Where to Stay in Costa Rica with Kids: Our La Fortuna & Beach Hotel Recommendations

Choosing where to stay is one of the biggest decisions you'll make when planning a Costa Rica family holiday.

Unlike many destinations where you stay in one resort for the entire trip, most families visiting Costa Rica combine different regions. The challenge isn't simply finding a good hotel—it's choosing the right locations and accommodation to match the type of trip you want.

Quick Answer: Where Should Families Stay in Costa Rica?

For most first-time visitors, I'd recommend splitting your trip between:

• La Fortuna – best for rainforest, waterfalls, hot springs and wildlife

• The Pacific Coast – best for beaches, pools, resorts and downtime

That's exactly what we did and it gave us the perfect balance of adventure and relaxation. In La Fortuna, we stayed at Hotel Los Lagos, which was ideal for hot springs, waterslides and easy access to the area's top attractions. On the Pacific Coast, we stayed at Planet Hollywood Costa Rica, which provided the beach, pools and slower pace we were looking for after several active days exploring.

This guide is designed to help you decide where to stay in Costa Rica, rather than review individual hotels in detail. I'll explain the areas I recommend for first-time family visitors, the hotels we chose within those areas and who they're best suited to. Throughout the guide, I'll link to my more detailed hotel reviews and destination guides if you want a deeper dive before booking.

If you're still planning your route, start with 10-Day Costa Rica Family Itinerary: Jungle, Volcanoes & Beaches, where I explain why combining La Fortuna and the beach worked so well for our family.

Some of the links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend hotels we'd genuinely consider staying in ourselves.

The Two Areas I'd Recommend for Most Families

If you're visiting Costa Rica for the first time, I wouldn't try to see everything.

Costa Rica may look small on a map, but there are several very different regions to choose from. Rather than rushing between destinations, I think most families get a much better experience by focusing on La Fortuna and the Pacific Coast. Together, they offer the perfect mix of adventure, wildlife and relaxation without spending half your holiday in the car.

La Fortuna: Best for Rainforest, Wildlife & Costa Rica's Signature Experiences

If you're only going to visit one inland destination in Costa Rica, make it La Fortuna.

This is the area that delivers many of the experiences people imagine when planning a Costa Rica family holiday. Think rainforest trails, hanging bridges, waterfalls, volcano views, wildlife and hot springs—all within a relatively compact area.

What makes La Fortuna particularly good for families is how accessible everything is. Most attractions are within a short drive of each other, so you can spend the morning crossing the rainforest canopy at Mistico Hanging Bridges, swimming at La Fortuna Waterfall or looking for sloths, and still be back at your hotel's pool or hot springs by the afternoon.

We also found it struck the perfect balance between adventure and comfort. Activities feel exciting enough to keep older children engaged, but they're generally easy to access and don't require serious hiking experience or complicated logistics.

For our family, this was where Costa Rica felt most unique. The combination of rainforest, volcanoes, waterfalls and wildlife created the moments we still talk about today. Joshua loved the hanging bridges, waterfall swimming and hot springs, while we loved how easy it was to explore without feeling rushed.

If you're trying to decide whether it's worth including, Is La Fortuna Worth Visiting with Kids? explains why it became our favourite part of the trip. You can also see our favourite attractions in Best Things to Do in La Fortuna with Kids: 12 Family-Friendly Attractions.

Where to Stay in La Fortuna with Kids

If La Fortuna is on your itinerary, accommodation can completely change the experience. For families, I'd strongly recommend staying at a hotel with hot springs if your budget allows. Being able to return from waterfalls and rainforest walks and spend the afternoon in warm pools was one of our favourite parts of the trip.

For a deeper breakdown of areas and accommodation options, see Where to Stay in La Fortuna with Kids: Best Areas & Family Hotels.

Our Choice: Hotel Los Lagos

Best for: Families wanting hot springs, waterslides and good value. This is where we stayed and it quickly became one of Joshua's favourite parts of the holiday.

What we loved:

• Multiple hot springs

• Waterslides

• Family-friendly pools

• Volcano views

• Good location for major attractions

The rooms are relatively simple, but that's not really why people stay here. The hot springs and pools become part of the experience rather than just hotel facilities.

For our full experience, see Hotel Los Lagos La Fortuna Review: Is It Worth Staying Here with Kids?

If Hotel Los Lagos sounds like the right fit for your La Fortuna stay, it’s worth checking prices early, especially if you’re travelling during school holidays. We found it offered brilliant value for families thanks to the included hot springs, pools, waterslides and volcano views. You can check the latest Los Lagos prices and availability here.

Pacific Coast: Best for Beaches, Resorts & Slowing the Pace Down

After several days in La Fortuna, we were ready for a change of pace—and that's exactly why the Pacific Coast works so well as the second half of a family itinerary.

While La Fortuna is all about waterfalls, wildlife and adventure, the Pacific Coast offers the more traditional holiday experience many families are looking for. Long beach days, swimming pools, beautiful sunsets, boat trips and plenty of opportunities to relax.

The Pacific Coast is also home to many of Costa Rica's best family resorts and all-inclusive hotels, particularly in the Guanacaste region. This makes it incredibly easy to switch from early starts and active days to slower mornings and less structured family time.

What surprised us most was that the wildlife didn't stop when we reached the beach. We still saw monkeys around our resort, tropical birds flying overhead and plenty of nature alongside the pools and beaches.

For families, I think this coastal portion of the trip is important. Not because there are more attractions, but because it gives everyone time to enjoy the holiday. After several busy days in La Fortuna, having a few days where the biggest decision was pool or beach felt perfect.

If you're deciding where to stay on the coast, Where to Stay on the Beach in Costa Rica with Kids: Best Family-Friendly Areas compares all-inclusive resorts, beach towns and quieter wildlife-focused destinations.

Where to Stay on the Beach in Costa Rica with Kids

After La Fortuna, we headed to the Pacific Coast. The timing couldn't have been better. After several days of waterfalls, hot springs, hanging bridges and wildlife, everyone was ready for slower mornings, beach walks and pool time. The best beach area for your family depends on what type of holiday you're looking for.

All-Inclusive Resorts: Best for Convenience

This is what we chose and, for first-time visitors, it's probably the option I'd recommend most often. The biggest advantage is simplicity.

Everything you need is in one place:

• Pools

• Restaurants

• Kids' clubs

• Entertainment

• Beach access

Our Choice: Planet Hollywood Costa Rica

Best for: Families wanting an easy, relaxing beach stay.

Joshua loved the pools and kids' club, while we appreciated not having to think about logistics for a few days.

For our full review, see Planet Hollywood Costa Rica Review: Honest Family Guide to This All-Inclusive Resort.

What we liked most about Planet Hollywood was how easy it made family travel. Between the pools, beach, kids' club and variety of restaurants, it offered enough choice to keep everyone happy throughout our stay. You can check current prices and availability here.

Our Recommendation for First-Time Visitors

If you're planning your first Costa Rica family holiday, I'd focus on:

1. La Fortuna for volcanoes, wildlife, waterfalls and hot springs

2. The Pacific Coast for beaches, pools and relaxation

Then choose hotels that support those experiences rather than simply picking the most luxurious option available. It's exactly the approach we took, and it's the route I'd recommend to almost any family visiting Costa Rica for the first time.

plan your TRIP TO costa rica

If you’re planning your family trip to Costa Rica, these guides will help you pull everything together:

About Plan Family Escapes

We’re a UK-based family sharing real, experience-led travel guides based on trips we’ve taken with our school-age son Joshua across destinations like Lapland, Turkey and India.

Everything we share is based on what we’ve personally experienced — with honest advice on what actually works when travelling with kids, focusing on making family travel easier, more comfortable and genuinely enjoyable.