The one thing I was really trying to avoid when planning our
trip to Costa Rica with kids was LONG ROAD TRIPS. As all parents know, a long car drive with
(pick one) bored/ whiny/ cranky/ carsick kids is a surefire was to ruin a
day. Generally, our kids (currently ages
4 and 6) are pretty good for about 2, maybe 2.5 hours in the car without a
break, but longer than that and it’s a gamble. However, I spent weeks
researching our itinerary and trying to find a way to get from Arenal/ La Fortuna (see blog post about our stay in Arenal here!) to any suitable Costa Rica beach destination without a long drive…with no
luck. I desperately searched for an
attraction or activity to stop and enjoy for a couple of hours to break up our
drive…also with no luck. 
So on our last night in La Fortuna we prepped the kids with
the idea that we had a long morning drive ahead of us the next day (4 to 4.5
hours), that we hoped they would nap for a bunch of the drive, and that they
could look forward to FUN AT THE BEACH! on the other end. And the kids surprised us and rocked it! We played a game of counting dogs we passed
(100+ for the record), both kids napped for more than 2 hours, we stopped
briefly at the Tarcoles Bridge to see the crocodiles…and then we arrived mostly
without incident and just in time for a late-ish lunch. Phew!
Encantada Ocean Cottages are located on a quiet dirt road
parallel to the ocean, just a 2 minute drive off the main highway. We pulled through the gate, past two stone
lions guarding the entrance, and parked beneath the shade of a palm tree. The front desk informed us that our cabin was
still being cleaned- no problem as we were excited to take a seat in the
adorable dining area and order lunch.
Within minutes we had yummy drinks and big smiles!
We spent a day and a half at Encantada doing nothing much at
all. The kids practiced their cannonballs in the warm, well maintained pool,
the boys practiced their boogie board skills in the ocean at high tide, little
girl and I walked the beach at low tide collecting all sorts of shells.
We ate as many meals as we could at the wonderful onsite
restaurant. Yummy breakfasts of fresh
fruit and made to order pancakes and eggs (included in our room price), lunch
of ceviche and tacos, dinners of grilled fish and veggies cooked over the wood
fire. (Our picky littlest eater had
spaghetti marinara for every meal-her loss!).
On the second day we were there the kitchen was closed for
lunch and dinner (their one day off per week), so we wandered left down the beach for
lunch to Hotel Pelicano, where the margaritas were fantastic (let’s be honest,
any drink is fantastic when you’re on vacation and enjoying a beautiful view!). Our never-shy big kid made friends with a
retired couple at the next table and taught them to play Connect Four on the
life-size lawn set.
For dinner we walked the opposite way down the beach to
check out Alma del Pacifico Hotel and Spa.
They had a big restaurant, an extensive menu with something to make
everyone happy, and manicured grounds that were interesting to explore.
On our third day at Encantada, we decided to make a day trip
to Manuel Antonio National Park, about a 35 minute drive away. We drove on our own, through the busy tourist
town that’s been built up just outside the gates, and parked in a lot a short
stroll from the gate (tip: ignore the hawkers trying to convince you that their
lot is the last available one and drive all the way to the gate- we had no
issue finding a parking spot!). Mohit
made arrangements with one of the nature guides waiting at the ticket counters. (Another tip- eat before you go or plan to buy
food at the kiosk inside the park near the beach! We’d packed a bunch of snacks for the kids
since we expected to be at the park until early afternoon…the proctors at the entrance
made us eat a bunch and dump the rest before we entered, since they have a
policy of not allowing most food into the park to avoid harming the wildlife).
The walk through the park out to the beach is short. If made directly, it could easily be done in
20 minutes. We spent about an hour with
our guide who showed us a variety of wildlife that we would have otherwise
completely missed: a baby sloth clinging to its father, lizards, birds, sleeping
bats. It was HOT and little girl was
getting whiny toward the end, so we tipped our guide thanks and made a beeline
for the beach.
At the beach, Mohit took the kids into the water to swim while I relaxed in the shade where the beach met the jungle. I heard leaves crunching behind me and turned
around to see what was making the noise- I was shocked to see a sloth creeping
across the ground straight toward me, his near-sighted eyes apparently oblivious
to my presence! I hopped out of the way
and he crawled straight across little girls’ sneakers, onto the sand, where he
stopped, apparently realized that wasn’t where he wanted to be, and then turned
around and climbed back up into the branches.
Luckily, he moved so slowly that the kids had plenty of time to run back
from the water and watch him with me. 
We also enjoyed watching a pack of monkeys sneak up to the
edge of the sand to rummage through backpacks left unattended and scurry away
with contraband snacks. Our daughter talked about those sneaky monkeys for
weeks- it was her favorite story to tell her preschool friends about her Costa
Rica vacation!
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