I would like to travel this march with my three kids ages 14,10 and 7. Just do not know were to begin so much info out there. We don't want to be moving every day-some beach,some rainforest maybe. Can anyone suggest an itinery or place to start and plan. Should I use a tour operator or is it ok to plan ourselves?
Thanks for your help

How long do you have ? Start looking at Arenal and Manuel Antonio.... In arenal you have an amazing volcano expeirence , waterfalls , hotsprings , ziplines etc. etc. In Manuel Antonio you have rainforest , beautiful beaches , tons of wildlife , nice restaurant and lodging choices , all within relatively easy proximity of San Hose . If you have more time there is the Osa Peninsula , and Monteverde , both which take a bit more effort to get to .

Costa Rica is perfect for kids. It's so full of creatures, and what kids don't like creatures. Look at the Costa Rican Expeditions website: www.costaricaexpeditions.com. They have a lot of good suggestions for different kinds of trips, and you can get an idea of what's available.

we stayed @ drake bay wilderness lodge on the osa peninsula with our 2 boys 14 & 11 and they had a ball with the guides and exploring local area. good food and a tour to do everyday. lots of wildlife and very beautiful area

We went last year with younger children (10,8,6) and had an amazingly fun time. I do have a few tips that I can pass along. We rented a car and drove ourselves which was not a problem at all. We enjoyed the flexibility of being able to plan our own schedule, moving about as a family, and coming and going as we please. We flew in from Chicago and spent the first night at the Hotel Bougainvillea, which was a really good choice. We arranged to have the rental car available to us following morning and completed the paper work at the Hotel-- which is a good way to go. Key point; rent a car instead of a driver and have the car delivered to your hotel and returned from your hotel instead of at the airport. Second key point-- we only had a week and I would recommend 10 days if you can do it. From the Hotel Bougainvillea the next am we drove to Arenal and spent two nights up there-- it was an easy drive once we hit the highway although we did get lost driving around Santo Domingo. We stayed at the Observatory lodge ar Arenal the first night and Tabacon the second and really loved both experiences. The next day we drove down the Manual Antonio-- and stopped off along the way at Cararra and saw the crockodiles in the River tarcoles. It was about 61/2 hours to Quepos but a nice drive overall. We stayed at the Casa Verde hotel and absolultely loved the area. We spent 3 nights in Quepos and then headed back to the Hotel Bougainvillea for our last night.

Have a great trip-- I am sure you will have a blast!

Thanks for all the input. I am grateful for all the help. I was thinking of arenal area, any other hotel/guide recommendations-also for a few days on the beach what is the best area for kids to be able to swim?

Swimming is great inside the park at Manuel Antonio .

Our family of 5 (kids ages 15, 13 and 10) is also going in March. We are staying in a Celebrity Suite at the Lost Iguana...The Celebrity Suites are not yet described on their web site (just opened in December) but e-mail them for availability. We are staying at the Tulemar Bungalows in Manuel Antonio. Just thought you'd like some suggestions of places large enough for 5. (It would take 2 rooms at Si Como No.)

another option may be to fly into Liberia and travel to Arenal for a few days and then back towards the beach north of Liberia, Playa Hermosa, Tamarindo, Coco and then fly back out of Liberia. This is what we did with our little ones and it worked out great. I do agree, rent a car and do the traveling yourself, you don't get as much information about the area as you might from a driver, but it gives you much more freedom to do what you want anytime you want. enjoy, I will be back in July/Aug and can't wait.