Costa Rica Family Travel

Costa Rica is a great choice for long term family travel. The scenery is beautiful, there is amazing wildlife, it’s budget friendly, the culture is unique and most importantly the people are helpful and friendly. Costa Rica is an easy flight from the states and is used to having Americans visit. Getting lodging and transportation is generally a smooth experience. Many places offer guides for very reasonable amounts to help smooth any bumps from your travels.

Where to Go?

We choose to spend 1 week in La Fortuna (Arenal Volcano Area), 5 days in Tortuguero, then 4 weeks in a house in the mountains in Puriscal. From Puriscal we took day trips to Jaco Beach and San Jose as well as nearby towns. The kids learned to surf at Jaco Beach, we watched the The Festival de la Mascarada at Escazu, we enjoyed local pools, we met neighbors who ran a coffee plantation and we found a special way to celebrate Halloween. I recommend spending most of your time in the interior around Arenal area and the Pacific Coast. Tortuguero makes a great short stop and the interior mountains are beautiful but can be more difficult to meet people.

When to Go?

Mid-December to April is the dry season and the most popular time to visit. We went in October. It could definitely be wet at times and landslides happened but it was not as crowded and we got more attention from the locals.

How to get there?

We took a plane to and from San Jose but you can also fly in to Liberia if your visiting the Pacific Coast.

How to get Around

We hired guides for longer trips, took a boat when needed, and rented a car for the end of our trip. I do advice the guided diver route until you get use to your surroundings. Taxis were also good in town.

What to bring?

We always change some money out at the airport and besides that all you generally need are clothes (thin layers to protect from insects), a camera, poncho (if rainy season), good hiking shoes and close toed water shoes. Bug spray and sun screen is also needed. We always pack a small first aid kit. We found that internet at our locations was adequate, if you’re working like we were then bring a small durable computer and school supplies for home school. We kept enough cash on us for several weeks. We did have some difficulty getting more cash in Jaco Beach so next time we will keep more of a buffer. Most places we have been able to use our credit cards pretty easily but in Jaco it did not work.

Where to Stay

Costa Rica offers a wide arrange of lodging from lower end hostels to the super luxurious. We stayed on the budget side and still had wonderful places to stay. By traveling off season we saved money and we also saved money by staying in a house for a month in the mountains. I like to combine nicer short stays with longer ones to keep the budget controlled while still having great experiences.