Costa Rica family vacation for all ages

Planet

We try to keep motorised travel to a minimum where possible. Some of the lodges we use also raft in or use shared boat transfers. We avoid internal flights whenever possible, and so when traveling to Corcovado or Tortuguero we encourage clients to go by land or boat, rather than flying. We also encourage a ferry journey rather than a longer overland drive, e.g. from Puntarenas traveling to the South Pacific coast.

You’ll mainly be eating locally sourced food while you are in Costa Rica, with several of the lodges and haciendas we use implementing a ‘farm to table’ model, and the seafood is abundant. For vegetarians and vegans there are colourful local salads and an array of tropical fruits.

Costa Rica is working to achieve economy-wide net-zero carbon neutral emissions by 2050.

Our carefully selected local partners have the highest possible certification when it comes to sustainability.

We encourage our guests not to over-use the air conditioning and to re-use their towels to reduce energy use. Our local partners check for water refill points to minimise the use of plastic water bottles, and in our trip information we recommend people bring refillable or filter water bottles and avoid buying single-use plastic.

Our guests are asked to respect local wildlife and are given comprehensive briefings on how to behave during all activities. All wildlife-related activities are carefully vetted to ensure they are responsibly run, for instance we encourage people to avoid so-called 'sloth parks' in La Fortuna as these are not considered to be responsibly run, with the sloths sometimes being transported to the parks in order for visitors to see them, rather than naturally living in that specific park.

We use eco lodges when possible. We also have a glamping accommodation. Many accommodations in Costa Rica blend seamlessly into the forest.

Costa Rica is home to a sensitive ecosystem including jungle and coral reef, so protecting the environment is a priority. Many of the hotels we use have eco-friendly systems to re-use water, they compost food waste, have on-site walking trails and encourage wildlife. They grow own produce to work towards zero ‘food miles’. They make a point of promoting this and being proud of it.

Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula has one of the world's rare Blue Zones—a geographic region where a high concentration of people live exceptionally long, healthy lives, often reaching 100 or more thanks to strong community bonds, a traditional plant-rich diet, and a daily purpose.

The guides who work in the hotels or eco-lodges are trained to uphold conservational principles and encourage our guests to visit responsibly. Some of the guides we use are highly qualified in their field, often involved in research and writing papers for example. We would urge our customers to heed advice about not feeding local wildlife, sticking to allocated trails only, taking out everything you take in (leaving nothing behind) and keeping themselves and the animals safe as they explore.

Cosa Rican national parks are incredibly special, and we work with our local partners to ensure that all excursions into any parks are done with certified operators. National Park fees and permits help direct revenue into where it is needed to promote conservation.

People

All our tours in Costa Rica are run in conjunction with local partners that have been chosen partly because they provide a fantastic service, and also because they share our environmental and social goals.

Where guests enjoy the services of local guides throughout their visit, we ensure that these guides are from the same regional area and will be pleased to answer questions and give an excellent insight into the way of life in the region. Guides in Costa Rica are typically experts in their field, passionate about their role in preserving the ecosystem and encourage visitors to act responsibly. As well as nature guides, we promote local activities such as cookery experiences in someone's homestead, or cultural visits. We often include a visit to the Maleku community, an indigenous group living close to the Arenal Waterfall, helping direct some tourist funds towards preserving their culture and lifestyle.

As much as possible, we work with locally owned hotels and eco-lodges, promoting relationships with hoteliers who offer refillable toiletries rather than single-use sachets or minis. We recommend that our clients eat in independent establishments and visit independently owned shops and markets. We constantly add to our list of recommendations, which is sent to travelers before they go.

Our programmes are run together with partners that are owned and run by local people and who share our belief in the importance of operating in a socially responsible way, paying staff fairly and offering appropriate working hours and conditions.

We also understand that tipping is culturally appropriate and makes up a portion of income in certain job types, therefore we also provide detailed guidelines for our travelers as to suitable amounts.

By booking with us, you will be supporting various local guides, drivers, and service providers (e.g., hotel staff, market stallholders, boat drivers etc.), promoting employment from local communities, and good job opportunities for people coming up through training. Guide training in Costa Rica is of a particularly high standard and by including guided activities (instead of trying to self-guide in national parks) this ensures that the guides receive plenty of work and encourages investment in quality guiding.

This trip is LGBTQ+ friendly, and we welcome families of all types on our trips.