This itinerary is for anyone and everyone! However, we will have a family focus as obviously we are a family :).
When we visited Costa Rica we went for 6.5 weeks. Understandably, not everyone has 6 weeks so we will provide you with a doable itinerary which can be extended like we did. That way, everyone can enjoy the beauty of Costa Rica with the time that they have.
This itinerary includes it all: adventure and relaxation.
This itinerary is family friendly because it’s easy to move from point A to point B with no super lengthy travel times in between. It can also be reduced or extended and parts can be eliminated to make it more suitable for you.
Itinerary Overview (Quick Snapshot)
- San Jose
- La Fortuna Volcano
- Monteverde Cloud Forest
- Jaco Beach
- Manuel Antonio
- Dominical
- Uvita
- Sierpe
- Drake Bay
- Play Herradura
- San Jose
As I mentioned, we spent 6.5 weeks in Costa Rica so we ticked off a lot of areas but we will show you how to condense it down to make it work to your time frame. The condensed itinerary based on our recommendations will be at the end.
San Jose
When we arrived at San Jose we were shattered unsurprisingly. Fortunately we were booked into a hotel not too far away – just a short taxi ride. The hotel was the Costa Verde Inn (read here about an affiliate membership which can get you reduced rate hotels) and honestly, when we opened the door to the bedroom we were so grateful to see amazingly huge beds.
We stayed here a couple of nights whilst we recovered but if you are short on time just one night would suffice before you make your way to your next stop. For us, it was a chill couple of days using the pool, taking short strolls and settling into the Pura Vida life. That reminds me, you can grab our free Costa Rican lingo guide here.
La Fortuna
We stayed here for a few nights in Confort Arenal. This hotel was such an amazing stay for us mostly due to the people. We went into a lot of detail on another post about this hotel which you can read here: Worldschooling: How Travel Becomes the Ultimate Classroom for Your Kids You can also read in this piece about how we were supposed to make our way here by bus but one of our children threw a spanner in the works lol. But on that note, it is super easy and cheap to get the bus here from San Jose but we did end up in a taxi with Pablo!
This hotel was perfect for exploring Parque Nacional Volcan Arenal and the hotel were great at booking excursions for us.
As you can imagine, these excursions are fairly touristy but definitely well worth the visit. The hikes were small and manageable for little legs. The hikes here were our first real introduction to the wildlife of Costa Rica. We saw sloths, toucans and monkeys. Such an amazing experience and worth the time spent here.
We also did a chocolate and coffee tour whilst staying at Confort Arenal. This was a fantastic experience, not only was the chocolate and coffee tasting immense but we were learned so much about how both products are created. The boys also got a chance to make their own sugar cane juice! This tour was organised for us by the staff at Confort Arenal so you can book in there and be sure to have a tasty experience organised.
Monteverde Cloud Forest
Whilst I am glad we included this in our trip as it was very educational and a cool experience, the area itself wasn’t one of our favourites.
The hike here was a little longer to reach the top where your heads are practically in the clouds but still doable for younger ones. It is clear pathways throughout. Be sure to pack warmer clothes for your stay in this region as the temperature is a lot cooler.
We stayed in Hotel Cipreses whilst here and personally I wouldn’t recommend. The room itself was large enough with decent sized beds but the place was so noisy. We could hear everything in the room next door as well as people constantly walking past your room.
The area as a whole to us felt a lot more touristic than Arenal as the village with all the restaurants etc is so small it makes everything feel overcrowded. We also felt like one of the only families. Whilst that’s not a problem for us and we don’t mind the area felt more geared up for the younger, solo backpacker type vibe.
That being said I would recommend staying here for a night as you can’t really visit Costa Rica for a night without hiking through a Cloud Forest. We intended on staying here for 3 nights but actually only stayed the one and to be honest, that was more than enough. At least we can now say a Cloud Forest is ticked off our bucket list.
A detour from the itinerary
I’ll mention we did actually go somewhere else first before Jaco. Puntarenas. We were in and out in one night. The accommodation was awful we left in the night for an emergency hotel – also not great but marginally better. But we decided to not even stay here as the beach wasn’t very nice and the area itself felt very much like an English seaside resort. (Not that I have a problem with that, but it’s not what I travelled halfway across the world for.)
Jaco Beach
On your way into Jaco be sure to take a stop on the Tarcoles Bridge over the Tarcoles River. Crocodiles congregate here and has become a popular tourist stop off to see them. Personally for me, gave me the fear ha. I just couldn’t stop imagining falling over the bridge into a crocs mouth! Still, it was pretty cool to see.
If you have already researched Costa Rica you have probably read some mixed reviews about Jaco. When we arrived at our accommodation it was a gated community which did have me thinking – why? It turns out it’s pretty common in Costa Rica in general – pretty Americanised in that sense. We didn’t have any problems at all in Jaco.
We stayed here for 5 days and just enjoyed spending time on the beach which had us feeling like we were in the middle of Jurassic Park! It’s a truly unique experience where beach meets jungle. We also witnessed huge pelicans diving into the sea which just added to the experience.
Jaco is a really easy place to walk around and just spend your days eating and drinking. This for us was a bit of a wind down time as we had plenty of time to spend in Costa Rica. If you’re on a shorter schedule I would advise stopping here a day or two to break up the journey further south.
As a side note, my husband did take a few evening walks and said it definitely wasn’t as family friendly then. Offers of illegal substances etc. We also saw a fair bit of homelessness.
Manuel Antonio
We took a bus from Jaco to Manuel Antonio. There is a bus going in that direction three times a day and it takes around 1h30 to 2h – just remember that Tico Time!
We arrived at our airbnb in Manuel Antonio after some difficulty finding it and instantly didn’t like it. This is the only area we didn’t particularly like. We stayed for one night just to tick off the National Park as it’s something we found everyone recommending online.
This was a very strategically taken photo. Manuel Antonio was very touristy. The “tour” is the same for everyone. It is a very simple walk round on a track and is not an adventurous hike. We did see wildlife here but not any that we didn’t see elsewhere on our trip. As you approach the National Park there is a big market place area where all the tour buses park up which you’ll more than likely have time to wander around.
Beware of the monkeys too. The monkeys are hanging around outside the park and have clearly been fed by tourists/people as they were trying to steal food.
Dominical
Once again we travelled by bus, by this point we’d got used to travelling like Ticos. Dominical is perfect for the active amongst you. It is busy with lots of surfers but it didn’t feel crazy busy or too touristy as everyone was just doing their own thing!
There isn’t tonnes to do within the area by walking but we did enjoy it here. We stayed at the Hotel Villas Rio Mar which was an exceptional hotel. The breakfast was good, the kids enjoyed the on site mini golf and there was 2 pools. One pool was excellent for an early morning swim as a lengths pool and the other was a great family pool.
This hotel was so immaculate my son managed to walk into the glass doors – TWICE! One of my greatest regrets is not having this on camera lol.
We stayed here a week and honestly didn’t do much. It was our little revival period. I did plan to go surfing here but everyone just looked like such pros I bottled it haha. I have since surfed since moving to the Scottish Highlands and when we return I’ll definitely be surfing the warmer waters!
Uvita
Famously known for it’s whales tail. We again bussed it to Uvita and I remember hopping off of the bus to a little strip of stalls and wondering if it was going to be over priced and overly touristic. Luckily it was not.
Our accommodation here was basic but was within walking distance to the bus stop, strip of restaurants and the National Park. We stayed at “Cabinas Bahia Uvita.” We stayed just the one night as we knew we only wanted to visit the Marino Ballena National Park.
A little spanish lesson: Ballena = Whale.
The tickets into the national park are $6 each with under 11’s free and we just opted for this and didn’t do a paid tour/guide.
Before you visit make sure you check tide times so you are actually able to walk out onto the “tail.” Regardless of tide times, the beach is massive so you’ll have plenty of space to walk around, settle down for a chill etc without being swarmed by other people.
Sierpe
Sierpe is where everyone heads to do to do a day trip across to Drake Bay. We took a taxi to Sierpe from Uvita as we couldn’t find a bus time that married up with the time we wanted to set off. It takes approximately 50 mins, so not too long.
Sierpe for us is where it got real. We stayed here for a few days and the locals were amazed as they didn’t really get tourists stop. They get off their bus at the dock, board the boat and leave for Sierpe. We ate with the locals, the kids worked on their Spanish playing football with the local kids and my husband treated himself to a visit to the barbers here too lol.
We stayed in an airbnb no longer listed whilst in Sierpe and as you can imagine there is few places to stay. No big hotels etc as it’s just used to people passing through. We did do a days fishing trip from here which was certainly a highlight of our trip. George caught a puffer fish which was an unforgettable experience!
The guy who took us out for the day was called Randy. If you are in this region and are looking to go fishing then drop us a message on Instagram or via email as we’re still in contact with Randy and we can hook you up! Whilst we were out we also saw giant sea turtles which of course was indescribable. To see creatures as amazing as these is something phenomenal anyway but to seem them in the wild, it just levels up that experience!
Drake Bay
It takes 1.5 hours to get across to Drake Bay from Sierpe and is $20 per person when booking just the boat from the docks. (Tickets are purchased in the restaurant right by the dock.) However, if you’re not staying in Sierpe and are just venturing over for a day or two then your excursion will likely factor in this cost.
(As a reminder if you didn’t before bookmark Save And Earn On Your Travel! to read later then do so now as not only can you receive reduced rate hotels but also excursions!)
We loved Drake Bay and would happily reside here for a month or more! As we got off the boat we were greeted by a smiling man called Jimmy – another person we have remained in contact with! We were taken off to our hotel – Hotel Margarita and once again we’d struck gold as it was immaculate. Our room was huge with a balcony and an exceptional breakfast.
Whilst staying here we did some day hiking trips organised by the hotel but our ultimate favourite was the night tour we did.
The red eyed tree frog was an incredible spot on that night tour as well as bull and gladiator frogs! This is a must do as a nature lover.
Aside from nature spotting we spent our time on Drake bay fishing with Jimmy – he was fantastic with the kids teaching them so much about their way of life and also barbecuing on the beach with the locals. If we had to pick one spot in Costa Rica to stay for a long time it would be here.
Playa Herradura
We didn’t travel here in one day we took the boat back from Drake bay to Sierpe, stayed a night in Sierpe before heading back up. It was 3h by bus from Sierpe to Playa Herradura.
Playa Herradura is just on the outskirts of Jaco, so you have the luxury of the beach but not as much of the bustle. We stayed in the most amazing place called Los Suenos. It was unlike anywhere I have ever stayed before. I have only been to New York in America so I don’t much of their complexes but it was certainly a very Americanised stay.
Regardless, it was pure luxury. It was nice to have an apartment after having been travelling for over a month and having a limited kitchen area. This was somewhere you could live and feel like you had enough space for every day life. For each handful of apartments there was a mini pool and hot tub as well as the larger pool for everyone. I don’t believe we saw anyone else staying in any of the other rooms on in our “section” so we had a pool to ourselves the entire time.
I had the most amazing chocolate body wrap and massage whilst staying here too and I could certainly do with one of them right now! This stop for us was a wind down before we went home so we didn’t leave that complex for FIVE days. We have never done anything like that before. It was so easy to keep busy though, with its own beach, mini shopping complex, the larger pool and crazy golf plus your own smaller pool and hot tub it was just so convenient after a busy 5.5 weeks.
Back to San Jose
After those 5 luxurious days we headed back towards San Jose via taxi – remember Pablo from the beginning? That reminds me, we can hook you up with him too! I absolutely loved our final stay – Altura Hotel
We stayed in their superior dome. It had stairs inside up to a mini bedroom as well as a huge amount of living space downstairs.
I booked this place as I loved the open bath aspect, it looked super cool to me online and it didn’t disappoint! It was also only 7 mins away from the Poas Volcano which we added in to end our trip.
Recommended Itinerary For Less Time
- San Jose (1 night recuperation)
- La Fortuna 2-3 nights
- Monteverde 1 night
- Pick a beach between Jaco-Uvita or 2 if you have longer
- Back to San Jose for a night before
If you have somewhere in between those time frames I’d recommend the above and then down to Drake Bay to not miss out on the exceptional wildlife and the Corcovado National Park.
You can also find a few more Costa Rica information on this blog piece: Costa Rica with Kids: The Ideal First International Family Adventure
We hope you have taken some inspiration from our trip and as always any questions, please reach out to us on Instagram! Also if you are in the planning stages still here is our free budget planner which includes a bonus planner for kids too.
Happy travel planning!
Francesca xoxo