Our family (mom,dad, kids 15 and 18) is looking for a spring break adventure and is considering Costa Rica. We are an active family that enjoys the outdoors (surfing, hiking, whitewater rafting, etc.) We generally opt to rent homes or stay in places with cooking and laundry facilities when possible, and usually rent a car. Visiting CR's tourism website was overwhelming so we'd appreciate your input on what area to focus on, accomodations, must-see/do activites during our 7-day trip.

In a 7 day trip, I'd recommend 2 locations: Arenal Volcano and Manuel Antonio (beach). There is SO much to see and do in these 2 highlight areas, all of you would be entertained.

Each is about 3 hours from the airport (San Jose) with about 5 hours in between. The volcano itself is remarkable, but Arenal also offers hot springs (wonderful), hanging bridges, a great slow boat tour for birds and animals (Cano Negro Tour, a don't miss), rapelling, waterfalls, horseback, and any number of other activities. Manuel Antonio affords a beachfront national park for seeing all kinds of wildlife, beautiful beaches, mangrove kayaking, horseback to waterfalls. Ziplines available both areas. Good restaurants available both areas, as well as plenty of hotels from budget to high end, all clean and well managed (as is generally true all over the country with few exceptions).

You might purchase Lonely Planet or Moon guidebooks and read up on these 2 areas. They are the most popular for 1st time visitors with good reason.

We will be staying in this villa in Dominical: http://www.flyingtoucans.com/

I picked Dominical because it has all the activities we want but doesn't appear to be too touristy. The villa gets GREAT reviews. Not sure when your Spring Break is but there is an availability calendar on the site.

www.desafiocostarica.com

Arenal Monteverde Adventures

finish with surfing Tamarindo

www.hotelcapitansuizo.com

or more remote

www.moanalodge.com Mal Pais

3 days 2 nights

in each of 2 locations

www.carrentals.com out of SJO

cheapest best

for freedom flexibility...

Have Fun,

I like Shillmac's plan, but I would add a one day rafting trip on the Pacuare River.

I would definitely go to Arenal; it's our favorite spot in CR. See the volcano, go to the waterfall, definitely take the Cano Negro tour with Sunset Tours, and visit Eco Termales for hot springs and dinner or go to Tabacon, zipline at SkyTrek, and do the Hanging Bridges. I'd combine it with either a great surfing location or a rafting trip on the Pacuare depending on if you want surfing or rafting. It's hard to go wrong in CR.

Thanks for all the great advice. Now that we have some leads we can research further to plan our family getaway. Costa Rica sounds like an awesome place - we can't wait to explore!

Hit a glitch for the spring break trip but we're back on track now - planning on CR for 8-9 days in mid-June. Based on all the wonderful advice from everyone we've decided that an Arendal/Manuel Antonio/Pacuare rafting combo is our best bet for a first-time visit. Can I call on you all for a bit more help in fine-tuning our plans? Such as:

Intinerary . . . Any suggestions on how much time to spend in each spot and in which order? Our priority is adventure, wildlife, nature, hiking, etc. Though we'd consider taking in SOME beach time, a little will go a long way since we're coming from Florida. So does it make sense to spend more time in Arenal - sounds like it may offer more "adventure" for us?

Where's the river . . . I'm not sure where the rafting is located but I'm thinking we'll save that for the end (I'm anticipating being a bit sore, based on previous trips, and don't want to spend the rest of my trip popping Motrin). Could this be a day-trip from somewhere?

4-wheeling it . . . We'll be renting a car (though I'm a bit nervous about theft) so we can make our own itinerary but should we plan on doing some of the acivities (i.e. hanging bridges, zip lines) via tours straight from hotels? Also, do we need to book these excursions in advance or it this something we do after we arrive at the hotels?

Viewing a waterfall . . . And what about La Fortuna? Another day-trip from somewhere? Based on posts it sounds like it is a "don't miss" but how much time should we plan on this?

Am I crazy tyring to plan this trip "from scratch" since I'm a CR newby? Would it make more sense to use an agent/tour company (not my usual style though)?

Gee, I just read over my post and I sound totally lost (even though I've been combing through posts until my vision blurred)! Just trying to plan the best trip with the time we have - specially since the first child is leaving for college soon and this may be our last big family trip for a while (sniff, sniff). Really appreciate all your help!