Costa Rica - must dos?

[gardenhelpneeded]

Thinking about Christmas this year. With teens. Not wanting to travel around too much as the kids like to chill. Three places max over 2 weeks. What are the musts? We love the sea- snorkelling and surfing plus nature. Thanks!

Plenty of nature all around. You need to decide on caribbean or pacific side. If you are after surfing, I guess pacific, but there is not a lot of snorkelling over there - although there is the odd place. There are various volcano areas to explore, rainforest and cloud forest - lots of wildlife everywhere. You could hire local guides or go out on your own, no problem. Hiring a 4x4 is the best bet as some (most) of the roads are in a sorry state - huge potholes etc. You can do it in a normal car in dry season but more fun in a 4x4 as you don't have to worry about what kind of road it is. Distances are small but take ages to get from a to b.

Place marking

White water rafting on the river Pacuare
Zip lines Arenal
Visit a volcano (there are inactive ones you can go to the crater)
There are lots of ecological parks, we weren't overwhelmed by Manuel Antonio but many people love it and you will see lots of monkeys
We used a mix of buses and private transfer.

That’s great thanks!

We've booked to go at Easter. Done it all ourselves. Flying into San Jose via America with BA/Aa flights.

Driving to la fortuna in our hire car Intend to zip line, tel volcanoes see sloths and go to waterfalls.

The.my driving to a place in the hills near samara For a week for beach time. Literally can't wait.

It's come in at less than £4k for 2 adults and 2 teens. Boutique accommodation. We had quotes for three times that with companies.

Join the Costa Rica travel Facebook groups. Loads of tips

Could base yourself in Tamarindo on the Pacific Coast plus trips to Monteverde (cloud forest - wildlife, ziplining, jungle ropes) & La Fortuna (wildlife 🌿🐒🦥🌿, Mt Arenal volcano, walk to lagoon in crater of Cerro Chatto & swim, waterfalls, hot springs). Friend flew direct from Gatwick to Liberia rather than San Jose and said worked really well. Enjoy!

If only 2 weeks I’d suggest pick one coast so as PP said might have to forgo snorkelling if you choose the side with surfing. For 3 places then I’d do as the poster above says Arenal (volcanoes, hot springs - the latter way more fun than anticipated), Monteverde (cloud forest, nature) and Tamarindo (surf, sun, chilling). I’m envious of your trip, CR was fantastic.