you so just pick one and enjoy! Make sure to spot out the I heart La Fortuna sign for a photo op!
After dinner, enjoy either walking around La Fortuna or heading back to Baldi for some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be an epic day so you’ll need the rest!
Day 2:
It’s now time to start exploring! If you look up the area, you’ll find a long list of amazing activities. I did a ton of research and narrowed it down to 3 things that we absolutely wanted to get in during our time there.
- Chocolate farm tour
- A rain forest walk through the Arenal Hanging Bridges Park
- Zip-line tour
The hours of research that I did was well worth it as I truly believe that we landed on the best tours that La Fortuna has to offer.
Chocolate Tour
It was my son’s 10th birthday, and while we didn’t take him to Costa Rica FOR his birthday, we did happen to be there ON his birthday.
I thought instead of having a chocolate cake, we would take him to where chocolate actually comes from for a whole experience! (And it counts as a homeschool day! Ah, we love this homeschool life!)
We did the the Don Olivo Chocolate Tour, which was great! Not only did they teach us about growing cacao, but they let us try a ton of other fruits that they grow on their land also. All tropical fruit and a lot that we don’t really have access to here in the United States, or at least not Nashville.
I encourage you to book your chocolate tour first thing in the morning as it gives you a better chance of not being in a big crowd. In fact, we were the only ones on our tour!
Pro Tip: I actually wish that we had not eaten breakfast before we went because there was so much fruit for us to eat and we ended up having to say no to some of it because we were so full. However, if you need your protein in the mornings like I do, maybe eat a protein bar, just not a full breakfast.
The family that owns the farm are very down to earth and easy-going people. They really spent their time with us teaching us about each fruit, the chocolate process, and even let us try our hand at making our own sugar cane juice!
One of our favorites though was when they taught us how to peel an orange in a fun way to make it a cup so that we could drink the juice straight from the orange.
Chocolate Tour Bonus – Seeing A Sloth!
All of that was amazing but the best part for all of us was getting to see the sloth that has moved onto their property!
They call her Maria and she was hanging out in some brush on their farm. There are lots of sloth tours in Costa Rica that you could book for your kids. However, those tours will show you sloths through binoculars as they are way up in trees.
So being able to see Maria right in front of us put this experience over the top for us! You aren’t guaranteed to see Maria while you are there because she does travel around the farm but our guide said that he knows where she is most of the time.
At the end of the tour, when we were enjoying our chocolate and coffee, the owner’s little girl had a small table setup with souvenirs. My daughter bought the sloth souvenir from her and named her Maria. She still sleeps with that sloth on her bed to this day.
This tour was such a sweet memory that I want you all to have with your kids while in Costa Rica too! So book your tour by clicking here and enjoy a literal sweet morning with your kids!
Zip-Lining!
If you book the chocolate tour in the morning, you will have the rest of the day to go zip-lining!
We booked with Paradise Adventures Costa Rica as we saw that their zip-line courses were some of the longest in the area. On our first trip to Costa Rica back in 2009, we did a zip-line tour that wasn’t very long. I knew that for this trip to Costa Rica with the kids, I wanted a tour that would take hours to do.
When we first arrived it was pouring rain. However, after we got to the top of the mountain, it wasn’t raining up there. We ended up zip-lining above the clouds, which was super cool.
Even with the clouds, there was so much land above the clouds on that mountain that we were able to see incredible terrain, including beautiful waterfalls!
We’ve zip-lined a lot in the United States and this was by far the best zip-lining that we’ve done. Highly recommend! We felt very safe the whole time, even my son who is afraid of heights had an incredible time! (Due to Costa Rica law, my kids had to go with a guide because of their age and weight.)
Additional Option: Horse Riding
There were a couple of different packages through the company and we bought the package that we also got a horseback ride down part of the mountain. While it definitely took a lot longer than the bus ride down, it was worth it! We love horses and thought this would be one more experience we could have as a family. Plus, it kept us OFF that bus! The bus ride going up was SUPER bumpy and I was happy to not ride it again lol.
This company likes to communicate via FB so you can contact them to book your zip-lining here:
Click here to connect with Paradise Adventures Costa Rica!
That’s enough for day 2…go back to Baldi and enjoy those hot springs and then head out to the town of La Fortuna for dinner.
Day 3:
Morning Costa Rican Hike With The Kids
You’ll be leaving La Fortuna today but first – it’s time to hike the Arenal Hanging Bridges Park!
This hike was easy enough for all four of us plus we got to see some really awesome things including howler monkeys, a toucan, a waterfall and really beautiful views of the Arenal Volcano! The swinging bridges are pretty cool too!
As we were walking past the tree in the photo below, my husband stopped and said, “If there were monkeys here, this would be the tree they would be in.” Just a moment after, they all started howling and moving around! It was a really cool experience to see them doing their thing in the wild!
Just a heads up – there are tree roots that grow in this region that definitely caught me off guard.
I’ll put it in a group of pictures below so that it isn’t a huge picture on your screen in case your kids are reading over your shoulder. After all, this is a family travel blog and I don’t want anyone getting offended! I’m just trying to give you a heads up as it definitely surprised me. As you can imagine, my 10 year old boy thought it was hilarious and pointed it out every time he saw one lol.
Remember, you are in the rain forest and there will be some wild things that you haven’t ever seen before!
Head To The Beach
After your hike (make sure you go in the morning), it is time to leave the fortune of La Fortuna and head to where you can find another kind of fortune – sand dollars! 😉
The Gunacaste region is where we have stayed several times and where we suggest you stay for your beach part of your trip.
Remember that long, windy road? Make sure that you prepare anyone who gets car sick before you start out on your journey as you’ll have to travel that road again to get to the beach as it is a pretty lengthy drive (around 4 hours depending on traffic.)
On your way, stop and grab lunch from any of the roadside stands. I wish I could remember the name of the place we stopped but unfortunately cannot find it. However, it had a great view in the back. It wasn’t a restaurant, more like a coffee shop where we grabbed some hearty snacks and a coffee but the view was very memorable!
I have a saying that “the cows have some of the best views in the world” and this is absolutely true for these pretty ladies lol!
Where To Stay In Gunacaste
There are many hotels in the Gunacaste region and we’ve stayed at a couple of them. Here at The Free Life Travel we always suggest you stay at a hotel that you can get for free with hotel points!
If you haven’t already filled out the info box that pops up on my pages for the free and cheap flights, go ahead and fill it out below as it also has info on how to stay at hotels for free too! (Make sure to check your spam folder as it will almost definitely go to spam.)
A prime example of this is our last trip to Costa Rica where we stayed at the beautiful JW Marriott Gunacaste Resort & Spa for free because of points!
If you want to avoid crowds, do during off-season! We stayed at the JW Marriott in October and there was hardly anyone there. We felt like we had the place to ourselves!
In fact, at check-in, they asked if we would like to go look at the rooms and just pick which one we wanted because they were so empty! We ended up getting a super swanky suite for the same amount of points as a standard room! I was pretty obsessed with their bathroom and you can see why below!
I am a fan of this property but I’ll let you all decide where you want to stay based on your family’s budget. However, I truly hope that you can play the points game and stay for free!
Wherever you stay, enjoy the evening at that property and unwind from the long drive.
Day 4:
Let’s talk surfing!
Ben grew up surfing and watching Endless Summer, which features Costa Rica as it has been named the #1 spot to learn how to surf. He told me early on that his dream is for us to be a surfing and snowboarding family. (See my post on family snowboarding here!)
I grew up in Ohio with neither the mountains or the ocean so the thought of learning these skills as an adult was a bit daunting.
However, I was willing to learn and Ben was willing to teach me. He has tried to teach me how to surf in many locations including Florida and Hawaii, but it was in Costa Rica that I caught my first wave! I was so proud of my kids as they caught their first waves in Costa Rica too!
So I would agree that Tamarindo, Costa Rica truly is the best place to learn. From its soft sandy ocean floor (no reef!) and the constant small wave – this Costa Rica gem is a perfect place to teach your kids (or yourself) how to surf.
No worries if you don’t have a husband who can teach you though as there are a few surf schools right on the beach that are happy to help you learn!
Other Things To Do In Tamarindo
When you get hungry, there are plenty of restaurants around so just choose one and fill your kid’s bellies with some great Costa Rican food!
Make sure to walk down the street and pop into some stores while you are in Tamarindo too. I have two shirts that I really love from those stores. 🙂
Oh and remember those interesting looking tree roots from Arenal?? You’ll find some Costa Rica souvenirs of them in these stores too so be on the lookout if you don’t want your kids to see them. (This could also be a really funny gift for a friend depending on your humor level lol.)
Tamarindo also has horseback riding on the beach. We were too busy surfing but maybe for all of you non-surfers out there, this could be something fun for you to do!
Side note – The first time we ever visited Tamarindo, there was hardly anyone there. It has since become very well-known and with that there will be vendors trying to sell you things on the beach. Feel free to say no if you aren’t interested!
After your day at the Tamarindo beach, head back to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the evening there.
Make sure to also catch the incredible sunsets that this side of Costa Rica has for you! When we were there, the sky seemed as if it were on fire and put on a show for us. I hope that you get to experience that too!
Day 5:
Today you are going to explore a bit more and head to another famous beach, Playa Avellana!
The Beach At Lola’s
The surf here is going to be different than in Tamarindo so check the surf report before you hop in that water.
However, the main reason for going to Avellanas is because of Lola’s! Lola’s is a famous restaurant that sits right on the beach. You can eat lunch while you watch the surfers take on bigger waves than what Tarmarindo offers.
Lola’s website features a quote from Fodor’s that reads: “Lola’s appears out of nowhere like an oasis. Where else can you sit among the palms watching the surfer’s life unfold before you while dining on spectacular food, drinking wonderful beverages? Only at Lola’s.”
Lola’s has a really big pig that sometimes comes out and hangs out with customers – so be on the lookout. I think your kids will love this Costa Rica one-of-a-kind beach!
Dinner at La Esquina
On your way back to your resort, stop for dinner in at La Esquina De Avellanas. This was a super sweet find for us!
The night that we went, it had just poured so there was only one food place open, but it was delicious!
It is an open-air space that has several options to grab food while the kids play amongst the trees. They have a bunch of ropes, swings and climbing nets that the kids can play on. It was a great find so that we could just sit and relax while the kids played. If you are taking your kids to Costa Rica, I say dinner here is a must!
There were a couple of other families there and all of the kids had a great time. I’ll never forget the little blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy that was running around yelling, “¡Arriba, arriba!”
His dad is from California but moved to the area to surf, fell in love and stayed. Probably what my husband thought he was going to do when he was 17. However, he married this Ohio girl and now lives in land-locked Tennessee. Sorry, babe!
Pro-tip: Please note that the roads to Avellanas can sometimes be really muddy and lots of pot holes. It is a lot of back roads and you’ll see people occasionally walking so please be watch out. Here are a few pictures of the roads so that you can see what I am talking about.
Day 6:
Your trip is almost done so I’m going to give you two options for this day.
- Stay at your hotel and relax before you head back home tomorrow.
- Do an ATV tour with your kids around a Costa Rican ranch!
Option #1 is pretty self-explanatory so I’ll just jump right into the second option. Full disclaimer – I haven’t done this tour. However, one of my best friends did it and she absolutely raved about it! She and her family did my whole “Costa Rica with kids” itinerary but instead of surfing, did this ATV tour and loved it! Since I didn’t do this tour, I’ll quote what my friend, Katie, said about it:
“The Black Stallion tour was our absolute favorite. Beckham drove me, and Char shifted gears for Billy for the ATV portion. The BBQ dinner was incredible. It was a family style dinner shared with 3 other families. The stories and conversations we had shared with them along with the locals was the best! Charlotte made a friend, “Cookie,” the parrot, which kept her occupied for the evening.“
This tour also comes with zip-lining, a swim in their pool after your ATV tour, and a BBQ dinner. If this isn’t a “Costa Rica with Kids” spot then I don’t know what is haha! We cannot wait to do this when we go back to Costa Rica with our kids.
Thanks, Katie, for the suggestion!
Day 7:
As hard as it is to say goodbye, today is your day to come back home.
It’s nice to take a slow morning before the rush of a travel day. Wake up early and enjoy a morning cup of coffee outside to do just that. Hopefully, the kids will sleep in so that you can enjoy this last Costa Rica morning in silence. 🙂
The rest of the day will be returning your rental car and shuffling through the airport to get home.
Make sure to spend any extra colóns that you have (the Costa Rica money) or let your kids take them home for souvenirs.
Popular souvenirs are:
- Anything that says “Pura Vida” on it. Pura Vida means “living the pure or good life.” Something that we all can appreciate!
- Anything sloth or treefrogs
- Dried fruit
- And see if you can find strawberry bananas! Yep, actual bananas that have a strawberry line running down it is a real thing! We learned this the first time we went to Costa Rica and were mind blown!
Extra “Costa Rica with Kids” Tips:
1) We forgot to pack our hair de-tangler and it was impossible to find any at the grocery stores. I say this is a must pack when traveling to Costa Rica with kids!
2) We went in October, which is considered the rainy season, but it really only rained two days while we were there. It didn’t effect our trip as we packed rain jackets so it was totally worth the savings.
So if you can, go during the “off-season” as you will have Costa Rica practically to yourself!
3) There are lots of all-inclusive resorts in Costa Rica that are kid-friendly, you won’t get the true culture there. It takes getting out into the villages and away from the resorts that you’ll experience the true Costa Rica life.
4) West coast Costa Rica is where you want to go if you want beach. The Atlantic side is full of crocodiles, or so I’ve heard. Definitely not a spot that I want to go to or take my kids to!
5) Watch Endless Summer before you go so that you can see some of the famous spots that you’ll be visiting! You can rent it on Amazon Prime here.
6) If you book your rental car through the website My Tan Feet, you can get 20% off your rental car. That is what we did and it worked out perfectly! You know we love saving money when we travel and we love that we can share this info with you too! 🙂
The Wrap Up
Is a trip to Costa Rica with kids worth it? Here at The Free Life Travel, we say it absolutely is worth it!
This was a trip that my kids still talk about even years later. In fact, it is what has sparked them to start learning Spanish in hopes that they can keep going back and maybe even pick up a summer job there at some point.
Costa Rica checks all of the boxes. It is super affordable, is safe, has adventure, has the beach, has culture and is a short plane ride. Everything that makes for an incredible trip that will make great family memories!
I hope that this 7 day itinerary helps you plan your trip with no stress as the work has already been done for you. Just follow this itinerary (book your hotels and excursions in advance) and have a wonderful trip. Pura Vida!
Thanks for reading…now go live that Free Life, my friends!
