If your family vacation motto is “More Fun, More Often,” then you should have been in Costa Rica…yesterday. Our family of five lived in Costa Rica from June to September. After exploring the country for the first month, we chose the coastal town of Jaco to settle in, in part because of its easy access to everything adventure related. This perfect family location offers quick access to wild beaches, rain forests, waterfalls for the nature lovers; poisonous dart frogs in multiple colors, howler monkeys, sloths, for the animal lovers; and surfing, white water rafting, canopy zip lining for the adventure lovers. Here a few things we learned to minimize the annoyances and maximize the fun.
1. A rainforest tour means you’ll see the rainforest, not necessarily the wild ones living within. Kids especially have
hopes of a sloth in every tree while monkeys and macaws make themselves amply available for pictures. Could happen, but probably won’t. You will guaranteed lots of spectacular trees, some flowers, and lots of ants. Those we can promise.
2. For wild animal encounters, go to a sanctuary. We went to three. It’s the best way to see animals up close and support these often underfunded organizations. When handling wild life in animal sanctuaries, even when advised that it’s safe, keep in mind that squirrels bite, monkeys bite, and parrots beak-bite. Decide before a child holds something if that outcome will be okay. But if you like animals, these visits will give you some of the best memories of the trip.
3. Splurge for the surfing lessons and some of the other tours. You’ve come this far, make those memories happen. We found a great surf teacher, 2 hours for $30. Tours are plentiful, shop around.
4. The beaches are amazing and most of them are somewhat deserted. Yes there are animals that sting in the water, stingrays, jellyfish, sea lice, also sand fleas. If you are concerned about the stingrays, shuffle your feet into the water so you don’t step on one. There are sprays and lotion repellents for jellyfish, sea lice, and sand fleas. We’ve never tried those, just swatted and flailed when necessary.
5. Costa Rican yeti are actually howler monkeys. Took us a little while to figure out what that crazy sound was. I hope you get to hear it in person, it’s amazingly loud and creepy.
6. Not all the white-water rafting tours are run by experienced guides, even if they say they are. We had friends who almost had a tragic end to one of these tours, because the guides were inexperienced. Check out your prospective tour thoroughly, talk to local people who know the experienced guides in town. After the stories I’ve heard, that’s not being overly cautious, it’s just keeping everyone safe.
7. It’s no joke that the sun will kick your butt, and kick it hard. And if the sun sucker punched you unexpectedly, you may be out of the game for a day or three, an aloe-goo creature huddled in a dark hotel cave, ordering room service. You’re only 8 degrees from the equator. Now’s the time to pull out whatever skin saving tricks you have in your beach bag and use them. We bought long-sleeved rash guards for surf lessons and wore them often. You can shower off sweat, not permanent skin damage.
8. On ATV tours, make sure your tires are in good shape. If they aren’t, request a different one. Figuring out your tires are bald at the top of the mountain, like our daughter did, won’t do you much good getting down.
9. Costa Rica is a photographer’s paradise, but a camera’s nightmare. It’s a wonderfully wild and wet place. The humidity in the cloudforests, rainforests, saltwater spray and sand on the beaches, unpredictable rain bursts are all bad for your mechanical baby. Our cameras would lose their ability to auto focus because of the moisture in the air. I also learned to only change lenses in low humidity indoor locations with air conditioning. We did have a waterproof camera with us and used it often. A camera rainsleeve is a good idea, I know it’s on my list before I return.
10. Mosquitoes are just as likely to find you in an outdoor restaurant as in the rainforest. One of our first meals was spent with all of us swatting our legs, spilling our drinks with knee-jerk reactions, inhaling our food between the “ows”, and speed walking home. No need to deet-fumigate your supper, but give everyone’s flip-flopped feet a little squirt of one of the less intense repellent brands and you’ll just have an extra lemony scent at supper.
Costa Rica is unique in its ability to offer amazing animal encounters both planned and unexpected, adventure for all ages and interests, stunning beaches, and lush forests. There is something for everyone. Buy your tickets.
Also in this series:
10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming to Costa Rica: Getting Around
10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming to Costa Rica: Food and Drink
10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming to Costa Rica: Logistics