Costa Rica would certainly fit the bill. The only caveat is that there are plenty of kid friendly hotels and inns, but there aren't a lot of family-oriented resorts, or any other kind of resorts for that matter.

The age of the kids would matter--you can/should take 12-13 year olds places where you wouldn't take 4-5 year olds.

Time zone would be one hour behind NYC if it's before the DST switch.

TACA airlines (will be Avianca pretty soon) flies direct from JFK to San Jose, flight leaves around 5:00 am and you arrive in San Jose around 9:30 AM or so.

If you want the last night to be closer to the airport, you should probably do the beach location first--there aren't any worthy beach options close to the airport in San Jose.

If you want beach and jungle, the best place to go may be the Osa peninsula (beach near Puerto Jimenez, jungle just about anywhere). Another option that's more friendly to kids of all ages would be Manuel Antonio--guaranteed monkeys, ziplines, and beach.

As far as jungle is concerned, most people recommend Arenal, but the nearby Sarapiqui area has a lot more monkeys, wildlife, birds, and jungle. Arenal area is overdeveloped and not getting any better (exception to that would be the far side fo the volcano from town--Arenal Observatory Lodge and Lost Iguana side). Aside from that area, no monkeys to see. Sarapiqui on the other hand has tons of monkeys. Tons. And brightly colorful beautiful birds like toucans, parrots, etc.

Fly into LIR; it's a scenic 3 hour drive to Arenal (Arenal Observatory Lodge and Lost Iguana are great choices; Smithsonian room at AOL would be big enough for everyone and excellent price, and they have a great pool, hot tub, views and grounds, and terrific proximity to a great zip line, tram, and a hanging bridge hike).
You could then go to the beaches of Guanacoste; for example, Flamingo and Conchal are near each other (and in between you could stay at, for example, a 2 bdrm/2bth "La Carolinas" condos [http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g309244-d1551686-La_Carolina_Condo_8-Playa_Flamingo_Province_of_Guanacaste.html] for ~$100); or one of the resorts near Ocotol, Hermosa, etc. (I don't recommend Tamarindo so much). You'd be about an hour or less from the airport.

p.s. time zone? It's only got the one, and NY is 2 hours ahead.

We've been to CR 4 times and have seen lots of the country, some with our young son and some on our own. There are lots of options, but I'd say for the first time there, keep it easy. I think the kids would love Arenal. You can go horse back riding, go to the hot springs and zipline, not to mention the volcano. You'd need to spend your first and last night in or near San Jose though (everything worthwhile is at least a couple hours from the airport)- arenal I think is a 3 hour drive, which you absolutely must do in daylight. You can then head to Manuel Antonio where there's tons of wildlife (monkeys, toucans, etc, beach, surf lessons). We stayed at Villa Mot Mot which was awesome with our son. Check it out on vrbo.com for best rates and book asap, as it may be filled. It's part of Tulemar Bungalows, but I think this is the best villa personally.
If you want something more adventurous and don't mind taking small planes and spending lots of money, Bosque del Cabo is an amazing place with tons of stuff to do, but the surf is rough.
You can get a non-stop flight on AA from JFK to San Jose.

Just re-read your title to see the ages of the kids.

I would probably go Manuel Antonio plus Sarapiqui or Arenal Observatory Lodge.

Costa Rica is technically 2 hours behind NYC, but does not do Daylight Savings Time, so during the winter it's only 1 hours behind. But since April is after the 'spring ahead' it indeed would be 2 hours behind.

Guanacaste would give better beaches, but Manuel Antonio has much better wildlife--best place in the country to see monkeys other than the Osa peninsula and Sarapiqui areas.

I'd go to Arenal and Manuel Antonio. That's the most popular combo for first time visitors. We just stayed at the Springs Resort and Spa in La Fortuna/Arenal, and your kids would love it. They have a beautiful property, five restaurants, close to 20 springs on the property, a water slide, etc. It's awesome. For wildlife in the area, you can do the Cano Negro tour and the Penas Blancas river float. We've seen monkeys on both. I'd also recommend the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center. We were able to feed monkeys, a sloth, and macaws there and get very close to the animals and take photos with them. Sky Trek is the most popular zipline. If your kids aren't that brave, there are a number of other ones. If The Springs Resort is too pricey, we also like the Lost Iguana and Nayara. For more affordable Silencio del Campo and Los Lagos are popular. We also love the waterfall hike, the Hanging Bridges, rafting with Rios Tropicales, and Tabacon or Eco Termales hot springs.

For beach, Manuel Antonio has a beautiful beach inside the park and tons of fairly tame wildlife. We saw a lot of monkeys there and sloths. You'll probably have monkeys at your hotel. Tulemar always gets raves like mad mentioned. Maybe check Si Como No.

If you want more off the grid, the Osa and the Sarapiqui areas are great for wildlife.

Still suggesting LIR as your airport; no need to stay overnight if you go there.
Beaches of Guanacaste are wonderful; Arenal has the activities.
p.s. Just my opinion, but MA is overpriced (parking is difficult and expensive), and the beach is crowded, although some have found this not the case.
However, if you do stay at Tulemar, there is a very nice private beach.

LIR might be a good suggestion depending on flights. JetBlue flies direct from JFK but when I checked the prices were extremely high. If you do fly in there you could consider Playa Samara if the kids really want to surf. Perfect beach for learning and a great beach/town. About two hours or less from LIR.

We've been to CR twice with the kids. I think the Arenal/Manuel Antonio option is a perfect first trip. Our last trip the kids were about 8 and 10 and they had a blast. If you can fly into San Jose by mid morning, or even noon, you can be on your way to Arenal the same day.

As far as hotels, the kids (and parents) enjoyed Los Lagos, mainly for the pools and the property itself. The rooms are basic, but the location is pretty good. They have their own zip line - which is fairly tame as compared to Sky Trek - but still a lot of fun. They have horse back riding on the property as well as a small butterfly house and crocodile farm. We'd definitely go back. Oh - and the pools have some great water slides that the kids LOVED! And they have their own hot springs.

Arenal Observatory Lodge was another huge hit. Totally different atmosphere, and I probably wouldn't stay there without a car. It's much more remote. But you can't beat the location as far as being right at the volcano! Even lava, just being so close is an amazing site! The nature trails there are wonderful and we saw plenty of monkeys right on the property. The Smithsonian rooms have great views of the volcano and are big, but basic. It's definitely a lodge feeling.

In Manuel Antonio we stayed at Tulemar, went to their private beach and loved it. We stayed in the upper level of the Mot Mot Villa. Again, tons of wildlife, including monkeys right on our deck railing! Sloths, amazing birds - and beautiful sunsets! We never went to the Manuel Antonio beach itself - never had to. We walked to nearby restaurants and never felt the area was crowded or too touristy.

We didn't have a car in Manuel Antonio, so we had a driver take us back to the airport, the drive was only a few hours - it didn't take long and we were able to leave the morning of our flight.

I think most of Costa Rica is kid friendly - there are activities that appeal to kids, especially the ages yours are, and the wildlife alone is a huge draw to kids!

For those who have not been to Arenal in a while, there is NO LAVA at the volcano. It is in a quiet phase.

However the AOL still has lots of nature trails and the free morning walk is timed to see the monkeys (not the kind that they have at Manuel Antonio, but the spiders and howlers).

Manuel Antonio is a bit overdeveloped for my taste but it's lousy with habituated wildlife including aggressive capuchin monkeys. And between the two spots you can see the crocodiles at the Tarcoles Bridge.

Wow!! I am so excited! Thanks to all of you for your advice. I'm so happy you gave me so many specific recommendations. I did buy a guide book but it will be so helpful to focus on the areas you all have recommended when I'm reading it. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon.

The only problem I'm going to have is narrowing down all the wonderful options!!

Best regards,
C

One recommendation: plan your trip as if it's your first trip there, not your only trip there. If you find yourselves torn between two areas on complete opposite sides of the country, leave one for the next trip.

We're going for the 5th time this February, and there are still plenty of areas we haven't seen yet, but will.

I'm resurrecting this old thread. I finally finished reading my guide book and I think I'll have to plan many many future trips to Costa Rica. There was not one area that I read about that didn't sound appealing!

All of your suggestions were very helpful. I've referred back to this thread so many times during my planning.

I've decided to focus on Arenal and Manuel Antonio. I'm still intrigued by the Guanacaste area and Sarapiqui, but I have to limit myself for this first trip. There is a nice 2 bedroom available at Tulemar that I'm close to booking, but I'm still working on the Arenal area. I would really like to have a room with some division so we can stay up later than the kids, and those rooms at the Springs are really expensive! There are a few less expensive ones that would have worked but they are booked. I'm still talking to them to see if there's something that would work at a lower price point.

Tabacon Spings looks really, really nice and they have connecting rooms - that could work. I like the idea of lots of pools and springs because I'd like to be active for 1/2 the day but then have some play time and I think the Springs and pools would be nice for the kids.

Just went back through this thread, I will look into Los Lagos too.

AOL may have large rooms, but there doesn't seem to be any separation between the sleeping areas.

On another note, I think our best bet for airport is SJO, is that correct? We'd start at Arenal and end at Manuel Antonio. I'll be happy to hire private drivers if that's the best way to get around.

My other question now is how many days to spend in each location. Not counting our arrival & departure days we will have 8 full days. We will also have the day that we travel between Arenal and MA, which I think should take a big chunk of our day. That leaves us 3 full days in one location and 4 full days in the other. Which location would you stay longer? I'm torn between thinking there may be more activities in Arenal so we should have more time there, but I also want to enjoy the beach in MA (and I know there are sights there as well).

I'd appreciate any advice!

Thanks!!

Oh gosh, I just thought to read Tabacon resort reviews on tripadvisor and the first few I read are really not good! Will do more research obviously, it was just something that popped up on my radar! Thought I would add this note before everyone tells me how horrible it is!

Well, I keep topping myself, but would you say that Nayara is better for older children? I don't want to feel that I have to shush my kids if they're splashing around the pool. We, of course, try to be considerate to other travelers, especially when at meals and in our room, but when splashing in the pool, I would really hate to have to shush them! One review on tripadvisor in particular said it was better for teens, though of course another says that it was great for a 6 & 9 YO.

Thanks again!

Remember that MA park is closed on Mondays, so take that into account when you're planning. We prefer the Arenal area because there's so much to do there, so I'd lean towards more time there. If you really want a lot of beach time, you may prefer more time in MA. Busloads of people show up to use the springs at Tabacon so it wouldn't be my first choice of place to stay.

Nayara gets a lot of honeymooners. The pool area is pretty small there. If your kids want to really splash around etc. you might take a look at somewhere like Los Lagos - it's very popular with young families, but not as upscale as Nayara. We stayed at The Springs Resort for half price with a Groupon, agree that their regular rate is pricey. We always fly in and out of SJO. Both Arenal and MA are about 3 hours from the airport.

Thank you, volcanogirl. We'd be at Arenal from a Friday (travel day, but we should arrive in SJO in the morning so we'll make it there by night) until Tuesday or Wednesday, so MA being closed on Monday wouldn't matter. Then we'd be in MA from Tuesday or Wednesday until Sunday. The flight from SJO is at 11:45 am so they said I can drive or fly to SJO Sunday morning, giving us a full day on Saturday.

I'll look into Los Lagos. I think you're right, Nayara doesn't have the pool area I'm looking for. And I doubt it would be more economical than The Springs!

Hi! I think MA and Arenal sounds perfect for your visit. We stayed at Tabacon our first time to Arenal. It was without kids and I guess it's coming up on 6 years ago now - but I would give it just an "ok" rating. It's just too expensive for what you get in my opinion. The one advantage is that you have unlimited access to the hot springs. So, if you do plan to use them, it does offset the cost a lot! But the rooms were just ok and the food at their restaurant was far overpriced. So many other hotels include breakfast - they didn't and it was costly. Not that I wouldn't stay there again - but there are many other choices in the area. When we were at Tabacon, we did not find the springs overcrowded at all. But then being hotel guests we could show up at anytime - not just the peak tour bus times. We were also there in May - also not a peak tourist season. We had several of the pools to ourselves.

Given a choice, with kids - I would either go to Los Lagos for the pools and waterslides, and they do have hot springs on the property. Or Arenal Observatory Lodge - for the proximity to the volcano, the trails and the wildlife that you don't often see in Arenal. It's off the beaten path though so I probably wouldn't stay there without a car for convenience.

As far as Manual Antonio - we stayed in the Upper Mot Mot villa at Tulemar and loved it. We never made it to the park because they have their own beach. There were monkeys and sloths and so many birds right on their property.

I would probably spend more days in Arenal, unless you prefer the beach over the volcano atmosphere. There are some activities you could do either location - for example horseback riding.

Either way you choose, you're going to have a fantastic trip!

Ok, here's a different take on Manuel Antonio with kids. We just got back from a stay in the 727 at Costa Verde with our grandkids---and they LOVED it. Yes, it is an old plane, but it is really fixed up---lined with teak and furnished with furniture from Bali, a tv and a kitchen. The best part were the two decks off the wings, right in the jungle, with monkeys all over the plane and the deck. We had done the national park on previous trips, so we just walked down to the public beach and rented chairs---2 chairs, a table and an umbrella for $10 a day. The kids took surf/boogie board lessons and played all day in the beach. The chair people bring you cold beer in coolers and food, and the people watching is great. Everybody had a ball. Here's a link to the 727 room. People kept coming up and taking their pictures in front of our hotel room, so we invited them in for a tour. What fun.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=costa+verde+727+video&mid=B8EB209204AE5362D0AAB8EB209204AE5362D0AA&view=detail&FORM=VIRE2

What villa are you looking at in Tulemar? Some have great views, some not so great.

Shooie, that looks really cool. I knew about the restaurant, but I didn't know you could actually stay in one of the planes.

Hi there...this advice will probably be too late for this trip, but in the future I would recommend renting a house rather than looking for a hotel. You get a ton more for your money, and with kids it is so much easier: private pool, no worries about making too much noise, washer and dryer, refrigerator, etc. Try homeaway, vrbo, tripadvisor,etc for listings. We tried it for the first time last year (5th trip to CR, 2 kids) and it was an amazing experience. I know you want to experience both jungle and beach and the great thing about CR is that you can do both from one location in the southern zone. No volcanos though : ) Personally I like to stay south of Manual Antonio but that's just because I hate crowds, especially when I'm hiking or beaching.

Have fun! CR is such a great family destination. If you end up heading to MA, you might consider a day trip to Hacienda Baru, down near Dominical. It's so great for kids.

Hi all, I have been reading this thread but usually on my phone and I don't like to post from there. I actually did end up booking at The Springs, and for Tulemar, we are in the Buena Vista 2 bedroom. The website says that we will have a great view, but who knows! I will let you know when I get there.

Shooie, that 727 is literally unbelievable! I've never heard of or seen such a thing. The kids would have loved that! I will have to put it on my list for next time.

Acomeara, I did sort of consider renting a house or apartment. We travelled in France & Italy last summer and did almost all houses and apartments and it was such a perfect way to travel. Somehow for Costa Rica I feel more comfortable having the resources of a hotel behind me. I think maybe because it is my first trip there. But do know that I have travelled that way before and I do know how much sense it makes. I will look into Hacienda Baru.

Thanks again to everyone for your help!