Costa Rica Family Vacation 2026: Guanacaste

On Friday, we checked out of La Fortuna and had transportation booked to take us to our last stop, Guanacaste.  It was another long drive and even longer because our driver took us to the wrong resort, but we finally arrived and the resort was beautiful!  We stayed at the W Costa Reserva - Playa Conchal for two nights and had an amazing room overlooking the ocean and sunset.  I loved that balcony and view!  We were greeted with a complimentary cocktail, checked in and immediately put on our bathing suits to head to the beach.  The kids wanted to go to the ocean over the pool to start.  We ordered some beers on ice and some chips, salsa, and guacamole to hold us over until dinner.  Dinner was at the resort and was decent, but very expensive.  That evening we checked out Eric and Ana's room that had a hot tub on their balcony and a foosball table.  It was fun!

Our last full day of vacation was spent alternating between the pool and the beach.  I think we were more than ready for rest and relaxation after lots of excursions.  The breakfast buffet at the resort was delicious!  When we came in for a small break from the sun, Scott and I went to the lobby bar for a rum tasting and ended up being the only two guests there so the bartender was very generous with his pours and with sharing his knowledge about rum.  That night we went to dinner out at Coco Loco and I think the boys really enjoyed their steaks cooked on black rocks.  Back at the resort, we played games with everyone and said our goodbyes.  It's always sad having to say goodbye to Eric and Ana.  Until next time!

The next morning we were up very early for a long drive back to San Jose.  We had originally booked flights out of Liberia, which was must closer, but the airline changed our flights and we had to switch over to San Jose.  We had a layover in North Carolina and got back just after midnight.  Whew!  Long day of travel.  But, we had an amazing trip to Costa Rica with family!!

Costa Rica Family Vacation 2026: La Fortuna

Tuesday morning we enjoyed one last breakfast at the Monteverde Lodge and Gardens before going in our private transportation to La Fortuna.  We had a good 3-hour drive, but we stopped at this cute coffee shop/gift shop to use the bathroom and browse for a minute.  We also decided to add on the Mistico Hanging Bridges to the drive since it was on the way to La Fortuna and I'm glad we did.  It was really cool!  We arrived and it started to pour, but it cleared up and we had great weather, although humid, after that.  There were 6 hanging bridges and 16 total bridges that we went over.  Ana wasn't feeling well and the driver was kind enough to take her on to our next resort while we were at the bridges.  

We then went on to check-into the next resort: Arenal Springs Resort and Spa.  It was gorgeous!  They had golf carts that drove us to our room.  We quickly changed into our bathing suits and went to check out the natural spring pools and hot springs.  The main pool even had a swim up bar that the kids could sit at too.  Of course I encouraged the boys to try a virgin strawberry daiquiri, which Evan loved and Sean did not.  Shocking.  The four of us decided to skip having dinner at the resort in the restaurant and opted to order food right at the swim up bar.  It was okay, but I think mostly we enjoyed not having to go get changed and dressed up nicely for dinner.  We played games in my parents room after everyone was back and then it was time for bed.

The next morning, Wednesday, we had breakfast in the resort's restaurant, which was buffet style with lots of choices.  We then went on to our safari river float and waterfall tour.  The rain that La Fortuna had been getting made the river water level high and made the water more brown looking.  We saw some howler monkeys, all kinds of birds, cows, and iguanas on the Penas Blancas River.  No toucan sightings though.  After the river float, the guide took us a cute little cafe where we had some snacks like homemade warm from the oven banana bread, among other things.  The kids loved the dogs that were hanging out there.  After that, we went to La Fortuna Waterfall where we hiked down 500 steps, swam in Zone 2, and then hiked back up.  Zone 1, where the waterfall is, had too high of a water level for swimming.  Finally, we had lunch at a farm.  The food was just okay, but we were all pretty hungry at that point.  Then it was back to the resort to rest for a while.

The rain started coming down shortly after we got back and ended up raining the rest of the evening.  We took Ubers into La Fortuna to go out to dinner at Restaurante Fortuneno, which was good!  We did some shopping in town and stopped at the little grocery store to buy a few odds and ends.  Again, we played games in my parents room that evening after getting back.  

The next day on Thursday, we ate breakfast again in the resort's restaurant and got ready to go white water rafting.  My parents stayed behind at the resort all day while the rest of us went.  It was a good two-hours in the bus to the Sarapiqui River, as we stopped at a few other resorts to pick up more people.  The rafting was great!  Good rapids, a fun guide who made us be "team pineapple", and none of us fell in!  We stopped at one point and they cut up pineapple and watermelon for us to eat on the beach.  Then it was back to the rapids!  Afterwards, we drove to a restaurant and had a delicious lunch.  Then, it was a ride back to the resort.  Back at the resort we swam in the pools with everyone and enjoyed some cocktails at the swim up bar.  

We all went back to shower and change for dinner, when Ana messaged everyone that there were two toucans outside our rooms.  We quickly ran outside and spotted them in the tree!  Sean was so excited as that was his last "must-see" animal on our trip.  Eric, Ana, and my parents went to a fancy dinner and the four of us took an Uber back into La Fortuna and went to a really good brick-oven pizza place.  It was so good we ordered a second pizza!  Back at the resort we played cards again, with the favorite game of the week being The Great Dalmuti that Eric brought.  

La Fortuna was beautiful and I'm glad we were able to clearly the see the peak of the volcano on our last full day.