Costa Rica Family Reunions at a Private Resort Where Every Generation Stays Together
One gate, one pool, one long table. Three private resorts for reunions of 12 to 28 — in the mountains, under Arenal Volcano or a short walk from the beach — with hosts who live on site and cooks who handle dinner.
Family reunions at a glance
- Group size
- 12 to 28 guests; Majestic Lodge fits up to 33 under one roof
- Layouts
- Bella Vista: 4 private homes on a gated 2.5-acre mountaintop · Majestic Lodge: 10 en-suite bedrooms under one roof · Johnny's: 6 suites around a turquoise pool plus a tiki hut
- Ages our guests mention
- From 2 to 75 in the same week
- Meals
- Breakfast included at the Majestic Lodge and Johnny's; an on-site cook at every estate for lunches and dinners
- Lodging cost
- About $52–$63 per person per night for a family of 24
- Two settings, one trip
- Volcano to beach is about about 3 hrs 50 min by group van — we arrange it
Why a reunion works better behind one gate
A family reunion lives or dies on the in-between hours. The coffee before anyone has a plan. The cousins who disappear into the pool for three hours. The uncle who finally tells the story about the 1987 road trip because nobody has to drive back to a hotel. Those hours only happen when everybody sleeps in the same place.
Each of our three estates goes to one group at a time, so every room and every lounge chair belongs to your family for the week. No front desk, no strangers at the pool, and hosts who live on site. Because one team runs all three, a reunion can stay put, or spend half the week under a volcano and half on the beach.
Which estate fits your family's shape?
The right estate depends more on how your people like to sleep than on the scenery.
| Your family looks like… | Best fit | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Three or four households who each want their own front door | Bella Vista · Mountains | 4 private homes on a gated 2.5-acre mountaintop. Each branch gets its own kitchen and living room, and everyone meets at the infinity pool. |
| A big crowd of 29 to 33, or lots of couples | Majestic Lodge · Volcano | 10 en-suite bedrooms under one roof with 13 bathrooms. Every couple gets a private bath, and dinner for the whole family fits on the covered deck. |
| Kids who live in the water and adults who want the beach | Johnny's · Ocean | 6 suites around a turquoise pool, plus the tiki hut. The surf beach is a three-minute walk, and the pool sits in the middle of everything. |
| Ten days or more, and nobody can agree | Two or three estates | Volcano adventures for the restless, then beach days for everyone. See the sample plan below. |
Bella Vista: separate homes, one mountaintop
When a reunion is really several families vacationing together, separate homes keep the peace. Toddlers get an early, quiet bedtime in one house while the college cousins stay up late in another. Then everyone meets on the infinity pool, the volcano-stone jacuzzi and the four lit courts. Guests have described the pool as the highlight for every age from 2 to 71.
The Majestic Lodge: the whole clan under one roof
For the largest families, the Majestic Lodge is the only estate of the three that sleeps 33. Ten en-suite bedrooms mean nobody shares a bathroom with a teenager, and the lodge's covered deck holds a sit-down dinner for the whole group even when it rains. One guest who brought several families put it simply: everyone together, but each with their own master suite.
Johnny's Beach Bungalow: the beach-house reunion
Johnny's is the reunion people picture when they say "beach house." Six suites and the thatched tiki hut circle a turquoise pool, the surf beach at Playa Avellanas is a three-minute walk, and Alberto & Karla live on site. One family who traveled for a multi-generation reunion called them groundskeepers, drivers and concierges in one.
Things to do for ages 2 to 75
The four-year-old, the 15-year-old and the 74-year-old want very different days. The trick is a base where half the family can head out and the other half has a reason to stay.
- The little ones (2–6): pool time at every estate, native wildlife from the porch at Bella Vista, kayaks and paddleboards on Lake Arenal a few minutes' walk from the Majestic Lodge, and sandcastles at Playa Avellanas.
- Kids and teens: zip lines six minutes from the Majestic Lodge, hanging bridges ten minutes away, surf lessons on the beginner whitewater at Avellanas with boards on site, and private pickleball at Bella Vista that runs well after dark.
- Parents: rafting, canyoning or ATVs around Arenal, Hacienda Pinilla golf ten minutes from Johnny's, or an uninterrupted afternoon while the cousins entertain each other.
- Grandparents: volcanic hot springs under 30 minutes from the Majestic Lodge, a massage in the lodge's own massage room, the treehouse hot tub at Bella Vista, and a front-row seat at the pool for every cannonball.
- Everyone together: La Fortuna waterfall, a black-sand afternoon at Playa Caldera near Bella Vista, a beach bonfire at Avellanas, and turtle season on the Pacific from July to December.
Ask our hosts to plan two tracks for the same day — an adventure run and a slow one — and meet back for dinner. That single habit fixes most reunion friction.
Meals: let the on-site cooks handle dinner
Feeding 25 relatives three times a day is a part-time job. At our estates it doesn't have to be yours. Breakfast is cooked every morning at the Majestic Lodge and Johnny's (included for the first 16 guests, then $20 per additional guest per night). At Bella Vista, Patricia cooks on request, and her dinners come up in review after review.
Both the Majestic Lodge and Johnny's also offer an all-inclusive Presidential Package with meals, airport transfers and vehicles. A family of 22 who chose it at the Majestic Lodge had two cooks and housekeepers looking after them and rides to and from San José. For a reunion organizer, that's the difference between hosting your family and actually seeing them.
A sample 7-night family reunion in Costa Rica
This is the two-estate week we'd suggest for a family of 20 to 28 with a mix of ages: three nights at the volcano while everyone has energy, four at the beach when they'd rather slow down. Fly into San José and home from Liberia.
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1
Majestic Lodge · Volcano
Arrivals and a welcome dinner
Flights land through the day. The van collects each wave at SJO and the last relatives arrive to the volcano lit up at dusk and a family dinner on the covered deck.
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2
Majestic Lodge · Volcano
Two tracks: zip lines or hanging bridges
Teens and parents zip line six minutes from the lodge. Grandparents and little ones walk the hanging bridges or stay at the pool. Everyone meets at the hot springs after dark.
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3
Majestic Lodge · Volcano
Waterfall morning, lake afternoon
La Fortuna waterfall before the heat, then kayaks on Lake Arenal a short walk away. Book the massage room for the grandparents. Family photo with the volcano at sunset.
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4
Johnny's · Ocean
Volcano to ocean
Around the lake and down to Guanacaste, with a stop to stretch. Dinner by the pool, then the first walk to Playa Avellanas.
🚐 Transfer from Majestic Lodge: about 3 hrs 50 min -
5
Johnny's · Ocean
Surf lessons for every age
Beginner whitewater on the inside break for kids and first-timers. The non-surfers claim the shade of the tiki hut.
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6
Johnny's · Ocean
Free day
Golf or pickleball at Hacienda Pinilla ten minutes away, a nap, a book. Evening bonfire on the beach.
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7
Johnny's · Ocean
The big family night
Lunch and dinner from the kitchen, a slideshow of old photos, and the toasts somebody has been rehearsing all week.
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8
Johnny's · Ocean
Last swim, home from Liberia
One more breakfast and the 90-minute drive to LIR.
Prefer to unpack once? Spend all seven nights at Bella Vista, 1 hr 20 min from San José (SJO), or at Johnny's, 1 hr 30 min from Liberia (LIR). More routes on the Costa Rica itinerary page.
Tips for the person organizing the reunion
Every reunion has one organizer, usually the person reading this. Here's what makes the job easier.
Collect money by household, not by person
Divide the lodging by household and send each one a single number with a firm due date. Use one payment app for everybody so you're not reconciling three of them. Collect each household's share of the estate's deposit first, and the balance a few weeks before the deposit is due to us, so you never front the money yourself.
Build the rooming list early
Draft it the week you book, not the week you fly. Put families with babies near each other, give the light sleepers the far rooms, and decide in advance who gets the best suite (the honorees, usually). Our rooms pages show every bed so you can plan it on paper.
Herd flights from different cities
Relatives flying from five cities will land at five different times. Set an arrival window — say noon to 6 PM on day one — and we'll group the airport runs around it. For a two-estate trip, an open-jaw ticket (into San José, home from Liberia) saves everyone a long backtrack. Bella Vista is 1 hr 20 min from San José (SJO); Johnny's is 1 hr 30 min from Liberia (LIR).
Book early for school holidays
If your family is tied to school calendars, lock the dates before anything else. The month-by-month guide shows the weather at all three estates.
For the budget side, see what a Costa Rica group trip costs per person, and if you're still choosing between this and a friends' getaway, our group trips page covers birthdays and celebrations. Bella Vista has also written about planning a multigenerational Costa Rica vacation.
“Plenty of room for all.”
“Our family of 22 purchased the Presidential Package which provided us with two wonderful cooks/housekeepers and transportation to and from the airport in San José. The best part of our stay was the hospitality and care we received.”
“Johnny's Beach Bungalow was perfect for our multi-generation family reunion. The proximity to the beach and Lola's was a definite highlight of the trip. Karla and Alberto were incredible groundskeepers, drivers, concierges.”
“We had the whole property to ourselves for a multi-family vacation, and it was amazing to have everyone together but each with their own master suites. Ziplining is a 6 minute drive, and the lake is a 3 minute walk.”
“Our family of 13 stayed at Bella Vista for a week and enjoyed every day! Patricia cooked the most delicious dinners and breakfasts. The views were outstanding and the pool was the highlight for all ages 2 to 71.”
“This place is magical. We had three families stay together and there was plenty of room for all. The kids had a blast in the pool. But the magic of this place is in the people who take care of you.”
“We traveled all 16 of us, from age 3 to 75, for our renewal of vows, and we were blown away as Karla and her family hosted our event so beautifully. They even hosted a chess tournament and a bonfire for us at the beach.”
Costa Rica family reunion FAQ
What's the best Costa Rica estate for a family reunion with young children?
Bella Vista suits families with small children best because its four separate homes let each household keep its own nap and bedtime schedule on one gated mountaintop. Johnny's is the pick if the kids mainly want the pool and the beach, which is a three-minute walk.
Can three generations of 30 or more stay together?
Yes. The Majestic Lodge at Arenal Volcano sleeps up to 33 in ten en-suite bedrooms with 13 bathrooms, so a family of 29 to 33 can stay under one roof. Bella Vista and Johnny's each sleep 28.
How far ahead should we book a family reunion in Costa Rica?
For January through April, book six to nine months out. December holidays often book a year ahead. July is popular with reunions because of the mid-year dry spell on the Pacific, so plan early for summer too.
Can our family split the week between two estates?
Yes, and for a week or more we recommend it. We hold the dates at both estates, quote them together and arrange the van between them. Volcano to beach is about four hours with a stop.
Who cooks for a family reunion?
Every estate has an on-site cook. Breakfast is included at the Majestic Lodge and Johnny's for the first 16 guests, then $20 per extra guest per night, and both offer an all-inclusive Presidential Package. At Bella Vista, Patricia cooks on request.
Can each household pay separately?
Most organizers collect from each household and pay us as one group. If your family needs a different arrangement, ask Karen when you inquire.
Tell us who's coming. We'll find the estate that fits.
Send the headcount, the ages and a rough date range. Karen checks all three estates and comes back with availability, a per-person quote and a suggested route.
Or take the 60-second trip match first.
