Best Things to Do in Tamarindo With Kids

Tamarindo's beach break is one of the gentlest learn-to-surf waves in Costa Rica, and every surf school in town runs a structured kids' program with foam boards and one-on-one push-offs. Most first-timers 6 and up are standing up by the end of the lesson.

A flat-water boat tour through the mangroves of Las Baulas National Marine Park, right behind Tamarindo, turns up American crocodiles, howler monkeys, and herons without any hiking. From October through March you can add a permitted night visit to watch leatherback sea turtles nest at Playa Grande — one of the last major nesting beaches in the Pacific.

A boat safari on the Tempisque and Bebedero rivers, roughly two hours inland from Tamarindo, is Guanacaste's best wildlife-density day — American crocodiles sunning on the banks, howler and white-faced monkeys in the riverside trees, and huge colonies of herons, storks, and roseate spoonbills. It's a genuine full-day commitment, not a half-day add-on.

The Catalina Islands, a rocky offshore chain about 45 minutes by boat from the Tamarindo area, have the region's clearest water and the best odds of seeing manta rays, especially January through April. It's the closest thing to a Cozumel-quality reef snorkel on this coast.

A multi-line zip circuit through the dry-forest canopy in the hills outside Tamarindo — a straightforward adrenaline morning for tweens and teens that doesn't require the drive to Arenal or Monteverde.