Costa Rica offers many activities for the young and the old. It offers some of the best hiking trails, beaches, mountains, rainforests, and jungles worldwide. Whether vacationing with kids as young as four or as old as 17, there is an activity for every one of them.
All my friends with kids who have visited Costa Rica after my recommendations have come back with very good reviews. I am always amazed by the number of activities that the families get up to with each vacation. There are several kid-friendly resorts in Costa Rica, but I will only mention ten in this article.
Key Takeaways
When choosing the best kid-friendly resorts, I considered various activities for this specific age group. Most resorts mentioned have kids’ or teens’ clubs, menus, or other facilities catering to kids. Here are my key takeaways from 10 Costa Rica kid-friendly resorts.
- If your kids have been bugging you about sloths, then Tulemar should be your first choice. It has a sloth institute where they can see and learn about sloths.
- Most of the resorts have a kids club and also offer babysitting services at a fee. However, I always encourage that before leaving your kids at the club, first find out how it is run. For example, does it have enough staff to keep watch on all the kids in the club?
- Arenas del Mar makes it possible to book a tour of a local Cacao farm where your kids can learn the various process.
Kid-Friendly Costa Rica Resorts
Tulemar Resort-Manuel Antonio
Website: tulemarresort.
Location: Next to Manuel Antonio National Park.
It’s the best resort for fun with your kids in the sun and sand. Tulemar Resort sits on 33 acres of private land ( Tulemar Garden property) surrounded by a rainforest. It is a gated resort and has an exclusive entrance to a private beach. The accommodation options include bungalows, private houses, villas, and luxurious casas.
Tulemar Resort offers 1, 2, and 3-bedroom villas with octagonal shapes. These luxurious villas have a panoramic view of the Pacific Coast and the lush vegetation of the hills. Meals are at their onsite restaurant, which offers beachside lunch service. In the table below are the various facilities and amenities you’ll get at the resort.
| Tulemar Resort Amenities/Facilities | |
| Outfitted kitchen with a microwave | European feather bed, |
| A sitting room | TV, DVD player |
| Wrap-around veranda with a hot tub | Safety deposit box |
| Private bathroom with a stone outdoor shower | Complimentary boogie board and beach equipment |
| In-unit laundry | |
Travelers on a budget can rent the Tulemar bungalows with an air-conditioned master bedroom. Each bungalow has two queen-sized beds in the bedroom and another queen-size trundle bed in the sitting room. They also have a TV, a small kitchenette, and a minibar. The bungalows don’t have balconies or terraces, but their octagonal shape gives you scenic views from all directions.
The rainforest provides wildlife at your doorstep. Your kids will see sloths, monkeys, iguanas, macaws and parrots. The sloth institute at Tulemar Garden is one of the few places in Costa Rica where sloth viewing is possible.
JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa-Tamarindo
Website: marriott.com.
Location: Hacienda Pinilla at the shores of Playa Mansita.
What always makes me recommend the JW Marriott for families with kids is the fact that they have a free kids’ club. So, while the adults are engaging themselves in adult activities, the kids can play foosball or video games. The resort also offers babysitting services and cribs.
The kids club has different activities for the kids.
- Cooking lessons on the beach
- Spanish and dance lessons
- Arts and crafts
- Storytime
Alternatively, you can keep a lookout for your talented swimmers at the free-form swimming pool. The pool is one of the largest in Central America, and its waters are not more than 4 feet deep. Staying at JW Marriott gives you access to the lovely Playa Mansita, and the only other way to access it is by boat. The kids can spend the morning hours building sand castles and swimming in the afternoon.
JW Marriott Guanacaste ensures that your kids still get their favorite breakfast even when far away from home. The four onsite restaurants offer pancakes, cereals, eggs, pastries, and gallo pinto for the more adventurous ones for breakfast. The kid’s lunch menu comprises burgers and some sumptuous sandwiches.
The Westin Reserva Conchal-Tamarindo
Website: westin-reserva-conchal.
Location: Playa Conchal.
The Westin Reserva Conchal is for families that want an all-inclusive resort. With a free-form pool, the resort resembles a small, elegant village. The resort sits on a 2,000-acre tropical forest beside a white-sand beach. It’s also famous for its 18-hole golf course.
Westin Reserva Conchal has 406 spacious guest rooms. Each suite has a terrace with a pool or garden view. The suites have the following amenities:
- A spacious living room
- A minibar
- Color television
- Direct-dial telephone
- Safety deposit box
- 24-hour room service
You can also choose to stay at the resort’s family junior suites. You’ll then have access to the Family Club Lounge, with kid-sized furniture and various kid-friendly activities. Meals will be served at any of the seven fine dining restaurants and three casual onsite restaurants.
Hacienda AltaGracia-Talamanca Mountains
Website: aubergeresorts.com/altagracia
Location: Talamanca Mountains.
Nestled in the hillsides of Santa Elena, this exclusive, luxurious resort offers the best kid-friendly activities. There are 50 hacienda-style casitas that you and your family can call home for a few days.
The Hacienda has the Junior Adventurers Club for 5–12 year olds. The club coordinates horseback riding, hiking through the rainforest, learning how to milk a cow, and processing sugarcane. There are also cooking classes, exploring the butterfly garden, and taking a rope course.
The kids will also go on the Frog Pond Hike, one of the trails within the property. There is also an insect lab where they will learn about the flora, fauna, and insects most common in this part of Costa Rica. They will also learn more about mixology by making smoothies with various fruits.
Los Suenas Marriot Ocean and Golf Resort-Jaco
Website: Los Suenos.
Location: Playa Herradura.
It’s a large-scale resort with 201 rooms and has an all-inclusive option available for guests. Playa Herradura is 15 minutes drive from Jaco town. The beach at Los Suenas Marriot is rocky, and you can choose to visit other beaches near the resort. Playa Hermosa is 30-minute drive from Los Suenas.
The rooms at the resort are so spacious that you can even request for an extra bed and have the family in one room. Some of the rooms at Los Suenas have balconies with views of the ocean. You can choose between the guestrooms or the suites, which have one bedroom and an extra room with a sofa bed.
Los Suenas Resort has the Tortuga Kids Club, which offers various activities for those between the ages of 4 and 12. The kids club is open daily from 9.00 AM to 4.00 p.m. The resort ensures the kids have enough activities to keep them busy whenever you want to leave them there.
The Manuel Antonio National Park is one hour away, and the Carara National Park is along Playa Jaco.
Nayara Resort and Spa Gardens-Arenal
Website: nayaragardens.com.
Location: Town Road 142, 7 km from La Fortuna.
The resort is near the Arenal Volcano National Park, allowing your kids to experience nature at its best. There are hanging bridges with a perfect view of the volcano. You can also take them to the sloth reserve and the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge. Here, they will have a chance to see caimans, monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, and all sorts of wildlife.
The resort has family tents if you want your kids to experience safari-style camping. Each tent has a private plunge pool and an in-room bar. If you don’t want to cook your meals, the Ayla restaurant is within the property. Alternatively, Nayara Gardens is a hotel on the property that offers excellent dining options.
You can also choose to stay at any of the 50 villas and casitas with majestic views of the Arenal volcano. All the villas have glass-enclosed showers, private outdoor showers, and jacuzzi tubs.
Arenas del Mar Beach Resort-Manuel Antonio
Website: arenasdelmar.com.
Location: Right on Playa Manuel Antonio.
Arenas del Mar is an all-out luxury resort in a rainforest with access to a private beach. It is within walking distance of Manuel Antonio National Park. The resort offers full beach services, allowing your kids to enjoy fun in the sand without having to leave the resort.
You will see monkeys, crabs and sloths around the property. Kids will learn how to make tortillas and ziplines. The resort has its own naturalist guide who ensures that you get to see as many wildlife animals as possible. At night, allow them to go tree-frog searching with headlamps. There is a seasonal swimming pool and a garden at the resort.
At the front desk, you can book a tour at a local Cacao farm for everyone to learn how to make chocolate.
Andaz Costa Rica Resort-Peninsula Papagayo
Website: Andaz Costa Rica Resort.
Location: Andaz Beach.
It’s in Culebra near a jungle and is a luxurious Hyatt-owned resort. Andaz Resort is 25 km from Liberia International Airport, Costa Rica. Andaz Costa Rica has several gorgeous rooms with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean or the jungle. All rooms have private bathrooms with free toiletries.
Take your meals at any of the three on-site restaurants. Enjoy delicious farm-to-table local dishes from the resort’s experienced chefs. At Andaz, kids up to the age of four eat free meals from the kid’s menu at any of the restaurants. Kids between 4 and 12 pay half the price on the buffet breakfast.
Cambi, which is the name of the kids club at Andaz, is free for kids between the ages of 4 and 12. It is open daily from 8 AM to 4.30 p.m. The week has a weekly schedule of the activities the kids will be undertaking.
Andaz beach is 2-minute walk from the resort. Your kids will love the various onsite water sports and zip-lining among the trees and canopies. The resort usually arranges various outdoor activities such as swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding for the older kids.
Four Seasons Costa Rica-Peninsula Papagayo
Website: fourseasons.com.
Location: Liberia, Guanacaste.
Four Seasons, one of the most luxurious resorts in Costa Rica, is a few minutes drive from Daniel Oduber International Airport. The four-seasons rooms have a seating area, air conditioning, dining area, flat-screen TV and private bathrooms. You can wake up to an ocean view every morning.
There are four onsite restaurants where you can have your meals, each with a kid’s menu. Other dishes include salads, seafood, local Costa Rican foods, steak dishes, and vegetarian dishes. Tico’s Lounge has a sushi bar.
Four Seasons offers the Tuanis teen center, which has the following facilities and amenities:
- Ipod docking stations
- Video games
- Computers with free internet
- Flat-screen TVs
The center and kids’ club are free, and staff can supervise children while you go about other activities at the resort. Babysitting is also available for $20 an hour.
The resort can also arrange, at a small fee, for your kids to enjoy horseback riding, sea kayaking, snorkelling, and a tour of the Arenal Volcano National Park and/or Palo Verde National Park.
Si Como No Resort and Wildlife Refuge, Manuel Antonio
Website: sicomono.com.
Location: Perched on a hill at the heart of Manuel Antonio.
The resort’s most attractive features for families with kids are the wildlife refuge, which has a crocodile lagoon and a butterfly home. When the kids are not at the wildlife refuge, they can be at the movie theatre or at any of the two swimming pools. The kid-friendly pool has a waterslide.
There are 58 guestrooms spread over ten separate areas. Si Como Resort has two onsite restaurants with varied menu options. You can get a babysitter at the resort for as little as $10 per hour to watch your kids. Pay a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park, which is 10 minutes away.
Though the resort has no direct access to the beach, you can use their complimentary shuttle services to Manuel Antonio Beach.
If you’re planning a family trip to Costa Rica? Start with our detailed guide to Traveling to Costa Rica with Kids to ensure a smooth journey.
Conclusion
There is no shortage of kid-friendly resorts in Costa Rica. The above list includes some of the resorts we have visited, and some are recommendations from friends. Before booking, always inquire at which age to start paying for various amenities.
Which was your favorite kid-friendly resort in Costa Rica? Please share your experience.
About Michelle Schmidt
Born in California, Michelle traveled extensively through the USA and Europe before moving to South Florida during the pandemic. Her career in Marketing has taken her all across the world. Her favorite country is France but she'll never turn down a beach vacation!
