Sona and I first went to Costa Rica–Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean side–almost 10 years ago. We flew into San Jose, had a nearly 5 hour drive to our jungle abode in Puerto Viejo, and arrived after dark–hot, hungry, and suddenly unsure about staying in a cabin with no walls, no AC, and plenty of creepy, crawling things. I’m pretty sure I cried that first night.
A week later, we not only had settled into our first Costa Rica vacation, but we’d fallen so in love with the country that a seed had been planted: maybe, one day, we could live in a place like this.
That little seed settled, germinated, and grew. So, after a year of COVID and languishing and feeling so stuck I wanted to crawl out of my skin, it was no surprise that the first place we wanted to take the kids in a post-COVID (or, recovering, at least) world was Costa Rica. It’s the most freeing place we’d ever been, and we were craving freedom.
Wanting to explore the Pacific coast of the country, which seemed to be a much more popular spot for tourists, we settled on three locations over 2.5 weeks: Manuel Antonio (for the rainforest), Samara (for the ex-pat beach life), and Arenal (for the volcano and hot springs).
So, on the day of departure, we woke at 2AM, left our house by 3AM, had two flights and a long layover before landing in San Jose at around 1:30PM. We picked up our rental car (from Adobe, full insurance, for anyone looking to rent a vehicle during their stay), and embarked on the 3 hour drive to Manuel Antonio. The kids had barely napped, Finn got carsick and puked Oreos in the backseat, and, once again, we found ourselves arriving in less-than-stellar spirits. It didn’t help that we pulled into our rental villa after dark, which meant we couldn’t appreciate the view that we would wake to the next morning.
Our first stay was in Casa Camila, which is one of the properties of Alta Vista Vacation Rentals, which we found on AirBnB. I’ll be honest: it wasn’t our first choice. However, by the time we got around to finally booking, most of the MA homes we’d saved were already taken. Ironically, Casa Camila ended up being my and Sona’s favorite stay of the trip.
The house is small and quaint, but it has the modern luxuries (AC, washing machine, ample hot water) that make traveling a little more comfortable, especially with kiddos. The real winning feature was the pool, which overlooked the rainforest and the ocean, and was the perfect spot from which to watch the two nesting Scarlett macaws who made a tree directly in front of the property their home. In fact, of all of the places we stayed, our little bungalow in MA was the one where we most enjoyed just hanging out on property.
We spent our first day and a half in Manuel Antonio just settling in, hanging out by the pool, and letting the kids adjust to their new surroundings. We spent 5 days in MA, ultimately, which many would argue is too many, if you are the type who likes to have a new experience every single day, but since it was our first stop, it was nice to be able to transition slowly into vacation mode.
The kids are too small to take advantage of much of what MA has to offer, like strenuous hikes and zip lining galore and river rafting. However, we really came for the wildlife, and so we scheduled a guided tour of the Manuel Antonio National Park with Mike of Mike’s Nature Tours, and I can’t recommend him enough.
The tour is generally a 4-5 hour affair, including an hour-long stop at the beautiful beach that sits halfway through the MANP loop. Like most days in Costa Rica, the day we went was HOT and and humid, and the boys struggled a bit, both because they hadn’t fully adjusted to the heat and bugs (Elias got bitten by something the second we got to the park, and he was on edge for the rest of the time) and because most of the wildlife was best seen through a monocular, which didn’t always capture the interest of a 2 and 5 year old. Even though Mike pointed out a ton of wildlife that we’d never have seen without him (sloths, 3 kinds of monkeys, frogs, lizards, bats, birds, etc.), Elias and Finn were fading, and Sona and I ended up carrying them to the “rest stop,” which is a small cafe just before the beach.
Once they had some snacks, they rallied a bit, and by the time we hit the beach, they were all game for fun. The beach at MANP is GORGEOUS and remote and undeveloped in all of the best ways. Costa Rica isn’t known for its beaches, which CR enthusiasts will tell you, but I love their wildness. Although the water is a little too rough for the littles to swim in, we splashed and ran in the sand and chased iguanas and hermit crabs until Mike waved his hand, indicating it was time to move on with the tour.
The second half of the walk went a lot better, and the boys were motivated by the big surprise we had been baiting them with all morning. After we left MANP and grabbed some lunch, we checked into our second accommodation, which was a splurge that Sona and I had kept hidden from the boys for a few months: we were staying in a full-sized 747 jet that has been converted into a jungle home!
I’d be waiting for the moment when we pulled up to the jet for weeks, barely able to keep my mouth shut, and it did NOT disappoint. The 747, which we also booked through AirBnB, is on the property of the Costa Verde resort in MA, which is huge and well-groomed and boasts a few airplane abodes, as well as regular hotel rooms. The airplane was so well placed, though, that we felt like we were all alone, and we never saw more than one or two people at any of the pools on property.
The motto of the hotel is “more monkeys than people,” and they weren’t lying. Minutes after checking in, Finn went out on one of the balconies for some time in a hammock, and he was quite literally stormed by capuchins, who seemed to be dropping out of thin air, and who wanted to make clear that this was THEIR jungle, and we were just visitors. It scared little Finn to death, but is not one of our favorite memories of the trip.
The next day, which was our last in MA, we decided to find one of the secret beaches mostly only locals know about. Mike, our guide, recommended it, and it didn’t disappoint. Playa Biesanz is located off a jungle road, down a 10-minute jungle trail. It’s one of those places you wouldn’t know about unless someone told you, and that’s what made it so great. You’ll know you’re in the right spot when you see a few cars on the shoulder of the road and some local guys, who are make-shift parking attendants, asking for around $3 to watch your car. Just pay them. It’s honest work, and they are kind, and it’s less than you’d spend on a coffee in the States.
We spent a full half day at that beach, wading in the cool “sweet water” stream that comes down from the rainforest and trails into the ocean and drinking limonatas made by a local who has a very make-shift bar set up under the palm trees (you can also rent umbrellas and chairs from him for around $15).
Manuel Antonio is small, and many folks say there are better spots in Costa Rica to catch the rainforest. If we had to compare it to Puerto Viejo, which is also a beachfront town in the middle of the rainforest, I think we’d say we prefer the latter just slightly, but we were really charmed by MA, and it was a wonderful place to be welcomed into this trip. Sona and I make every attempt to steer clear of super touristy spots when traveling, and MA didn’t feel very touristy at all. Although, that might have been due to low numbers of travelers because of COVID. Nonetheless, we liked it a lot, and we would absolutely go back.
Our Manuel Antonio faves and recommendations:
- rent a villa from Alta Vista Vacation Rentals, which feels more like a B&B–complete with hot breakfast every morning, cleaning service, and a concierge–than a true vacation rental
- consider a night or two in one of the airplane abodes at Costa Verde and watch out for the capuchins
- hire Mike from Mike’s Nature Tours for a guided tour of Manuel Antonio National Park (but make sure the kiddos have eaten plenty before going, as you aren’t allowed any snacks within the park)
- eat at El Wagon Pizza, which has a great atmosphere for families and really, really good pizza
- eat at Emilio’s Cafe–great breakfast and my favorite whole-fried fish of the entire trip
- wander around the town of Quepos, and eat at one of the small sodas
- take the kiddos to El Avion, a restaurant under the wings of a captured spy plane, with a great view and a cockpit they’ll love exploring (the food is good, not great, but worth a stop for the atmosphere)
- absolutely stay somewhere with a view, as it’s one of the best features of MA