Costa Rica family adventure: Arenal, Monteverde and the Pacific

1. Day 1: Arrive in San José

   Juan Santamaría International Airport to your hotel in San José

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in San José
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), about 20 km west of San José in Alajuela, at any time of day. A driver meets your family in the arrivals hall for the drive to the hotel, 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. San José sits at about 1,150 m in the Central Valley, so evenings are mild rather than tropical, and after a long flight the hotel pool or a nap is usually the right plan. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the hotel: a short briefing for parents on how the days run and what to pack for the cloud forest, and a first look at the animals the children might spot, with a checklist to tick off through the week. Then we walk to a nearby restaurant for an early welcome dinner of Costa Rican dishes such as casado, gallo pinto, fried plantain and fresh fruit drinks, and everyone is back in bed in good time. Tomorrow starts after breakfast, at about 8 am.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Early welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   Activity: Land by about 4 pm to join the briefing; later arrivals are met and briefed the next morning.

2. Day 2: Over the mountains to Arenal and the hot springs

   San José to Zarcero, then La Fortuna

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in La Fortuna
   Day 2 details

   We leave San José at about 8 am, after breakfast, and climb northwest through coffee country into the Central Volcanic range. After about an hour and a half we stop in Zarcero, a hill town at about 1,700 m, where the cypress hedges in the park in front of the church are clipped into arches and animal shapes: a good stretch for legs and a hunt for the elephant. From there the road drops through dairy pasture into the northern lowlands, and the cone of Arenal Volcano appears ahead if the clouds allow. We reach La Fortuna, our base for three nights, in time for a sit-down lunch together, then the afternoon is free at the hotel pool. As the light goes, we drive a few minutes to one of the hot spring parks around La Fortuna, where water heated by the volcano runs through warm pools and gentle slides set in gardens. Soak as long as you like; dinner is included at the springs.

   Included

   • Drive from San José to La Fortuna with your guide
   • Stop at the topiary park in Zarcero
   • Sit-down lunch in La Fortuna
   • Evening entry to a hot spring park near La Fortuna, with dinner

   Free time: Afternoon free at the hotel pool

   Activity: About 3 hours of driving with a stop. Bring swimwear and a change of clothes for the hot springs.

   

3. Day 3: Hanging bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall

   La Fortuna to a hanging-bridges park near the Arenal dam, then La Fortuna Waterfall

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in La Fortuna
   Day 3 details

   Rainforest animals are most active early, so we are at a hanging-bridges park near the Arenal dam when it opens, about half an hour from town. With a local naturalist and a telescope we walk a loop of about 3 km through forest and over suspension bridges, some at treetop height, looking for toucans, howler monkeys, coatis and the small bright frogs the children will want to find. The bridges are fenced and wide enough to stop in, and there are views of the volcano between the trees on a clear morning. We are back in La Fortuna for lunch, which is your choice. In the middle of the afternoon we drive about ten minutes to La Fortuna Waterfall, roughly 70 m high, dropping into a forest pool. A viewpoint sits at the top; the pool is about 500 steps down, and older children usually want to go and swim. Then it is back to the pool, and the evening is free in town.

   Included

   • Hanging-bridges park near the Arenal dam from opening, with a local naturalist
   • La Fortuna Waterfall entry

   Optional experiences

   • Canyoning, horse riding or a gentle family rafting trip around La Fortuna, booked at the operator's own price

   Easier option: Stay at the waterfall viewpoint at the top instead of walking down to the pool, or spend the afternoon at the hotel pool.

   More active option: Walk down the roughly 500 steps to swim in the pool below the waterfall, then climb back up.

   Free time: Lunch and the evening free in La Fortuna

   Activity: About 3 km on paved and gravel paths with bridges in the morning; the waterfall steps are optional and steep.

   

4. Day 4: A river float and a chocolate farm

   La Fortuna to a lowland river for a safari float, then a cacao farm, then La Fortuna

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in La Fortuna
   Day 4 details

   After breakfast at about 8 am we drive half an hour into the lowlands north of La Fortuna for a safari float: a slow trip of about two hours down a calm river in inflatable rafts, with a guide rowing and pointing out what lives on the banks. There are no rapids, so it suits six-year-olds; look for sloths high in the trees, iguanas sunning on branches, herons, kingfishers and, often, caimans. Lunch is included at a local restaurant near the river. In the early afternoon we visit a small cacao farm, where the family that runs it shows how the pods grow, how the beans are fermented and dried, and lets the children grind roasted cacao by hand and taste it as chocolate, with and without sugar. We are back at the hotel by the middle of the afternoon for a long pool session, and the evening is free in town.

   Included

   • Safari float on a lowland river near La Fortuna, with a guide rowing
   • Lunch near the river
   • Cacao farm tour with chocolate tasting

   Easier option: Skip the farm and go back to the hotel pool after lunch.

   More active option: Ask your guide about a short walk in the afternoon to look for frogs and birds in the gardens around La Fortuna.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 2 hours sitting in a raft on calm water; life jackets are provided in children's sizes. Wear clothes that can get splashed.

   

5. Day 5: Across Lake Arenal to Monteverde

   La Fortuna by road to Lake Arenal, by boat across the lake, then by road up to Monteverde

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Monteverde
   Day 5 details

   The only road from La Fortuna to Monteverde runs the long way round Lake Arenal, about four hours, so we cross the lake instead, which children tend to like better anyway. After breakfast a short drive takes us to a dock near the Arenal dam, where a covered boat carries the group and our bags across the water, with the volcano behind us when the sky is clear. Lake Arenal is a reservoir, the largest lake in Costa Rica, formed when the dam was finished in 1979. On the far shore our van meets us for the climb into the Tilarán hills, the last stretch on a winding, partly unpaved road, to Santa Elena, the village beside the Monteverde reserves at about 1,400 m. We arrive around midday; lunch and the afternoon are yours. At dusk we go out with a naturalist on a guided night walk of about an hour and a half, torch in hand, looking for sleeping birds, tarantulas, stick insects, tree frogs and, with luck, a sloth.

   Included

   • Van and boat crossing of Lake Arenal, with road transfers either side
   • Guided night walk with a naturalist in a private reserve near Santa Elena

   Optional experiences

   • A butterfly garden or a frog and insect exhibit in Santa Elena, booked at the operator's own price

   Free time: Lunch and the afternoon free in Santa Elena

   Activity: The night walk is about 1.5 hours on forest paths; bring a warm layer and a torch for each child, as Monteverde evenings are cool.

6. Day 6: Zipline over the cloud forest, then a coffee farm

   Santa Elena to a canopy park, then a coffee farm, then Santa Elena

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Monteverde
   Day 6 details

   We take the first zipline slot of the morning at a canopy park near Santa Elena, about 8:30 am, before any afternoon cloud. After a safety talk, children 8 and up and adults clip in for a series of cables over and through the cloud forest canopy, with a park guide at each platform. Children under 8, and anyone who would rather stay on the ground, walk the park's forest trails with your See Sight Tours guide and meet the zipliners at the end. Lunch back in Santa Elena is your choice. In the afternoon we visit a family coffee farm on the slopes below the village: the children pick coffee cherries in season, see how beans are pulped, dried and roasted, and finish with a tasting, with hot chocolate or juice for those too young for coffee. We are back by the middle of the afternoon. The evening is free; the village has pizza and casado places within a short walk.

   Included

   • Zipline at a canopy park near Santa Elena (children 8 and up and adults), with a guided ground walk for everyone else
   • Coffee farm tour with a tasting

   Optional experiences

   • The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve or the Santa Elena reserve with a naturalist, booked at the operator's own price

   Easier option: Walk the canopy park's ground trails instead of ziplining, or skip the coffee farm and rest at the hotel.

   More active option: Add the canopy park's longer cable or swing if it has one and your children meet its rules, paid locally.

   Free time: Lunch and the evening free

   Activity: Zipline minimum age, height and weight rules are set by the park and checked on the day; the ground walk is about 2 km on forest paths.

   

7. Day 7: Down to the Pacific, by way of the crocodiles

   Monteverde to the Tárcoles River bridge, then Manuel Antonio

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Manuel Antonio
   Day 7 details

   Today is the longest drive, about four hours and 190 km of driving, or about five and a half hours with the stops, so we break it into short pieces. We leave Monteverde at about 8:30 am and wind down out of the hills to the Pan-American Highway, then south towards the Pacific coast road. Our first stop, after about two hours, is the bridge over the Tárcoles River, where large American crocodiles usually lie on the sandbanks below, in plain view from the fenced walkway. A little further down the coast we stop for a sit-down lunch together, then follow the coast road past Jacó and through oil palm plantations to Quepos, and up the hill to Manuel Antonio, our base for two nights. We arrive in the middle of the afternoon, in time for the pool, or for a first walk on Playa Espadilla, the long public beach just outside the national park, and a Pacific sunset.

   Included

   • Drive from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio with your guide
   • Crocodile stop at the Tárcoles River bridge
   • Sit-down lunch on the coast road

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Manuel Antonio

   Activity: About 4 hours of driving, split by the Tárcoles stop and lunch.

8. Day 8: Sloths in Manuel Antonio, then a beach day

   A morning in Manuel Antonio National Park, then the beach

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Manuel Antonio
   Day 8 details

   Manuel Antonio National Park is small and popular, with a daily cap on visitors, so we buy tickets ahead and go in at 7 am, when it opens, the air is cooler and the animals are most active. Your naturalist sets the telescope on whatever the forest gives us, and children get the first look: two- and three-toed sloths, white-faced capuchins, Central American squirrel monkeys, iguanas, crabs and agoutis. The main trails are flat and wide; we walk for about two hours and end at Playa Manuel Antonio, a curve of pale sand between forested headlands, with calm water on most days for a swim. Raccoons and monkeys raid open beach bags, so keep yours zipped. Stay on the beach until the park's afternoon closing time, which we confirm with your tickets, or come back to the hotel for lunch and the pool. The park is closed on Tuesdays, and we set our dates around it. In the evening the group sits down together for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Manuel Antonio National Park entry from opening, with a local naturalist
   • Beach time at Playa Manuel Antonio inside the park
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Mangrove kayaking near Quepos or a catamaran cruise, booked at the operator's own price

   Easier option: Walk only the flat main trail to the beach and rest in the shade there.

   More active option: Add the Punta Catedral loop, a short steep trail round the headland with views along the coast.

   Free time: Afternoon free on the beach or at the pool

   Activity: About 2 to 3 km on mostly flat trails. Bring water, swimwear and sun cream; the park does not allow some foods and plastic, so pack light.

   

9. Day 9: Back to San José and home

   Manuel Antonio to Juan Santamaría International Airport, near San José

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 9 details

   A slow last breakfast by the sea, then we leave Manuel Antonio at about 9 am and take Route 27, the faster road over the coastal hills, about three hours and 160 km to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), with a stop for an early lunch on the way. We aim to reach the airport at about 1 pm, which works for most afternoon and evening flights home. Families on a morning flight, or anyone who would rather not travel on the same day, can add a night in San José or near the airport; ask us when you book and we will quote it with the transfer. Your guide checks everyone's flight times the night before and says goodbye at the terminal. For international flights, plan to be at the airport about three hours before departure, so book a flight leaving after about 4 pm. If you would like to stay on by the beach, we can quote extra nights in Manuel Antonio.

   Included

   • Drive from Manuel Antonio to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) with your guide
   • Lunch on the way

   Optional experiences

   • An extra night in San José or near the airport, quoted on request

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm, or add a night in San José for a morning flight.

Wildlife and weather: December to April is the drier season on the Pacific side and the busiest; July and August fall in the green season, with sunny mornings and afternoon showers, which suits a pool afternoon. Monteverde is cool and misty in any month, and Arenal's summit is often in cloud. Wildlife is wild: sloths, monkeys and toucans are seen on most trips, but we cannot promise any one animal.

• San José1 night
• La Fortuna3 nights
• Monteverde2 nights
• Manuel Antonio2 nights