Planning a trip to Costa Rica? Check out my Costa Rica family travel guide for a rundown of ideas for awesome places to stay, play and eat! 

I recently traveled to Costa Rica with my family for the first time, and we had such an amazing time there! At first when planning our trip, I was a bit overwhelmed with deciding what areas to stay. Even though Costa Rica is a small country, when I was looking at splitting our time between a few different areas or even doing day trips from one area, the driving time was often three to five, or more, hours.

Eventually, I narrowed our trip down to 1.) staying by the beach in Costa Rica’s northwestern Guanacaste Province, and then 2.) road tripping to the mountains of La Fortuna. We flew in and out of Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia.

As a mom, I don’t like to overload our travel schedule. Before parenthood, my husband and I would jam pack our travel days with nonstop fun. These days, I usually allot time to stay put and let my little one play and have downtime wherever we are. I also typically avoid traveling a ton within our trip and choose areas that have a lot to do nearby. My four year old is a great traveler, but I know our limits!

Today, I’m sharing what I learned about family travel in Costa Rica – not only the things we enjoyed, but the things we didn’t even get the chance to enjoy that were on my radar and perhaps are just what you’re family is looking for in a vacation.

Here’s a breakdown of our family-friendly vacation in Costa Rica, including the fantastic places we stayed, the best eateries we enjoyed, and our favorite adventurous activities!

Costa Rica Family Travel Guide: Where We Stayed, Played & Ate

In Playa Grande…

I settled on staying in the Guanacaste Province in the beach town of Playa Grande, which wound up being a nice choice for us. It offers great surfing and beach fun, has a number of restaurants, and is close to the busier tourist town of Tamarindo while being pretty quiet itself. We missed the chance to see the leatherback turtles nesting in the Las Baulas National Marine Park, but I’d love to go back and see it someday. I think that Playa Grande is a great choice for family travel in Costa Rica.

Where We Stayed:

Kinamira Suites

For our Playa Grande stay, we elected to book a charming Airbnb in a quiet setting in the jungle called Kinamira Suites. The property is just a few miles from the beach, but felt like a quiet oasis away from everything. Kinamira offers a few different stay options: Ours was an indoor/outdoor two bedroom bungalow called the Kea Suite. It features a small pool amidst the outdoor living and dining space. The property also features a gorgeous communal pool and kitchen space, as well as the owner’s beautiful art studio.

Perhaps the coolest feature is the howler monkeys that live in the nearby trees. They were our morning alarm clock! One day, we watched the monkeys play for hours from the pool. Even though the property is tucked away, it’s close to Playa Grande beach and restaurants. The property is so charming and thoughtfully designed, and we really loved it there!

Where We Played:

Playa Grande

Playa Grande is an expansive beach that offers a serene place for fun in the sun. We were there in April, which is considered a busy month for Costa Rican tourism, and the beach was still pretty quiet. There are several places in walking distance to the beach to rent surfboards or do surf lessons, including ONDA.

Playa Conchal

Another beach that we visited was Playa Conchal, a popular spot filled with beachgoers and vendors selling everything from boozy drinks and jewelry to umbrellas and chairs. The beach is made of tiny white shells and you can go snorkeling right off the beach (rentals available).

To get there, we parked at nearby Brasilito Beach in a public access parking lot (expect to pay an attendant a few bucks to watch your car) and walked 20-30 minutes on the beach to Playa Conchal. It was funny because it seems like Playa Conchal will be this tucked away beach given the walk and location, but then when we arrived, it was very much bustling!

We met several other American families there, got to observe a below pictured neat iguana in the trees, and even saw sea snakes during our walk on Brasilito Beach (only freaked me out a bit when swimming at Playa Conchal!).

Playa Grande Beach Club’s Artisanal Market

A fun local outing that we went on was visiting the Wednesday night artisanal market at Playa Grande Beach Club. Think farmers’ market: food from several local vendors, handmade jewelry and art, clothing, live music and boozy drinks.

The Beach Club is a fun place to visit in general. We popped into the club one day after the beach for popsicles and cold beverages, and it’s definitely a kid-friendly spot.

Tamarindo Beach

The most touristy beach in Guanacaste is Tamarindo, and we had to check it out for ourselves one day during our trip. Tamarindo is a vibrant area filled with lots to see and do. There were countless people doing surf lessons during our beach day there. I personally prefer a quiet beach like Playa Grande and enjoyed seeing it just for a day, but if you are more of a fan of a city-like atmosphere, then you’ll like staying in Tamarindo.

A few places on my list that we didn’t make it to include Reina’s Chocolates and Apami Wildlife Rescue Center. 

Banana Moringa Smoothie at Rip Jack Inn

Where (& What) We Ate:

We are vegetarians and ate so much yummy food in Costa Rica! One of my favorite dishes to get was called casado, a typical Costa Rican dish made of rice, beans, salad, plantains & often something additional like falafel bites. It’s simple, delicious and healthy!

Here’s a list of restaurants that we really enjoyed in the Guanacaste Province:

• Pots & Bowls in Playa Grande ~ which offers items like smoothies, coconut pancakes, veggie burgers and bowls, and has a little kids’ play area in the restaurant.
• Surf Box in Playa Flamingo ~ Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we visited Surf Box for brunch one day and had an acai bowl, iced matcha and waffles. The aesthetic of the restaurant and location is 10/10, looking out over the Flamingo marina.

• Origami Street Food at Playa Grande Beach Club ~ We ordered food from this Japanese fusion food truck during the artisanal market night, and it exceeded our expectations.
• Mother Earth Hotel in Tamarindo ~ We went out of our way to check out this luxury vegan, eco-conscious hotel and check out its plant-based restaurant. Breakfast there was divine! I loved the veggie chickpea omelette. Kid-friendly items include banana nice cream, avocado toast and pancakes.
• ONDA in Playa Grande ~ Primarily a resort for single/coupled remote worker(s), ONDA Playa Grande also has a beer garden with a delicious menu. We enjoyed some Costa Rican classic dishes from here, including yuca empanadas, plantain cups and a tropical salad.

•  Venezia Gelati in Tamarindo ~ Our favorite dessert in Guanacaste was Venezia Gelati, which offers light, airy gelato that tasted amazing on a 100 degree day.
• RipJack Inn in Playa Grande ~ Located directly next to the beach, RipJack Inn is a popular eatery with menu items like mushroom ravioli, farro salad, truffle fries, and a kids’ menu (my daughter declared their pasta a favorite meal of hers in Costa Rica).
• Padoka Brazilian Bakery in Playa Grande ~ This little bakery offers items like banana bread and fresh bread. We grabbed a baguette one day as a little something to nosh on.

A few eateries on my radar that we didn’t make it to include Taco Star, Hemingway’s, Bistro Cantarana, Lola’s and Cafe Mar Azul. 

In La Fortuna…

After Playa Grande, we spent a few days in La Fortuna and it was filled with resort fun. This is uncharacteristic for us, but the hot springs resort we stayed at was amazing! More details below.

Where We Stayed:

Baldi Hot Springs & Resort

Baldi Hot Springs & Resort is the coolest hot springs I’ve ever been to! The resort’s thermal hot springs overlook the Arenal Volcano. Baldi offers 25 thermal water pools at varying temperatures, bars that you can swim up to, and a fun kids’ play area. We were content just hanging out in the hot springs and floating around. Staying at the resort is a bit pricey, but totally worth it in my opinion. When you book a room, your hot springs day pass is included, along with complimentary breakfast.

(Pro tip: I booked a few months out to save 20% on our stay!)

Where We Played:

Since we wanted to spend a lot of time enjoying the hot springs, we had limited time to enjoy activities outside of the resort in La Fortuna. I could have spent a lot more time both exploring La Fortuna and relaxing at the hot springs! Our favorite adventure in the area was:

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Visiting Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park was a super cool experience for my family and me. It overlooks the gorgeous Arenal Volcano and provides awesome jungle views. Hiking the main trail takes visitors over 16 hanging bridges, and there’s also a waterfall. The park offers guided tours, but we opted to hike the 2 mile trail and take in the scenery on our own.

It took us 2 hours or so to do the hike, which is the perfect amount of time for my daughter to be able to hike on her own. There’s a playground at the entrance of the park, providing a great opportunity for us to hydrate, grab a snack, and let her play for a bit post-hike.

Downtown La Fortuna

We also enjoyed walking around town in La Fortuna, which has more of a downtown than Playa Grande. We walked around the shops, grabbed ice cream and took in the sights a few nights after dinner.

Other activity ideas on my radar included Sloths Territory and Bogarin Trail hikes, La Fortuna Waterfall, Rain Forest Chocolate Tour and the 1968 Trail.  

Where We Ate:

Our favorite eatery in La Fortuna was:

The Green Spoon

This casual eatery in downtown La Fortuna offers delicious typical Costa Rican cuisine, along with refreshing mocktails and cocktails. They’ve got plenty of plant-based options, as well as dishes for meat lovers.

This is unusual for my travel guides, but I also have a restaurant to avoid! Our last night in Costa Rica, we dined at a restaurant called Chanta Verde, and I immediately became ill. I narrowed it down to being a strain of food poisoning most common with rice. My dish was made with rice noodles and a sauce that didn’t taste quite right. Unfortunately, I was sick for our long travel day home and didn’t feel well for an entire week. Not the ideal way to end a vacation!

Other La Fortuna eateries on my radar that I didn’t get the chance to try include Organica Fortuna, Soda Rodríguez, Essence Arenal, and Chifa La Familia Feliz, which was randomly closed for a couple hours when we tried to eat there one night.  

I hope that my Costa Rica family travel guide gave you some enticing ideas for your visit! Be sure to visit my Travel page for more guides and reviews around the globe.

Tell me… Have you visited Costa Rica? What would you like to see, eat, and do there from my list?