MJ asked 7 years ago
Love your forum!!! We are traveling with school-aged kids. Checking out of Manuel Antonio hotel, flight home leaves the next day. Was going to stay in hotel near SJO, but can’t think of what to do for a day and a half with kids. Are there towns/things to do along the way, where we could stay for a night, with kids? Someone mentioned Jaco, but I heard that’s more of a party atmosphere and might not be great for kids. Your thoughts?
Jenn and Matt Staff answered 7 years ago
Hi MJ,
Jaco has a reputation for a party scene but the average person/family that heads back to the hotel sometime after dinner usually won’t notice much. The bars don’t get busy until later in the night. The nice thing is it has a lot of great restaurants and shops. If you wanted someplace quieter, you could look a bit north in Playa Herradura or Tarcoles. A Crocodile Tour on the Tarcoles River would be a fun afternoon activity with the kids. This area is only about 1.5 hours to the airport so makes a nice stopover. For something even closer, you could check out Atenas (30-40 minutes west of the airport) and maybe catch a coffee tour or visit Zoo Ave on the afternoon that you get there. Just a couple of ideas.