Children's Activities

  • Playgrounds;
    • Dominical - on the beach across the street from Restaurante El Coco. Well maintained, lots of kids playing, and very cool two-story tree house-like play structure for climbing and viewing the beach. 
    • Uvita - next to the soccer field and comunal salon, on the road to the Ballena National Park/Whale Tail entrance
    • Palmar Sur - The key feature here is the old train (playground becomes secondary!) that children can touch and play by. Also a nice park for adults, and only a couple minutes past the Palmar BM Supermercado (drop one adult off to grocery shop while the other plays with kids at this park!)
  • Other Kid-Friendly activities;
    • Manuel Antonio National Park - take a private guide, the extra $15 or so is worth it because you can travel the path at toddler speed and still see lots of great wildlife www.sinac.go.cr/ES/ac/acopac/pnma/Paginas/default.aspx
    • Parque Reptilandia - Parque Reptilandia has the largest and most diverse presentation of Reptiles in Costa Rica. Educate your kids and yourself on this special group of animals. They can be examined safely from close-by and are beautifully exhibited, simulating their natural habitat as much as possible. When strolling down the easy walking paths you can also enjoy the many beautiful plants and trees in the botanical garden. Go to Parque Reptilandia when looking for things to do in Dominical and surroundings; it is a fun, exciting and easy activity for the whole family. crreptiles.com/
    • Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary - education/rescue/rehab/release wilfdlife program. Recommend going in the am for better attention span and cooler temps alturaswildlifesanctuary.org/
    • Vista Ballena Hotel - put the kids in the pool and enjoy a meal in the poolside restaurant.  Probably the closest thing to a "date" you get with children ;-)  www.vistaballenahotel.com/
    • Playa Ventana's dinosaur  - next to the gas station, ice cream shop and shopping/restaurant/business center between Uvita and Ojochal, you can't go wrong with a giant T-Rex.  A lot of the smaller animals will draw kids' attention, too.  Good photo ops.
    • Playa Ventanas at low tide - just past the caves on the north side of the beach, shallow tide pools formed at low tide and for a few hours after. This works great for toddler/baby friendly ocean time while the cave part is fun for the adults
  • Shopping;
    • Uvita BM Supermercado - large, clean, well stocked grocery store good for most baby-centric purchases (e.g. diapers, formula, etc).
    • Mama Toucans - in Dominical, has the BEST earth-friendly diapers. Worth a drive there for them (and their granola). 
  • ​Babysitting/Nanny Services;
    • ​​Please contact us if you wish referrals to local nannies, and we will share their contact information with you.