kellyb1970

Family of 6. 4 Adults - 7 yr old boy and 4 year old girl. I am turning 40 and want this to be super fabulous vacation!!
We fly into SJ and plan to pay for transportation to Arenal. Not planning on renting.

Will stay in Arenal for 4 nights. I have heard Hotel Arenal Manoa is a good option. Does everyone agree? We need kid friendly. Not sure about this location.
We are planning on doing: Hanging bridges, Horseback to LaFortuna Waterfall, and the National Park Tour. Anything else that is recommended.. maybe something at night?
Restaurants? Should we get a car ?

The next 3 nights.. I am having a hard time deciding between Flamingo, Dominical, or MA. Should we rent a car from Arenal to which area we pick?

The last day we will drive back to SJ to fly home on Sat.
Really appreciate the feedback!
Thanks,
Kelly

volcanogirl

Have you looked at Los Lagos? It's hugely popular with families. Silencio del Campo is popular too. Lots of good restaurants - Don Rufino, El Novillo, La Choza de Laurel, and Soda la Parada - the last one is cheap with good local food. The most popular thing to do at night is go to the hot springs, Eco Termales or Tabacon. Our favorite tour is the Cano Negro tour to see wildlife, but not sure if your 4-year old would go for it. It's an all day tour. MA is really popular with families; check out the Tulemar Bungalows and Si Como No. Costa Verde is popular too.

shillmac

For the most activities available, I'd stay with Arenal and Manuel Antonio. Highly recommend Tulemar Bungalows--I think Upper MotMot would be a good choice for your family, if it is large enough.

Rafaelcr

I have stayed in Arenal Manoa and it is awesome, good breakfast, nice rooms and they offer a free tour to the farm, actually they are ranked in Trip Advisor like one of the best 10 hotels in Arenal. It is a very good option if you are considering staying there.
Arenal has lots of attractions but the best at nigh for you and your family would be going to the hot springs, Ecotermales or Tabacon are the best.
Don Rufinos Restaurant it is a very good place, it is not cheap but the food worth it.
From SJO airport a private transfer cost not more than $140.00 and for transportation around Arenal you can ask for a taxi anytime you need it. All the tours include transportation and they go to pick you at any hotel so you do not have to worry about it.
For the last 3 nights I recommend you Manuel Antonio or Dominical, the beach in Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most beautiful in the country, in my consideration, but MA it is a expensive place but you will find excellent hotels like “Sí Como No” or “Casitas Eclipse”, of course there are luxury ones but I am recommending you this two options, not too expensive, not too cheap, with very good service.
Dominical it is more quite than MA and the Marino Ballena National Park it is a beautiful place. In Dominical I know Hotel Giada and Hotel Villas Río Mar, both are good places.

ColoNative

We are a family of six and we used www.insightcostarica.com for two different transfers/tours and could not recommend them highly enough. Ask for Esterling as your driver. He is a Tico and speaks wonderful english and has a great sense of humor. Good luck. We stayed at Los Lagos which was great for the kids. Would highly recommend doing the zip line tour with Sky Trek as a present to yourself! Great fun.

kellyb1970

Present to myself.. I like that !
I did some research on MA, I could tell it is a bit more expensive. I looked into Si Como No, it looks pretty good.
We were thinking about a private villa, but now I am thinking it would be easier to just do the hotel and not have to worry with cooking/groceries.
I will keep you all posted! Thanks

shillmac

Si Como No is nice--we loved it back in 2003! Have been to Costa Verde, Hotel California, and Tulemar twice, most recently. We LOVE the private beach at Tulemar and all the wildlife right there near the hotel. For the $$, we thought it a better choice than Costa Verde. We probably would not stay at Hotel California again, although it was certainly okay.

CRtravels

Just returned from Arenal and MA with our 7 and 9 year olds. Great vacation. We hired a guide/transportation from SJ to Arenal, he stayed with us while in Arenal, then drove us to MA. Having our own guide and transportation was the best move we made. He made terrific suggestions and showed us more than we ever could have on our own(Leo [email protected]) We stayed at the observatory lodge, the show the volcano gave us at night was worth the bumpy ride to the lodge!!! I would not bother with the cano negro tour with kids!! The ride is long, the river is hot and dirty, the boat is a slow trip for kids. My kids enjoyed the wildlife but did not think the tour was worth the time (all day event)We used sunset tours.
MA had all the wildlife they could see right at our resort. We stayed at Tulemar bungalow.

hipvirgochick

Los Lagos is a great choice in Arenal for families. Lots of stuff on site and the pools/hot springs are great for in the evening since it gets dark by 6pm. 4 yrs old might be a bit young for Cano Negro but it is a great tour. Tulemar is a good choice for Manuel Antonio, the little beach at the property is great. Too bad the restaurant is closed but there are places to eat just on the main road and kitchenettes to keep snacks and beverages.

qwovadis

www.costarica.bookit.com

for me www.tabacon.com from $199 gets you

www.tabacon.com

lava view free best hot springs for 4

more upscale better than Manoa or Los Lagos

then for beach

www.buenavisavillas.net

www.arenasdelmar.com

www.tulemar.com Mot Mot

best for me for a special trip...