Costa Rica Tours and Travel

Coast to Coast / Multisport / Costa Rica Verde / Tropical Adventure / Honeymoon / Jungle Escapade
South Costa Rica / Family Adventure / Adventure Self-Drive / Highlights Self-Drive / Up & Down Self-Drive
Costa Rica-Panama Cruise / Community-based Tours - Authentic Costa Rica , Cultural Costa Rica , Watercolors of Costa Rica

AUTHENTIC COSTA RICA TOUR

15 Days & 14 Nights of self-drive (can also be done with private transfers or by shuttles) with community-based tourism

Day 1 WELCOME AT THE AIRPORT
Welcome at the airport Juan Santamaría International Airport and transfer to your Hotel. Lodging in San Jose. (PT, BG)

Day 2: SAN JOSE/TORTUGUERO
At about 6:30 a.m., after having breakfast, a company driver will be waiting for you at the hotel’s lobby to take you to Guápiles. Then the trip continues to Cariari, 4 Esquinas and 20 minutes later you will get to Pavona, where you will take a boat to Tortuguero National Park, having lunch at the hostel. The afternoon is free to enjoy the zone. During the night, from July to September (optional trip), you can take a tour to watch the gigantic green turtle spawning. Lodging in Tortuguero (B, L, D, PT, BT)

Day 3: TORTUGUERO
The tour begins at 6:00 a.m. approximately, taking a canoe through the Tortuguero’s Canals (please take into account that the visitor has to row). Transportation via canoe is very attractive because the zone’s nature is rich in flora and fauna. Here you will have the opportunity to watch three different types of monkeys (howler, spider and white faced capuchin). You will also see birds like the green macaw, as well as otters and an incredibly dense forest. This tour lasts 3 hours. At 9:00 a.m. we return to the lodge to have breakfast. After that, at 11:00 a.m., the guide will take you to a walk through the path called “El Gavilán” located inside Tortuguero National Park, exiting through the beach, a zone that is not within the canoe tour. You will have the opportunity to see poisonous frogs, snakes, birds such as trogons and hawks, as well as the natural version of ornamental plants in Europe. The afternoon is free to enjoy the place. (It includes 3 meals). Lodging in Tortuguero. (B, L, D, CT, LG)

Day 4: TORTUGUERO/ARENAL
After breakfast, at 9:00 a.m. a boat will take you back to Guápiles (Restaurant Selva Tropical), here you will take your lunch and you will be given your car to travel to Arenal. Lodging in Arenal. (B, BL, BT, LT)

Day 5 AGROTOURISM IN ARENAL AREA
After breakfast you will be heading, on your own, towards San Marcos de Cutris, at 8:15 a.m. You have to take the road to Guatuzo until you get to the junction of Tanque. 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) after you will get to the junction of Muelle. When you are there, look for the Muelle gas station. Then you continue towards the road to Boca Arenal. 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) before the sawmill, only 50 meters from there, there is an entrance, on the right. This is where .La Casa de la Araña. is located and where the local guide will be waiting for you. The tour begins with a visit to the house of the Morales Vega family, we will be taking a look at how the organic wastes from a pigsty are treated to convert them to biogas and how through this interesting process pollution is eliminated and social well-being and economy are strengthened. At the Gamboa family’s house we will see how organic wastes produced at home and in the corral are transformed into fertilizer in form of little worms. This is also used in the crops. We will also go through the process of milking and tasting the cheese they produce. Finally, we will visit the Vega Soto family. There, we will make tortillas with cheese by hand, on a type of fireplace (fogón) located next to the house and we will make coffee in a traditional way. Lodging in Arenal. (B, L)

Day 6: ARENAL/BIJAGUA/SUSPENSION BRIDGES
Departure from the Arenal zone, taking the road to the Tank. We will travel 10 kilometers and then turn left towards Monterrey, on the main road to Guatuso, Upala. From this place we travel 28 kilometers more and then we get to Bijagua. When you see the National Bank’s sign (Banco Nacional) you turn left and continue for 3 ½ kilometers. You can enjoy a beautiful landscape. And the dramatic change form humid tropical forest to dry tropical forest is impressive. After checking in at Heliconias hostel, there will be a visit to the suspension bridges located inside the same property. To take this tour we will travel 110 hectares (2.5 acres) of primary humid tropical forest, mainly, and a portion of secondary forest that neighbors the Tenorio Volcano National Park. The reserve has 2 paths: the suspension bridges path, which has 4 bridges: bridge No. 1 is 22 meters long and is suspended over a tree, where you can usually see the Ornate Haw Eagle. It offers a unique view of the forest. Following the path, you will get to bridge No. 2, which is 105 meters long. Visitors can spend some time on this bridge and watch morning birds and butterflies. It is an excellent point to understand and study the forest and its plants. The trogon nests in the tree that has the platform. The last bridge, which is 95 meters long and 30 meters high and offers great possibilities to watch birds, butterflies, insects and .epifitas. plants. Lodging in Heliconias hostel (B)

Day 7: WALK TO CELESTE RIVER (TENORIO VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK)
Departure to visit the Tenorio Volcano National Park is at 8:00 a.m. approximately. The park is 1 hour away from the hostel and the Celeste River waterfall is its main attraction. The tour includes a 2-3 hour walk inside the park, with a visit to the fabric dyers (teñideros). This is the place where Buena Vista River and Acid River get together and make up the unusual color of Celeste River. You will also visit the .Mirador. (viewpoint), where you will be able to see the fumaroles and hot water springs. Then, there is a visit to the Celeste River’s waterfalls and after that, the last part of the walk takes place, until you get to the park’s entrance again. The walk inside the park takes about 4 hours, returning to the hostel at 3:30 p.m. This trip requires good physical condition. Lodging in Heliconias Hostel (B, L)

Day 8: BIJAGUA/COOPELDOS/MONTEVERDE
After breakfast, you Hill be heading towards Tilaran’s coffee cooperative Coopeldos (transportation is at your expense). From Bijagua you travel up to Cañas, and from Cañas continue travelling the road to Tilarán. Once you get to Tilarán look for the road to Monteverde, until you get to .Plan de San Ramón.. From the restaurant .El Bambú. turn right and drive 1½ kilometers to get to the coffee cooperative, Coopeldos. Then the coffee tour starts. The tour seeks for tourists to enjoy a cultural visit that will allow them to know the organic coffee plantations and the process the coffee goes through; all this through a video and the information provided by the people in charge of the place. You will also have to opportunity to taste the wonderful coffee produced by the cooperative, along with some snacks typical of the place. You can also visit the forest nursery that belongs to the cooperative. It has around 50,000 different organic coffee plants, distributed among its members. Coopeldos has the ISO 9000 certification. The visit takes 2 hours. If you visit the property’s path it will take half tour more. After the tour, you drive 1 kilometer East until you get to the restaurant .El Bambú. again. From the restaurant, you deviate to your right and approximately 13 kilometers after that, on the same road, you will find Monteverde. This town was founded by the Quackers during mid 20th century. The most representative portion of cloudy forest biological reserves of the country is found in this area: Santa Elena and Monteverde. Lodging in Monteverde. (B)

Day 9: MONTEVERDE After breakfast (optional, at your expense) you will visit Santa Elena Reserve. More than 100 mammal species, 400 bird species and 1500 plant species have been found in the zone. The reserve is the most representative of cloudy forest in the zone. During the afternoon, (optional) you can visit the cooperative cheese factory and women’s handicrafts cooperative CASEM. Lodging in Monteverde (B)

Day 10: MONTEVERDE/JACO BEACH / MANUEL ANTONIO / SAVEGRE DE QUEPOS
After breakfast (transportation is at your expense) we will be going to Sardinal, until we get to the Inter-American highway. You turn left. After that, you will get to Puntarenas and then Quepos. After Quepos, continue towards Savegre de Quepos, located 1 hour from Quepos. When you get to the bridge over Río Savegre you turn left. Once you get to El Silencio Cooperative (El Silencio), and after checking in at the hostel, we visit the community in order to receive information about the history and development of Coopesilencio, which originally was a settlement that later on was legalized by the government, we visit the school, families and the .comisariato. (small convenience store). Lodging in Coopesilencio’s hostel. (B)

Day 11: COOPESILENCIO
Breakfast. Free to contract tours provided by the cooperative. Among the activities you can enjoy: rafting in Savegre River or you can visit several community projects. The first one is the palm plantations (African palm) where an explanation on how oil is extracted is offered to tourists, as well as the cares that a palm tree has to have and everything related to it. After that, there is a visit to an organic vegetable garden and the composter, then the milking house. There is also a visit to the cabinetmaker’s workshop and the place where pigs and chicken are bred. Last but not least, you can visit the .comisariato. (a little grocery shop), which is the place where locals get their groceries. Other activities you can do on your own include: visit to Manuel Antonio National Park or Matapalo Beach. Lodging in Coopesilencio Hostel. (B)

Day 12: COOPESILENCIO/MARINO BALLENA PARK
After breakfast (transportation is at your expense), you will travel to Punta Uvita. When you leave Coopesilencio, on the main road, turn left, as if you were going to Playa Dominical. It takes approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. After Dominical you take the road to Cortés, 18 kilometers, until you get to Punta Uvita bridge, then you take the first road at your right and drive for about 300 meters. You will then arrive and check in at Hotel Canto de Ballenas. After midday (take into account that you have to be at the hotel’s lobby at 1:00 p.m., since there will be a driver picking you up at 1:15 p.m. to start the tour) you will be heading towards Marino Ballena Park to ride the boat that will take you to the part of the park that is best for watching dolphins and whales, from August until mid September (the tour will be taken during the afternoon during the winter season, if the weather is good), even though dolphins can be seen almost all year around. Undoubtedly these are some of the most beautiful animals, and this makes this tour one of the most special ones in the whole country. Watching these enormous, beautiful and at the same time peaceful creatures, makes this trip a unique and unforgettable experience. You will be returning to the hotel in the afternoon. Lodging in Punta Uvita (B)

Day 13: MARINO BALLENA PARK / PEAK OF DEATH (CERRO DE LA MUERTE)/TOUR EL PARAMO
After breakfast, (transportation is at your expense) travel to Siberia, the highest part of the hill of the death, 3500 meters high. From the hotel with direction to San Jose. On the Kilometer 99. After registering in the hotel, it begins the walk of two hours to familiarize itself with the fauna and the flora of the Moorland (Forest of height). Also the small little town of Siberia is visited and one interacts with some settlers of the zone. It includes typical lunch. Lodging in Copey de Dota (B, L)

Día 14: PEAK OF DEATH (CERRO DE LA MUERTE)/SAN JOSE
After breakfast (transportation is at your expense), travel from the hostel, 500 metres to the right, you will get to the Inter-American highway, Pérez Zeledón – Cartago – San José. (It is 99 ½ kilometers – 2 hour trip, approximately). The rest of the day is free to get around San José city. Lodging in San José. (B)

Day 15: TRANSPORTATION TO THE AIRPORT
After breakfast, at the previously set time, you will be taken from the hotel to the airport. (B)

MEANING OF THE NOMENCLATURE: B: Breakfast L: Lunch D: Dinner BL: Box lunch PT: Private Transportation BT: Boat transportation CT: Canoe transportation LG: Local Guide ST: Shuttle transfer

Normal hotels used:
San José - Rosa del Paseo or Britannia - www.rosadelpaseo.com or www.hbritannia.com
Tortuguero - La Casona Tortuguero
Arenal - Arenal Oasis or Faro Arenal or similar - www.arenaloasis.com
Bijagua - Albergue Heliconias
Monteverde - Ecoverde Lodge - www.ecoverdelodge.com
Savegre de Quepos - Albergue El Silencio
Playa Tortuga - Hacienda Baru - www.haciendabaru.com
Copey de Dota - Hotel Toucanet - www.eltoucanet.com

PRICES PER PERSON IN US$, VALID FROM DEC 15th 2008 TO APRIL 15th 2009 / JULY 01 TO AUGUST 31 2009: Single: $2244, Double: $1320 Triple: $1080

PRICES PER PERSON IN US$ FROM APRIL 16 TO JUNE 30 / OCTUBER 01 TO DECEMBER 15 2009: Single: $2136, Double: $1266, Triple: $1044

These prices are not valid in Christmas season, Holy week or Easter week.

IMPORTANT NOTES: The local guides are qualified and have received training. This quote is based in Dahiatsu Terios or Susuky Jimmy 4x4 with basic insurance. The pick up of car will be on day 4 at around 1:30 p.m. . The drop off of car will be on day 15..

Phone: 800-232-5658 or 1-512-443-5393 email

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Costa Rica Tours and Travel

AUTHENTIC COSTA RICA TOUR

Phone: 800-232-5658 or
1-512-443-5393
email