We met a shaman in Costa Rica.
He had us eat a leaf.
We were not the brightest. We did it anyway.
All I remember is a tingly tongue. What else happened I honestly cannot tell you. But we survived. And Costa Rica left a mark on us that has nothing to do with mysterious leaves and everything to do with the fact that this country is one of the most extraordinary places on earth.
Pura vida. The pure life. It is not a tourism slogan in Costa Rica. It is how people actually live. Slower. Warmer. More present. You feel it the moment you land and you miss it the moment you leave.
I am a certified travel advisor. I have sent quite a few families to Costa Rica and the feedback is always the same. It exceeded every expectation. Every single time.
Here is everything I know.
Why Costa Rica is unlike anywhere else
Most of it is still untouched.
That is the thing that surprises people most. Costa Rica is not overdeveloped. It is not overrun. Large parts of it are still raw jungle and remote farms and dirt roads where a woman stands selling pounds and pounds of guanabana fruit right out her window to passing cars.
The wildlife is everywhere and it is real. Not in a zoo. Not behind glass. Sloths hanging in trees above your breakfast table. Monkeys swinging through the canopy. Toucans sitting on branches like they are posing. The sounds of the jungle at night are something you never forget.
The adventure options are extraordinary. Zip lines through cloud forest. White water rafting. Hanging bridges above the jungle canopy. Waterfall hikes on horseback with a single guide who knows every trail by heart.
And the people. Warm and genuine and proud of their country in a way that makes you want to take care of it too.
Where to go
Costa Rica rewards those who move through it. Fly into one airport and out of another so you can see as much of the country as possible. Most families do a combination of two or three regions.
Arenal
The volcano region is the adventure capital of Costa Rica. Arenal volcano dominates the landscape. The hot springs at its base are extraordinary. Zip lines, white water rafting, hanging bridges, waterfall hikes. This is where we rode horses with just one local guide through remote farms and jungle trails to waterfalls that felt like they belonged to us alone.
La Fortuna is the main town. Small and friendly. Great base for everything in the region.
Monteverde
Cloud forest. Hanging bridges above the jungle canopy. Howler monkeys. Resplendent quetzals. Monteverde is cooler and mistier than the rest of Costa Rica and it has its own completely different magic.
The zip lines here are some of the best in the country. Flying through cloud forest with the jungle below and the mist around you is one of those experiences that sounds like a brochure and delivers like a dream.
Manuel Antonio
Beach and jungle in one place. Manuel Antonio National Park has some of the best wildlife viewing in the country right alongside gorgeous Pacific beaches. Sloths. Monkeys. Iguanas. All within walking distance of the water.
The boutique hotels and eco resorts here are some of my favorites in all of Costa Rica. Stunning mountain views. Private pools. Jungle sounds at night.
The Pacific Coast
Condos on the beach. Large private homes with chefs. Catamaran sails to private islands for the freshest ceviche you will ever eat in your life.
Yes that is a real thing and yes I have booked it for clients and yes they always come back and want to do it again.
Getting around
Here is the most important thing I tell every family before they go to Costa Rica.
Things are not close. And the roads are not easy.
The Pan-American Highway sounds impressive. It is not a highway in the way you are thinking. It is winding and slow and the distances between regions take much longer than the map suggests. What looks like two hours can easily be four.
A private driver or guided transfer is the way to go. I book this for all my clients and it changes everything. You sit back. You watch the jungle go by. Someone who knows the roads handles all of it. Worth every penny.
Do not rent a car unless you are an experienced driver comfortable with mountain roads, unpredictable conditions, and the occasional cow in the road.
Fly into one airport. Fly out of another. San Jose on one end. Liberia on the other. See the whole country instead of backtracking.
Where to stay
Costa Rica has every type of accommodation and all of it is extraordinary.
Small eco resorts tucked into the jungle. Stunning boutique hotels in the mountains with their own infinity pools overlooking the rainforest. Yoga retreats so beautiful you will want to stay forever. Condos on the beach. And for groups we have booked large private homes with private chefs that become the trip everyone talks about for the rest of their lives.
Tell me what experience you want and I will find the perfect place for it.
Food
Eat all the tico food you can find.
A casado is the classic Costa Rican plate. Rice. Beans. Salad. Plantains. A protein. Simple and perfect and filling and usually costs almost nothing at a local soda which is what they call a small family restaurant.
Tico tacos from roadside stands. Do not drive past them. Stop. Every time.
The beer goes down like water in the heat. Imperial is the local lager. Cold and light and perfect.
And the fruit. Costa Rica has fruit that does not exist anywhere else in the quality you find it here. Guanabana. Maracuya. Mango. Papaya. Buy it from the woman standing in the middle of the dirt road with her cart. It costs almost nothing and it is the best thing you will eat all week.
The ceviche on a catamaran sail to a private island. Fresh fish. Lime. Cilantro. The Pacific Ocean around you. That is the meal you will talk about for the rest of your life.
Shoulder season
Do not be afraid of it.
Costa Rica has a green season which runs roughly May through November. It rains. Usually in the afternoons. The jungle gets lush and dramatic and even more beautiful than the dry season.
Prices drop significantly. Crowds thin out. The wildlife is just as spectacular. And there is something about watching a tropical rainstorm roll in over the rainforest from your private pool that is genuinely one of the great travel experiences.
Go in shoulder season. Trust me on this one.
What it actually costs
Costa Rica ranges from budget to ultra luxury and does both extremely well.
A roadside casado lunch. Three to five dollars. A cold Imperial beer. Two dollars. A mid range eco resort. One hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars per night. A luxury boutique hotel. Three hundred to five hundred dollars per night. A private home with a chef for a group. Varies but incredible value for what you get.
Private transfers and guided tours are an additional cost but I cannot recommend them enough. Budget for them. They are worth it.
A family of four can do Costa Rica beautifully for four hundred to seven hundred dollars a day depending on accommodation and activity choices.
Real talk before you go
Hire a private driver. Full stop.
Eat the roadside food. It is safe. It is delicious. It is the real Costa Rica.
Pack light layers and rain gear even in dry season. The weather changes fast especially in the cloud forest regions.
Bring bug spray. The jungle is magnificent and the insects are part of it. Be prepared.
Book activities in advance especially zip lines and guided tours in peak season. The good ones fill up.
And if a shaman offers you a leaf. Well. That is entirely up to you. I cannot tell you what it does. I can tell you we survived and the trip was extraordinary.
Ready to plan your Costa Rica trip?
I have been there. I have sent families there. I have booked the eco resorts and the private homes and the catamaran sails and the horseback waterfall rides.
Costa Rica is one of the most extraordinary countries on earth for families and adventurous travelers of every kind.
Let me plan it for you properly.
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