The Perfect Luxury Costa Rica Itinerary with Little Kids, Babies, and Toddlers

We’ve only just returned from our Costa Rica trip with our toddler and 10/10, I would do again. I mean, what’s better than a country that’s basically one giant nature playground, complete with warm beaches, sloths hanging out like they own the place, and hot springs that feel like the world’s best bathtub?

Here’s my ultimate luxury itinerary with little kids and babies in Costa Rica (aka everything we did and everywhere we stayed):

Guanacaste – Beaches and Dolphins

We kicked things off in Guanacaste Province, which is the driest part of the country in February – ideal when most of your activities will revolve around the beach. The region is closest to Liberia airport, which is where we flew into, rented a car (though hotels can also organize transport for you), and drove 30 minutes to the coast.

We tested two hotels in the area and there was one very clear winner – The Andaz Papagayo, which felt like the kind of place that knows parents need a vacation too.

First off, there’s a kids’ club—Cambi—which allows kids over 4, or kids under 4 with a parent or nanny (yes, they offer a paid onsite nanny service). They also have a beach club a 10-minute boat ride or shuttle ride away, which is basically a full-service setup at the nearby Prieta Beach, complete with food, drinks, a full restaurant, pool, and lounge chairs so you can pretend for a second that you’re a glamorous person who actually gets to relax.

I recommend doing the boat one way and the shuttle through the mangroves on the return. Our boat ride basically turned into a dolphin watching tour, with two showing up to jump in the waves! On the ride through the mangroves back to the hotel, we saw a coati, capybara, and howler monkeys. Our toddler was obsessed. I mean, we all were. That’s the kind of memory that sticks with you.

We also really appreciated that kids under 5 eat free, and by booking a Hyatt Prive rate, we were able to get free breakfast ($70 value per day), $100 resort credit, full Hyatt membership points, and had we been there when the hotel wasn’t fully booked, we could have gotten a free room upgrade and early check in as well. You can contact us for Prive rates or browse Virtuoso here (keep in mind if you have kids under 10, it’s best to book for the total number of adults then add them via email, as many booking systems don’t do a great job of understanding kids as non-adults). I recommend the King room with the full ocean view!

Want more info? Read my full Andaz Papagayo review here.

Arenal Volcano (La Fortuna) – Sloths and Warm Springs

From there, we left the coast behind and headed inland to La Fortuna, where we stayed at Tabacón Hot Springs Resort (contact us here to book it + resort credits and possible room upgrade perks). The drive takes about 3 hours by car or hotel/tourist transport van.

Now, I love a good natural hot spring, but I was worried about them being too hot for my little guy. Turns out, Tabacón was the perfect temperature—more like a warm bath with a few cooler and warmer options. In the middle of a jungle, it was perfectly refreshing without being too much. And since hotel guests get exclusive access from 8-10 a.m. (it’s open from 8am to 10pm and outside guests can buy day passes), it was blissfully quiet in the early morning, plus the lighting is perfect, too:

Read my full Tabacon resort review here.

Tabacón also had onsite babysitting ($20/hour), which we took advantage of to sneak off for a nighttime soak after bedtime. Floating under the stars in the middle of the jungle? Absolute magic. Oh, and we saw sloths—actual, wild sloths—just hanging out on the property. One was curled up in a tree near the breakfast area, living its best, slow-motion life.

While in Arenal, we also did a nature walk at Bogarin Trail—a great spot to see more sloths (seriously, they’re everywhere)—and tackled the Mystico Hanging Bridges, where I’d recommend taking a tour if you really want to see animals. If you do this with a toddler, bring a hiking backpack carrier. The bridges are stunning, but they’re up high and they sway, and there’s no way a little kid is making it the whole way without a meltdown.

Bajos del Toro

Next up: El Silencio Lodge in Bajos del Toro, which ended up being our biggest regret. Not because we didn’t love it—because we did—but because we didn’t stay longer. The area is known for waterfalls, and the lodge itself has multiple on-site, so you don’t even have to leave to experience them. I was worried it would be buggy (because jungle), but at this elevation, it wasn’t an issue at all.

El Silencio also offers zip-lining, horseback riding, and their own waterfall hikes, and many of the rooms have private hot tubs. The food? Easily some of the best we had in Costa Rica. And the whole place felt like a fairy tale—misty, green, peaceful, like a secret hideaway. If I could do this trip over, I’d add another couple of nights here, no question.

Read my full El Silencio Lodge & Spa review.

Hacienda AltaGracia

Finally, we drove to San José Airport and took a semi-private flight to Hacienda AltaGracia, which is one of those “holy wow, I can’t believe we’re here” kind of places. It’s a fly-in resort in the mountains and one the best coffee growing regions in Costa Rica, that is all about wellness, AND it caters to families. There’s included yoga and Pilates, a coffee tasting, and the Well spa, where they have these indoor and outdoor pools and a sauna that made me want to move in permanently.

We booked a Casa, which had a separate sitting room, huge bedroom, huge closet and bathroom, and our own private terrace and pool, which was heated perfectly to feel like a bathtub.

There are plenty of daily included activities centered around nature, wellness, and food, and if you’re feeling extra, you can add on things like horseback riding, light-wing aircraft ride to the coast, and a tree canopy walk, but honestly? We were just happy to have a luxurious, all-inclusive place where we didn’t have to think for a few days.

The spa, designed by The Well of New York fame, included steam baths, sauna, heated and cool pools, and heated slabs where you could do an included clay bodily mask. They even had three textures of bathrobe to choose from. We enjoyed it during nap time by making use of their onsite nanny service ($35/hour).

This is definitely one of the bigger splurges out there, but this truly might have been the best luxury hotel experience we’ve ever had. The service was always immediate, impeccable, and they made you feel like anything is possible, which is how the best luxury stays should feel. It’s the kind of place where Reese Witherspoon vacations in Costa Rica. NGL, it convinced me a little bit to want to stay here, too.

The food is all-inclusive, as are the amazing coffee and cacao bar drinks, which are almost all grown on property. They have horse stables (and a weekly dinner and horse show), butterfly garden, kids outdoor play gym, daily nature and culinary-themed activities in their kids club, golf carts available to take you around at a moment’s notice, and almost daily surprises and treats left in our room. We were even able to stay until 3:30pm before leaving on what ended up being a private flight back to San Jose.

Read my full Hacienda AltaGracia review.

All in all, this trip was the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. Guanacaste gave us sun and sand, Arenal gave us nature and hot springs, Bajos del Toro gave us waterfalls and serenity, and AltaGracia wrapped it all up with a big, luxurious bow. This was a high-end itinerary that cost about $15,000 for two weeks for a family of three, but you can always pick and choose spendy and splurgy things you want to do and places you want to stay. If you’re looking for something different, this is a budget backpacker style itinerary.

If you’re thinking about Costa Rica with kids, do it. You won’t regret it.

*Some links in this post are affiliate links that support us at no extra cost to you when you purchase through them. We only recommend products we love and use ourselves. Your trust always comes first!