La Fortuna, Costa Rica - Fun Things to Do with Kids — A Mom Explores | Family Travel Tips, Destination Guides with Kids, Family Vacation Ideas, and more!

Back in 2011, I was a 23-year-old high school Spanish teacher. I was newly married, and we had no kids yet. It seemed like the perfect time to see the world, except that my husband and I were both teachers with student loans, so the budget for travel just wasn’t there.

Not to worry, though! I had chosen a career that would allow me to travel for free! Yes, I chose teaching Spanish as a career partly because I love languages, but also because I knew it would bring with it the opportunity to lead study abroad trips for my students.

I somehow got my students’ parents to trust me enough to plan and lead a trip to Costa Rica, even though I was only 5 years older than some of the students going on the trip. But I had always been responsible and mature for my age, plus the trip was completely organized by Language Link, so I wasn’t worried at all about the safety or logistics.

Anyway, one of the stops on this trip with my students was to La Fortuna, Costa Rica. It’s a city centered on tourism and outdoor adventure that is situated at the base of the Arenal Volcano.

Between the beautiful hot springs, the lush rainforest, and the myriad wildlife, I knew it was a destination I would someday return with my future kids.

11 years and 4 kids later, I did just that. We made Costa Rica our first international trip as a family of 6, and La Fortuna was our first stop.

>> Check out my Costa Rica One Week Itinerary for Families!

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Getting There

We flew into San Jose (SJO) on a morning flight, and arrived by 2:30 in the afternoon.

I like to make transportation as easy as possible, and since we have 4 young children, we decided to go with a private transfer instead of renting a minivan or large SUV.

I can’t tell you what a relief it was to hop off the long flight, go through customs and immigration, and find a man holding a sign with my name on it.

We didn’t have to figure anything out. We just climbed into the comfortable van and settled in for the 3-hour drive from SJO to La Fortuna.

We booked this leg of the trip with Two Weeks in Costa Rica. The only downside I’ll mention is that they said they would have car seats available for us, so we decided not to bring any with us. It turns out, they either forgot or didn’t bother. So if I could go back in time, I would at least bring our toddler’s car seat with us just in case.

Other than the car seat snafu, the ride went incredibly smoothly. Our driver stopped halfway at a restaurant where we were able to order one of our favorite Costa Rican meals - casados - and use the restroom and get some water.

He also warned us when the roads were getting curvy so we could stop reading or playing on our devices so we wouldn’t get car sick. (Hint: bring Dramamine for everyone). We spent the remainder of the ride playing games like 20 Questions together.

Where We Stayed in La Fortuna

Finding a place to stay with 4 kids can be a little bit tricky, so I did loads of research on something that would still give us the La Fortuna resort experience, but that was also within our budget.

Vacation rentals are always an option, but since we weren’t renting a car, we knew that would make it even harder to get around. We wanted the amenities of a hotel, and both of the tours we signed up for would pick you up from a La Fortuna hotel.

>> Need help planning your trip? Check out my tips on Planning a Trip to Costa Rica with Kids

I always search on Booking.com for places that might accommodate families of 6, then I go directly to the website and email customer service to see what their options and prices are for our family.

We ended up choosing Arenal Manoa, a resort with hot springs on site, connecting rooms for a family of 6, and free breakfast, which is always a hit with me.

For a family of 6 they recommended 2 connecting superior suites. Our kids are still very young, so a week before we left I emailed them to double check that our rooms were indeed connected, but once we arrived I saw why I didn’t need to worry.

Arenal Manoa is a sprawling property with tons of individual cottages, each containing 2 connecting rooms. You can rent out both, like our family did, or you can simply get one of the rooms and keep the connecting door locked.

I also wanted to make sure our rooms had a volcano view because it was the perfect place to sit and have coffee or dinner, read a book, play cards, or just hang out as a family with an incredible view.

Amenities at Arenal Manoa

We spent a lot of time relaxing at our hotel, and here are some of our favorite features:

Breakfast at La Saca Restaurant

As I mentioned before, breakfast is included in your stay, and it quickly became one of our favorite parts of the day. The buffet is extensive, featuring kid-friendly options like yogurt, cereal, pancakes or French toast, bakery items, and fruit. They also have eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, some typical Costa Rican dishes, and plenty of coffee.

Though it was a buffet breakfast, Arenal Manoa makes it feel upscale by having table service for coffee, and workers helping serve the dishes at the buffet. In addition, the restaurant is open-air with a wonderful view of Arenal Volcano. It was so surreal sipping my coffee and eating breakfast with the kids with Arenal looming over us.

Each day there was a worker waiting at the railing overlooking Arenal with a telescope helping guests spot the different wildlife around the resort. The kids loved walking over there after they finished eating each morning and finding iguanas, exotic birds, and caimans.

Pool and Hot Springs

We got into a routine of eating breakfast, going back to our room to change into swimsuits and put on sunscreen, then heading straight to the pool for a few hours.

As a mom of four young kids, I absolutely loved the main pool at Arenal Manoa. Our favorite feature was the zero-entry shallow area where our toddler spent most of her time. My husband I took turns watching her in that area while the other swam with the 3 older kids in the deeper areas of the pool.

There was plenty of space in the pool, and it was never too crowded. There’s a swim-up bar you could make use of, but we never really used it. The drinks were kind of expensive and we were supervising little kids anyway. You can also order food from the poolside restaurant, which I will get to in a minute.

Of course, the pool had a view of Arenal Volcano and tons of lounge chairs all around. For those traveling with older kids or no kids, yes, there is an adults-only area with a hot tub, too. And though it’s in the same area, it feels very private (we didn’t even know it was there the first day) because it’s surrounded by trees.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that there are nice clean bathrooms right in the pool area. So convenient.

There are also hot springs located on property at Arenal Manoa. That was one of the reasons I chose the hotel, because I knew La Fortuna is known for its hot springs. Now, some of the more expensive resorts have these incredible hot springs that feel like you’re in nature.

These hot springs felt more like warm pools or hot tubs, but they were still lovely!

I went a few times with my oldest, and none of the hot springs felt too hot for kids. The temperatures are listed right on the side of each pool, too. There is also a swim up bar, restaurant, and bathrooms by the hot springs, so you can spend a few hours at either spot and feel completely relaxed.

Alambique Bistro

We ended up ordering dinner from Alambique Bistro twice, and bringing it back to our room to eat. This is a poolside terrace restaurant overlooking Arenal Volcano. They offer wood fire pizza, sandwiches, nachos, and other kid-friendly options like French fries and chicken fingers.

You can eat on the terrace poolside, or you can easily take it to go. In fact, one of the nights we ordered from this restaurant it was raining, so they offered to bring it to our room!

Delicious food, and I was happy to not have to leave the hotel to get dinner!

Transportation

The resort is a sprawling property, so they do offer a free shuttle to get around. Simply call the front dest from your room and request one if you need it! We used it once or twice, but mainly when we arrived and when we left since we had all of our luggage with us.

I also went to the front desk to request a taxi to get into town. Apparently Uber is illegal in Costa Rica, so they have a taxi driver available for hotel guests. He waited while I got money from the ATM and ran into the grocery store for a a few snacks, and was very friendly and helpful.

Activities to Do in La Fortuna with Kids

Zip-Lining

Back when I took my Spanish students to La Fortuna in 2011, we did the rainforest canopy tour, and it was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. Soaring above the tree line on a zip line with Arenal Volcano in the background? Stunning.

Now coming back with our own kids, we booked a zip lining tour through Arenal Ecoglide Park. They accept kids as young as 3 on the zip-lining tour!

Since we still have a 2-year-old, we decided my husband would take the older kids zip-lining while I stayed back with our toddler. We gave our 4-year-old the option, and he decided he wanted to stay back, too.

The guide picked my husband and the 2 older kids up from our resort and took them to Arenal Ecoglide Park.

They showed the kids how to do it, then they were allowed to zip-line on their own for the rest of the tour! The kids were 9 and 6 at the time of our trip.

I was afraid the kids would be too nervous to do it, especially our 6-year-old, but the guides were so helpful and made them feel so safe.

We booked the Arenal Canopy Tour directly through their website at $52/person for a 2-3 hour tour. Plus transportation included!

Sloth Tour

We booked our Sloth Tour through Viator, and this was an excursion the whole family could get involved with!

The company also picked us up from our hotel and drove us to a Biological Corridor where we walked through the rainforest in search of sloths.

The guides bring telescopes, water bottles, and umbrellas, so all you have to worry about bringing is your camera. I would highly recommend wearing pants, socks, and shoes because we all got eaten alive by mosquitos on this tour, and I got some fire ant stings as well. And bring bug spray.

Besides the bug bites, the tour itself was incredible, and our guide, Luis, was so good at sharing information with the kids. He made sure to prioritize them, and was so patient with them, making sure they each got a good look at the sloths he found.

I loved how determined he was to make it a worthwhile experience for us. We could see a storm approaching and began to head back to the van, but the whole time he was still keeping an eye on the trees in search of sloths. And we’re so thrilled that he did, because the last sloth we saw before the storm hit was a mama sloth carrying her baby further up the tree. They were on the move, and it was one of the most breathtaking things I’ve experienced in nature.

He even managed to get that moment on video on my phone through the telescope, so we’ll always have that memory to share with the kids.

At the end of the tour they took us to an open air restaurant for snacks and hot chocolate and coffee. It was so cozy with the rain coming down all around us while we were warm and dry, sipping our hot drinks and conversing with our guides.

Book the tour here!

La Fortuna Waterfall

We didn’t get a chance to visit the La Fortuna Waterfall with our kids this time, but I got to do this with my high school students in 2011.

You can either book a tour or hire a taxi to drop you off and pick you up if you don’t have a rental car.

If you’re visiting the waterfall independently, be sure to book tickets ($18 per person, and kids 8 and under are free).

You should also be aware that you need to descend hundreds of stairs to get to the base of the waterfall, and climb back up when you’re ready to leave, so if you want to do this make sure you have a carrier for kids that can’t do the walk on their own.

Coffee and Chocolate Tour

We were really hoping to fit a coffee and chocolate tour in during our time in La Fortuna, but we didn’t end up having time. Looking back, I would have booked an early morning tour on the day we left La Fortuna, since we ended up getting to the beach town before our hotel room was ready.

I saw several of these tour options on Viator, and they all looked family friendly. Costa Rican coffee is incredible, so it would have been so fun to see the whole process behind how they produce it!

Hot Springs

The natural hot springs in La Fortuna are one of the biggest draws for tourists. Since we booked a hotel with hot springs on site, we didn’t go searching for more.

You can buy day passes to some of the hotels with really cool hot springs on site, like Tabacón, Baldi, The Springs Resort & Spa, and Hotel Los Lagos.

I believe Baldi Hot Springs was the spot I visited with my students. It’s very kid-friendly with water slides and and a separate pool and play area for kids. It’s also a lot cheaper than some of the other hot springs day passes!

Tabacon is really popular because of the gorgeous landscaping around the hot springs. If you look up La Fortuna on Instagram, you’ll likely see tons of photos from this spot. These are the only natural hot springs you’ll find among the hotels.

La Fortuna, Costa Rica is super family-friendly and a perfect spot to visit on your Costa Rica family vacation.

There’s something to do for every age level, and activities for every type of traveler. Whether you want to relax by the pool and hot springs, enjoy some outdoor adventure, or see wildlife, La Fortuna has it all.