Costa Rica Family Vacation Review: Arenal, Waterfall Rappelling, Zipline Tours, Hiking, Beaches, Hot Springs, Snorkeling

Spend 3 days at Arenal, 3 days at the beach and 3 days somewhere else.  Was quite boring to spend 5 days in Arenal without a car.  All of our meals were at the hotel and menu was extremely limited.

TRAVEL COMPANY COMMENTS:

Regarding to Martin´s review , we are sad to learn that he didn't enjoyed his trip to Costa Rica;  as we  did all our best to fulfill his trip expectations.  Unfortunately, when he submitted his request they were willing to  travel during Easter,  which is a Festive Season when most of the hotels were fully booked by then.
 
First contact was made on January 6th , where he indicated :  “first half of the trip to focus on outdoor adventures (safari, zip lining, rain forest, light hiking, etc.); the second half to focus on beach & swimming, maybe snorkeling if possible”
 
In reference to his comment about the hotels:   “Accommodation were decent but not great and dining options were extremely limited, especially at Arenal”
 
During our first conversation, he explained that he was willing to stay at not too touristy places.   Also he asked about two properties that some friends suggested:  Finca Casa Luna and Ylang Ylang in Montezuma.   Regarding Finca Casa Luna, we explained that accommodation were very basic and about Ylang Ylang,  we do not recommend this hotel nor the area of Montezuma since it is  a “hippie town” and  very dirty.   Both properties are rated no more than 3 stars.
 
Also, we spoke about the possibility to split the itinerary in 2 locations:  5 nights at an adventure destination to keep the kids busy and 4 nights at the beach for relaxation. 
 
Due to the limited availability and minimum of nights requested by hotels for Easter Vacations plus his special request that he was willing to stay in non- touristy hotels; we were able to design an itinerary that included 5 nights at the Arenal Volcano area for the first half of the trip.  This area has been called the adventure capital of Costa Rica and will guarantee to keep their kids busy.   We were able to accommodate them at the Lost Iguana Resort & Spa which is located in a 120 hectares private reserve with only 42 rooms for a unique experience in the rainforest.  This Hotel offers amazing views to the volcano and explained that it was located on the outskirts of Arenal (40 minutes drive from La Fortuna village).   He stayed in a 2 bedroom suite. 
 
Regarding to fine dining options, in the Arenal area could be limited as most of the good restaurants are located at the high-end hotels which are more touristic.   We spoke about the possibility that he could stay in the village of La Fortuna after his activities in the afternoon, and could arrange a private transfer or taxi back to the hotel after dinner.   A list of suggested restaurants were also included in his travel documents.  But he didn´t contact us back requesting this service.   We will inform the hotel about his comment that menu was very limited for guests, mainly for stays of 5 nights as he did.
 
For the beach, we were able to find a family oriented hotel at Guanacaste and only 45 minutes away from the International Airport.  This is a 32 rooms property right on the beach at Hermosa Beach only.
We also sent another option for the beach on January 20th with El Mangroove which is part of  The Autograph Collection by Marriott – that features unique resorts , but he declined this offer and decided to stay with  Bosque del Mar.
 
Regarding to his comment on what was the more enjoyable or memorable part of the trip, we are happy to learn that he loved the zip lining and waterfall rappelling experiences!    
About the hot springs, we usually leave the hot springs for the end of the tour as it is perfect to relax after the activities.  Also, the hot springs for kids we do not recommend long stays as usually children will feel sick as blood pressure goes down.    He also had a free day during his stay in Arenal,  which we left open in case that they were willing to enjoy another activity.  However, that day would have been perfect to schedule another visit to the hot springs.    One of our staff members spoke with him on this free day, and he didn´t mentioned this issue.
 
We highly appreciate his recommendation that it would have been better to stay 3 days in Arenal, 3 days at the Beach and 3 days somewhere else.   Usually, we recommend travellers requesting for a 10 days itinerary to split itinerary in three destinations.   In this particular request Martin was willing to stay in two locations.  If we have a similar request in the future, will insist not to do so, as suggested by a client´s past experience since he mentioned that it might be boring to stay 5 nights in Arenal.     We must also, consider that for the dates that he was travelling was Festive Season and accommodation was limited to design a unique itinerary, beside beach hotels requests a minimum of nights stay.
 
On the other hand, some travellers prefer renting a vehicle as they want more independence.  Depending on the areas that you will be visiting in the country sometimes GPS gives wrong addresses and you might get lost.  However, we recommend the land transfer with their own private driver as would be really enjoy the flexibility having the opportunity for unique experiences, such as  stops in local villages and impromptu wildlife observation on the way.   Also, considering that all the activities include round trip transfers from/to hotel.    But in this particular case, if clients staying at Lost Iguana will recommend renting a vehicle as he suggested.
 
We are very thankful for all his comments  and we hope that if he considers travelling to Costa Rica next time,  will be a more enjoyable one while exploring other locations that he couldn´t visit during his past trip.
 
All my best,

Alexandra L
President