One Week Costa Rica Family Itinerary for San Jose International Airport

If you plan to visit Costa Rica with kids, here is our recommended one week Costa Rica family itinerary for San Jose International Airport (SJO).

This one week Costa Rica family itinerary fits perfectly for spring break for 7 nights, 8 days including travel days.

This one week Costa Rica family itinerary is an easy one to plan and a popular one, ideal for first time visitors.

It goes to two main tourist destinations for beach, rainforest, nature and relaxation: La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio.

If you have more days, we will show you how to add to this itinerary.

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How to Get Around This One Week Costa Rica Family Itinerary

First, let’s talk about how to get around this one week Costa Rica family itinerary.

Our personal recommendation is to rent a car in Costa Rica. You can also book private shuttles.

Renting a Car and Driving

Driving is the most flexible way to get around Costa Rica. You can throw all the kids stuff in the car, stop anytime and anywhere and it’s much more comfortable. Additionally, you have more lodging options.

Go where you want, when you want.

The downsides are that you have to drive and figure out routes.

Furthermore, for some families, it’s just one adult who drives the whole time. This can be very tiring for them because some routes can be 3-5 hours long.

What Type of Car to Rent?

For a family with one young child, a sedan can work if you have light luggage and are going to destinations that don’t require any type of high clearance car or 4wd.

This means you will have to stay near the town center and avoid vacation rentals or hotels up in the mountains or more remote areas.

However, a SUV would be best if you have two or more children. That way, you will have enough room for all the kid stuff, child seats and luggage.

A 2wd high clearance SUV can work in dry season for the majority of tourist destinations.

A 4×4 would be required if you have more luggage, more kids and want to stay at more remote destinations or vacation rentals.

For large families, a van will be the best option for plenty of room. In Costa Rica, you can rent 9/11 seater vans with and without 4×4 traction.

GOOD TO KNOW: Children 12 and under are required by law to use a booster or car seat. Car rental companies in Costa Rica offer baby and booster seats for an extra cost. I recommend to ask for a photo of the seats they have so you can check it.

Reconfirm with them if they provide infant seats for less than 1 year as some do not.

Read more about renting a car in Costa Rica and get our Costa Rica car rental discount and extra benefits like free baby and booster seats here!

Private Shuttles

If you do not want to drive, then private shuttle services will be your next best option for families. We do not recommend shared shuttles for families.

For private shuttle services, you don’t have to share the vehicles so no worrying about your kids crying or throwing a tantrum with other passengers.

No stress if you need to make a multiple emergency bathrooms stops either. (Shared shuttles only include one stop).

Other private shuttle advantages: Direct airport pick up, driver’s usually speak basic to intermediate English, door to door service including vacation rentals. Can make multiple or longer stops along the way.

Tip: Ask them for a photo of the child seats they have because some companies have the seats without locking seat belts or clips.

Read more about shuttles in Costa Rica here and if you’d like a quote for a private shuttle, please contact us!

How to get around when you are in your destination without a car

You should book a hotel close to the town center to be in walking distance to everything. Or you need to choose a nicer resort with full amenities and can offer local transport.

For activities, you can book tours with transportation.

One Week Costa Rica Family Itinerary: La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio Map

Below is our interactive map of our one week Costa Rica family itinerary with the driving route, hotel recommendations, destinations and things to do.

Click the left hand side bar to open the categories.

If you decide to fly into Guanacaste Airport instead, here is our Costa Rica Family Itinerary for Guanacaste Airport.

Day 1: Land in SJO, Travel to La Fortuna (3 hour drive)

After landing at San Jose International Airport, pick up your rental car or get picked up by your private driver to go to La Fortuna.

This drive takes around 3 hours without traffic but plan for at least 4 hours (more if you are landing around rush hour).

IMPORTANT: If you are landing after 5 PM during the rainy season (May through November), stay a night by the airport and then leave early the next morning. It tends to rain hard at night and it gets dark in Costa Rica at 6 PM everyday. Better to drive in the daylight the next day.

If you hired a private driver, you can go to La Fortuna as the drivers are very familiar with the weather and roads.

You can read this post about driving from San Jose to La Fortuna for tips on this drive. You can read more about the drive to La Fortuna after landing.

Recommended hotels in San Jose for families with free airport shuttle and free hot breakfast: Hotel Aeropuerto, Adventure Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Cariari, Courtyard San Jose Airport Alajuela and Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport Costa Rica.

Booking a room at the Adventure Inn? Get 10% off using the promo code “mytanfeet” on their booking page!

Why La Fortuna?

La Fortuna is one of the best destinations in Costa Rica for families.

This area offers excellent tourist infrastructure, diverse accommodations, numerous restaurants, and activities for all ages and many natural attractions including a volcano, national park, surrounding rainforest.

Read our dedicated things to do in la Fortuna with kids blog post and our specific La Fortuna 3 days itinerary which also works for 2 and 4 days.

Recommended hotels in La Fortuna for families: Los Lagos Spa & Thermal Resort, Arenal Manoa, Casa del Rio, The Springs Resort and Spa, and Arenal Springs Resort.

All nice hotels with family rooms, hot breakfast included with beautiful volcano views and pools.

Day 2 La Fortuna: Safari float, guided walk, hot springs

Now begins your family adventure in La Fortuna! Also remember if you want to book any of these tours, get our discount on La Fortuna tours here!

For your first day, our recommendations for family friendly activities in La Fortuna are a river safari float, guided walk and hot springs.

Morning Walk at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges ~9 AM

For the morning, we highly recommend a walk at the Mistico Hanging Bridges (3.2 kms or 2 miles to see the rainforest canopy tops. You can do this guided or self guided.

If you have a rental car, you can purchase park tickets on their website and drive yourself for a self guided walk.

If you don’t have a rental car, you can book a tour with roundtrip transportation included. We offer a small discount for this tour which you can get on our La Fortuna tours discount booking page.

The self guided hike takes around 2 hours.

Lunch

After the hike, head back to your hotel for lunch or stop by Restaurante Rain Forest Arenal on Route 142 for a bite to eat.

If you have some time, head to the pool for a bit with the kids to cool off before your afternoon activity.

Afternoon: Peñas Blancas Safari Float (3 hours)

This is the perfect wildlife watching tour for families. Float down a calm river for 2 hours while your guide paddles and points out animals.

The Peñas Blancas safari float is only a 25 minute drive from La Fortuna so it’s great for a half day morning activity. No walking or strenuous activity.

Pick up time: ~2 PM. Return around 5 PM.

Evening/Night Hot Springs

If you are staying at a hotel that doesn’t have its own hot springs, there are many public resorts you can visit.

Baldi, Los Lagos and the Springs are excellent for families. All of them have waterslides and Baldi has a dedicated kid section.

Tabacon is another gorgeous hot springs resort, ideal for older kids.

Read more about the Arenal hot springs here.

We offer a small discount for The Springs Hot Springs Day Pass, this place is awesome for families who are not on a budget. They have a water slide, riverside pools and multiple hot springs pools.

Day 3: Zipline, La Fortuna Waterfall, Night Walk

Now it’s time for a little bit of excitement! Today you’ll go ziplining for your first activity.

10 AM Zipline

Ziplining is a must do in Costa Rica and La Fortuna has many zipline tours for all ages.

Arenal Ecoglide and Arenal Canopy Adventure are great for beginners or first time zipliners. If you go on the Arenal Canopy Adventure, don’t miss out on the exciting tarzan swing!

For the ones who love excitement and heights,, Arenal Mundo Aventura and Sky Adventures are great options. Most of them have a minimum age of 5 to zipline.

Sign up for the 10 AM zipline which takes around 1.5 hours.

Lunch

For lunch, check out Cafeteria Restuarante Rain Forest Arenal, Restaurante Garra Pata or Mercadito Arenal.

Afternoon: La Fortuna Waterfall

In the afternoon, you’ll see one of La Fortuna’s most popular natural wonders: the La Fortuna waterfall.

It’s only a 10 minute drive from downtown and offers gorgeous views of a waterfall dropping into a tropical rainforest.

This will be a great activity for older kids who have a lot of energy as it requires 400 steps to walk down to the waterfall. Then they can cool off in the refreshing waters.

*Do not let kids swim unsupervised alone. The current is strong.*

For babies/infants, strollers are not allowed. You must bring them in a carrier.

Aim for about 1.5 hours at the waterfall. There is a small cafeteria and store if you need to buy any snacks or supplies.

After the waterfall, head back to your hotel.

Night: Twilight Night Walk (530 – 730 PM)

Then for the night, a La Fortuna night walk is a fantastic option for kids who love critters.

La Fortuna is an excellent place for night walks as it is the tropical rainforest. Kids can see animals like snakes, scorpions, spiders, frogs, sleeping birds and other insects in a safe environment.

The walk is around 1.5 hours. The guide will give everyone flashlights so kids can participate in spotting animals.

Dinner

After the night walk, head into town for some dinner. Bamboo Gardens and Tierra Mia are decent options.

For more ideas, check our blog post Things to Do in La Fortuna with Kids.

Day 4: Travel to Manuel Antonio (5 hour drive)

Today you will travel to Manuel Antonio. La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio is a 5 hour drive so this will be a long driving day.

Stop at Jaco (big surfing beach town) for lunch and the Crocodile Bridge to walk on the bridge to see the giant crocodiles.

You can leave at check out, which is normally 11 AM. If your kids are early risers, you can enjoy the pool a bit in the morning after breakfast.

Once you arrive and check in to your place in Manuel Antonio, relax and get ready for tomorrow!

Why Manuel Antonio

It is another top destination in Costa Rica with lots of hotels and restaurants and good tourist infrastructure. It is home to a gorgeous national park and beautiful beaches.

You can check out blog post “things to do in Manuel Antonio with kids” for more tips.

Recommended hotels in Manuel Antonio for families: Tulemar, Si Como No, Parador and Arenas del Mar. All these hotels offer family rooms and breakfast included.

Manuel Antonio tends to have more high end, expensive hotels and a ton of vacation rentals.

Day 5: Manuel Antonio Antonio National Park (All Day)

Today you will visit one of the most beautiful national parks in the world, Manuel Antonio National Park. Home to many animals, it is a great place to see sloths, monkeys, iguanas, and other animals.

It is not absolutely necessary to do a guided walk in this park. You can perfectly go to the national park on your own.

IMPORTANT: The park is closed on Tuesdays so plan your days in Manuel Antonio accordingly. Park tickets must be purchased on the SINAC website. They do not sell tickets at the door.

Do You Need a Tour?

If you would like to book a tour that includes roundtrip transportation, park tickets and a bilingual guide, we offer a Manuel Antonio National Park guided tour discount!

In this case, the national park tour will be a half day activity. Morning pick up is around 730 AM, return around 12 PM. Afternoon pick up is around 1230 PM, return around 4 PM.

We recommend a tour for older kids. For young kids, babies or infants, the tour operator has to stay on a very strict time schedule and cannot accommodate if the kids need to leave, are fussy or don’t want to stay with the group.

If you have young kids or infants, book a private tour instead.

Going On Your Own

You can purchase your own park tickets, drive to the national park, call an Uber or take the public bus from Quepos to Manuel Antonio National Park (super easy) and enjoy the park on your own.

With kids, this may be a better option as you won’t be on a time schedule as you would be if you booked a tour. You will be able to stay as long as you want in the park and take your time on the trails.

If you still want a guide, you can hire one at the park entrance for a 1 hour guided walk. Then spend the rest of the time on your own after the guiding part is over.

The kids will love walking through the rainforest and playing in the sand at the beautiful white sand beaches. There is a ton of wildlife in this park with lots of monkeys!

We recommend to aim to get to the park around 10 AM and if possible, earlier during the rainy season as it tends to start raining in the afternoon.

Plan for about 3-4 hours at the national park. There are bathrooms and changing rooms. There is a cafeteria inside the park that sells snacks and drinks.

You are not allowed to bring in your own food to the national park.

After you’re done at the national park, head back to the hotel to relax, shower and freshen up. Go play in the pool with the kids and have dinner at the hotel.

If the kiddos are really hungry after the park, have lunch at the restaurant right outside the entrance called Restaurante El Chante del Parque.

Day 6: Catamaran Adventure

Today is a relaxing day. You can enjoy the pool, go to the Espadilla beach or go shopping.

During the dry season month (December through April), go on a Manuel Antonio catamaran cruise that departs around 1 PM.

This is really fun for families as they have water slides and a nice lunch spread. Kids can swim, snorkel and see marine wildlife.

If you are visiting during the rainy season, the catamarans do not run in the afternoon. You will need to do the catamaran adventure in the morning (~8 AM, return a bit past noon) instead.

Then in the afternoon, you can enjoy the hotel pool or go back to the beach to take a surf lesson or go parasailing.

If you can, we highly recommend lunch or dinner at Emilio’s Cafe for great food and better food.

Don’t forget to get our Manuel Antonio/Quepos tours discount here!

Day 7: Travel to Your San Jose International Airport Hotel

Today you’ll travel back to San Jose. Sleep in and enjoy the last few hours in Manuel Antonio before checking out.

Book a hotel by San Jose International Airport and spend your last night getting ready to go home.

Read our recommendations for hotels near SJO Airport with free shuttle (or without shuttle).

Day 8: Fly Home

If your flight leaves in the evening, you can stay Day 7 in Manuel Antonio to enjoy one more night at the beach.

Depart Manuel Antonio with plenty of time to return your rental car and get to the airport at least 2.5 hours before your flight.

I would leave at a time to give yourself at least 4 hours for the drive.

If You Have More Days…How to Add to Your One Week Costa Rica Family Itinerary

For those who have a bit more time, you can add more days to the existing destinations. Usually with kids, even 3 full days don’t feel like enough.

If you have even more time, add more destinations to this one week Costa Rica family itinerary.

Here are some ideas.

Option1: After landing in San Jose, stay two nights at the Peace Lodge in Vara Blanca before heading to La Fortuna. The family can see the waterfalls and animal sanctuary at La Paz Waterfall Gardens (about 1 hour from San Jose, 2 to La Fortuna).

Option 2: After La Fortuna, you can stay a couple nights in Monteverde before heading to Manuel Antonio. (3 hours driving from La Fortuna, then 3.5 hours to Manuel Antonio). Monteverde has cloud forest, birdwatching and good hikes.

We have written an itinerary with exactly those destinations: 11 day Costa Rica itinerary.

Important Things to Know About Traveling with Kids in Costa Rica

• For children with food or medicine allergies, document their allergies in English and Spanish, including medication names and active ingredients.
• Bring all necessary prescribed medications and their prescriptions. Write down the Spanish translation of the active ingredients.
• Purchase a prepaid SIM card to obtain a local Costa Rican phone number for emergencies.
• During peak holiday seasons like Christmas and New Years, book accommodations and transportation at least 3-4 months out.

For more tips, read our post for things to do in Costa Rica with kids.

Costa Rica Vacation Checklist

• First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
• Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
• Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
• Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
• Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica. Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet”
• Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels. Save more money with our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.

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