Costa Rica Explorations

In 2007, before we had kids we traveled with some friends to Costa Rica and fell in love with the country. It’s an amazing country full of kind people, breathtaking views incredible wildlife. After having kids, we couldn’t wait to come back and have them experience some of the same beauty. I did a good bit of research before we arrived to Costa Rica. The main goals were to find good flight deal since all five of us would be going, a nice place to stay and fun, authentic Costa Rican experiences for our family. I came across a beautiful airbnb in the Dominical, West Coast of Costa Rica and it did not disappoint. My parents, Nomee and Pop, came too! They are always up for a fun adventure. The name of the home we stayed was called the Villa Koora. It was a beautiful home had plenty of room for the 7 of us. The best part about it was the infinity pool and the views of the rainforest from the backyard. It was incredible to hear the Howler monkeys and see the toucans fly and perch on a nearby tree all while swimming in the private pool. The other amazing part was the short trail in the backyard to the private waterfall. The Villa Koora was a great experience and if you are looking for the perfect place to stay and enjoy the beauty of the Costa Rican rainforest, I highly recommend staying there! Around the home there were even banana trees, rambatan tress and coconut trees which, Brennen loved knocking off the branches and busting open for everyone to eat the coconuts.

The second day of our stay, we visited Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary. Our guide knew a lot about the animals, you could tell how passionate she was about educating others and giving the wildlife they had the best possible life. It was fun for the kids to get up close with sloths.

Throughout the trip, we enjoyed trying many different Costa Rican fruits at the “soda” stands along side the road. It was a nice experience for the kids to shop in the local grocery stores, try new foods and practice counting the local Colones currency.

Brooklyn ended up losing her very first tooth in Costa Rica and the tooth fairy left her some Colones under her pillow. She was quite happy about that.

We drove to Manuel Antonio the third day which was about 45 minutes from where we were staying in Dominical. We enjoyed the beautiful beach and exploring the National Park, searching for wildlife.

The fourth day, I was especially excited to visited Hacienda Baru where we met our incredible tour guide Freddy. Freddy was just wonderful with the kids. We walked through the rainforest for 3 hours spotting all sorts of wildlife, learning about the plants, animals and landscape. We were able to spot sloths, monkeys, toucans, turtles, iguanas, beautiful birds and insects. It was a phenomenal experience. He even showed the kids how to find termites and Brennen and Rylyn ate a few since they were told they tasted like peanut butter ( a well played joke) and good protein.

Freddy has been doing tours in the area at Hacienda Baru and Manuel Antonio for over 10 years and he is top notch. He brought a tripod telescope with him that made spotting the camouflaged animals and taking close up pictures of them much easier! If you are headed to Costa Rica be sure to book a tour with Freddy’s Tours! His English and Spanish (ha) are excellent.

The last day of our trip we hiked the Nauyaca Waterfall. Greg and I went on an overcast morning and were some of the only people there. It was a tough hike and we were glad my parents and the kids didn’t try to do it with us. Greg and I survived the to and from hike and loved experiencing the beautiful waterfall. It was quite cold but fun to swim in the pool of a giant waterfall with no people around!

We were happy with Adobe Rental Car. They are a local rental car company in Costa Rica. It was about a 3 hour drive to and from the San Jose airport. Adobe provides you with a local cell phone as part of your rental in case you get a flat tire or have any issues which I appreciated.

We had a magical experience in Costa Rica and if you have the opportunity to go you’ll love every minute of it!