Farm Charm: A Family Farmstay in Costa Rica

There's a quiet shift happening in family travel. Parents who once booked another resort with another pool are choosing something slower, greener, and far more alive: a family farmstay in Costa Rica where the morning begins with roosters and the evening ends around a firepit. At Heavenly Highlands, tucked into the misty mountains above San José, we've watched families arrive a little frazzled and leave a little transformed.

Why families are trading hotels for farm life

The travel world even has a name for it now — "Farm Charm." Reports on 2026 travel trends describe a 300% year-over-year jump in farm-related experiences mentioned in guest reviews, with most travelers saying they'd love to stay on or near a farm. The reason is simple. After years of screens, traffic, and over-scheduled weekends, families are craving a place where the rhythm comes from the land instead of an itinerary. A hotel hands you a room and a checkout time. A farm hands you a whole way of living — and invites your kids right into the middle of it.

A day the land decides

Here, the schedule writes itself. Picture your children at sunrise, baskets in hand, gathering eggs still warm from the henhouse. Before breakfast they'll say good morning to Kristoff, our donkey, and Caramelo, the miniature horse who's convinced he's in charge, and maybe earn a nuzzle from Ana and Elsa, our two goats. Lunch might begin with fruit the kids pick themselves from one of our 75-plus trees, while melipona stingless bees hum quietly in the granadilla tunnel. In the afternoon there are trails to wander and a garden to explore; by evening, a fire to gather around and a sky thick with stars. No screens competing for attention — just mist on the mountains, muddy boots by the door, tired feet and full hearts.

Green season — secretly the best time

If you picture Costa Rica only in sunshine, our "green season" might surprise you. The mountains are at their most alive right now: everything lush, the air washed clean, the coffee plants deep green, and far fewer crowds than the dry months. Most days bring bright mornings and a warm afternoon rain — perfect for reading together, baking, or simply listening from a dry porch. It's the season that reminds families weather isn't something to escape; it's part of the experience.

What a hotel can't give your kids

Our motto says it plainly: "Where Little Ones Rule." On the farm, children aren't asked to sit still and stay quiet — they're handed real responsibility and real wonder. They discover where breakfast actually comes from. They get their hands dirty. They look up, at constellations instead of tablets. And something shifts in them: a curiosity and independence no resort kids' club can manufacture. For parents, the quiet joy is watching it happen — and realizing you've slowed down too. Turn off the screens. Turn up the memories.

More than a place to sleep

This is the heart of the global move toward experiential travel: the best trips aren't about where you sleep, but how you live while you're there. Around the world that looks like agriturismos in Tuscany or working farms in New Zealand. In the mountains of Costa Rica, it looks like this — a working family farm with award-winning architecture, farm-to-table meals from our own garden, and a pace that lets a family simply be together. We named the farm Heavenly Highlands because, as the Psalm says, we lift our eyes to these mountains — and we love sharing that view with the families who come.

Come live it with us

We're a short drive from San José, nestled in the green hills of Santa Ana and Mora: close enough to be easy, far enough to feel like another world. The coffee, the animals, the fruit trees, the quiet — it's all waiting, and your kids will remember it long after the photos fade. If your family is ready to trade the hotel for the farm, we'd love to host you.

Book your family farmstay at Heavenly Highlands →