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Trip Recap - Costa Rica (La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio) (9 Nights) (Pictures)
Posted on 3/17/26 at 10:38 am
Posted on 3/17/26 at 10:38 am
I wanted to share a recap of our recent 10-night trip to Costa Rica. I’ve always appreciated the advice I’ve gotten from this board and I’m hoping to pay it forward.
We loved our time in Costa Rica – it felt very safe and it’s a perfect mix of adventure (hiking/wildlife) and relaxation (beaches).
Our Family:
• 2 adults + 2 kids (ages 6 and 2)
• Brought:
o Umbrella stroller – used in the airport and in towns. Manageable, but not very ADA-friendly.
o Backpack carrier – it was essential for the hikes with our 2 year old. We would also bring it with us in town and let her ride in the backpack and let our oldest take the stroller.
• Our 6-year-old handled most of the hikes, but I did have to carry both kids at points.
Timing:
• Early to mid March (dry season)
Itinerary:
• 4 nights in La Fortuna
• 2 nights in Monterde
• 3 nights in Manuel Antonio
Lodging:
• Baldi Hot Springs & Resort (La Fortuna)
o Highlight for our kids (and honestly us too)
o We really enjoyed having an on-site hot spring pools instead of doing a day pass
o Breakfast included (my favorite)
• Dreams Lodge (Monteverde)
o Budget-friendly, clean, great hosts
o Breakfast included – very good
• Shana by the Beach (Manuel Antonio)
o Easy access to Playa Biesanz
o Lots of wildlife around the resort, we had multiple monkey’s join us every morning for breakfast
o Breakfast included (wife’s favorite)
Taken From Our Table - Monkey Eating Fruit Stolen From Guest
Transportation:
• Flight: Liberia (LIR)
o Worked out the best for us because of price, but made for longer drives (especially from Manuel Antonio). Would have preferred flying out of SJO.
• Car Rental: Adobe Car Rental (Mid-sized crossover, 2WD)
o Great experience with Adobe – no issues.
o 2WD vs. 4WD – went back and forth on this before our trip – glad we saved here and went with the 2WD. Had zero issues (but we also didn’t venture too far off the beaten path)
o Higher clearance is more of a priority, in my opinion. I’m glad we had something with a little higher clearance vs. a car.
Road Notes:
•La Fortuna/Manuel Antonio and the main highways were mostly fine
• Monteverde – a lot more potholes in the asphalt, our hotel plus a few of the activities were located on gravel (jagged and potholed) roads
• Mountain roads
o Two lane, curvy roads.
o Getting stuck behind slow vehicles was very common and was hard to pass.
o Expect the trip to take longer than expected
• Waze vs. Google Maps
o We used Waze exclusively to drive between towns (and in Monteverde). Very helpful calling out potholes, speed bumps.
Day 1 (Drive From Airport to La Fortuna)
• We didn’t arrive until 4:30 PM – checked into our hotel and went into town for supper. Afterwards, we relaxed in the hotel pools.
Supper
• Italianissimo La Fortuna – solid Italian food
Day 2 (La Fortuna)
Activities
• La Fortuna Waterfall
o ~500 steps down. Sounds worse than it was – the trail was very well maintained, plenty of places to rest coming up.
o Rocky outcropping near the waterfall with a swimming area. Also a calmer river section around the bend – we all had a blast.
o Tip: Go early (opens at 7:00) – gets crowded fast.
• El Salto Rope Swing
o Fun, local vibe.
o Paid 2,000 colones for “car watching”
o Spent 2-3 hours here
• North Fields Coffee and Chocolate Tour
o 2-2.5 hours
o Excellent guide
o Multiple coffee and chocolate tastings (they included our kids as well)
o Worth it even if you’re not a big coffee drinker (I’m not, so my wife got double on the coffee tastings..)
• Downtown Exploring
o Not sure what the locals call it (this Oxford guy called it the Square though) but La Fortuna has a downtown/square area anchored by a church and open green space with a large fountain, seating. We’d typically park along the outside of the green space and walk around and shop and hangout. Neat area, felt very safe.
Food:
• Restaurante Fortuneno
o Wife and I both really enjoyed the food. We originally went to the one closest to the square, when we walked up there was a 30–45-minute wait time, but they recommended that we go to their second location 5 or so minutes (walking) away - no wait time + they had a kid’s playroom. I had never seen this before in a restaurant - a full playroom, with tables nearby. It was awesome with young kids and would highly recommend for that reason alone...
? Our daughter met a girl from Austria – neither could speak the other’s language but they had such a blast interacting and played the entire time we ate.
• Chocolate Fusion
o Decent ice cream, we got a few of there chocolates that were really good.
Day 3 (La Fortuna)
Activities:
• El Choyin
o Paid 5,000 colones for “car watching”
o More relaxed than El Salto – we thought we’d prefer El Choyin, but we had a better time at El Salto. Water was a lot calmer, so the kids explored more), but we couldn’t sit down and really enjoy it. I would still recommend, bring a cooler and drinks if available.
• Mirador El Silencio Hike
o Mix of forest + lava fields
o Great views of the volcano (also consider the 1968 trail and the Arenal Volcano National Park – couldn’t have gone wrong with any of them).
o We got lucky and had clear volcano views (it was the only time in our entire trip that we had full views, otherwise it was covered in clouds).
o Tip: Two parking lots – one lower and one upper. Park in the lower if you want Gto hike through the forest, park in the upper if you just want the best volcano views. We parked in the lower and enjoyed the hike through the forest, it was not hard. The lava fields hike (start at the upper parking lot) was a lot tougher.
Food
• Soda la Hormiga
o Good value, solid food
o Recommended by our photographer
• Red Frog Coffee Roasters
o Was recommended a lot, wife really enjoyed their coffee and went back the next day as well.
Day 4 (La Fortuna)
Activities:
• Morning at the hotel hot springs (kid’s choice).
• Proyecto Asis (Wildlife Tour + Volunteer)
o One of the trip highlights
o Very hands-on and we all learned a lot
o Paying extra to volunteer allowed us to make the supper for the monkeys and feed them – well worth it.
Food:
• Travesia
o Best meal of the trip for me
o Reservations are needed – we made ours before we left for Proyecto Asis – we saw people get turned away that night.
We loved our time in Costa Rica – it felt very safe and it’s a perfect mix of adventure (hiking/wildlife) and relaxation (beaches).
Our Family:
• 2 adults + 2 kids (ages 6 and 2)
• Brought:
o Umbrella stroller – used in the airport and in towns. Manageable, but not very ADA-friendly.
o Backpack carrier – it was essential for the hikes with our 2 year old. We would also bring it with us in town and let her ride in the backpack and let our oldest take the stroller.
• Our 6-year-old handled most of the hikes, but I did have to carry both kids at points.
Timing:
• Early to mid March (dry season)
Itinerary:
• 4 nights in La Fortuna
• 2 nights in Monterde
• 3 nights in Manuel Antonio
Lodging:
• Baldi Hot Springs & Resort (La Fortuna)
o Highlight for our kids (and honestly us too)
o We really enjoyed having an on-site hot spring pools instead of doing a day pass
o Breakfast included (my favorite)
• Dreams Lodge (Monteverde)
o Budget-friendly, clean, great hosts
o Breakfast included – very good
• Shana by the Beach (Manuel Antonio)
o Easy access to Playa Biesanz
o Lots of wildlife around the resort, we had multiple monkey’s join us every morning for breakfast
o Breakfast included (wife’s favorite)
Taken From Our Table - Monkey Eating Fruit Stolen From Guest
Transportation:
• Flight: Liberia (LIR)
o Worked out the best for us because of price, but made for longer drives (especially from Manuel Antonio). Would have preferred flying out of SJO.
• Car Rental: Adobe Car Rental (Mid-sized crossover, 2WD)
o Great experience with Adobe – no issues.
o 2WD vs. 4WD – went back and forth on this before our trip – glad we saved here and went with the 2WD. Had zero issues (but we also didn’t venture too far off the beaten path)
o Higher clearance is more of a priority, in my opinion. I’m glad we had something with a little higher clearance vs. a car.
Road Notes:
•La Fortuna/Manuel Antonio and the main highways were mostly fine
• Monteverde – a lot more potholes in the asphalt, our hotel plus a few of the activities were located on gravel (jagged and potholed) roads
• Mountain roads
o Two lane, curvy roads.
o Getting stuck behind slow vehicles was very common and was hard to pass.
o Expect the trip to take longer than expected
• Waze vs. Google Maps
o We used Waze exclusively to drive between towns (and in Monteverde). Very helpful calling out potholes, speed bumps.
Day 1 (Drive From Airport to La Fortuna)
• We didn’t arrive until 4:30 PM – checked into our hotel and went into town for supper. Afterwards, we relaxed in the hotel pools.
Supper
• Italianissimo La Fortuna – solid Italian food
Day 2 (La Fortuna)
Activities
• La Fortuna Waterfall
o ~500 steps down. Sounds worse than it was – the trail was very well maintained, plenty of places to rest coming up.
o Rocky outcropping near the waterfall with a swimming area. Also a calmer river section around the bend – we all had a blast.
o Tip: Go early (opens at 7:00) – gets crowded fast.
• El Salto Rope Swing
o Fun, local vibe.
o Paid 2,000 colones for “car watching”
o Spent 2-3 hours here
• North Fields Coffee and Chocolate Tour
o 2-2.5 hours
o Excellent guide
o Multiple coffee and chocolate tastings (they included our kids as well)
o Worth it even if you’re not a big coffee drinker (I’m not, so my wife got double on the coffee tastings..)
• Downtown Exploring
o Not sure what the locals call it (this Oxford guy called it the Square though) but La Fortuna has a downtown/square area anchored by a church and open green space with a large fountain, seating. We’d typically park along the outside of the green space and walk around and shop and hangout. Neat area, felt very safe.
Food:
• Restaurante Fortuneno
o Wife and I both really enjoyed the food. We originally went to the one closest to the square, when we walked up there was a 30–45-minute wait time, but they recommended that we go to their second location 5 or so minutes (walking) away - no wait time + they had a kid’s playroom. I had never seen this before in a restaurant - a full playroom, with tables nearby. It was awesome with young kids and would highly recommend for that reason alone...
? Our daughter met a girl from Austria – neither could speak the other’s language but they had such a blast interacting and played the entire time we ate.
• Chocolate Fusion
o Decent ice cream, we got a few of there chocolates that were really good.
Day 3 (La Fortuna)
Activities:
• El Choyin
o Paid 5,000 colones for “car watching”
o More relaxed than El Salto – we thought we’d prefer El Choyin, but we had a better time at El Salto. Water was a lot calmer, so the kids explored more), but we couldn’t sit down and really enjoy it. I would still recommend, bring a cooler and drinks if available.
• Mirador El Silencio Hike
o Mix of forest + lava fields
o Great views of the volcano (also consider the 1968 trail and the Arenal Volcano National Park – couldn’t have gone wrong with any of them).
o We got lucky and had clear volcano views (it was the only time in our entire trip that we had full views, otherwise it was covered in clouds).
o Tip: Two parking lots – one lower and one upper. Park in the lower if you want Gto hike through the forest, park in the upper if you just want the best volcano views. We parked in the lower and enjoyed the hike through the forest, it was not hard. The lava fields hike (start at the upper parking lot) was a lot tougher.
Food
• Soda la Hormiga
o Good value, solid food
o Recommended by our photographer
• Red Frog Coffee Roasters
o Was recommended a lot, wife really enjoyed their coffee and went back the next day as well.
Day 4 (La Fortuna)
Activities:
• Morning at the hotel hot springs (kid’s choice).
• Proyecto Asis (Wildlife Tour + Volunteer)
o One of the trip highlights
o Very hands-on and we all learned a lot
o Paying extra to volunteer allowed us to make the supper for the monkeys and feed them – well worth it.
Food:
• Travesia
o Best meal of the trip for me
o Reservations are needed – we made ours before we left for Proyecto Asis – we saw people get turned away that night.
This post was edited on 3/18/26 at 9:24 am
4
Posted on 3/17/26 at 10:38 am to TheJunction
Day 5 (La Fortuna to Monteverde)
Driving Notes:
• No issues going down the mountain from La Fortuna, but the roads got very potholed going back up to Monteverde. I had read that they were bad, but didn’t expect them to be as bad as they were...
• We drove straight to El Tigre and the final gravel stretch was particularly bad – had a moment just after getting off the highway where I wondered if we made the right choice – the “road” essentially turned into a path and I thought our GPS had made a mistake, but it opened up soon after. Extremely rough though. When we left El Tigre and went towards our hotel, it was still not an easy drive, but much more manageable – if you’re able, I’d recommend going to El Tigre from Monteverde (vs. from La Fortuna). The parking at El Tigre felt very safe (it’s a remote location, with no foot traffic) so I didn’t feel uneasy leaving our luggage in the car.
Activity:
• El Tigre Waterfall Hike
o Best hike that we did – a must-do in my opinion if you’re in the area.
o 5 km mostly downhill (four waterfalls + multiple hanging bridges)
o 3 km uphill (option to pay extra to ride a horse or jeep – we chose the horses and it was awesome) – I read that the uphill portion was very difficult.
o Along with the horse/jeep, you can also pay for a meal in their restaurant after the hike. We did this as well – my food was decent, but my wife loved hers. Very cool setting – when we were there a storm was passing through – so our meal started very cloudy and rainy and ended with sunshine – was really cool.
o Tips: Follow the rule of one person per bridge – my daughter is a small 6, so she and my wife went together on the first one and bridge started to sway quite a bit. I didn’t feel dangerous, but it was a little uncomfortable. We let her go by herself from thereon and it was much better.
• Food/Drinks:
o Monteverde Brewing Company
? We did drinks only, but the food looked good.
Day 6 (Monteverde)
Activities:
•Treetopia Ziplining
o Wife + 6-year-old had an awesome time
o Very safe, great staff
• Treetopia Hanging Bridges
o Skip it (my youngest and I did this to kill time while wife and oldest ziplined)
o Too “built up”, views through the forest and from the bridges not great, cost wasn’t worth it
• Selvatura Hanging Bridges
o Much better experience
o Better views + wildlife + trails
o Price was steep, but worth it in my opinion
• Santa Elena Cloud Forest
o Did the shorter trail (yellow I believe, 1.6 miles, secondary forest) because of time constraints. Wish we’d had the time to do a longer trail through a primary forest.
o Felt redundant after Selvatura.
Food:
•Bon Appetit
o Thought it was decent – we wanted to go to Tramonti but they were closed both notes that we were there
•Beer Garden Monteverde
o Really enjoyed the atmosphere, had indoor/outdoor seating, live band when we were there. Wasn’t a huge fan of there IPA selection though.
• Stella’s Bakery
o Really enjoyed there cheesecake – would have loved to go back and try something else.
• Heladeria Monteverde
o Wife and kids got their ice cream – was pretty good.
Day 7 (Monteverde to Manuel Antonio)
Driving Notes:
• Left at 4:00 AM to avoid traffic (had heard about construction along the way – this was correct, backed us up 45 minutes or so). Also allowed us to avoid the slower truck traffic – made the drive down much faster than it otherwise would have been. I had to be careful with the potholes in the dark, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be.
Activities:
Biesanz Beach
• It’s an easy 6.5-minute, downhill walk through the forest from our hotel. A little harder 8.5-minute walk uphill, though...
• It is a very cool setting (forest meets the ocean). Large rock formations along the outside that the kids enjoyed.
• Calm water, great for kids
• Chairs, umbrellas, food, and even massages were available at the beach. Didn’t feel pressure to buy anything, we rented two chairs and an umbrella for $20/day.
Espadilla Beach
• The “main” beach – went here for sunset. Worth stopping by, lots of shops nearby.
Food:
• Café Milagro
o Decent food, nice little back patio
• El Avion
o Great view, we both had a great meal as well
o Kid’s loved going inside the plane (they’ve turned it into a bar area) and sitting in the cockpit
o Saw multiple monkeys hanging out on the plane
• Gelateria Amorosi (Quepos Marina)
o Best ice cream we had on the trip, we went all three nights
o Marina is nice for walking
? A playground was located on the levee that you’ll pass going to the marina. We stopped one night and the kids had a blast.
Day 8 (Manuel Antonio)
Activities:
• We’d planned on driving to Uvita and Dominical, but we pivoted to a beach day.
• Playitas Beach
o You can drive onto the beach (did not expect this – was very neat)
o Very cool setting (forest meets the ocean)
o Located on the far west end of Espadilla Beach, 20 minute or so walk to the “main” section of Espadilla.
o Stronger waves than Biesanz – didn’t feel comfortable with the kids going to far into the water, but there was a large rock formation at the entrance that created small pools that they can play in.
o Notes:
? Drive down Calle Arenas Del Mar road to access (there is a cut through to Playitas Road at the bottom) – much easier driver down (partially paved) vs. Playitas Road which is very rough (gravel) going down.
? Parking is free, but you’ll see someone out trying to make you pay. I’d read about this previously and just waved and left my window up driving by. No arguments on both days. We did park so that we could have eyes on our car just in case..
Playitas Beach Looking Towards Espadilla Beach. Rocks Behind Me
Food:
• Papa’s Place
o Great view and food
Day 9 (Manuel Antonio)
• Had planned to do the Manuel Antonio National Park today, but the family was “forested out” by this point and wanted just to do the pool, beach (Playitas again) and shop.
Food:
• Emilio’s Café
o Great views and food. I had read the desert were good too, but we didn’t try.
Day 10 (Manuel Antonio to Airport)
Driving Notes:
•Left very early because we were worried about traffic delays and the car drop off and airport taking long. Had no traffic delays, the car drop off was a breeze and it took us about 20 minutes to go through the airport (flight left at 2:00 PM)…
.
Food:
• We left before breakfast at our hotel, so we stopped by Restaurante Caballo Blanco on the way. Solid food, right off the highway, was perfect for what we needed.
Driving Notes:
• No issues going down the mountain from La Fortuna, but the roads got very potholed going back up to Monteverde. I had read that they were bad, but didn’t expect them to be as bad as they were...
• We drove straight to El Tigre and the final gravel stretch was particularly bad – had a moment just after getting off the highway where I wondered if we made the right choice – the “road” essentially turned into a path and I thought our GPS had made a mistake, but it opened up soon after. Extremely rough though. When we left El Tigre and went towards our hotel, it was still not an easy drive, but much more manageable – if you’re able, I’d recommend going to El Tigre from Monteverde (vs. from La Fortuna). The parking at El Tigre felt very safe (it’s a remote location, with no foot traffic) so I didn’t feel uneasy leaving our luggage in the car.
Activity:
• El Tigre Waterfall Hike
o Best hike that we did – a must-do in my opinion if you’re in the area.
o 5 km mostly downhill (four waterfalls + multiple hanging bridges)
o 3 km uphill (option to pay extra to ride a horse or jeep – we chose the horses and it was awesome) – I read that the uphill portion was very difficult.
o Along with the horse/jeep, you can also pay for a meal in their restaurant after the hike. We did this as well – my food was decent, but my wife loved hers. Very cool setting – when we were there a storm was passing through – so our meal started very cloudy and rainy and ended with sunshine – was really cool.
o Tips: Follow the rule of one person per bridge – my daughter is a small 6, so she and my wife went together on the first one and bridge started to sway quite a bit. I didn’t feel dangerous, but it was a little uncomfortable. We let her go by herself from thereon and it was much better.
• Food/Drinks:
o Monteverde Brewing Company
? We did drinks only, but the food looked good.
Day 6 (Monteverde)
Activities:
•Treetopia Ziplining
o Wife + 6-year-old had an awesome time
o Very safe, great staff
• Treetopia Hanging Bridges
o Skip it (my youngest and I did this to kill time while wife and oldest ziplined)
o Too “built up”, views through the forest and from the bridges not great, cost wasn’t worth it
• Selvatura Hanging Bridges
o Much better experience
o Better views + wildlife + trails
o Price was steep, but worth it in my opinion
• Santa Elena Cloud Forest
o Did the shorter trail (yellow I believe, 1.6 miles, secondary forest) because of time constraints. Wish we’d had the time to do a longer trail through a primary forest.
o Felt redundant after Selvatura.
Food:
•Bon Appetit
o Thought it was decent – we wanted to go to Tramonti but they were closed both notes that we were there
•Beer Garden Monteverde
o Really enjoyed the atmosphere, had indoor/outdoor seating, live band when we were there. Wasn’t a huge fan of there IPA selection though.
• Stella’s Bakery
o Really enjoyed there cheesecake – would have loved to go back and try something else.
• Heladeria Monteverde
o Wife and kids got their ice cream – was pretty good.
Day 7 (Monteverde to Manuel Antonio)
Driving Notes:
• Left at 4:00 AM to avoid traffic (had heard about construction along the way – this was correct, backed us up 45 minutes or so). Also allowed us to avoid the slower truck traffic – made the drive down much faster than it otherwise would have been. I had to be careful with the potholes in the dark, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be.
Activities:
Biesanz Beach
• It’s an easy 6.5-minute, downhill walk through the forest from our hotel. A little harder 8.5-minute walk uphill, though...
• It is a very cool setting (forest meets the ocean). Large rock formations along the outside that the kids enjoyed.
• Calm water, great for kids
• Chairs, umbrellas, food, and even massages were available at the beach. Didn’t feel pressure to buy anything, we rented two chairs and an umbrella for $20/day.
Espadilla Beach
• The “main” beach – went here for sunset. Worth stopping by, lots of shops nearby.
Food:
• Café Milagro
o Decent food, nice little back patio
• El Avion
o Great view, we both had a great meal as well
o Kid’s loved going inside the plane (they’ve turned it into a bar area) and sitting in the cockpit
o Saw multiple monkeys hanging out on the plane
• Gelateria Amorosi (Quepos Marina)
o Best ice cream we had on the trip, we went all three nights
o Marina is nice for walking
? A playground was located on the levee that you’ll pass going to the marina. We stopped one night and the kids had a blast.
Day 8 (Manuel Antonio)
Activities:
• We’d planned on driving to Uvita and Dominical, but we pivoted to a beach day.
• Playitas Beach
o You can drive onto the beach (did not expect this – was very neat)
o Very cool setting (forest meets the ocean)
o Located on the far west end of Espadilla Beach, 20 minute or so walk to the “main” section of Espadilla.
o Stronger waves than Biesanz – didn’t feel comfortable with the kids going to far into the water, but there was a large rock formation at the entrance that created small pools that they can play in.
o Notes:
? Drive down Calle Arenas Del Mar road to access (there is a cut through to Playitas Road at the bottom) – much easier driver down (partially paved) vs. Playitas Road which is very rough (gravel) going down.
? Parking is free, but you’ll see someone out trying to make you pay. I’d read about this previously and just waved and left my window up driving by. No arguments on both days. We did park so that we could have eyes on our car just in case..
Playitas Beach Looking Towards Espadilla Beach. Rocks Behind Me
Food:
• Papa’s Place
o Great view and food
Day 9 (Manuel Antonio)
• Had planned to do the Manuel Antonio National Park today, but the family was “forested out” by this point and wanted just to do the pool, beach (Playitas again) and shop.
Food:
• Emilio’s Café
o Great views and food. I had read the desert were good too, but we didn’t try.
Day 10 (Manuel Antonio to Airport)
Driving Notes:
•Left very early because we were worried about traffic delays and the car drop off and airport taking long. Had no traffic delays, the car drop off was a breeze and it took us about 20 minutes to go through the airport (flight left at 2:00 PM)…
.
Food:
• We left before breakfast at our hotel, so we stopped by Restaurante Caballo Blanco on the way. Solid food, right off the highway, was perfect for what we needed.
This post was edited on 3/17/26 at 3:25 pm
Posted on 3/17/26 at 10:39 am to TheJunction
Final Thoughts/Tips
Highlights:
• Baldi Hot Springs (La Fortuna) – perfect with kids.
• Proyecto Asis (La Fortuna) – Absolutely loved and would highly recommend.
• El Salto Rope Swing (La Fortuna) – had such a good time letting the kids play in the river and watching everyone rope swing. Core memory for us.
• La Fortuna Waterfall – such a neat experience.
• North Fields Coffee Tour (La Fortuna) – our guide was excellent, multiple opportunities for tastings.
• El Tigre Hike (Monteverde) – must-do. I highly recommend it.
• Treetopia Ziplining (Monteverde)– they were awesome with our young child; my wife said the $200 price tag was well worth it.
• Selvatura Hanging Bridges (Monteverde) – really enjoyed this.
• Playita’s Beach (Manuel Antonio) – our favorite beach because of how nice it was to be able to drive right down and park. Biensanz if you’re looking for calmer water and do not want to have to watch your kids as much.
• Gelateria Amorosi (Manuel Antonio) - our go to ice cream spot. Went all three nights that we were in Manuel Antonio.
Misc. Tips/Comments:
• Expect slow drives, particularly in La Fortuna and Monteverde – distances are very deceptive. The roads are extremely curvy and if you get behind a slow vehicle it’s very hard to pass.
o Also, the gravel roads are not the gravel roads you see in the south. The rocks were very jagged and rough. Made for awful driving. However, I never felt like we needed a 4WD.
• A backpack carrier was invaluable for being able to do hikes with our 2-year-old, our 6-year-old was able to handle the majority of what we did.
• We only needed cash to pay for someone to “watch our car” at El Salto and El Choyin – outside of that we could have used cards everywhere. We did negotiate some and got a better price by paying cash vs. card in a few of the shops.
o We did not bring any cash into the country, but made a withdrawal when we got to La Fortuna from a bank ATM. I had read that this gave the best exchange rates.
• Bring lots of sunscreen and bug spray, the sun and bugs were both intense.
• Both of our kids got sick traveling between La Fortuna and Monteverde (and they didn’t typically get car sick), would bring throw-up bags just in case…
• The website “mytanfeet” had a discount code for our car rental (Adobe) that we used. They also had a lot of good recommendations that we used to plan the trip.
• Ask for ice - wish we'd learned this sooner. The first few days, the drinks we were given were lukewarm, but we started asking for ice and didn't have that problem thereafter.
• FYI - chargers/plug-ins are the same as in the US and we didn't have any trouble with bringing ours from home.
• Looking back, I feel like the pacing of our trip was pretty good. I feel comfortable with the 4 nights in La Fortuna and 2 in Monteverde. I would have liked an extra day in Manuel Antonio, if only to be able to do a day trip to Uvita/Dominical and/or do the National Park – family was just worn down by this part of the trip.
We so enjoyed our trip to Costa Rica – had an incredible experience. Pura Vida!
Edit:
Cost Breakdown:
Baldi Hot Springs (4 Nights): $1,587.28
Dreams Lodge (2 Nights): $242.40
Shana by the Beach (3 Nights): $966.54
Adobe Car Rental (10 Days): $934.20 - Costa Rica requires you to buy some insurance - so this upped the price some.
Flight: $1,845.60 (4 people)
Airport Parking: $109.50
Professional Pictures: $300.00. When we go on a trip like this, my wife and I like to get ourselves a "gift" - typically a painting, but we went with professional pictures this year at the La Fortuna for something "different". Haven't gotten them back yet, but very excited to see them.
North Fields Coffee Tour: $93.50
El Silencio: $20.00
Proyecto Asis: $155.00
El Tigre: $141.96 (entrance + horseback riding for 2 adults (kids were free) + 2 meals; $10 of that was paying for an additional meal for our kids.
Treetopia Ziplining: $231.14 (includes $30 for the picture package)
Selvatura Hanging Bridges: $149.50
Santa Elena Cloud Forest: $40
Cash Withdrawel: $300 - went to the National Bank in La Fortuna at the beginning of our trip - ended up only needing like $15, but we did save some $$ by offering to pay in cash vs. card in a few stores.
Misc. Spending (includes everything else) - we would typically just pay for one meal per day (had complimentary breakfast at each hotel) and we would normally order drinks + desert) - $851.81
Total = $8,008.43
Highlights:
• Baldi Hot Springs (La Fortuna) – perfect with kids.
• Proyecto Asis (La Fortuna) – Absolutely loved and would highly recommend.
• El Salto Rope Swing (La Fortuna) – had such a good time letting the kids play in the river and watching everyone rope swing. Core memory for us.
• La Fortuna Waterfall – such a neat experience.
• North Fields Coffee Tour (La Fortuna) – our guide was excellent, multiple opportunities for tastings.
• El Tigre Hike (Monteverde) – must-do. I highly recommend it.
• Treetopia Ziplining (Monteverde)– they were awesome with our young child; my wife said the $200 price tag was well worth it.
• Selvatura Hanging Bridges (Monteverde) – really enjoyed this.
• Playita’s Beach (Manuel Antonio) – our favorite beach because of how nice it was to be able to drive right down and park. Biensanz if you’re looking for calmer water and do not want to have to watch your kids as much.
• Gelateria Amorosi (Manuel Antonio) - our go to ice cream spot. Went all three nights that we were in Manuel Antonio.
Misc. Tips/Comments:
• Expect slow drives, particularly in La Fortuna and Monteverde – distances are very deceptive. The roads are extremely curvy and if you get behind a slow vehicle it’s very hard to pass.
o Also, the gravel roads are not the gravel roads you see in the south. The rocks were very jagged and rough. Made for awful driving. However, I never felt like we needed a 4WD.
• A backpack carrier was invaluable for being able to do hikes with our 2-year-old, our 6-year-old was able to handle the majority of what we did.
• We only needed cash to pay for someone to “watch our car” at El Salto and El Choyin – outside of that we could have used cards everywhere. We did negotiate some and got a better price by paying cash vs. card in a few of the shops.
o We did not bring any cash into the country, but made a withdrawal when we got to La Fortuna from a bank ATM. I had read that this gave the best exchange rates.
• Bring lots of sunscreen and bug spray, the sun and bugs were both intense.
• Both of our kids got sick traveling between La Fortuna and Monteverde (and they didn’t typically get car sick), would bring throw-up bags just in case…
• The website “mytanfeet” had a discount code for our car rental (Adobe) that we used. They also had a lot of good recommendations that we used to plan the trip.
• Ask for ice - wish we'd learned this sooner. The first few days, the drinks we were given were lukewarm, but we started asking for ice and didn't have that problem thereafter.
• FYI - chargers/plug-ins are the same as in the US and we didn't have any trouble with bringing ours from home.
• Looking back, I feel like the pacing of our trip was pretty good. I feel comfortable with the 4 nights in La Fortuna and 2 in Monteverde. I would have liked an extra day in Manuel Antonio, if only to be able to do a day trip to Uvita/Dominical and/or do the National Park – family was just worn down by this part of the trip.
We so enjoyed our trip to Costa Rica – had an incredible experience. Pura Vida!
Edit:
Cost Breakdown:
Baldi Hot Springs (4 Nights): $1,587.28
Dreams Lodge (2 Nights): $242.40
Shana by the Beach (3 Nights): $966.54
Adobe Car Rental (10 Days): $934.20 - Costa Rica requires you to buy some insurance - so this upped the price some.
Flight: $1,845.60 (4 people)
Airport Parking: $109.50
Professional Pictures: $300.00. When we go on a trip like this, my wife and I like to get ourselves a "gift" - typically a painting, but we went with professional pictures this year at the La Fortuna for something "different". Haven't gotten them back yet, but very excited to see them.
North Fields Coffee Tour: $93.50
El Silencio: $20.00
Proyecto Asis: $155.00
El Tigre: $141.96 (entrance + horseback riding for 2 adults (kids were free) + 2 meals; $10 of that was paying for an additional meal for our kids.
Treetopia Ziplining: $231.14 (includes $30 for the picture package)
Selvatura Hanging Bridges: $149.50
Santa Elena Cloud Forest: $40
Cash Withdrawel: $300 - went to the National Bank in La Fortuna at the beginning of our trip - ended up only needing like $15, but we did save some $$ by offering to pay in cash vs. card in a few stores.
Misc. Spending (includes everything else) - we would typically just pay for one meal per day (had complimentary breakfast at each hotel) and we would normally order drinks + desert) - $851.81
Total = $8,008.43
This post was edited on 3/19/26 at 12:40 pm
Posted on 3/17/26 at 11:28 am to TheJunction
cool trip. very similar to my honeymoon back in 2013.
-Flew into the capital, rented a car and stayed at an air bnb type of place (small casita on the property of the owner who basically lived in another house next door. she cooked us 2 meals)
-drive to Arenal and we stayed at their lodge for 2-3 days.
-drive to Monteverde Cloud Forest and spent 2-3 days (including ziplining and bungee jumping over this canyon. the bungee jump was from an open air cable car. after the jump you are just hanging there probably still 100-200 feet above the ground and they crank you back up....very unsettling)
-drive to Santa Teresa area where we stayed at an eco-resort (open air huts in the jungle right off the beach) for 2 nights and then an actual really nice resort/private cabana with infinity pool up on the mountainside overlooking the ocean).
Top 2-3 trip of all time for us (probably number 2 behind a 10 day trip to Norway).
-Flew into the capital, rented a car and stayed at an air bnb type of place (small casita on the property of the owner who basically lived in another house next door. she cooked us 2 meals)
-drive to Arenal and we stayed at their lodge for 2-3 days.
-drive to Monteverde Cloud Forest and spent 2-3 days (including ziplining and bungee jumping over this canyon. the bungee jump was from an open air cable car. after the jump you are just hanging there probably still 100-200 feet above the ground and they crank you back up....very unsettling)
-drive to Santa Teresa area where we stayed at an eco-resort (open air huts in the jungle right off the beach) for 2 nights and then an actual really nice resort/private cabana with infinity pool up on the mountainside overlooking the ocean).
Top 2-3 trip of all time for us (probably number 2 behind a 10 day trip to Norway).
Posted on 3/17/26 at 11:35 am to TheJunction
Great trip report! We are heading to CR on Saturday for a week with another family. Looking forward to it! We'll be staying around Quepos/MA for the majority of our trip, after a couple of days mountain biking at Buen Camino Bike Park.
Have one full day inshore fly fishing trip scheduled with my son and his friend out of Quepos and a whitewater raft trip with both families another day. We were looking into a rapelling/canyoneering trip but our older son has developmental disabilities and we worry he would struggle with that one. Really hoping to hook into some rooster fish on the fly!
Have one full day inshore fly fishing trip scheduled with my son and his friend out of Quepos and a whitewater raft trip with both families another day. We were looking into a rapelling/canyoneering trip but our older son has developmental disabilities and we worry he would struggle with that one. Really hoping to hook into some rooster fish on the fly!
Posted on 3/17/26 at 12:18 pm to TheJunction
Nice 
Posted on 3/17/26 at 1:17 pm to TheJunction
What a great trip report , thank you for posting all those details and the pictures. Everything looks incredible.
This post was edited on 3/17/26 at 1:17 pm
Posted on 3/17/26 at 2:02 pm to TheJunction
Very nice recap nd extremely useful to help us plan a future trip. Thanks.
Posted on 3/17/26 at 3:29 pm to Crow Pie
No worries - glad to contribute some to the board. Let me know if you have any questions!
Posted on 3/17/26 at 5:10 pm to TheJunction
Round about how much did it cost?
Posted on 3/17/26 at 7:32 pm to TheJunction
Great post!
Posted on 3/17/26 at 8:54 pm to Breric
I’ll try and break everything down tomorrow and let you know!
This post was edited on 3/17/26 at 9:00 pm
Posted on 3/18/26 at 9:10 am to Breric
Cost Breakdown:
Baldi Hot Springs (4 Nights): $1,587.28 (worth it for us to have the hot springs)
Dreams Lodge (2 Nights): $242.40 (glad we saved here)
Shana by the Beach (3 Nights): $966.54 (could have saved here - booked for the easy access to Biesanz Beach, but we ended up going to Playitas more often - I am glad we stayed in Manuel Antonio over Quepos though).
Adobe Car Rental (10 Days): $934.20 - Costa Rica requires you to buy some insurance - so this upped the price some.
Flight: $1,845.60 (4 people)
Airport Parking: $109.50
Professional Pictures: $300.00. When we go on a trip like this, my wife and I like to get ourselves a "gift" to remember the trip buy - typically a painting, but we went with professional pictures for this trip at the La Fortuna Waterfall for something "different". Haven't gotten them back yet, but very excited to see them.
North Fields Coffee Tour: $93.50
El Silencio: $20.00
Proyecto Asis: $155.00
El Tigre: $141.96 (entrance + horseback riding for 2 adults (kids were free) + 2 meals; $10 of that was paying for an additional meal for our kids.
Treetopia Ziplining: $231.14 (includes $30 for the picture package)
Selvatura Hanging Bridges: $149.50
Santa Elena Cloud Forest: $40
Cash Withdrawel: $300 - went to the National Bank in La Fortuna at the beginning of our trip - ended up only needing like $15, but we did save some $$ by offering to pay in cash vs. card in a few stores.
Misc. Spending (we would typically just pay for one meal per day (had complimentary breakfast at each hotel) and we would normally order drinks + desert) - $851.81
Total = $8,008.43
Costa Rica is not a cheap country and the total cost was much more than I expected it to be going in. We obviously did some "extra's", so you could trim what we spent down some.
Baldi Hot Springs (4 Nights): $1,587.28 (worth it for us to have the hot springs)
Dreams Lodge (2 Nights): $242.40 (glad we saved here)
Shana by the Beach (3 Nights): $966.54 (could have saved here - booked for the easy access to Biesanz Beach, but we ended up going to Playitas more often - I am glad we stayed in Manuel Antonio over Quepos though).
Adobe Car Rental (10 Days): $934.20 - Costa Rica requires you to buy some insurance - so this upped the price some.
Flight: $1,845.60 (4 people)
Airport Parking: $109.50
Professional Pictures: $300.00. When we go on a trip like this, my wife and I like to get ourselves a "gift" to remember the trip buy - typically a painting, but we went with professional pictures for this trip at the La Fortuna Waterfall for something "different". Haven't gotten them back yet, but very excited to see them.
North Fields Coffee Tour: $93.50
El Silencio: $20.00
Proyecto Asis: $155.00
El Tigre: $141.96 (entrance + horseback riding for 2 adults (kids were free) + 2 meals; $10 of that was paying for an additional meal for our kids.
Treetopia Ziplining: $231.14 (includes $30 for the picture package)
Selvatura Hanging Bridges: $149.50
Santa Elena Cloud Forest: $40
Cash Withdrawel: $300 - went to the National Bank in La Fortuna at the beginning of our trip - ended up only needing like $15, but we did save some $$ by offering to pay in cash vs. card in a few stores.
Misc. Spending (we would typically just pay for one meal per day (had complimentary breakfast at each hotel) and we would normally order drinks + desert) - $851.81
Total = $8,008.43
Costa Rica is not a cheap country and the total cost was much more than I expected it to be going in. We obviously did some "extra's", so you could trim what we spent down some.
This post was edited on 3/18/26 at 10:54 am
Posted on 3/18/26 at 10:25 am to TheJunction
awesome man, very much appreciate this
We are in the beginning stages of booking our family trip for next summer and Costa Rica is the likely choice
We are in the beginning stages of booking our family trip for next summer and Costa Rica is the likely choice
Posted on 3/18/26 at 10:50 am to Salmon
We'd recommend it to anyone - great mix of mountains and beach to switch things up, as well as very safe. Feel free to reach out when you get a little further into your planning!
This post was edited on 3/18/26 at 10:50 am
Posted on 3/18/26 at 12:12 pm to TheJunction
quote:Cool. Thanks for sharing. Did you not see any evidence of the massive uptick in crime that's been reported in the past 2-3 years?
it felt very safe
Posted on 3/18/26 at 4:16 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
Did you not see any evidence of the massive uptick in crime that's been reported in the past 2-3 years?
We were in Costa Rica last week as well. I never felt unsafe or saw any evidence of crime except for when we went on some excursions seeing a lot of razor wire in the towns we passed through.
Posted on 3/18/26 at 4:19 pm to jchamil
quote:That's interesting. I was there in October, some in San Juan, but also in a much sleepier area in the south. Other than San Juan being kind of a dump, I didn't really notice anything either.
We were in Costa Rica last week as well. I never felt unsafe or saw any evidence of crime except for when we went on some excursions seeing a lot of razor wire in the towns we passed through.
But the changes over the past 2-3 years have been fairly profound. The homicide rate is up - a lot. And targeting of tourists is up a lot too.
Posted on 3/18/26 at 4:32 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
Cool. Thanks for sharing. Did you not see any evidence of the massive uptick in crime that's been reported in the past 2-3 years?
One thing we commented on was noticing a lot of fencing and some razor wire. I'm assuming it's there because of crime that's been happening, but we never once felt unsafe and we walked around plenty at night. I will say that we were mindful (as everyone should be in an unfamiliar place, particularly with young kids) - we didn't leave valuables in the car, we weren't "flashy" walking around, kept our backpack on us and didn't leave it lying around, etc.
But yeah, everyone we interacted with was very nice.
We did talk with a couple who stayed in San Jose (but did a similar itinerary than us otherwise) and they mentioned that they'd wish they'd skip San Jose and that it was the only time they felt unsafe.
This post was edited on 3/19/26 at 12:37 pm
Posted on 3/19/26 at 8:35 am to TheJunction
Awesome recap with some cool pictures. Very nice and detailed breakdown. Hell, you could write for tourist publications with that kind of detail.
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