ElisaF

I'm contemplating a second trip to Costa Rica with my husband and our kids (16 and 15 years old), for either December or next February. Last year, we went to Monteverde and Arenal; highlights for us were the Cano Negro boat tour, the volcano, seeing lots of monkeys, and hiking in the cloud forest. For the next trip, I'm thinking about either Manuel Antonio or the Caribbean coast. My kids like to be very active on vacation; they definitely don't like to lie around on the beach. We are interested in seeing wildlife, hiking, ziplining, maybe horseback riding and rafting. Right now I am leaning toward the Caribbean coast because it seems like there is more to do there, and perhaps MA is better for families with young children and people who want beach time -- does that sound right? Also, I have the impression that MA may be more developed and "touristy" than the other parts of CR that we loved. What I don't want is to be in a big hotel with a bunch of other New Yorkers (nothing against NYers, I am one ).

Because of school schedules, we would be limited to 7 nights, and it seems like the first and last nights in CR need to be spent close to the airport. So I'm thinking of perhaps two nights in Tortuguero and three nights in Puerto Viejo. Does that sound like a good plan?

I'm having a hard time getting a sense of what Puerto Viejo is like. I don't want to be in a noisy party-town kind of atmosphere and we're not interested in bars or nightlife. But it seems like there are a lot of outdoor-adventure activities in or near PV. The other possibility is to spend two night in Tortuguero and then three nights in Arenal (we only had a couple of days there last time and I would love to go back to the Lost Iguana). Or maybe spend an extra day near San Jose and go to the Poas Volcano? So many options . . . . Any suggestions and recommendations would be appreciated!

dfr4848

My response won't fully answer your question because we haven't been to the Caribbean side. We have spent a week in MA with 2 teenagers (both 19) and I would agree and disagree with your thoughts about MA.

There is plenty to do there for teenagers and it's not geared just toward families with small kids. Ours were very active - and lounging on the beach wasn't their first priority. We did ziplining, hiking, mangrove swamp tours, day trip on a catamaran with snorkling, plenty of wildlife, and there's also horseback riding, sailing, wildlife tour options, plantation tours, etc.

It is a touristy area but certainly not oppressively so IMO (certainly nothing like HI or FL). Lots of options for restaurants, shops and nightlife if you want. We didn't see any big hotels and certainly not full of NYers (!) (or from any specific area for that matter). Most of the larger hotels (which where we stayed is probably categorized - Si Como No) are spread out down the mountains, so you never get the feeling of being lost in the big crowd and most of the time we felt like we were in a much smaller hotel. Whether it's too touristy for your tastes is hard to tell.

Hope this helps.

volcanogirl

I would think teenagers would love Manuel Antonio. The park is full of monkeys, and the beach inside the park is gorgeous. There are a lot of good restaurants. We went sailing and snorkeling. I'd pass on the snorkeling next time due to low visibility, but the sailing was fun. The Damas mangrove tour and horseback riding with Finca Valmy are really popular. I'd check out Si Como No, Buena Vista Villas, or Tulemar's Mot Mot for places to stay to see if it's your style. It's very easy to get around in MA; we didn't even have a car and were able to walk most places. Our most expensive cab ride was $5. Some of the hotels also offer shuttles. MA is developed but not in a tacky way. If you want to go somewhere wild to see tons of wildlife in a very natural state, you might look at the Osa Peninsula. A real nature lover would love a place like Bosque del Cabo.

colibri

I don't know if teenagers would enjoy Tortuguero. The main activity is viewing wildlife via boats. You are in a very remote area, no roads, so there aren't too many other options. You can go hiking in the national park, visit the village and turtle conservation center and I think some lodges may transport you to a zipline. We loved Laguna Lodge, nice pool, but don't go to Tortuguero for the beaches since they are not good for swimming - very strong current and sharks. We loved Tortuguero and would go back in a heartbeat, but we aren't 15 and 16! I don't know if there would be enough to keep them occupied and happy.

qwovadis

Been to PV a lot has a rustic dodgy ambience

replete with drug check points

suitable more to backpackers than teenagers...

If you elect to go there www.pachamamacaribe.com Punta Uva

www.mauelantioniopark.com would be my choice for teens

www.costaverde.com or www.tulemar.com more upscale

Tons of activities for teens tour with Jaun

www.tripadvisor.com/members/natureguide

he gets awesome reviews...have fun,

qwovadis

www.manuelantoniopar.com oops missed the n sorry

cmerrell

I have not been to the Caribbean side yet either, Elisa, but I've always been under the impression that it's pretty laid back and mellow. Sounds wonderful to me, but MA may be a bit more 'happening' for your teens. Colibri's already given some good info on Tortuguero. Maybe hipvirgochick will weigh in on Pto Viejo. She loves the southern Caribbean.

You'll also want to consider weather for the time of year you plan to travel. The Caribbean coast tends to have different rainfall patterns than the Pacific coast. http://costa-rica-guide.com/Weather/WeatherMap.html will show you the trends.

I think MA is probably a good fit for your family. We enjoyed our visit there, but I'd love to get to the Caribbean side too. Some day...

ElisaF

Thanks for the responses! I'm glad to hear that there is a lot to do at MA. More to think about . . . .

The reason I was looking into Tortuguero was that we all loved the Cano Negro tour so much, and I've seen some posts here that described the Tortuguero boat tours as being like an extended version of Cano Negro, which would be amazing. I had read that you can't swim in the ocean there, but that's okay. On the other hand, from the hotel reviews, it seems like MA is the place to go to see lots of monkeys.

colibri

Elisa,
We were in Tortuguero last month - 3 day/2 night package and loved it. We saw so much wildlife there during our boat tours, but we may have been extremely lucky with our weather and our guide. We booked with Modesto Watson who owns Riverboat Francesca tours. I cannot recommend him enough, has been guiding there for 19 years. We started seeing sloths within a few minutes of leaving the Moin dock and it just never stopped - we loved it. For me, Cano Negro was nice, but it didn't compare to Tortuguero. Of course, Tort. was three days and Cano Negro was three hours, so not the same at all.
During our Tort. tours we saw both types of sloths, three types of monkeys, caimans, crocs, pelicans, egrets, toucans, numerous types of herons, ibis, purple gallinule, anhingas and many, many other birds.
My one disappointment was only seeing one species of hummingbird - the rufous tailed. We heard howler monkeys from Laguna Lodge, but we did not spot any.
The village of Tortuguero is very, very small and can be seen in a short time. Check out the different lodges and see what other activities are offered such as ziplines, etc. to see if it would be enough for your teenagers.

hipvirgochick

If I were a teen I've love being in Puerto Viejo. I've taken my tween there the past two years and it's her favorite area. You can bicycle around pretty much everywhere up and down to beaches and sodas. I wouldn't say there's more to do there than MA, but definitely less touristy and more laid back. I prefer it over MA for sure, although the beaches inside MA are gorgeous. There are plenty of great accommodations there (although less than in MA) and less expensive there for pretty much everything. Going to Tort in June. I know they offer night hikes, kayaking, things like that and I'm sure spending 2 nights there would be enjoyable, it's not as if they will be trying to find things to do for a week.

ElisaF

Thank you all, this is very helpful, though I am as confused as ever. The Sunday NY Times travel section had an article about Costa Rica, which made Manuel Antonio seem kind of ho-hum; however, the writer seemed to think the amazing Monteverde cloud forest was also kind of boring! I actually just bought my plane tickets for February travel so I have a lot of time to plan.

hipvirgochick, what hotels do you like in Puerto Viejo?

hipvirgochick

I love both Banana Azul and Azania Bungalows. Very different places. BA now has a age 16 and up rule. Azania Bungalows is nice because it has a pool and the cabinas have lofts. The grounds are beautiful and the cabinas have nice personal touches. They have bicycles you can rent and we rode all up and down the road to different beaches each day. You can walk to town too, but if it is dry season the roads are quite dusty. It's right across the street from a surfing beach. There are a couple of other cabina type accommodations, just next door. La Costa de Papito and Cariblue. I really like the location of all 3. You can bike all the way to Manzanillo if you want. There are also a few restaurants nearby that are an even closer walk than into town. We ate at Cariblue one night and it was wonderful and they have a nice pool there as well. Normally we ate lunch and dinner out though.