Looking for a vacation destination that has a great location, offers opportunities for kids to have fun while learning and makes it easy to spend quality bonding time with the whole family?
Costa Rica should be at the top of your list. It’s a safe and natural destination with plenty of flight connections making it easy to get to. Costa Rica often tops the list of the happiest countries index. A quarter of the land is dedicated to conservation and 6% of the world’s plants and animals are found there, as well as four UNESCO World Heritage sites. There’s a rich culture in this green and sustainable country, as well as an educated population with a high literacy rate and a high life expectancy due to excellent health care.
But you may be wondering the best way to travel there with kids. Or how you can create your own kid-friendly itinerary that matches your budget. Making a custom itinerary with the right activities, locations and hotels to fit your family’s specific needs is easy if you follow these simple steps for planning your trip.
- Contact your travel agent or agency. Ask them if they have a local ground operator that knows the country and has identified all the services for family journeys.
- If you want to create a custom itinerary for a family, look for a local expert that understands every detail of having kids on a trip and that has carefully researched and pre-selected suppliers to ensure high standards of quality, commitment to responsible tourism and kid-friendly services.
- Then the real work starts. Your local ground operator will need to know the basics: who is travelling, the ages of the travellers, the trip length, etc. They should also discuss dates of your trip to make sure you’re travelling at the right season. And you traveling for a special occasion? Let them know.
- The type of accommodations is one of the most important consideration and it goes way beyond how many beds you need. Do you want a lodge, a boutique hotel, a rural property, an eco hotel? What level of luxury are you looking for — 2, 3, 4, 5 star? What’s the room distribution? How many times are you willing to change hotels?
- Next, identify your trip goals and what kind of travel family you are. Are you peace seekers, social butterflies, nature explorers, adventurers or a combo of several?
- Don’t forget to discuss transportation too. How do you want to move around? Drive your own car? Share a vehicle? Hire a private or unique driver-guide-captain service?
- Identify the experiences you don’t want to miss on your trip so those can be priortized. Visit a volcano, relax on a beach, see a specific specimen of fauna, plant a tree, try a cultural activity…the opportunities are endless.
- Of course, you can’t forget about budget either. Approximately how much would you like to spend once you’ve arrived? Do you have a cap on activity prices? Sharing this information upfront means your travel agent can skip any places or activities that definitely wouldn’t fit your needs.
With all of these details, your specialized ground operator will be able to design and send you a personalized proposal. Keep in mind that it can be changed and modified as much as needed until you, the agent and the ground operator have created the perfect personalized family journey.
One important thing to note: It’s not only about the creation of the itinerary. The right selection of hotels and services is just the start. Custom-made itineraries with local experts make your life way easier once you’re on the ground too — especially when you are travelling with a family. Your local expert will always be available and able to help with every little detail. Working on a custom-made itinerary with a local expert also ensures that the days unfold seamlessly, without mistakes or delays, and that you get the most personalized kid-friendly service possible.
For families, the bonding experience becomes a reality when there is no stress, no worries and no logistics to think about. The ultimate goal is making sure that when you are in Costa Rica you have time to sit back, relax and love your time together.
Matteo Colombo/Getty
For more information on booking a trip and creating a custom itinerary visit Il Viaggio Travel.