Costa Rica Family Itinerary: La Fortuna & Manuel Antonio Travel Tips

Planning a Costa Rica trip? Here is our actual day-by-day itinerary through La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio: where we stayed, what we booked, and alternative activity ideas for every kind of family.

McKenna standing on the beach in Costa Rica

Right around the time our kids turn 17 years old, we take them on a trip that is just us (the parents) and that one child. We let them choose the destination and go make fun memories and build memories with them!

Our third child, McKenna, recently had her trip. She had originally chosen Jerusalem. We had everything booked and were ready to go. Two weeks before our trip, war broke out, and our trip was canceled. So we had to pivot and pivot quickly.

McKenna chose Costa Rica for the replacement trip. Costa Rica is often listed as one of the top ten best places in the world to take your family on vacation. It is beautiful and full of adventure. The people are delightful, and the country feels so safe at all times. If you have been dreaming of ziplining through the rainforest, rappelling down waterfalls, or floating along the Pacific under a parasail, this country will deliver all of that and more!

You can see the reel from our trip here!

This trip ended up being very similar to the trip we did with Kaitlyn. She chose Kauai, Hawaii. We did a lot of the same things in a very similar climate. Of course, there are plenty of differences. One big difference is that Costa Rica was much less expensive, ALTHOUGH as it becomes more touristy, prices are climbing.

Puerto Rico is another location that is a very similar type of vibe with very similar activities.

Flying to Costa Rica

When you fly to Costa Rica, you first need to decide between two airports. The two international airports are Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose and Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia. The airport you choose will depend on where you are going to spend your time and what is best for your budget. We flew into San Jose. While Costa Rica is really quite close to where we live, there are no direct flights on any airline from our state, so the travel to and from took up an entire day on either end of the trip. The San Jose airport is the largest so it will often be the cheapest.

Rental Car

Once we landed, we got our rental car. We rented through Avis and had no issues at all. We had some friends travel there a few months before us. They rented a car from a local company and did not enjoy the experience.

To drive in Costa Rica, you do not need a special driver’s license. You just need your license from where you live.

The country of Costa Rica is actually relatively small. It is smaller than the state of West Virginia in the United States. It is important to know and realize that driving anywhere in the country takes a really, really long time. The country is just mountains, so you cannot drive very fast. You drive through a lot of canyons with a lot of switchbacks. You will drive many roads right on the edge of a cliff. You go slowly. So a drive that will take just 45 minutes in the states (according to distance) will take you many HOURS in Costa Rica. This is important to know for planning your travel time between cities and to your activities. Leave with PLENTY of time.

Navigating in Costa Rica

While you are in Costa Rica, you will want to use the Waze app. This app is far more accurate for time estimates and paths to take than Google Maps or Apple Maps. So download and use Waze while you are there.

Something to pay attention to is your internet service. The internet is not always readily available everywhere. So watch your navigation to make sure it is updating. Nate and McKenna once went too far because the navigation hadn’t updated, and they passed their turn. Fortunately, they had left with plenty of time, so they were not late in the end.

Do You Have to Drive?

You might be wondering if you have to rent a car and drive. The answer is no. You can absolutely charter a driving service to take you between locations. A lot of the activities offer a pickup service (for an additional fee). So if the driving makes you nervous, you can use that route. You can also use local flights to get from one location to another. Just be aware of paying for checked bags as part of the cost of flying locally. We visited with a woman and her daughter one day who had flown on local flights. They shared that they paid more for their baggage than they had paid for the cost of the flights.

Daylight Hours

Whenever you travel, it is wise to be aware of the daylight hours of where you are going. In Costa Rica, the sun is consistently up 11.5-12.5 hours in a day. Sunrise is in the 5 AM hour year-round, and sunset is in the 5-6 PM hour year-round. Make sure you account for the early sunset as you plan your activities. This is even true in the summer.

La Fortuna

We chose to spend the first part of our vacation in La Fortuna. We landed in San Jose and drove several hours in the dark, in a rainstorm, to get to La Fortuna.

Arenal Observatory Lodge

We stayed in the Arenal Observatory Lodge in the Arenal Volcano National Park. We absolutely LOVED this hotel. The property covers more than 350 hectares, including forest, rivers, waterfalls, and open grazing land. There are miles of trails, an observation tower, hanging bridges, a delicious restaurant, and a beautiful pool. There is a complimentary breakfast each day with your stay.

The location of the lodge was perfectly situated for the activities we wanted to do in La Fortuna. It is away from the bustle of the town of La Fortuna. La Fortuna has a lot of tourists and a lot of activity going on. We had fun visiting the town and trying local panaderias and other shops, but we loved staying in the peaceful location of the Lodge. We were able to sit on the patio of our hotel room and watch monkeys swing through the trees. It was so calm and peaceful there. The views of the Arenal Volcano were stunning. There is so much to do there that we had plenty to do to fill our afternoons up.

Ziplining Through Sky Adventures

The first activity we did was go ziplining at Sky Adventures. Sky Adventures was only about a 15-minute drive from our hotel. We got the full package, so we did ziplining, hiked with the suspended bridges, took the tram, got the photo package, and got a free lunch included.

Sky Adventures has some of the fastest and highest zipline runs in the area, including two especially long gables with sweeping volcano, rainforest, and lake views. We have done ziplines in Mexico and Hawaii, and this was my favorite for sure. They were faster and the landing was much smoother than any other I have experienced. There was not a whole bunch of hiking involved at all with the ziplining- there was NO hiking involved. They do not allow for as much freedom and creativity in your ziplining as other places (Kauai allowed the most freedom), but it was the fastest and smoothest.

The hike on the property was breathtaking. I would recommend you do the hike as early in your day as you can so you can get through before a lot of people have gone through. The more people, the muddier the ground. BUT do the zipline first if you can.

You will be in a harness, so wear clothes that are harness-friendly. You want your bottoms past your knees ideally. Bring a raincoat, also. It rains a lot, and you don’t want to have to buy a poncho from the gift shop.

Speaking of the gift shop, the gift shop here was the best we saw in the country. We only bought one thing there, but the whole time we wished we had purchased T-shirts or hoodies from this gift shop.

Alternative Idea: If anyone in your group is nervous about ziplining or you’re traveling with really young kids, look into Arenal Ecoglide instead. It uses a double-cable system built for safety and is known for being beginner-friendly. I will say, however, that we had a man close to us while ziplining from London who was absolutely terrified of heights. He did so well and had fun!

Waterfall Rappelling

The next day, Nate and McKenna did waterfall rappelling through Pure Trek Canyoning. This activity also includes a free lunch. They ahd SO MUCH fun. This was one of McKenna’s very favorite things she did. You rapel down waterfalls with drops ranging from 40-165 feet. It includes a zipline into a pool. It is rated for ages five and up. We purchased the photo package, also.

Make sure you wear quick-dry synthetic clothing, water shoes or hiking sandals with good traction, and bring a change of clothes for traveling afterward. Always take sunscreen and bug spray with you. Remember: intense sun and rainforest! There are a lot of bugs.

La Fortuna Volcano

You can hike the volcano. You can do self-guided or pay for guided tours! All of my research suggested booking activities in the morning because it tends to be dry in the morning and rain some in the afternoon. So you might want to plan to hike in the morning.

Alternative Idea: For a quieter, less crowded volcano hike, the Mirador El Silencio Trail is a favorite among Costa Rica travel bloggers. Ikt winds through pristine rainforest to old lava flows and a lookout over the volcano and an emerald lagoon without the national park crowds.

Walk Around Town

If you read many of my itineraries, you know I love to walk around town or a city. We spent an evening walking around La Fortuna and visiting the panaderias and other shops. They were delicious! We just bought food to try and sat in the little park in the middle of town and ate. It seemed like just about every town had a park.

Other Things to Consider in La Fortuna

You really can go to just one region of Costa Rica and have a full experience there, but we wanted to see other parts of the country. Here are other things you can do in La Fortuna that we considered but did not have time for:

Hot Springs: Ecotermales offers a quieter, more intimate soak, while Baldi Hot Springs is bigger and livelier with waterslides, making it a great pick for families with more active kids.
River Float: a calm float down the Penas Blancas River where you’re likely to spot monkeys, sloths, and iguanas along the banks. A nice option for young families or people who prefer a calmer adventure.
River Rafting: You can also do white-water rafting here! We talked to people who HIGHLY recommended this activity. We unfortunately didn’t have time to add it in, but it is a fun option to consider!
Sloth and birth tours: If you love animals, the Mariolas Trail just outside town is one of the best spots in the area to see sloths in the wild.

Traveling to Manuel Antonio

The next day we set aside just for a travel day to get from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio. Because I had heard how hard driving can be in Costa Rica, I didn’t want to commit us to any activities this day. The estimated time was about 6-7 hours, and that was accurate. We just drove. We slept as late as we could before checkout and then drove down the coast. It is a beautiful drive, but a VERY windy one! McKenna got incredibly motion sick. If you have anyone who gets carsick, have them sit in the front seat and bring motion sickness medication with you.

We stopped at little shops along the way. We also stopped at an Argentine restaurant along the way. It was Sabor Criollo Argentino. My husband served his mission in Argentina for two years and LOVED the food here. There are so many beautiful places to access the beach in this area (including the Jaco area nearby). We stopped at a beach in this area and had a picnic lunch on our way back to San Jose later in the trip.

There is also a popular “Crocodile Bridge” that many people like to stop at and look at the crocodiles in the river. One local warned us that it is a high-target area for theft since people know there are a lot of tourists there, so be aware of belongings in your car and on your person.

Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio is one of the more popular beach areas in Costa Rica. It was a lot busier in this town than it had been in the La Fortuna area.

Hotel Playa Espadilla

There are a whole lot of options of where to stay in this town. It is very touristy, so you will be able to find something that fits exactly what you are looking for. Hotel Playa Espadilla is a Costa Rican family-owned hotel just a couple of minutes’ walk from the beach and also a couple of minutes walk to the entrance of Manuel Antonio National Park. From our observation, it is very difficult to park close to this National Park, so we loved the location of our hotel. The hotel is peaceful and feels private even though you are in such a busy city.

There was air conditioning in this hotel, which was a huge perk! The rooms were very clean and comfortable. They have a delicious restaurant on site with a complimentary breakfast. They have a beautiful pool area. Our room also had a little fridge for storing food.

If we were to travel to Costa Rica again, I would definitely stay at the hotels we stayed at again.

Quepos

As you are traveling to Manuel Antonio, take note of Queopos. Quepos is the town you go through just before Manuel Antonio. It is bigger than Manuel Antonio with more restaurants and grocery stores. We did some shopping at Maxi Pali in Quepos to get some groceries for our stay in Manuel Antonio.

Parasailing

We had booked parasailing our first day there. The owner accidentally put our reservation down wrong, so they were not there on the day of our booking. She immediately drove to the beach to talk to us in person. They worked so closely with us the rest of our trip to find a day and time for us to do the parasailing later in the trip. It worked great because the weather ended up being best the day we did it. It is owned by a husband and wife team. The wife is from the United States and husband from Costa Rica. I would recommend Aguas Azules for your parasailing! They offer other activities, also.

We had a lot of fun! Plan to go barefoot and plan to not wear sunglasses.

Surfing

We just walked up to a guy on the beach to do some surfing lessons. They were a legitimate setup with the ability to book ahead online. The experience was just okay. Nate and Kaitlyn did surfing lessons in Hawaii and the experience there was FAR better. I am sure there was some communication barrier going on, but they did not teach well — primarily in basic things to stay safe. McKenna was able to get up easily, but one time taking her board back out in the ocean, a wave whacked the board into her face. They hadn’t told her how or where to hold her board to avoid that. So she ended up with a bloody lip and a scraped-up face.

Beach Time

You can rent beach chairs from a lot of people along the beach (including Aguas Azules). It is a beautiful beach. One thing to be aware of is that the beach is very much a beach where people walk by all day trying to get you to buy things. Buy adventures, bracelets, hair braiding, lessons, clothes, food…whatever. I don’t love that experience on beaches when I travel. The beaches in the Jaco area were much quieter.

But since you are so close to the national park, you will see monkeys everywhere. They are a constant, so that is a lot of fun.

Catamaran Cruise

We did a catamaran cruise with Brisa Elegante. This is a 100 foot wooden sailing ship. It departs from the Marina Pez Vela in Quepos. This activity includes a delicious lunch and fresh fruit. You get a beautiful view of the coastline and the national park. You also get time for swimming, snorkeling, and paddleboarding in the calm Pacific waters. The water is super warm.

The crew was wonderful and the company was great. We drove ourselves to every adventure except this one. I was glad we had them pick us up as finding the office to start the day would have been hard alone.

BUT what we didn’t realize is how incredibly seasick you can get on this ship. Nate and McKenna are both very prone to seasickness, so this was not their favorite because they were so sick. The crew was so great in providing medicine and ginger with lime. It helped, but many people aboard were so sick. One poor little boy was having a very rough experience the whole time.

We were later told by our driver that the actual catamarans are much better for people who get seasick. You just don’t get tossed around as much. They are not pretty to look at, but a better option if people in your party get sick.

Brisa Elegante with Valerie and McKenna in front

Manuel Antonio National Park

The next day, we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. There are beautiful beaches you can only access in this park (one of them is where they filmed Cast Away). There are wild monkeys everywhere in this park. You will typically see more active wildlife in the morning because they like it when it is cooler. We saw the most in the afternoon because it had stormed that morning, and they were coming out after the storm. There is a nice little hik that is much easier than they make it seem. There are a lot of mosquitoes, so wear bug spray!

You do need tickets to get into the park, and they only sell so many tickets a day. The tickets also have time slots–they stagger entrances (though were were told they are pretty flexible on that. They will usually let you in early if you just have tickets for that day). For most weekdays, you can simply purchase the day before. You can also purchase at the entrance. For weekends, you want to purchase further in advance. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to change your date, so make sure you are committed to the day before you buy. You can’t simply transfer your ticket to another day. You would have to buy tickets all over again.

As you approach the park entrance, you will be bombarded by people who want to sell a “park guide” to you. You do not need a guide to go into the park. You can get one if you like, but many of them make it seem like it is required. It is not.

Other Things to Do

Just like you could spend your whole time in La Fortuna, you could spend your whole time in Manuel Antonio. They also have Ziplining (less intense than La Fortuna), whitewater rafting, wildlife tours, and waterfalls.

Driving Back to San Jose

We set aside another day just to travel back to San Jose. We again took our time and stopped at places as we traveled. There is a LOT of traffic in San Jose, so take that into account with your travel time. Add time for traffic.

We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express hotel right by the airport since our flight left early the next morning.

Guanacaste Coast

Another option instead of Manuel Antonio for a beach experience is the Guanacaste Coast. Here are some notes I took when deciding:

3.5 hours west of La Fortuna
Northwest
Beaches
Tamarindo. Conchel, Flamingo Beach
Potrero is laid back and quiet town
Flamingo is white sandy beaches
Playa Hermosa is a quiet beach town north calm cove
Snorkeling

Booking Activities

McKenna does not like to be overbooked, and she LOVES naps. So I booked one activity each day and left the afternoon open for doing what we wanted. I had a list of optional activities in the area so we could try different things out. We could also just do a beach nap or even a hotel nap.

Our Costa Rica Itinerary at a Glance

Fly out. Flight leaves at 10 AM. Flight lands in San Jose at 7:30 PM.
- Get rental car. Drive to La Fortuna.
- Check in at Arenal Observatory
9 AM-3 PM – Ziplining, hanging bridges, gondola ride. Includes lunch
- Be there 8:45 AM
9 AM-Noon – Waterfall Rappelling. Includes lunch
- Afternoon: Hike the volcano
- Be there 8:15 AM
- Other La Fortuna Ideas: Visit waterfalls, hot springs, white water rafting, safari river float, boat tour
Hike volcano if unable earlier in the trip
- Check out and drive to Manuel Antonio
- Check in to Hotel Playa Espadilla
10:30 AM – Parasailing
- Beach Day
- Surfing Lessons
8:30 AM – Catamaran Cruise
- Picked up 7:35 AM
Manuel Antonio National Park
- Other Manuel Antonio Ideas: surf lessons, ATVs
Beach Day
- Check out
- Drive to San Jose
- Check in at Holiday Inn Express
Fly home. Flight leaves at 8:45 AM. Flight lands at 10 PM

Before we left, I told ChatGPT our itinerary and had it make a graphic so we could all easily see what was coming up the whole trip. Don’t look too closely at the zipliner haha.

Packing and Practical Tips

A few things I would tell you before you head to Costa Rica:

Download WhatsApp. This is the way most of the local companies will want to communicate with you.
Bring a filtered water bottle. This is for both the taste of the water and also just the safety of the water. Most water is safe to drink, and we drank the water often with no major issues. McKenna’s stomach was a bit upset toward the end. If you have a sensitive stomach, you can have issues. Also, better safe than sorry.
Pack quick-dry, synthetic clothing. Between waterfalls, rain showers, and the ocean, you will be wet more often than not.
Account for the humidity. It is VERY humid there. Things take a long time to dry out. Take that into account as you decide how much to pack.
Pack a rain jacket. It rains a lot. It is a rain forest. You will get rained on.
Bring water shoes and/or sport sandals that can handle river crossings, mud, boat docks, and wet rocks.
A dry bag or waterproof phone case is worth it. We used ours all the time.
Leave plenty of time for travel. Plan to be there earlier than you are supposed to be. Do not book things too close together. Most will not reimburse you if you miss things.
Plan for the beach. If you are going to a beach town, pack like you would for the beach.
Bring sunscreen. The sun is intense in Costa Rica. Really intense. Even on cloudy days, wear sunscreen to avoid burns.
Bug lotion is wonderful. I always get bitten a lot by mosquitoes. This repellent lotion is AMAZING. It lasts 12-14 hours and works really well. I put it on every morning. One day, I forgot. I was only bitten the day I forgot the lotion.
Prepare to readjust when you get home. Again, it is super humid in Costa Rica. You might want saline spray, extra lotion, a humidifier, etc. at home to help you adjust to your own climate without drying your entire body out.

What Time of Year is Best to Go

The secret to a great trip anywhere is going when the weather is the most pleasant for you. Costa Rica has wet season and wetter season.

The generally accepted best time to visit Costa Rica is December to April. This is the driest time of year. You will have more sunshine and less rain. It will be more expensive with the most crowds, also. Locals told us the hottest time of year there is February through April and they do not recommend their friends come that time. But that is generally a very popular time.

From May to November, you will have lower prices, lower crowds, and the greenest landscape. It is the rainy season, though, so you also have the most rain. September and October are the rainiest.

July and August do have veranillo, which is basically “little summer.” There is a break in the rain. We went in July and had lovely weather. The week before we were there, it was raining really hard. So there is a risk in these months.

Communicating with Locals

The locals in Costa Rica are so friendly and relaxed. Most of them work in some sort of tourism, so they generally speak English quite well and are very used to tourists. They have a saying, “Pura Vida!” which literally means “pure life,” but basically means whatever you want it to. They use it for hello, goodbye, hakunna matata…whatever. I got to the point where I told vendors on the beach, “No, gracias. Pura vida.”

Nate speaks Spanish very well and sounds native, so people usually spoke Spanish to us. I understand most of the conversation, and McKenna understands some.

Food in Costa Rica

When I was researching Costa Rica, I read that Costa Rica is not a place for foodies. I expected food to be very bland and basic. But we found it to be very delicious and fresh! Yes, there are a lot of rice and beans. But it was all wonderful, with lots of unique dishes.

Conclusion

Costa Rica ended up being one of our favorite vacation spots. I would highly recommend it to anyone! There is so much adventure and so much beauty, all at better prices than many locations like this usually are. For a lot more super helpful help, see the website Two Weeks in Costa Rica.