Sorry to leave!
Costa Rica
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Jan 10 - Jan 17, 2026
In an airport on our way home last night, my 8 year-old grandson was reading posters for various travel options. "Where do you want to go next?" I asked. "Nowhere," he said. "I want to go back to Costa Rica.." That sums up our experience. When you work with an unfamiliar travel group, you never know if you can trust the literature. We could. Everything in our week-long trip went exactly as scheduled.
The hotel our family met up at, Buena Vista Chic Hotel, was beautifully situated. The staff was kind and the breakfast was delicious. The shuttle made it possible for us to arrive on three different flights.
Our personal driver, Cesar, accommodated all of our schedule requests and navigated challenging roads and traffic conditions carefully. He even brought a booster for our youngest traveler. Translation apps on our phones helped us out when we had plans to make that exceeded our language skills.
Our tour guides in Tirimbina (Ralph on the river trip and Valeria on the night walk at the Lodge) were fun to be with as well as very knowledgable about the wildlife at hand. The children overcame their initial fears about hanging bridges and became confident discoverers of monkeys, frogs and leaf-cutter ants.
The folks at Los Lagos let us swim before our afternoon excursion to the Mistico hanging bridges, even though check in wasn't until after 3. The adults loved soaking in the hot pools and the kids adored the water slides in the cool pools. We had lunch poolside and dinner in the dining room. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. And breakfast the next morning was absolutely incredible. It was hard to tear the kids away after just one night.
The drive from La Fortuna to Quepos was challenging in its length and the hardest part of the trip. We arrived after dark and didn't know until the next morning how beautiful our beach location was at Karahé. Our rooms on the lower (beach) level were perfect both for the kids and the 2 grandmothers, giving us easy access to the water and restaurant. (I would NOT have wanted to need to cross the busy road dividing the property.) Breakfasts were very basic but dinner in the restaurant and lunches on the beach were great. We also took Ubers to 2 other restaurants.
The children skipped our excursion to Manuel Antonio Park in favor of playing on the beach. (The early start was too much for them although it put 4 of us at the front of the crowd at a very busy park). The easy walking and a good guide (Lisandro) with a telescopic lens made this visit comfortable for 2 of us with some vision and mobility issues, although I much preferred the quiet of Sarapiqui.
It was a pleasure to reconnect with "our" driver for the trip to the airport.
The trip was a total success for our family of folks ranging from 8 to 76. Thanks!
Hotel Reviews
This hotel far exceeded our expectations. Yes, it was close to the SJO airport and had a shuttle. But it also had a beautiful location over-looking the city, very kind staff and a great restaurant. It was a perfect start to our week n Costa Rica.
The children in our group would happily have lived here!
It was a pleasure to end our trip here with private beach access, the pool and the restaurant just steps away from our rooms. It was fun to have a sloth and her baby hanging in a tree by reception and a mischievous group of monkeys swinging past the restaurant.
I wanted to start my family's first trip to Costa Rica in this quiet location away from crowds.
Activity Reviews
More than 3,000 people a day visit this park, so it was always busy. I much prefer quieter locations but the level paths and a guide with a telephoto lens on his scope made this a great final excursion for 2 of us with vision and mobility issues.
Our family had the boat to ourselves! Ralph was charming and informative. He and the boat captain spotted birds, reptiles and mammals that we certainly wouldn't have seen on our own. What a great lazy way to enjoy the area: motoring down the river. Ralph also shared some 3-D goggles that were a revelation to us all.
Our children were feeling a bit apprehensive about walking in the jungle at night. Valeria hit just the right tone to keep them engaged and comfortable.