Hi, We're also a family of four (2 adults, 2 boys ages 17 & 19) planning a trip to CR in July. Have same interests in looking for adventures and activities (i.e.zip line, rain forests, rafting, volcanoes, beach, culture.....) Would love to hear suggestions! Thanks.

Great!! Hopefully we get a lot of suggestions here! I will certainly let you know our thoughts after we return. Our interests are very similar for vacation activities!

I would do a split between the Arenal area and Manuel Antonio - easy itinerary that's popular with first timers - lots of adventure activities plus volcano and beach time. In MA, check out Buena Vista Villas, Si Como No, and Tulemar Bungalows. Our favorite in Arenal is the Lost Iguana, but there are lots of choices. The Springs is new and higher end.

We're a family of four (kids 10 & 15) and had a great time in CR. We spent 3 nts in Arenal and a 6 nts in Manuel Antonio / Quepos (we did spend our last night in San Jose to catch an early AM flight). In Arenal we stayed at Lost Iguana (we really enjoyed the property but you are a bit isolated). We picked Lost Iguana due to it being one of the few properties where you could see the lava flow at night. Fortunately we saw lava 2 of three nights. Here are things we enjoyed and would recommend in Arenal: Horse back ride to La Fortuna Waterfall, hanging bridges (next door to Lost Iguana), Eco Thermales hot springs (I recommend the dinner option), Sky Trek zip line (very cool).

For Manuel Antonio, I highly recommend Buena Vista Villa / Tulemar. They have a private beach and several pools. As for activities in MA, there are many many options. We went white water rafting on the Naranjo (pretty mild but fun). Enjoy!

For the op note that the week before Easter is super busy and many of the more popular places will be booked already. Start sending out res'v inquiries if that's when you're going. Arenal and Manuel Antonio because they are beautiful areas, easy for 1st time visitors and tons to do. However, there are many, many great areas to explore that offer plenty to do as well. My favorite area is Osa and also my 13 year old's. Age limit for rafting the pacuare is 12 and there' a raft/x-fer you can take from San Jose to arenal. I usually stay in mid range places but have stayed at buena vista villas and they are very nice as well as tulemar bungalows (villa mot mot).

Thank you for the responses!!! Quick Q for SiteC-er. Is the reason you only spen t 3 nights in Arenal and 6 in MA because there is more to do in MA? Do you think 3 nights is enough in Arenal? Would you have done less in MA? Thanks!!!

I'm not SiteC-er, but personally 4 nights is enough for MA for that length of trip. I feel like there's a lot more to do in Arenal, but I guess it depends on what types of things your family wants to do. If they want to be at the beach more than obviously that's a big factor.

hip, I totally agree with you. I would rather have more time in Arenal. 4 nights in MA would be enough for me, but we don't spend a lot of time lounging on the beach. We still haven't seen and done everything in Arenal after several trips, and more days equals a better shot at actually seeing lava.

I don't disagree with Hip / Volcano Girl. If we had to do it over I'd probably spend another night in Arenal. However, we are very much a beach family and 6 nts was not too long for us. Not sure if it was just when we where at Buena Vista / Tulemar, but the waves were amazing every day of our stay. If you enjoy boogie boarding / boday surfing, kayaking, and playing on a great beach (like us) then a week goes by pretty darn fast. There are plenty of other activities to keep you busy in Manuel Antonio i.e. horseback riding, ziplining, white water rafting, tons of nature / animals to view, etc. Regardless of how you break up your trip, I believe your family will have fun in both areas. Enjoy!

Check www.arenal.net for lots of information.

We posted earlier - we're a family of 4 (boys, 17 & 19 and parents)going in late July or early August. We're considering a timeshare week at Sanctuary Resort in Guanacaste because we can get a great deal (we're not focused on high end resort this trip - we want to focus on activities.) Is it realistic to stay in Guanacaste and plan activities in Arenal and Manuel Antonio? We want to go ziplining, see volcano lava, rafting, rainforest hiking, beach, fishing and possibly a coffee tour. We'll narrow down the list once we know where to stay. Help please?

No, you can't really do day trips from there, too far to travel.