Costa Rica packs more adventure into one week than almost anywhere else! If you’re looking for something that actually feels like a vacation your family will remember years from now, Costa Rica should be on the top of your list. Our family of four explored the misty cloud forests, rappelled down waterfalls, zip-lined through the canopy, and swam beneath a 230-foot waterfall. Along the way we spotted toucans, sloths, wild monkeys, and the rare quetzal, visited a volcano, then ended the trip on the calm golden beaches of Papagayo. This guide covers the highlights from La Paz Waterfall Gardens to Monteverde, La Fortuna, and Guanacaste, plus honest tips on what to pack and why I recommend leaving the driving to someone else.

Costa Rica is not a sit at the resort kind of trip. It’s about doing things together.

Picture this:

• Walking across hanging bridges in the rainforest
• Spotting sloths, monkeys, and toucans in the wild
• Swimming at the base of a waterfall after hiking through the jungle
• Zip-lining through the canopy
• And if you have time, ending your day in natural hot springs

This is the kind of trip where kids are engaged, parents are impressed, and no one is asking for an iPad.

Our Family’s Costa Rica Itinerary

✈️Flew into San Jose, Costa Rica SJO | La Paz Waterfall Gardens

My family and I arrived in Costa Rica around 9pm, picked up our rental car, and headed to our hotel for the evening. The next day we drove to La Paz Waterfall Gardens, which was an all day experience. Because the park is high up in the cloud forest, it is cool and rains frequently. So make sure to bring a light jacket and wear good walking shoes. The property is split into two major experiences, the waterfall trail and the wildlife refuge. We added the buffet option so we could have lunch on site. The food was OK with traditional Costa Rican food like rice, beans, fried plantains, grilled meats along with some pizza and fresh fruit.

Waterfall Trail: The five waterfalls is about a 2 mile hike through paved trails. There are viewing decks that put you close to the water where you feel the cold spray on your face. The waterfall section includes walking down hundreds of steep stairs. The good news is that it’s a one way trail down and you don’t have to hike back up. The park runs a free shuttle van at the bottom of the trail to drive you right back up to the main reception area.

Wildlife Refuge: This is a place that is similar to a zoo where all the animals have been rescued and cannot be released back into the wild. My personal favorites were:

• The Toucan Exhibit: This is a fun interactive area where toucans fly over and happily sit next to you for a photo. We loved this spot! I loved being able to see the beautiful toucans so close!
• The Hummingbird Garden: This was a beautiful area where we saw 26 different species of hummingbird fly all around us. And wow do they fly fast!
• The Butterfly Observatory: This was an enclosed dome filled with thousands of beautiful Blue Morpho and many other butterflies. The most interesting spot was the area where you could see the entire lifecycle of a butterfly unfold right in front of your eyes with the metamorphosis exhibit. Hundreds of live chrysalises are pinned up on wooden racks, sorted by species. We watched a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis in real time, which our entire family really enjoyed.

💭☁️⛅Monteverde | Cloud Forest

Traveling to Monteverde took a lot of time, patience, and curvy roads. However when we arrived at our hotel it made everything worth it. We stayed at an absolutely beautiful resort in the heart of the cloud forest. The views from the restaurant were stunning!

Cloud Forest Night Hike: The entire family really enjoyed this night hike! We were able to see many nocturnal animals, mammals, birds, insects, reptiles & amphibians. Some of our favorites were the sloths, tarantulas, and walking sticks.

Treetopia Hanging Bridges: We visited two areas at this park, the Treetop Suspension Bridges and the Aerial Tram. However if you have time, I would highly recommend doing the ziplines here too.

Treetop Suspension Bridges: We had THE MOST AMAZING guide who took us through the suspension bridges, explained the different plants and explained all of the species of birds we saw along the way. During the 1.5-mile walk we crossed 6 extremely high suspension bridges. Each bridges gives an amazing view of Monteverde. Everywhere we looked there was greenery, musical birds, and also some monkeys along the way. With the help of our guide, we were lucky enough to see the quetzal, one of the most beautiful birds in the entire world. The male quetzal’s are this beautiful emerald green with a red breast. They are very rare as the babies often don’t live to adult hood and they only live in high elevation cloud forests. Our guide showed us one of the nests in hollowed out area of a tree nearby one of the bridges. The male and female take turns incubating the eggs where the male sits during the day, and the female takes over at night.

The Aerial Tram: This is a slow moving gondola ride that takes you up and through the cloud forest. When you get up to the top, there is a tower that you can climb and get even higher. It is a beautiful spot, and it is a cloud forest. Which means we went through a misty rain cloud to get to the top, which was such a fun experience! Our guide explained less than 2% of the world now has cloud forests. This used to be closer to 5%, however a lot of cloud forests have been lost from farming and logging. It shows how important is is to protect this beautiful area!

🌋La Fortuna

La Fortuna is full of adventure! It’s known for it’s near perfect cone of Arenal Volcano. While you are not allowed to hike up this volcano, it is spectacular from a distance. This is where I saw wild Toucans flying in so many places which was extremely fun to see! Downtown we had authentic food at Sodas of delicious chicken, rice, and beans. There are also many natural hot springs in the area, which we did not have time to experience, but I want to when I go back someday!

La Fortuna Waterfall

For me personally, this waterfall hike was the highlight of the trip! The moment I started walking down the path toward the waterfall, I felt this sense of calm. La Fortuna Waterfall is this magical place where leaves of greenery are larger than you, and everything around you feels larger than life! The large leaves are the Poor Man’s Umbrella plant (Sombrilla de Pobre), which is native to Costa Rica’s wet cloud and rainforests. The leaves can grow up to six feet across! The trail down to the waterfall is a path with lots and lots of stairs, 530 one way to be exact.

As you walk to the bottom you can hear the roar of the waterfall. And the best part? We were able to swim near the waterfall! Unlike many waterfalls in Costa Rica, swimming is allowed. When you arrive, the view is like a movie or a dream. The waterfall is magnificent as it plunges 230 feet from a cliff and straight into a shimmering turquoise blue swimming area. We were able to swim right in this area near the falls. However, you cannot swim directly under or behind the falls. Down river from the falls the water calms down into streams with large rocks everywhere. The boys loved climbing the rocks, wading, and swimming in this area too.

Please know it is an intense workout! While it only takes about 20 minutes to walk down, the return climb back up takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes walking up steps the entire way. Thankfully there are rest platforms with benches and a drinking fountain every few flights so we could take a break under the giant leaves. We brought a snack to stop and eat half way up, which we were all grateful for. I recommend water shoes for the massive rocky area getting to the waterfall and wading in the river. Also make sure to wear your swimsuit as you hike down to the waterfall. As there are no restrooms at the bottom.

‍ ‍Canyoning Waterfall Rappel

My boys were 11 and 13 at the time we took this trip where this was definitely the highlight of their trip! Talk about nature and adventure all in one! First we started off getting a safety lesson on how we would be rappelling. Then we put on our gear and headed out for a hike to our first waterfall rappel. Then we took a 4 wheel drive vehicle to the next rappel location. There were 5 different rappels we completed from a height of 25 ft to 165 ft.

The first one was a little scary as the first person in line had to go first which was my husband, then said next! The boys went next and rappelled down the first waterfall and did amazing! The boys favorite rappel was the Monkey Drop which was an 82 ft long free fall into a pool of water. We also had a photographer which was so nice.

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park

We had another amazing guide show us around and explain this beautiful land of smoking volcanoes, bubbling mud pots, and thermal hot springs all shrouded in thick tangles of rainforest. This trail is where we were able to get up close to the volcano. The guide showed us where all of the volcanic activity was including the Volcanic Bubbling Mud, inactive volcanic lakes, small volcano craters, and smelling the Volcanic Fumes. We also learned different species of plants and trees and lots of wildlife. This was our last hiking day in Costa Rica and I was telling our guide how I really wanted to see monkeys in the wild and was surprised I had not yet seen any. Literally two minutes later three families of monkeys went swinging right by us in the trees! Each family had about three baby monkeys with them. I was SO excited to be able to see them so happy in the wild!

Volcano Hike & Zip Lines

The afternoon was our time to swing across zip lines strung through the forest canopy. We chose some zip lines that were about 2 miles long that went through tropical dry and rain forests. The boys had never done zip lines through the trees before and they absolutely loved it.

🏖️Gulf of Papagayo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica Beach Day

We ended our trip on the beautiful beaches of Papagayo! This gulf is naturally sheltered, so the waves are here are gentle and calm which makes perfect ocean swimming! Here there were a lot of iguanas and tropical birds. My favorite thing to do in the morning was sit on the beach and watch all of the different kids of beautiful birds flying everywhere. The gorgeous golden sand beaches were the best way to end our amazing trip to Costa Rica!

✈️Liberia to Minneapolis

It was nice to have a direct flight for trip back home.

🚗Driving in Costa Rica

Driving in San Jose and all throughout Costa Rica is stressful. I’m so happy my husband did all of the driving, as it was stressful enough for me in the driver’s seat! Between the dogs and people walking right next to the side of the road, to the curves of the roads along with the elevation, to the potholes, and one lane roads, I highly recommend bringing nausea medication. The curvy roads in Costa Rica caused everyone in our car to get motion sickness, even in those of us (me!) who don’t usually get nauseous. The major highways are nicely paved roads. However, the moment you head toward places like Monteverde, La Fortuna, or the beaches roads are rough, unpaved gravel or dirt with massive potholes. Most of the roads in the country are the size of one lane in the United States. There are huge speed bumps which are often unmarked and often located when arriving in a small town. Hitting one at regular speed will heavily damage your rental car. We often came across narrow one lane bridges where patience is key to stop and allow cars through before it’s your turn. Sunset is around 6:00 PM year round, and I recommend not driving after that time. Roads are completely unlit making potholes, dogs, livestock, pedestrians walking on the shoulder, and sharp road drop offs incredibly hazardous. I recommend renting an SUV to keep your vehicle higher off the ground. Everywhere takes MUCH longer than Waze tells you, because of the curvy roads. Gas stations are full-service, meaning an attendant will pump your gas for you. Tipping the attendant is appreciated but not mandatory. After a full week of driving, I asked my husband if he would drive in Costa Rica again? He said not if there were other options. With that – I personally do not recommend driving. There are many options for group tours or private drivers to take you to where you want to be. *Note: Use Waze for navigation directions which is far more accurate than Google Maps.

Why Planning Costa Rica Is Harder Than It Looks

Costa Rica is not a trip you can just book and show up for. There are so many little decisions that can make or break it:

• Which airport you fly into (it matters more than you’d think)
• How you space out your travel days so you aren’t stuck in the car for hours
• Which regions work well together
• Which guides you book, because a great one changes everything
• Which hotels are actually worth your money

One wrong choice and the whole trip can feel rushed or exhausting. And trust me, everything takes longer than your map says!

Why I Recommend Working With Me As Your Travel Advisor

Planning Costa Rica right can make the whole trip feel different by:

• Setting the pace of your trip so it never feels rushed
• Choosing activities that match your family’s energy
• Arranging private transportation so you can relax and enjoy the views
• Making sure the guides and experiences are top notch
• Fitting every piece together so it all just works

I don’t want you to just “go to Costa Rica.” I want you to enjoy every minute of it, from the first zip line to the last sunset.

So, Is Costa Rica Worth It for Families?

Absolutely. If you want a trip with a little adventure and a little downtime, memories your kids will still be talking about years from now, and something different from a typical beach vacation, this is the one.

Thinking About Costa Rica for Your Family?

I’d love to help you build an itinerary that fits your family, your pace, and what matters most to you. Let’s find your next adventure and make memories that you will treasure for your lifetime.

-Alicia, Adventure Awaits By Alicia

This trip was taken in April of 2026.