Costa RicaA Family Adventure Mecca

by Brian Morgan

Earlier this year a 5th grade teacher contacted me looking for posters of the rainforest for her classroom. She hoped to turn her entire classroom into a vibrant jungle to help teach her students about the importance of this ecosystem. That got me to thinking about the families I have known who have taken their kids on trips to the rainforest. What better way for children and parents to understand this fantastic ecosystem than to tromp through the rainforest seeing firsthand how the thousands of insect and plant species, hundreds of types of birds, and varied animals like three-toed sloths and noisy monkeys, all work together to create this thing called a rainforest. And what better way to discover the natural wonders of a rainforest than a Costa Rica tour.

Of all places to experience the rainforest, Costa Rica comes to mind as one of the best choices for families with children of any age. Small rainforest lodges with excellent guides and creative cooks dot the country and travel times are rarely longer than three hours. Some of these lodges have developed special programs for families traveling with children as young as six years old. In addition, a Costa Rica tour seems ideal for that first introduction to the jungle environment. Although the country has some of the largest tracts of jungle in Central America, it is also very easy to get to know this forest on short hikes, canopy walkways, horseback rides, or half-day rafting trips.

Costa Rica's travel industry is well developed. It is possible to stay at resorts complete with cable TV and air conditioning, but I think the best places for family adventures are the small eco-lodges that Costa Rica families have built to introduce visitors to their home country. It is at these places that visiting families stop feeling like tourists and start feeling like welcomed guests in another family's home--complete with adventures suitable for all ages! These family run eco-lodges might be slightly more rustic--no television, no room telephones, and sometimes no electricity--but then who goes to the jungle to watch Nickelodeon? The personal attention of your host as she takes you on walks through the forest, complete with family anecdotes from her childhood, is well worth the small sacrifice of no television and dining by candlelight.

With these small lodges dotting the country and with short travel times between regions, families can spend a few days in the rainforest, go whitewater rafting, and rent boogie boards and sea kayaks on the beach all in a week long vacation. So where are the best places to visit during your Costa Rica tour? I can't really answer that for you, but I can tell you about some of my favorites.

A great way to begin your trip in Costa Rica is with a whitewater rafting trip on the Pacuare or Reventazòn rivers. The minimum age for rafting the Pacuare River (Class III-IV) is 12 and the minimum age for the Reventazòn (Class II-III) is 9. A great alternative for families with younger children is the famous Rainforest Arial Tram. The trip lasts about half a day and includes an hour-long guided gondola trip through the jungle canopy. We've had families with younger and older children where dad and his eight year-old daughter took the rainforest tram and then met up with mom and the older kids after their rafting trip. This provides a great starter for any Costa Rica tour.

After whitewater rafting, many visitors return to San Jose for the night. A great alternative, however, is to continue traveling on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. This area isn't as developed as other parts of Costa Rica, but there are natural treasures worth several days in any itinerary.

Another great alternative is to head to Tortuguero National Park after your rafting trip. Tortuguero was created to protect four species of turtles that lay their eggs there from April to October. At night, visitors go on guided trips to watch the turtles come ashore to dig shallow holes for their eggs. Tortuguero is the most famous place in Costa Rica to watch the sea turtles. Families can canoe through the watery canals to look for monkeys, toucans, and caiman, or they can stay around the hotels and play pool, ping pong, or just relax.

Tortuguero isn't the only place to view sea turtles, and if you are looking for that secluded Caribbean get-away, it probably won't meet your expectations. My favorite place in this area is the little known Pacuare Nature Reserve. This private reserve is located just south of Tortuguero and it is the most important nesting ground for the giant leatherback turtle (turtle season is roughly March 15-August 25). This reserve has no hotels; instead, visitors stay in a beach house built years ago by the reserve's founder. A maximum of six visitors can stay here at any time as the house has only three rooms! Families can go on canal trips during the day and wander the reserve's four miles of pristine beach. At night families accompany biologists on their rounds, during which kids and mom and dad can help measure the turtles, count the eggs, and even help carry the eggs to incubators where they'll be protected from poachers until they hatch.The beaches at both Pacuare and Tortuguero are not suited for swimming as the tides are too strong, so make certain to plan some separate beach time if you're looking for some fun in the surf.

If you've returned to San Jose you might consider boarding a charter flight the next morning for the Osa Peninsula or the Golfo Dulce. The highlight on the Osa Peninsula is Corcovado National Park, one of the crown jewels of the Costa Rica national park system, and a highlight of any Costa Rica tour. Corcovado Tent Camp offers families a chance to "rough it" without really doing so. Accommodation is in one of 20 safari-style tents so kids feel like they're camping, but mom and dad don't have to cook any of the meals. Instead, everyone gets to enjoy the adventures of climbing into the canopy using a system of ropes and pulleys, boogie boarding or surfing on the crashing waves just a hundred yards from your tent, and hiking through the rainforest, as your guide points out coatis (sort of like a tropical raccoon), capuchin monkeys, and scarlet macaws.

Costa Rica has so many great places for families that I can't describe all of them here. I haven't even mentioned Arenal Volcano, Wilson Botanical Gardens, the Savegre Valley, Monte Verde, and Manuel Antonio, Manzanillo and Cahieta. Costa Rica offers such diversity that you're likely to come back again and again. Whatever places in Costa Rica you choose to visit for your holiday, I recommend that you search out those small lodges and hotels that are often owned and operated by families like your own. What better way to create lifelong memories with your own family. As they say in Costa Rica-Buen viaje!

Brian Morgan has been working and traveling throughout Latin America since 1999.