Family exploration in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

While in the Arenal Volcano area, we stayed in Rancho Margot. This is an experience in itself, and a full day should be dedicated to the ranch. Follow the link to information about Rancho Margo here. I am not the type of traveler who like to stay in a hotel or resort, use the amenities, and then go home. We also wanted to explore the area. We found a few activities that satisfied the various desires of the family to sightsee, get dirty, drive fast, and get our science-nerdery on.

Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

The Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges park was created by a native La Fortuna couple and then opened to the public as part of an eco-tourism project. The hanging bridges can be experienced on your own, or many tours are offered. We chose a self-guided tour of the bridges, roughly $25/per person. The trail is 2 miles long and consists of 16 bridges, a tunnel, and a waterfall, taking about 1.5 hours at a pace including some excitement and some 7 year old complaining. The kids were pretty much at their limit after an hour, but the bribe of food, and the fact that there are no shortcuts, got them to the end. The tours of the bridges will take longer. Being in the canopy of the rainforest produces an awesome view. Standing on swaying bridges, looking out over the trees and skyline is beautiful.

We were told that going in the early morning (a very difficult time for all of us) allows you to see more wildlife. Waking up early is not always an option because my DNA requires 9 solid hours of sleep and then 3 more hours for my brain to defog. It’s unfortunate.

Frog Night Tour

I’m a little biased because I LOVE frogs so I thought the Arenal Oasis Frog Night Tour was great. I had frogs as pets growing up and feel so at peace just staring at them hoping they will move. Dumpy and Dumpy Jr. were my whites tree frogs that I spent a lot of time watching… and with a lot of pee on my shoulder. On this tour we had a private naturalist walk through the jungle paths with us at nightfall. We saw glass frogs, leopard frogs, red eyed tree frogs and an eye-lash viper snake (which is extremely poisonous!).

This is the only frog sanctuary in the area. The Rojas Bonilla family maintains the native plants of Arenal to create the habitat needed for frogs in their private wildlife reserve. There are 28 frog species that have made their home in these ponds.

My kids (ages 7 & 10 at the time) thought the tour was a little slow paced. You had to be very quiet and still at points and the prize of seeing a wild frog sitting…… sitting…. still sitting……didn’t always make this tedious task worth it to them. It was worth it to me, though, and with the decline of the frog populations all over the world, I think it is something kids should see. ($25/per person)

There is a restaurant on site where we ate dinner. The tours are all at night since frogs are nocturnal so this makes for a very convenient stop.

Volunteer at the Wildlife Rescue Center

The Proyecto Asis Wildlife Institute rehabilitates wild animals who have been injured, who are sick, poisoned or confiscated as they are kept as illegal pets. The animals are cared for until they can be released. In such cases that they can not be released, the animals remain at the shelter. The shelter provides many volunteer opportunities to the public, from a 2 hour tour to a “homestay” where you and your family will volunteer for a day at the wildlife sanctuary and then stay with a local family.

We were part of the 3 1/2 hour tour and volunteer program. Our guide was enthusiastic and informative. It was obvious he had spent a lot of time with each individual animal and was passionate about his work. All of the volunteers helped in preparing the food for all of the animals. The kids were able to go into the cages of many different animals to feed them. The guide provided a background of each animal and a different individual was chosen to go in to care for this animal at each cage. This was a educational and hands-on activity for any age!

Chase, age 10: “I really liked feeding the different animals and making their food. I thought it was really cool how you could pet any animals that you can reach. i also thought it was cool how right next to the lounge area there was a pond with a lot of caimans swimming around and cool bird up on trees right above.”

Power Wheels Adventure ATV Tour

The Power Wheels Adventure ATV tour was awesome. The kids LOVED it!!! This is a definite activity for a trip with adventurous kids. The tours are private so they will custom design them with you. You can choose between various locations, length of time, and how covered in dirt you wanted to be by the end. We did the jungle farm tour which was beautiful. The kids could steer but had to be riding with an adult. It was a little dry when we went so we didn’t get as muddy as expected, but that was totally fine with me. The iconic field with cattle and the view from the top of the mountain was beautiful. We saw a poison dart arrow frog, and the guides climbed up into a tree to get pictures of a snoring sloth!!

Dylan, age 7: “It was the best part of the trip it was super super fun and I also got to drive the ATV by myself yay!a man climbed a big tree so fast to get a sloth!”

We spent about 4 days in La Fortuna before heading to the beach. On our way to the beach we stopped at a restaurant on the side of the road called Toucan Lane (formerly called Toad Hall Eat) It happened to be fabulous! The owners had JUST bought the place that week and were on the phone with family members telling them they moved to Costa Rica. It was awesome. I’m sure they have revamped the place since our visit but the food was great and the view was even greater.