Sorry if this has been done before…

Looking at doing about 8-10 days in early June with my wife and two teens and I'm a little intimidated with the planning. I'm picturing spending most of it doing daily hikes, zip-lines, etc. wouldn't mind a day or two just enjoying a beach but the kids would get bored after too much of that.

Will rent a car and I am guessing do mostly AirBnB but could do a few days at a resort to mix it up.

Planning on flying in and out of San Jose but not for any particular reason other than it seems to be most popular.

I know we are getting into rainy season but we will just have to deal with it.

Any advice is appreciated!

Take this FWIW, but we flew to San Jose last November. Stayed with friends at a golf resort called Los Suenos near Jaco.

I was not impressed. The resort was beautiful, but the rest of the town was really run down and depressed. Our friends who have lived there for 20+ years picked us up at the airport, but there is no way I would rent a car and drive there. The traffic and drivers are nuts and the roads are bad.

The beach at Jaco isn't swimmable - too rough, and there is a river that runs into the ocean, and people dump waste in the river. There was literally a No Swimming - Toxic Waste sign on the beach.

We did go deep sea fishing, which was fun (although we caught very little because of all the rain they'd had) and we took a catamaran to a private island/beach. Both excursions from Los Suenos. We did an ATM ride that was awful. Literally mostly driving on roads with traffic.

In summary, we wouldn't go back. Maybe the resort area up near Liberia, or other areas besides Jaco are better, but I was not impressed. And the drive from the airport alone is enough of a deterrent for me.

I appreciate that feedback. Definitely know the driving around won't be all fun and scenic. All good info to help us make our decision. Thanks!

Tulemar in Manuel Antonio.

I've stayed here twice. We travel quite a bit and our 2 boys (teen/tween) say it is their favorite vacation.

https://www.tulemarresort.com/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADqJsdqlPaLt-8oOxqGiEEHKSA2ma&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_JzABhC2ARIsAPe3ynof_A51-NaxpFs_Gh3QWKv25AN_E1X2ldMdMCIzH2XzeveOgj8ldT0aAo9bEALw_wcB

There are a wide range of lodging types from small bungalows to multi-family homes.

Property has a beautiful beach for swimming- can also use kayaks from there.

We used a van transport (arranged through Tulemar) from the airport and never did any driving.

Arranged all of our excursions through Tulemar (they work with many different local companies; they pick you up and drop you off at Tulemar, so you never have to worry about transport).

We did a waterfall rappel/zip line tour, waterfall adventure trip (jumping off small waterfalls and swimming), surfing, a night jungle tour, catamaran/snorkel trip, and a guided tour in the Manuel Antonio National Park (which was fantastic). All the tours they arrange are top notch- I was very impressed with everything.

Property itself is beautiful.

We would commonly see monkeys and sloths from our balcony.

There are many fantastic areas in Costa Rica. We have loved our time there.

We enjoy the area around Arenal. Been twice and stayed at Los Lagos. It's an older resort type property but good enough for us since we're outside most of the time. Rio Celeste is worth seeing (long hike to waterfall and gorgeous blue water). Zip lining at Monteverde cloud forest was great. We hired a driver so we could relax and see everything.
We still haven't been to the west coast, maybe next time.

I drove from San Jose to Manuel Antonio and didn't think it was bad at all. San Jose was the worst traffic and after that it was pretty much like driving rural FM roads here. Waze routed us over some mountain because of a bad accident on the main road and it was an awesome drive. If you're use to 2 lane roads and lines I could see how the driving would be uncomfortable, but for me the rural road I live on here was worse than anything I drove on in Costa Rica.

If you stay near Manual Antonio drive to La Langosta Feliz one night for some awesome seafood. It's on the highway between Quepos and Uvita.

Arenal, Quepos & Uvita - those three spots would be good to research for your trip & provide the full adventure you are looking for

Highly recommend Costa Canyoning waterfall rappelling around Uvita.

Just remember that driving in CR is the biggest adventure - just take your time and dont get in a hurry

If you are not working with an advisor I would love to help put together this Costa Rica vacation for you. Costa Rica is a vast country with so many of the activities you have mentioned. My contact info is in my bio to reach out. Here are a few of my Costa Rica pics

Costa Rica is such a fantastic destinationand it sounds like you've already got a great vision for the trip coming together!
We've done several split stays between La Fortuna/Arenal and the Guanacaste region, which offer a perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. For that itinerary, I typically recommend flying in and out of Liberia for convenience.
I actually just had clients return from a similar Spring Break trip, and they absolutely loved the experience!
I'd be happy to help you bring this trip to life and ensure every detail is taken care of.

Actually starting this thread kicked me in the butt to actually start thinking this through this morning. Now I am thinking of flying into/out of Liberia. My rough framework I've come up with is head to La Fortuna for a few days then stop (single day?) at Monteverde and then head for the last few days to Guanacaste area.

You're probably aware, but wanted to point out that there is a La Fortuna in both the Alajuela and the Gaunacaste Province. Make sure you're looking at the right one!

We've done Quepos/Manuel Antonio a couple of times. The ziplining/waterfall repelling and whitewater rafting on the Savegre River were both fantastic. We used H2O Adventures for the whitewater rafting and would definitely use them again.

We love COSTA RICA. I think we've been five times and will be going back this summer for 10 nights in late July. I've written a couple of posts. You might look those up if you get a chance. "Rainy season" isn't necessarily what you think it would be. All of our trips have been during the rainy season. The days usually start out sunny/partly cloudy; clouds may build up late afternoon and a brief rain/thundershower. On occasion it will rain a bit more. We have been a couple of times when it didn't rain much at all.

We much prefer to fly in/out of Liberia and stay in the Guanacaste area. Feel free to reach out if you want more detailed information/opinions. Have a great trip. PURA VIDA

We are staying at the springs in arenal summer 2026. On our short list is white water rafting, horseback riding, volcano and waterfall hikes.

flying into/out of LIR.

Following this thread!

I was there and did a week split equally between LaFortuna/Arenal and Manuel Antonio areas

Spent a day in the cloud forest at Monteverde driving between these two sites and I have to say I wish I spent more time there

La Paz is a nice stop on the way from San Jose to LaFortuna they have an animal park and series of 4 or waterfalls all within a quick 1 mile hike

I will also say if you are used to driving rural roads and passing people who are driving slow you will have no problems driving there and it gives you great freedom to explore off the beaten places

Thanks y'all. I appreciate the feedback. This is all helpful. As I start putting actual plans together, I will probably revisit this thread and ask more questions.

We did 9 days in late May early June last year with two teen boys and split it between 4 days in La Fortuna and 5 in Samara (beach town).

Worked perfectly for our needs.

Flew into Liberia (which I've heard from multiple people is easier to navigate and less traffic in the city than San Jose). Rented a car and drove to La Fortuna.

La Fortuna we did a combo zip lining and waterfall rappelling adventure, rope swing into a local swimming hole, soaked in the hot springs, hiked aroind the base of a volcano, and did a couple of other activities. Had several good meals in La Fortuna. There was a sloth hanging around right next to our house, which had an awesome view of the Arenal volcano.

Could have maybe done 5 days in La Fortuna area and added in a blue river (IIRC) expedition as a side trip, but felt like we did most of what we wanted.

Samara is a low key beach town with a reef-protected beach. Smaller waves which were great for our kids learning to surf. Did a sea kayak and snorkel outing one day. Did a deep sea fishing outing another day. Ate tuna sushi we just caught right on the boat and saw hundreds of dolphins and some sea turtles.

There are several quaintish beach towns on that stretch of coast, each with something a little different from what I read. We picked Samara because it was big enough to have good dining options without being too big, and it had a more chill vibe.

I'd absolutely recommend a similar itinerary to anyone with teenage kids. Mix of adventure and relaxation.

You will technically be in the rainy season, but it's the early part so it wasn't too bad. We had one day that was a total washout from 11a on in La Fortuna, but otherwise just had a few brief periods of rain.

The one thing that sounds pretty cool which we didn't do was the cloud forest in Monteverde. It was out of the way so we couldn't fit it in.

Great post!

I think I am leaning towards 4 days in La Fortuna and then heading to the coast. I was thinking 2 days somewhere in/around Papagayo and then the last 2 in Tamarindo.

Only reason for splitting up the coast days is because I get so many varying opinions on where to stay on the coast in Guanacaste.

Would like to fish offshore one day.

We did 7 days and stayed on the Reserva Conchal in an AirBnB which was fantastic. Had access to all the W and Westin amenities as well as the beach club. If we go again we might do 4-5 days there and then 3-4 more further north. Playa Flamingo and Potrero also looked really nice when we drove through there.

Thanks for the rec I will check that AirBnB out.

Bert would you mind if I contacted you with a question?

Contact info removed.

Missed this thread originally as I was in Costa Rica at the time. We love Costa Rica and every region has it's own advantages and disadvantages.

I think it is a good idea to switch to Liberia airport (I recommend Vamos Rent a Car). Liberia is just as you stated vs San Jose and that region tends to be a little dryer than the Puntarenas or Alajueala regions. With your trip in the rainy season, this may impact your plans.

For 2 days of beach time, Playa Conchal is our favorite and is located in close proximity to Liberia.

There are lots of things to do in La Fortuna areas from hanging bridges to waterfalls, to whitewater rafting and ziplining and thermal hot springs; however, be aware that travel to and from this area (and most areas) can be impacted by mudslides. It was very dry a few weeks ago and that may promote mudslides. I only mention that so that you can think of alternative routes and plans. In all of our travels there, I have only been slightly impacted by mudslides on one occasion.

Avoid Jaco. If you are wanting to do some fishing, there are other places to base out of.

Tamarindo can give you a lot of the same vibe as Jaco, without as much of the drugs and prostitution that is prevalent in Jaco.

Always use common sense with valuables and you should have no issues with theft.

Enjoy your trip and Pura Vida!!

Thank you for the informative post. Good to know about the possibility of mudslides. You are the second poster to mention Playa Conchal and after looking at it, I definitely think we'll try to stay here. I'm now thinking four days in La Fortuna, and four days at Playa Conchal. I don't know if that might be too much beach time though. We do hope to Fish so that would eat up some of the beach time.

Never planned on Jaco because of the reason you mentioned.

Reading Reddit does give me some concern about theft. Guess we will just have to be vigilant.

Costa Rica is not really more dangerous than here if you use common sense. Don't leave your items visible and unprotected and you will be fine. Ticos are very nice people, especially if you respect them. Just stay observant. Redditt seems to bring out a lot of unwarranted negative comments.

Four days at Playa Conchal might be too much unless you are using that for a jumping off point for other things. You mentioned fishing, so I would expect that would be at least a good portion of a day. I have never been, so cannot tell you the length of trip, but Rio Celeste might fill up a good part of a day as well.

If you are planning on surfing, I think the Conchal surf guides actually take you to Playa Grande - which is basically Tamarindo just across an estuary inlet. Conchal is more quiet and has non-surfable beaches. Tamarindo is more touristy, has many great restaurants, and the surf beach is basically part of the town.

We have been to Tamarindo many times and wil be going back in July-August. Never had problems with theft, but don't just leave things of value laying around.
Rico's are probably the most friendly people we have encountered in our many travels. Have a great trip. Pura Vida!

bam02 said:

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Bert would you mind if I contacted you with a question?

You could email me at reedc2002 at gmail or text me at 2one0-eight31-twotwo6seven

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Happy to help. I'll try to give you a text tomorrow.

Thanks!

Fly in and out of Liberia, we were warned to stay away from San Jose if possible.

We spent a week at Dreams Las Moreas up close to the Nicaragua border and had a fantastic time. Then we went to the Arenal/La Fortuna area for a few days. We stayed at Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge & Wildlife Refuge which is kind of out in the boonies but very nice and relaxing. We went to one of the hot spring spas that had pools ranging in temperature from cold to lobster boil. We also did a zip line tour that had something like 11 zip lines and was almost 2 miles long. I can't imagine a better one. We also did a whitewater rafting tour that was very enjoyable. Rafting in your bathing suit is much more enjoyable than having to wear a wetsuit like we've done multiple times in Montana.

We leave for Liberia on Wednesday. I have a cool looking Airbnb booked in La Fortuna for the first 5 nights.

After that I don't have anything booked. Had a big hotel resort booked in tamarindo but got cold feet and I think we are just going to wing it for the second half of our trip. Plan is to check out the pacific beach towns relatively close to Liberia and decide where we want to stay when we get there.

Bump for more opinions, specifically for my situation. Family of 3 (11 yr old), in February, 6 nights. Where would you stay if you're a first timer? Is that too short of a trip to stay in 2 areas? Wouldn't mind being on the water at least one day.

I think 2 different places would be fine and allow you to see a little more. We did monteverde and Samara with kids this summer. For first timers, would suggest La fortuna and Samara. But that's if you are flying out of Liberia.

Headed to Costa Rica tomorrow. We're staying two places: La Fortuna & Manuel Antonio. I'll update upon my return.

Quick Question for the group. We booked flights to Liberia for seven nights in June. We'll have a 5 and 3 year old with us and extended family. Interested in the beach, monkeys, rainforest, and whatever else you think they might like. Where would you stay as a "home base" with those goals? What activities am I not thinking of?

OP here. I never really followed up but we had a fantastic time. I think we did four or five days in La Fortuna and then three or four days in Playa flamingo. It was absolutely fantastic.

I would say you definitely should do La Fortuna as your homebase. There is a ton to do there. It will be rainy, but you just have to embrace it.

We really like player flamingo, but there are not a whole lot of activities there. Tamarindo might be better for activities on the coast, but we did not ever go there.

Did you stay in hotels/resort or vrbo?