Classic Costa Rica

Transfer airport – hotel in San Jose (PVT)
Upon arrival into Lima International Airport, you will be met by our representative and will be transferred to the selected hotel.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Full day Poas Volcano, Doka Coffee Plantation and La Paz Waterfall Gardens (PVT)
To get to the different attractions included during this tour, we will drive by the city of Alajuela passing by the Agriculture Monument, the Monument to Juan Santamaria and the famous Mango Park. First stop, will be in Doka, a third-generation coffee plantation to learn how coffee is picked, milled, ground and roasted.
As you continue towards the Poas Volcano, you will notice the change in temperature and vegetation; you will see coffee plantations, fern, flower and strawberry farms along the way, creating a colorful landscape. The Poas is one of the most spectacular volcanoes in the country, with its enormous crater measuring one kilometer in diameter and 314 meters deep. The crystal blue sulphur pools will amaze you along with the steam rising from the various volcanic vents. We will also hike to the beautiful Botos Lagoon. The tour continues to discover La Paz Waterfall Gardens, a natural park where we will walk through some spectacular trails leading to the White Magic Waterfall. You will also visit the largest butterfly observatory and the impressive hummingbird gallery, the serpentarium, the old house, the bird house and the frogs’ exhibit.

Lunch
Lunch is included in a local restaurant. After lunch, you will head back to San José.

Breakfast
After an early departure from San Jose, driving through the spectacular Braulio Carrillo National Park, stop in Rio Danta private restaurant for a delicious typical breakfast.

Transfer San Jose – Tortuguero (PVT)
The bus ride continues through banana plantations to the pier. A two-hour boat ride through the canals will take you to Mawamba Lodge, where you will spend the night

Lunch
Lunch will be served at the lodge.

Village tour in Tortuguero
In the afternoon, a visit to the small town of Tortuguero is included before walking back to the lodge by the beach. Before dinner, free time to enjoy the pool or just to relax in a hammock.

Dinner
Dinner is served in the lodge’s restaurant from 7:30 pm.

Note: For Tortuguero we recommend fast drying/light clothes, bathing suit for swimming pool use, comfortable walking shoes, a pair of flip flops or sandals, flashlight, hat or cap, insect repellant, camera and binoculars (are a great help to spot animals up in the trees and behind bushes) and sunblock. If you are visiting during turtle nesting season (July to September) and you are going to join the evening tour, please note you will need dark (black) clothes.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at lodge’s restaurant.

Walk around lodge’s private trails
After breakfast, guided visit to Mawamba Park’s private trails, visiting the butterfly gardens, and the iguanas and a frog gardens. The Bio-digester, a system where the sewage waters are treated and converted in a natural source of gas to heat up the kitchen stoves.

Lunch
Lunch will be served at the lodge.

Boat tour in Tortuguero National Park (SIC)
Created to protect the most important nesting site of the green turtle in the Western Hemisphere, Tortuguero National Park extends along 14 miles (22 Km) of shoreline and 19 miles (30 Km) out to sea. The Canal de Tortuguero runs through the park, connecting a labyrinth of deltas, canals, and lagoons. With 11 distinct life zones ranging from raffia palm forest to herbaceous swamps, the park offers one of the most rewarding nature experiences in the country. This watery world is best seen by boat, the wide canals allow grandstand wildlife viewing, and silent approaches on the water permit unusually close contact with the fauna. River otters, caimans, and howler monkeys are easily sighted as are birds such as oropendolas, toucans, and jacamars and other waterfowl.

Dinner
Dinner will be served at the lodge.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer Tortuguero – Arenal (PVT)
After breakfast, shared boat will transfer you back to the pier, where the trip will continue by bus to your next destination, Arenal. The area offers a landscape of exceptional beauty with its forests, lagoons, fields of crops, rivers with hot springs, and the most active volcano of Costa Rica: Arenal. In other words, sanctuaries where one can breathe peace, purity and the majestic power of nature.

Lunch
Lunch is included in Rio Danta Restaurant.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Hanging Bridges walk tour (PVT)
Located within the corridor followed by birds migrating between North and South America, the trails and bridges of this project will bring the visitor as close as any person could ever imagine observing the birds, the flowers and the lush vegetation of the primary rainforest. It is a 250-hectares primary-forest property, made of paths and bridges built to maintain the utmost harmony between man-made structures and nature. The property has impressive views to Arenal Volcano and to the lake that feeds the largest hydroelectric plant in Costa Rica. This walk is a fun and educative option to learn more about the forest and the local environment and enjoy the close contact with nature. While walking along the trails, the fascinating world of the tropical forest will open to you. Along these three kilometers of trails, you will be immersed in the diverse fauna and flora of this rainforest admiring colorful birds and tropical plant species. More than 50 species of birds can be count in this site, one of the most productive bird watching walks of the region.
What to bring: Comfortable clothing, long pants, hiking shoes, raincoat (especially during green season), camera, binoculars, sunscreen and insect repellent.

Trekking in Arenal Volcano
At 5437 feet, its tall and conical shape stands imposing over the pastured green hillsides that surround its base. Although currently in a resting phase, Arenal remains Costa Rica’s most active volcano for the past 43 years. Its history is charged with eruptions – both major and minor – that have intimately affected the region and the people who live here.
This tour will allow you to enjoy the most extraordinary views of Arenal Volcano during a gentle hike along the lower slopes of the colossus. The walk begins in one of the trails close to the volcano and continues through the forest until reaching the area destroyed in its first eruption, back in 1968. This tour takes approximately 2 ½ hours.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer Arenal – Monteverde (PVT)
Today you will be transferred to Monteverde. The town of Monteverde, located at the south end of the cloud forest, had its beginnings in the early 1950s with the impetus of a group of Quakers from the United States, a group that came to Costa Rica attracted by its pacific inclinations and disarmament. They established themselves in the region and devoted themselves to produce milk and quality cheeses. Monteverde is located 172 kilometres northeast of San José. The climate is template and humid, with an average of 17ºC (60ºF). The nights are cool and at times cold when the trade winds blow.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Visit to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (PVT)
Costa Rica is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, having 4% of all the known species of plants and animals in only 0.04% the earth’s surface. Due to its altitudinal variation and climatic factors that vary between the Pacific and Caribbean slopes, Monteverde is perhaps one of the richest regions in the country where there are 3,021 known species including a total of 755 species of trees.
One of the main attractions of Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is its 13-kilometer network of trails. While walking the trails, visitors are presented with a number of options. One alternative is to walk to “La Ventana” scenic overlook, where they may witness the contrasting panorama exhibited naturally by the Continental Divide, a geographical feature that traces the principal mountain ranges of Costa Rica. At this location, visitors can experience the force of the moisture-laden trade winds blowing in from the Atlantic coast, and witness how they descend at high velocity toward the Central Pacific and Northern coastal plains of Costa Rica. There are over 500 bird species live, including the majestic quetzal and the three-wattle bellbird, 120 species of reptiles and amphibians and more than 3000 plants among them, the highest diversity of orchids in the world. In the main building you will find a restaurant and a Gift Shop. After the tour you will have the day free to relax at the hotel.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer Monteverde – Tamarindo (PVT)
After breakfast, transfer to the North Pacific coast where you will spend the next days by the beach in Tamarindo.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

This day will be free for you to enjoy the area and to stay at the beach. You can also choose to make different optional tours like: sailing sunset cruise, ATV tour, surf lessons and other activities.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer Tamarindo – San Jose (PVT)
Today you will be transferred to San Jose. The transfer will take approximately 4 hours.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer hotel – airport in San Jose (PVT)
You will be transferred at San Jose airport to board the flight back home.