Family vacations in Costa Rica FAQs

A Costa Rica family vacation is often a one off trip of a lifetime, so you want to make sure that it will be the right decision and, indeed, destination for you all. We work hand in hand with family specialists who appreciate all the nuances and needs of family travel and will be able to answer all of your questions. Before that, here are a few of our most common concerns from those thinking of a family vacation in Costa Rica, and which we hope will help assure you that this really is a dream come true for one and all.

Costa Rica probably isn’t the country for you if wildlife isn’t your thing, because as well as monkeys and myriad birdlife you will get ants in your pants, beetles bustling and spiders spinning. vActually, the only thing that could really endanger you is the fer-de-lance snake, but that is only found in very remote areas.

Malaria is restricted to a few coastal regions – mainly in Limón province in the southern Caribbean – and is more prevalent in the rainy season. Taking precautions rather than medication is usually the recommendation. Cover up as best you can in the jungle regions, and wear a DEET product, which you should apply 20 minutes after your sunscreen. The same goes for avoiding dengue fever, which is also transmitted by mosquitoes.

This is indeed the most vibrant of Costa Rica’s volcanoes, spewing lava for over 40 years but not since 2010. It likes to make its presence known with steam and sparks from time to time, although you often can’t see those as it is shrouded in cloud a lot of the time. It’s the adventures around Arenal that are really hot, with zip lining, canopy tours and rafting all on the cards. There are several other active volcanoes in Costa Rica, such as Poás, which erupted in February 2014. If there is a risk of eruption the parks around the volcanoes will be closed, and your tour leader will always keep an eye on local updates.

Costa Rica really does have something for everyone, so if you have very young ones and just want to chill out in an exquisite ecolodge, then this is the place to do it. You are never too young to experience that sense of ‘pura vida’. And if you need to feel revived or rejuvenated after having a baby, this is definitely the place to be. If you want to make the most of the activities on offer, such as white water rafting or zip wiring, then you might want to wait until the kids are closer to teenage, and chat with your tour operator for advice.

One of the biggest safety issues in Costa Rica is riptides and deaths do happen every year. Few beaches have life guards, so do take time to swot up on rips and how to recognise them. Here are some good tips from RNLI. The main tip is not to try and fight it, but swim parallel to the beach or just float on your back until the current has passed. Drowning occurs when swimmers exhaust themselves by struggling against the current. Most importantly, just don’t bathe at beaches where there are riptides with your kids.

Stamina rather than fitness is the key to a Costa Rica family vacation because you are going to cover quite a lot of ground. But not necessarily steep ground. Or difficult ground. So the emphasis is definitely on awesome rather than tiresome. Hiking trails are often flat, and some of them way up in the canopy, so they are always exciting. However, these are definitely vacations for families who enjoy a bit of outdoors time.

A lot better than many other parts of the world, for sure. This is a country that prioritises environmental and social issues so it is not surprising to learn that it is definitely working on becoming an inclusive destination too. Several of Costa Rica’s national parks and tour attractions have fully accessible designs. Part of Monteverde Skywalk is accessible for wheelchair users, Carara National Park has a “universal access” trail in the rainforest and Poás Volcano National Park, in the Central Valley, is also completely accessible with paved walkways, ramps and information aids, all the way up to the crater. You can even take some of the country’s famous zip line tours in a wheelchair. So in terms of accessibility, Costa Rica is flying.

Costa Rica has a reputation for eco-chic lodges, and there certainly are lots of those beauties out there. You can sleep on a rainforest riverside in Tortuguero National Park, in lush forest at Sarapiquí or on the Caribbean coast with the backdrop of the tropically gorgeous Cahuita National Park. It also comes with a fair smattering of stunning hotels, with pools, dazzling views and state of the art facilities, while also adhering to responsible tourism practices. You definitely get what you pay for here and Costa Rica is not cheap. So rest assured that you will get comfort and class.

Costa Rica is one of the most socially progressive countries in the region and, since 2017, is the only country in Central America to recognise any form of same sex relationship by law. Although gay marriage is not legally recognised, the law has now been extended to include “the right to recognition without discrimination contrary to human dignity.” Baby steps, but if you are visiting Costa Rica with your own babies as same sex parents, you shouldn’t have a problem. In fact LGBT tourism is very much on the increase in Costa Rica.

The same goes for single parents, and of course the joys of traveling with a family expert tour operator is that they will help organise accommodation and activities that suits your family needs along the way.