I visited Costa Rica once before and since then, it has been my mission to return. I love that it offers the best of both worlds, rainforest, and the beach. And in Costa Rica, you can be active during the day and then catch magical sunsets on the beach in the evening. Perfect!
I started planning our trip one year in advance. I had an idea of what I wanted to do but I wasn’t sure of the locations I wanted to visit. I found Costa Rica Vacations (https://www.vacationscostarica.com/), and I was able to detail everything I wanted to do, and they came up with an itinerary for me and my family. I spoke with a travel agent, Tiffany, prior to booking anything though. And, after speaking with her I had more confidence that this would be an amazing trip and was ready to book. What sealed the deal was that two other families booked with us. My kids always do better when there are other kids on vacation. It keeps them from fighting (siblings, right?) and helps break up the day for them. I couldn’t wait for our trip to Costa Rica!
We flew into San Jose, and from there it was a four-hour shuttle ride to Las Logos. The ride to the resort was a little rocky – literally. We were traveling on switchbacks, where the roads were narrow and unfriendly, especially if you are prone to car sickness. Connor fell victim to a rough, rough ride and unfortunately got sick 4 times over the span of 4 hours. This wasn’t the ideal start to the trip, but we were hoping the destination was worth the drive.
Las Logos Resort (https://www.hotelloslagos.com/) sits at the bottom of the Arenal Volcano. Unfortunately, it was impossible to see the volcano because of the fog and the rain (which happened every day). But the rooms at the resort were big, we had two full size beds with single trundles under each bed. It was a perfect set up for a family of four.
The resort also offered hot spring pools, along with water slides and swim up bars. The food at the bar was good, and inexpensive compared to US resort prices. We spent three days at Las Logos, and the first day we went to La Fortuna waterfall. We used a hop on shuttle service to get there, and it was an $18 round trip for the four of us. Once we got to the waterfall, it was 500 hundred steps down and 500 hundred steps back up. It was quite an experience, but it was fun and a unique opportunity to see the waterfall and be in the rainforest.
The following day we went on a sloth tour. Believe it or not, I didn’t have high hopes for the sloth tour – but I really enjoyed it. There is no way we would be able to see the sloths if we didn’t go on a tour. They had scouts that told the guides where the sloths were, and while we were on the tour, he also pointed out Howler Monkeys. Seeing the monkeys was an extra plus.
The town of La Fortuna offers a lot of souvenir shops, chocolate/coffee shops as well as cafes. We had a few meals in town. It was nice to have an authentic experience. I always like to feel off the grid when I travel – it makes me feel more in tune with the culture.
On the third day of the trip, we headed to Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort https://www.tamarindodiria.com/).I was worried about Connor, because it was a 5-hour long drive, but luckily, he did not get car sick! Thank goodness! As soon as we approached the beach town, I knew I would love it. For the past two days, we were in the rain forest and it literally rained all day, every day, so it was nice to finally see sunshine!
We spent the first day at the pool and the beach. The hotel is beachfront, but our room was across the street with a pool view. The room was small, but worked just fine for our family. It could also get loud at night, but I had a white noise machine and ear plugs! Just like at Las Logos, Tamarindo had an excellent morning breakfast with fresh fruit, eggs, grains, pastries and cereals. I did not enjoy coffee at either hotel. My favorite coffee was at the Rainforest café in La Fortuna.
On the second day at the beach resort, we went on an ATV tour. Despite being dusty, it was fun! I would recommend using the goggles they provide. I opted to use my sunglasses and my eyes were closed nearly the whole time. We stopped at two beaches for swimming and sightseeing during the tour. Overall, the tour was about 4 hours.
Restaurants lined the beach and every evening there were live fire shows in addition to beautiful sunsets. I love fresh fish and the restaurants here did not disappoint in that respect. The resort also had a pizza place that we frequented a lot. Our go to meal was one large cheese pizza, and salad with grilled chicken for Mom 😊.
Our final day was spent on a catamaran sunset cruise. We originally thought it was a private cruise, but there were about 25 people in total on the boat. Honestly, we all had enough space on the catamaran, so it worked out well. We were able to kayak, paddle board and snorkel. I did get stung by a jellyfish; it was not pleasant – but I survived! The cruise included dinner and drinks. The food was good…the drinks could have been better. But the crew was amazing and very attentive.
Our travel day home consisted of shuttling to the Liberia airport, taking a puddle jumper to SJO. Then we caught a connecting flight to El Salvador and finally landed in DC at midnight. It was a long day but well worth it!
Here are my quick takeaways from the trip.
Favorite excursion: Catamaran Sunset cruise… or ATV tour!
Favorite foods: Fresh fruit and ceviche
Hotels:
Las Logos Resort
Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort
Travel Agency:
Costa Rica Vacations
Trip duration:
6 nights
Regrets:
Getting travelers' stomachs on the way back!!!
