Cooking with a Costa Rican Family: An Insight into Local Traditions and Customs

Experience the warmth and hospitality of a Costa Rican family as you join them in their kitchen. Learn about local traditions and customs while cooking delicious traditional dishes.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Ceibo Arenal Home - After booking our experiences, you will arrive at our kitchen where you will be very welcome and where you will share a good time with an authentic Costa Rican family.
    After introducing ourselves and getting to know each other over a refreshing drink, we will take you on a tour of our organic garden, where you will learn about…
What's Included
  • Lunch included
  • Tea and coffee provided
Meal Options
  • Chicken rice - Shredded chicken, a special marinade sauce, Vegetables, spices are added to the rice mixture.
  • Typical desserts - Organic fruit honeys
Additional Information

Our humble family of five hails from Costa Rica, composed of Lidiana, Eddie, our boys Aaron, Edison, and our dear daughter-in-law Tiffany. We live with our three feline companions and a canine pal. Each day we push to enhance our lives, holding steadfast to our goals as a Costa Rican family and farming folk – to preserve and share our cultural…

Location
Ceibo Arenal Home
Personally I wait for you with pleasure, in our parking I give you the indications of the whole experience and I put them at your disposal. It is our pleasure to serve you.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(44 Ratings)
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Jennifer_w
Jan 15, 2026
Our Favorite Part of Costa Rica - This was truly our favorite experience while visiting CR over New Years! Our entire family enjoyed the experience so much and felt so welcomed. I can't say enough nice things about this sweet family! And the food and mojitos were excellent! Seeing the sloth, toads, frogs and sleeping birds was the icing on the cake! Thank you greatly!
Review provided by Viator
Minnesotawatergirl
Jan 9, 2026
Organic garden to delicious dinner - Such a lovely evening that was beyond our expectations. Our hosts were friendly, competent and fun. As we walked through their organic garden to collect greens and herbs for our salad., we saw a pregnant sloth. The six of us assisted in slicing and preparing the meal while drinking Mojito s. We learned how to prepare traditional foods and then dined together. After the meal we did a night walk and saw frogs, sleeping birds, and geekos. Thank you for a fabulous evening.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jill_s
Dec 23, 2025
So authentic. You are... - So authentic. You are truly immersed in the preparation of a delicious meal. The garden area cannot be put into words. Go and check it out. Plus you will get an up close view of a sloth (she was literally hanging 15 feet from our heads) and red eye frogs. My son said it was a top CR experience. Lovely family. Absolutely book!
Review provided by Viator
Brynnevans
Dec 16, 2025
This is a must-do in La Fortuna! - We read positive reviews about this place, but actually chose it because it didn't seem to have a huge internet presence. We were hoping for a local experience that helped us connect with real people in Costa Rica. This was definitely that and more! We got lucky enough to have a private experience for just our family. Lidiana and Aaron were so incredibly kind and patient. This was a full 3hr experience that started with a tour of their garden and taste-testing various plants, then a freshly prepared drink, and then we moved on to preparing ingredients for the meal. This was so fun -- a combination of dialogue and learning about the different types of foods that we don't see in the U.S. (such as whole yuca & fresh sugar cane, and even plantains, that our kids did not love or appreciate before this trip) Of course, every single thing we ate was delicious, and the kids ended up being super well-behaved around the dinner table. But the best part was getting to know the family who lived here. Lidiana and Aaron were beyond kind, generous, funny, and impatient. The evening ended with hugs and photos, and I continue to think about this experience as the highlight of our trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Teri_h_seattle
Dec 8, 2025
Your Most Memorable Experience in Costa Roca Awaits - Wow wow wow- above and beyond our expectations. Food simple, authentic, delicious and full of love. Got to see the resident sloth moving around the tree, many tree frogs and toads and even two large iguanas! Seriously- what a treat to spend the evening with such a welcoming and lovely family. Don’t hesitate to invest in this one of a kind experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
72ryanc
Dec 1, 2025
Awesome Experience! - We had an amazing time at our cooking class today! The entire family was so welcoming and kind. We got to tour their farm, try their herbs and learn how to make traditional Costa Rican food and drinks. The dinner was delicious! Aaron took us around the property to find a sloth and a night walk to see some incredible frogs. This was the best cooking class we've ever done and the most authentic experience we had during our trip to La Fortuna! Highly recommend to all!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
698ashleya
Jun 2, 2025
Worth every penny - This was one of the best experiences we’ve had in Costa Rica. This family is so sweet and opened their home to us to show us all about how they live and how they cook! From the mother to the son, and all their pets this was truly an amazing experience. You got to help prep all of the meal and even cook some of it. And then at the end of the night we got to walk through the garden and look for frogs and sloths. This was truly an amazing experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
37tamm
Feb 5, 2025
Lidiana and family are fantastic, great food and experience - Lidiana and her family were so great! The whole family was inviting and seemed genuinely excited to have us there. Aaron took us around their property where we picked fresh ingredients and learned a little bit about some of the native plants. We prepared, cooked and ate a traditional Costa Rican meal and they even made us mojitos! It was fun to cook foods that I had never cooked before.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T6869pssams
Dec 17, 2024
Wholesome and Delicious fun with a wonderful family! - My wife and I are very glad we booked this cooking class with Lidiana and her son Aarón! They welcomed us into their comfortable outdoor kitchen. We were then given a tour of their lovely garden where we collected some herbs and vegetables for the meal. We even got to see the baby sloth that lives in their backyard! We learned how to make some very delicious arroz con pollo, fried plantains, and yuca hash browns paired with a delicious mojito using a syrup infused with mint from the garden. The best part however was the dinner conversation. It was so nice to talk and connect with one another. After dinner, Aarón took us on a night tour of their yard where we spotted several different frogs and sleeping birds. Highly recommend this tour if you’re looking for great food and great company!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Janna_k
Dec 13, 2024
Fantastic experience! - This was so much fun! My friend recommended it and I was not going to do it because I’m not that into cooking, but this experience was so much more than that! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Lilliana and Aaron and they were so hospitable and welcoming. We started with a tour around the property with Aaron telling us all about the plants and animals (sloth, toucans) and we picked a few things for dinner. Then the cooking - mostly chopping and learning how to make the dishes…everything was SO tasty and fresh and wonderful. We loved talking to them and then after dinner, we got a nighttime tour and saw the red eyed tree frogs, bullfrogs, cricket frogs, iguanas, toads…so cool! Highly recommend this experience!!
Review provided by Viator
From $90
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).