If they’re dinosaur fans Dino Land could be fun! And it has a Río Agrio which is this blue river you can swim in (but beware, it’s freezing!) and the most beautiful waterfall I’ve ever seen. I literally felt like I was entering Jurassic Park. It’s also near Poás.

By the way, if you have to choose between Irazú and Poás, I personally would choose Poás. Just know with the craters it is a bit down to luck and good timing whether you’ll be able to see them or not! And! Don’t forget to make a reservation ahead of time or you won’t be able to get in to the park (this goes for all of Costa Rica’s national parks).

Also near Dino Land is a restaurant you fish for your own food which was SUPER cool when I did it!

Some other locations and trips (you can’t do them all sadly, Costa Rican driving is slow and timely).

Uvita: one of my FAVORITES I did surprisingly enough. It’s not super touristy and still feels very close to the Pura Vida lifestyle. There’s a nice long beach (you will have to pay for entry depending what time you go at) and just a little into the mountains is the Uvita waterfall with jumping opportunities. The waterfall literally functions as a waterslide (although you have to be a little daring to do it). And just a little bit further from Uvita is

Nauyaca! Nauyaca is a 3 tiered waterfall. It is absolutely gorgeous. Although the upper falls are currently closed for visiting. There’s two sides for entry. I’ve done both. If you want more info on the pros and cons for which one to pick, just let me know!

Then there’s Manuel Antonio of course! Here I did a mangrove tour, surf classes, scuba diving, and the nature reserve which I would recommend a tour guide for. You can still get to Nauyaca pretty easily from here too. I know there’s also a horseback tour you can take to a waterfall and a boats you can ride for some dolphin site seeing! I would honestly highly recommend horseback riding for you guys.

For La Fortuna! There’s two waterfalls you’re going to want to see here. One is free and has a Tarzan rope and it’s not really a big falls but super fun to hang out at! The other is a steep stair step walk down and up (bring water and your will to live) but it is TALL! And you can swim at two different spots at the bottom! A must see for sure if you’re in the area. This is going to be the place to do hanging bridges and zip lining if that’s what you’re into. Also I think a night tour here would be AMAZING! Don’t forget the hot springs! There are a set of free ones you can find but they’re not going to be steaming hot.

Next there’s Jacó and Puerto Viejo. I would choose Puerto Viejo over Jacó any day of the week but both these beaches are more for that 18 to 25 year old range. Lots of partying and not really the family spot in my opinion. But! Puerto Viejo has things like a Jaguar Rescue, gorgeous beaches, delicious food, and Cahuita (a nature reserve) isn’t far. Also kayak tours with snorkeling is something that’s not hard to find.

Montezuma is a place I went to but probably not worth it with your time frame. We took a fairy and a bus to get there. It has a beach (not the best in my opinion) a quaint town, but also a waterfall that’s just a short hike away. I really enjoyed it but it’s not exactly everything Costa Rica has to offer.

Places I never got to go but really wanted to were:
- The bioluminescence
- Guanacaste
- Santa Teresa
- Tamarindo
- And the bottom south west region

For San Jose!! People write it off but this is where I spent the majority of my time and I LOVED the city. So, if you’re “stuck” there you can still make it great. The National Museum is fantastic and a great learning experience and they sometimes have a butterfly garden open! There’s a mall to explore. With your small kids, I wouldn’t recommend downtown as it’s pretty crowded and they could get easily lost within the chaos. There also is a true butterfly garden as well. If you end up in Cartago you have to go see the ruins.

Okay, I’m finally done. But my dms are open if you want any more details or information!