Traveling to Costa Rica with a baby

Hi everyone,

First of all, many thanks to all of you for posts on traveling in Costa Rica. I have been reading extensively on this board and I feel like I've gotten a lot of good information already. That being said, I still have a few questions that maybe you can help out with.

My husband and I are planning to travel to Costa Rica in December with our daughter. She will be 14 months old at the time. We'll also be bringing along my husband's parents, as they are interested in going and will be a great help with the baby.

We will have about 7-8 days in Costa Rica, and I would prefer that we stay in one place the whole time, but I know that's not really possible. We'd like to have some beach/pool time, fun activities like zip-lining/whitewater rafting, seeing wildlife, and seeing a volcano. So what I was thinking, in order to minimize car time for our little one, is to fly into Liberia, stay in Tamarindo for a couple days and visit some of the surrounding areas, and then visit Arenal for a few days, and then fly out of SJO.

So, my questions are:

1. Are we going to regret skipping Manuel Antonio? I have read so much about all the wildlife in this park, that I feel like it is a shame to miss it while we are there. But there do appear to be a number of parks with wildlife in the Tamarindo area (especially from what I saw this post ).

2. If you do think that we would regret skipping Manuel Antonio, do you know of a way to get there that involves less than 4 hours of driving? I've looked at the websites for some Costa Rican airlines, and it looks like they don't fly anywhere terribly close to Manuel Antonio. I would really prefer to fly from Liberia to somewhere close to Manuel Antonio, if possible, but it doesn't look like that's an option.

3. Do you know if rental car companies in Costa Rica have car seats that we could rent as well? I'm concerned that if I bring my own it may not fit in the car.

4. Any recommendations for b&b's, hotels, etc., that are baby-friendly would be great as well. We have a portable crib that we can take with us, but I'd prefer to just stay at places that accomodate babies and might have one we can borrow, rather than dragging it around.

Thanks very much!
Amy

I cant help with #3 & #4, but maybe a regular that lives there can get you the info.

As for your plan, I thinks its fine. Manual Antonio is actually a well trodden small park that you can hike all trails in a morning, and is easy for a family. You will see monkeys/sloths, but you can also see these in many places in CR, lots of monkeys in Tamarindo BTW.

There really is no need to fly inter-country, the routes/places you are considering are all nice and pleasant drives overall, and the drive around Lake Arenal is one the prettiest in the country.

You dont mention a budget, but in Tamarindo I like Capitan Suizo $150 and at Arenal, a nice rustic lodge that is family owned is Campo Verde $55.

In Manual Antonio, I like the Costa Verde Lodge $100.

Thanks, Solohobo. I would definitely prefer to drive, but my little one is not a fan of the car. She really doesn't like being constrained. But, we may just end up driving and making a lot of stops, and hope that the grandparents can keep her entertained. :)

If your portable crib is a play yard/pack n play you may want to get the MamaDoo Kids mattress topper to make it more comfortable (the hard board "mattress" is as hard as a rock). Our son can´t sleep without it. BTW, they have a better price on their website than in amazon (with great reviews here). Good luck!