Family Trip To Costa Rica

First would be good, find a beach that would fit all family requirements, canopy, zip-lining, rafting etc., then look where in Costa Rica to land, Liberia has many of the needs you put although trying to guess, beaches on the pacific are well organized mainly Guanacaste province, Enjoy .

it is pretty much impossible to stay in one place and do day trips everywhere. for instance, if you stay at one of the northern pacific beaches, it is about 4 hours to arenal so really not suitable for a day trip.

you could plan on renting a house as a home base and then traveling here and there with 1 or 2 nights in those locations.

from the northern pacific beaches, you can visit four national parks: rincon de la vieja, miravalles, tenorio and palo verde, 2.5 hours or less from the beach. look here [www.costarica-nationalparks.com]

you can do ziplining, canopy walks, mud baths, hot springs, rafting, rainforest, waterfalls, horseback and more at some of these parks. one tour - known as the "mega combo" has a full day of adventures and is very popular. you can google it.

august is part of the rainy season so look here for rainfall information. [http://costa-rica-guide.com/Weather/WeatherMap.html] most rain will be in the afternoon, thus giving you a chance for some hammock time.

speaking spanish and soccer opportunities will be everywhere. even the tiniest little towns have soccer fields and it is pretty easy to get involved in a "pick up" game or watch a more organized game. most towns these days have indoor soccer also so a possibility for nighttime.

an expensive method of renting a house is to go through vrbo. the best way to rent a house is to head for a location that looks likely to you, spend a couple of days in a hotel or bungalow and look around for something that suits you. most inexpensive rentals are not posted on the internet but are word of mouth.

Though CR has lots of beaches, all the more less touristy beaches are at least 3-4 hours drive to national parks and eco systems with the bio diversity and natural wonders to explore. The most spectacular and also variety of nature and wildlife, are all rather far apart from eachother as well.

Corcovado-Osa Drake Bay is in the southern Zone, 9 hours from San Jose, requires 3-4 nights. Its 4 hours from Quepos. You can also get to Drake Bay via boat from Sierrpe, going down a river and out on to the Pacific ocean and down the coast, a real fun way to access Drake Bay. Get to Corcovado via a day trip on a boat. I like Jinetes de Osa Lodge. The Osa area is a zoo without bars. Whale Watching is also possible, and a fun day trip is to go to Bellena NP and sorkel, on the way from Dominical to Sierrpe, or Pt Jimenez the base for Corocvado park area, this area is off the grid so to speak, mainly the town is electric, everything onward is generator/cb radio.

Tortuguero Canals on the Atlantic Caribe, is 4 hours from San Jose, via boats for 1.5 hours. This eco system is a nice contrast to Osa, and offers canoeing, boats, fishing and turtle nesting. The caribe beaches south are some of best in country, south of the fun and diverse food/nightlife scene in Pt Viejo, the areas just south are very family friendly calm waters normally, in Playa Chequita and Playa Punta Uva. On way to these beaches is Playa Cahuita, a nice park, and fun town for spicy afro food, and music, also the Sloth Sanctuary. ( you need to leave car for boats to Tortuguero, or bus/boat/bus/shuttle-see links below)

Then you have Cano Negro, a fishing and birding paradise near the Rio San Juan on the Nicaragua border, similar weather as the caribe side too, 2 nights is a nice fun time. This is 3 hours from Liberia, 4-5 hours from San Jose, 3 hours from Arenal.

Nearby on way from Liberia, is Tennerio/Celeste Waterfalls, a great park, and nice trails and a shady canopy to hike, I like the La Carolina Lodge, a working farm and family oriented.

The easiest, most popular, and family fun destinations are as follows:

The other popular and well trodden parks are Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs, and also Monteverde Cloudforest and butterfly Gardens/sky bridges, allow 2 nights as well. These are both 4 hours from San Jose, and 3.5 hours from Liberia, and 4 hours between the two. The closets beaches would be Tamarindo/Coco areas, about 4 hours from both, or more. Manual Antonio is the most visited park and also most developed area, though a nice easy park for a mornings hike all trails, and a fun setting for a family or couples, most lodges are perched on the cliffs above park, so you need to drive to beach/park. Though lost of wildlife in your face like Monkeys/Sloths/Snakes/Birds. Manual Antonio is 3.5 hours from San Jose, 1,5 hours from Jaco, and 2.5 -3 hours from Liberia.

Fun day trips from SJ are Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfalls, Coffee Fincas. Also near SJ or Cartago and Lancaster Gardens, Orosi Valley area. Towns on the route to La Fortuna Arenal from SJ are fun, and also the drive around Lake Arenal between Pan Am and La Fortuna is stunning and scenic windows down and a slow go for a family, nice villages (swiss) on the route too.

All these routes expect delays, its all tow lanes, mainly mountains, there is bridge construction, shoulder work, accidents, lost of cargo trucks, and landslides and mudslides and washouts, expect afternoon rains always, and plan on going no more than 4 hours in a given day, and get a early start by 10am, with stops, getting lost, meals, and fun places to investigate, it can 3 pm when you arrive, its starts to get dark at 530 ish, and rule #1, dont drive at night, rule #2, dont leave anything in car unattended, period.

Fun beach areas to enjoy a local affair IMO, is Playa Samara-Carillo, Playa Mal Pais/Santa Teresa, Playa Uvita/Ochajal, and on caribe Playa Chequita, Cocles, Punta Uva and Manzanillo.

With 6 people, you will need a Prado for all your gear and be in comfort, or a 8 passenger van. Mapache, Alamo and others offer these models, but your looking at $100 day with insurance. You can do oneway drops, to most popular venues and beach destinations, where you dont need a car.

Hope that helps, but staying in 1 area ona beach, will be limiting in scope to what you can access, so consider 1 week of car rental for the adventure part, and then drop car, like in Tamarindo or Samara.

I would recommend that you choose at least two destinations for your vacation. A beach town on the pacific coast (Manuel Antonio, Flamingo or Tamarindo), and the other one possibly in the Central Valley. In the Central Valley I would probably book Spanish lessons with one of the well know institutes, and they will arrange for you to stay with Costa Rican families for that week, allowing you to be fully immersed in the language and the culture. Some also offer volunteer programs, as you expressed interest in doing some relief work.

If you want some more information or recommendations, please let me know.

All three of those beaches are touristy, and Playa Flamingo is best avoided IMO.

My advice ? Go enjoy Nicaragua.
I live in CR and "vacation" up there.