10 days in Costa Rica with 3 kids in July
 

We are planning on going to Costa Rica in July with our 3 kids ages, 4,6 an 8. We are fluent in Spanish and willing to explore, want to go to the rainforest, volcano and beach. What itinerary do you recommend? How do we get from one place to the next?
Thanks in advance!!

www.tortugueroinfo.com

www.arenal.net

www.manuelantoniopark.com

depending on how much time your have

www.mapache.com cheap 2WD car rental

best for freedom flexibility after Tortuguero

Have fun,

That time of year would be a good time for Tortuguero, Arenal and Manuel Antonio, if you have enough days. For Tortuguero you can get good package options that included pick up in San Jose and boat ride to and from. Arenal is pretty spread out so is nice to have car there. Manuel Antonio you don't really need a car as the bus is frequent and cheap and taxis are good options. For getting from place to place I usually Interbus (a good road option if there are just a couple of you) or fly, depending on where I'm going. Some people hire private drivers which could cost you around $120-$150 one-way.

I'd definitely go with Arenal and Manuel Antonio - it's the most popular combo for first timers. With 10 days, you can throw in a third location of your choice - maybe the Peace Lodge or Monteverde, or Tortuguero or the Osa if you don't think it's too wild. We always hire private drivers through our hotels, but you can take Interbus like hip mentioned or take Sansa or Nature Air. Tortuguero isn't reachable by car, so you'd have to boat or fly in. The Osa is a long drive, so I'd fly there if that's your choice. You can drive to Arenal and Manuel Antonio pretty easily - lots of good restaurant, hotel, and adventure activities in those two areas.

Thanks so much! I may be doing some work in San Jose before the real vacation starts. Can we go to any of these destinations for the day or overnight? How about the Caribbean beaches?

The only place I'd really suggest going to for the day would be maybe Poas and/or Doka and/or La Paz Waterfall gardens, rafting the Pacuare or some other places that are closer to San Jose. Arenal, MA are too far IMO for day trips and definitely the Caribbean is too far. You could do any of these on overnight trips, but for me all those areas are at worth at least 2, preferably 3, nights.

It would be hard to do day trips from San Jose - Arenal is about 3 hours away. MA is about 3 hours the other way. It takes a long time to get from place to place, so really better to stay in the area you want to explore. You could do a day trip to things like Poas Volcano and the Doka Coffee Estate or the Waterfall Gardens though.

If you want to go to the most popular places, Arenal, Monteverde, Poas, Manuel Antonio. If you want something a little different - try these:

www.samarabeach.com
www.tortuguerovillage.com
www.heliconiaslodge.com
www.ruralcostarica.com

Your choices for getting around are: air, rental car, bus, hired driver, shared van/shuttle. Rental car will give you the most flexibility and hired driver will be the most expensive - probably close to the price of air.

I would not stay in San Jose - I would stay in Alajuela; smaller and a lot safer and many day trips available from there. Many hotels offer tours and day trips in the area.

What do you think of this itinerary:
Fly to San Jose
- Tortuguero at Pachira Lodge, 2 nights
- Saripiqui, 1 night
- Arenal, 2 nights
- Monteverde Cloud forest, 2 nights
- Guanacaste, 4 nights
Fly out of Liberia.
Should we change one of these destinations for Manuel Antonio? If so, how?
Thank you!!!

Thats way too much moving around with 3 kids for me. You will be spending all your time in transport. Travel between each of these locations will take up most of a day. Depending on what time you arrive you may need/want to spend the night near San Jose.

I would do 2 nights Tortuguero, 4 nights either Arenal or Monteverde and then 4 nights at either Guanacaste beaches or Manuel Antonio. If you go with the Guanacaste beaches I would try to fly out of Liberia.

Too much moving for me too, with or without kids. I would cut out Monteverde and add a night to Arenal. I might even cut out Sarapaqui but not absolutely necessary assuming you have a car to make transport easier. Manuel Antonio is gorgeous. You could change Guanacaste for MA...do you have your flights out of Liberia already?

I think you are right about the travel. We'd like to do 3 stops combining volcano (Arenal), beach and wildlife/forest, what would you recommend?

I like kencolian's suggestion and also agree with hipvirgochick. Like hip, I'm not sure the one night at Sarapiqui would be worth your time without a car.

Tortuguero--2
Arenal--3-4
Manuel Antonio--3-4

There is a chance you would need to spend first and/or last nights near the airport depending on arrival/departure times. Especially that first night. Keep that in mind as you plan. And enjoy! :)

(my choices)

I just returned from a tour of Costa Rica (went with an educational tour group) and have to jump on the Manuel Antonio bandwagon. It was beautiful~warm, turquoise water in a cove with gentle surf, white sand beaches; and wildlife sightings. While there, we saw sloths and the mischevous white face monkeys.....be sure to guard your lunches! Our group stayed in Fortuna and visited Baldi hot springs and went kayaking on Lake Arenal, but your children may be a bit young for those activities.
Costa Rica is a beautiful, diverse country.....enjoy!!

Does anyone think it's worth extending the trip to go to Guanacaste? Would it be too much driving?