Our Costa Rica family holidays
With expert, English-speaking guides, well maintained trails and widespread Wi-Fi, Costa Rica is more fun than fuss when you’re travelling with kids. Younger families will be well looked after in Tortuguero and Monteverde, while older kids will thrive on the rafting, zip lining, hiking and tubing, all graded by age and ability. If you do want to escape the crowds, head for the wilder regions – with comfortable lodges but fewer visitors. Our Costa Rica family holidays show you a good time, whilst also benefitting nature and communities – visit sloths in nature reserves, raft a river or learn to surf, and all the while you’ll stay in ecolodges that support reforestation, learn the importance of biodiversity in animal sanctuaries and support local businesses.
Our top Family holidays in Costa Rica
Costa Rica family tour, 11 days
From
£1150
11 days
ex flights
A family nature adventure exploring Costa Rica's highlights
Tailor made
Costa Rica family adventure, tailor made
From
£2695
12 days
ex flights
Private family adventure exploring Costa Rica
Tailor made
Costa Rica turtle conservation experience
From
£795 to £4095
8 days
ex flights
Help protect turtles by volunteering in Costa Rica!
Tailor made
Costa Rica family holidays
From
£2995 to £3255
14 days
ex flights
Easy going wildlife exploration in
Small group2026: 28 Mar, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 1 Aug, 5 Aug, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 17 Oct, 19 Dec
Costa Rica family adventure holidays
From
£2100
15 days
ex flights
Wildlife and adventure for the whole family
Tailor made
Family turtle conservation holiday, Costa Rica
From
£725
7 days
ex flights
Family adventure to help turtles & research wildlife
Tailor made
Costa Rica 14 day family holiday
From
£2050
14 days
ex flights
Two week Costa Rica family getaway for the summer holidays
Tailor made
Costa Rica family adventure holiday
From
£1232 to £2010
10 days
ex flights
See all the highlights of Costa Rica
Small group2025: 27 Dec, 2026: 3 Jan, 26 Mar, 31 Mar, 2 Apr, 4 Apr, 9 Apr, 27 Jun, 2 Jul, 4 Jul, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 1 Aug, 8 Aug, 12 Dec, 19 Dec, 24 Dec, 26 Dec, 2027: 2 Jan, 25 Mar, 27 Mar, 1 Apr, 3 Apr, 8 Apr, 26 Jun, 3 Jul, 24 Jul, 31 Jul, 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 18 Dec, 23 Dec, 25 Dec, 30 Dec, 2028: 1 Jan, 23 Mar, 25 Mar, 30 Mar, 1 Apr, 6 Apr, 24 Jun, 1 Jul, 22 Jul, 29 Jul, 5 Aug, 12 Aug, 16 Dec, 21 Dec, 23 Dec, 28 Dec
Costa Rica family holiday
From
£3129 to £3749
15 days
ex flights
Discover Costa Rica's famous national parks
Small group2026: 4 Apr, 11 Jul, 22 Jul, 25 Jul, 29 Jul, 1 Aug, 5 Aug, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, 2027: 27 Mar, 10 Jul, 14 Jul, 17 Jul, 24 Jul, 28 Jul, 31 Jul, 4 Aug, 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 18 Dec
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Costa Rica family holiday highlights
Buy yourself an old fashioned map of Costa Rica and put it up on the kids’ wall, but be prepared to get a lot of thumbtack as you can cover all points of the compass in a fortnight. The capital, San José, is conveniently central, and from here you can head north to Tortuguero National Park or the volcanic terrain around La Fortuna. South to the remote Osa Peninsula , a veritable Pacific Paradise. Head west for Manuel Antonio National Park with monkeys and many marine marvels. And, course, the whole of the east coast is Caribbean, a world of Creole, chilling and Cahuita National Park.
Arenal Volcano
La Fortuna is the best base for visiting the most famous of Costa Rica’s 16 volcanoes. Still active but with no recent flows, this 1,633m cone is text book volcanic and you may see sparks and smoke if you are lucky. The region’s prolific volcanic, hot thermal pools are also a hit. Go at night and bathtime will definitely be without tears, looking up at Arenal sparking and smoking into the night sky.
Carara National Park
Get ready for colourful skies here, as this is bird of paradise central, including rare scarlet macaws, hummingbirds and kingfishers. Fauna that is fiery by nature rather than colour include the rare black and green poison dart frogs and also crocodiles, which can be seen safely from a height from the touristy but terrifyingly exciting Tarcoles River Bridge. Indeed, Carara is the indigenous Huetar word for crocodile.
Caribbean coast
Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is pretty undeveloped, with bohemian surfy feel and vibrant, welcoming Afro-Caribbean culture. Beach bungalows, reggae and hammocks are what it’s all about. Puerto Viejo is a popular spot, especially for surfing and for its black sandy beach, Playa Negra. All with rainforest hovering in the background. And Cahuita National Park provides the backdrop for its famous white sand beach.
Manuel Antonio National Park
A top spot for little monkeys. White faced capuchin, titi and howler monkeys, that is, all of which inhabit the 1,700 acres of mangrove swamp and rainforest here. Manuel Antonio is on the Pacific coast too, so this is a national park that just keeps giving, which gorgeous, white sand beaches and warm seas. It is the country’s smallest park but very popular, so come on weekdays when trails are much quieter.
Monteverde Cloud Forest
Like something out of a fairytale, explore magical, misty Monteverde with naturalist guides, hiking, and horse riding or on a canopy tour that straddles vast swathes of the forest. There are myriad trails to see giant trees draped in orchids, mosses and bromeliads, as well as hummingbirds, howler monkeys and a vast array of amphibians. Walking through here with your family is out of this world.
Osa Peninsula & Corcovado National Park
Costa Rica’s largest park sees a fraction of the visitors of others as it’s off the beaten path and best accessed by an internal flight. Half of Costa Rica’s species can be found here, from manatees to monkeys. Hike to waterfalls, snorkel off Caño Island, see turtles and stay at an ecolodge with a perfect mix of Pacific and rainforest as your garden.
Pacific coast
A popular spot, following the iconic Pan-American Highway, is the Pacific part of the province of Puntarenas, where rainforest meets white sandy beaches, mangroves meet palms. Hike through rainforest with capuchin monkeys swinging above, swim in the calm bay at Playa Blanca where kayaking and snorkelling is the thing to do, or visit Playa Hermosa where surfing is a blissful finale to family holidays.
San José
The start and end point for most family holidays, San José isn’t the most exciting of capital cities but it is a hub of real Tico life. For shopping head to Mercado Central or, for organic chocoloate and coffee gifts, Saturday’s Feria Verde de Aranjuez is the best. For museums, there is one each for ancient gold and jade. For more modern culture, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design is excellent.
Sarapiquí
On the banks of Puerto Viejo River, this is the gateway to Braulio Carrillo National Park and all round adventure hub. Stay in a jungle ecolodge and enjoy nearby white water rafting on the Pacuare or Sarapiquí Rivers (minimum age usually eight years) although hiking or horse riding through the Proteros Mountains and river valleys is also a hit. As is swimming in the natural river pools.
Tortuguero National Park
If you start your family holiday here, and many do, you will feel as if you have been parachuted into paradise. It is a six-hour journey from San José, your final leg being by boat as this otherwise inaccessible rainforest is a water wonderland. Howler monkeys howl, manatees meander, sloths sloth and children squeal with delight. Particularly at the park’s famous resident green turtles, which give the park its name.
Our Family holidays in Costa Rica reviews
4.8
33Family holidays in Costa Rica reviews
Dawn Hunt22 Aug 2025
Trip of a lifetime, me and my granddaughter learned so much about the country and biodiversity. We saw everything we were hoping to see and more. And the guides made sure we got good photos to remember it all.read more
Katherine Spinks06 Aug 2025
We had a great holiday, there were some things I would change about
accommodation choices but overall it was fabulous and well organised.read more
Caroll Everest04 Jan 2025
Fabulous. Lots of memorable moments. Just lots. Enjoyed seeing hummingbirds up close on birdfeeders. And the sloth, and the farmstead and well, everything.read more
