Family Costa Rica Adventure Summer 22

Posted on 11th Oct 2022

Costa Rica is a land of contrasts. The calm and serenity of nature, with huge adrenaline hits readily available wherever you go. Taking my family, consisting of my husband and four children ages 16, 14, 11 and 9 on a 3-week adventure to Costa Rica this summer, was a chance to experience it all.

Locals deeply respect nature, enforced by strict government laws to preserve and protect the biodiversity that makes Costa Rica so unique. It’s also a particularly environmentally-friendly country, with a strong focus on conscious tourism. Here eco-lodges blend into the jungle, and people give back to the land far more than they take. The itineraries my family does are slightly different to the ones we design for our clients, simply because we are trying to cram in as much as possible, in order to pick out the highlights and put it into something more leisurely and easy-paced. The challenge with this trip, however, was that everything was amazing, therefore for the job of editing becomes much harder.

The first thing that I will say is that summer is very wet. There are two seasons in Costa Rica, the wet and the wetter season! The different microclimates do mean that you can drive through a torrential rainstorm one minute, and then reach blue skies and gentle breezes moments later. The mountainous regions are cooler and wetter but every day is slightly unpredictable. The Caribbean coast in July and August is slightly more temperamental than the Pacific coast and we ended on Conchal beach which was the best 4 days of weather we had had during the whole trip.

We opted to self-drive, flying into San Jose, and then taking off to Tortuguero, the rainforest which can only be reached by boat. This is a great way to experience some of the magic of the country with its plethora of wildlife. The gentle boats take you down a wide river where guides with magnifying glasses for eyes spot even the most camouflaged creatures. Binoculars are essential. Accommodations are eco-chic and it’s full board for the simple reason that there is nowhere else to go. This was the only part of our trip where we were completely handheld and at the mercy of the timings of a bigger group. It didn’t matter, it was the perfect way to start us off.

After leaving Tortuguero and heading back to less remote lands, we picked up our car rental and headed for the cost of Puerta Viejo, a brilliantly vibrant and slightly bohemian pocket on the Caribbean coast. The highlight here was the local food places we visited and the Cahuita rainforest hike.
Arenal was next, A lush green mountainous region famous of the huge volcano and thermal springs. This was our wettest few days of the trip but we managed to pack so much in.. We did the hanging Bridges, a unique private cooking experience with the local legend of Arenal, swimming in thermal springs, sloth tours and hikes.

It was on to Rio Perdido for the adrenaline part of the trip. Zip lining, tubing, more hanging bridges and breathtaking deep canyons are all designed to make the heart race. Family bonding is at its best when everyone needs some support and words of encouragement to conquer their fears. Thrill seekers would not be disappointed but even the more timid would have loved the seven zip lines on offer, each one longer and more daring than the last. There was still plenty of downtime despite fitting so much in.

The next few days were spent enjoying more downtime on the pacific coast in Conchal, the playground of choice for many Americans who can fly into the local airport and enjoy long weekends. The beach here was one of the best I have ever seen and I am extremely well travelled. Aside from a whale-spotting boat trip, we took in the time to relax and enjoy the scenery around us, but there was still so much to choose from had we wanted to remain active every day.

Lastly, we hit the mountains of Guanacaste again in a very different climate. The air was much cooler, so much so that we lit our fire in August, but it was the perfect temperature to enjoy some more hiking to visit the resident three waterfalls, some horse riding and some mountain biking. Had we been there on the right day, we would have partaken in the rum-tasting class.

In summary, there was something for everyone on this trip. We all unanimously loved the food, something I hadn’t given much thought to before we left but it was very much one of the highlights. Patacones (deep-fried plantain discs) served with guacamole, rice and beans with slow-cooked gently spiced chicken, lightly fried local catch, bowls of Pico de Gallo and corn tortillas…. An endless menu of tasty traditional fayre. We loved nature and all the accompanying noises from the frogs, the cicadas, the birds, and the howler monkeys. The giant iguanas casually strolled along the footpaths and the creepy crawlies were spotted far less frequently than I’d feared. But most of all, the people. There is a warmth and friendliness about the Costa Ricans on a scale that’s unparalleled in any other country I’ve visited.

“Pura Vida” is the mantra of the Costa Ricans which translates into many meanings, all of which are related to simple pleasures and the joy of life. Perhaps this is why they are some of the longest-living people on the planet.