Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: USA - San Jose.
Day 2: San Jose. In San Jose our centrally located hotel is a good base from where to go on a city walk. At an altitude of 3300 feet the temperature here is very pleasant all year round, especially in comparison to the sometimes very warm and humid regions in the lowlands. San Jose has something for everyone. People who like markets can visit the “Mercado Central”, where there is a nice busy atmosphere and where all kinds of things are sold. Culture lovers can visit one of the many museums that San Jose possesses.
Day 3: San Jose - Quepos.
Day 4: Quepos, excursion to Manuel Antonio NP
Day 5: Quepos - Manual Antonio NP. After a day of acclimatizing we drive for about four and half hours with our own air-conditioned bus to the small city of Quepos situated on the Pacific. When the weather is nice it is fun to drive by the Poas Volcano with its’ blue crater lake. Quepos is very popular amongst sports fishermen who catch large marlins and barracudas at the coast here. The biggest attraction is the National Park Manuel Antonio, located at a distance of 4.35 miles.
By way of a narrow coastal road you reach the entrance of this protected nature area in about 20 minutes. Unique for this reservation is the close jungle that grows right up to the beach. This is an ideal situation to take a beautiful hike along the paths and to enjoy the white beaches and the azure blue ocean. With a bit of luck you will be able to catch sight of various kinds of apes, iguanas will scurry away at your feet and you will discover brightly colored birds or a resting sloth between the leaves. It is humid and warm here year-round, so bring plenty of drinking water and don’t forget your sunscreen because even if it is overcast you can still catch quite a bit of color on the beaches here.
Day 6: Quepos - Monteverde.
Day 7: Monteverde NP. The trip to the rain forest of Monteverde takes about six hours. The last miles go straight up the mountain over a bumpy dirt road. Our hotel is located a small distance from the entrance to the “Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde”. This is again situated in a beautiful nature area. Because of the situation high in the mountains of the Tilaran Mountain Range clouds of mist are almost continuously present between the high trees, hence the name “rain forest”. Here you have a choice of several nice hiking trails of varying distances where you walk amongst the enormous “forest giants”. The branches of these huge trees are overgrown with epiphytes: plants that grow on trees like orchids, ferns, bromeliads and mosses. If you are very quiet and a little lucky you might get to see the pretty quetzal. Or you can be tempted into taking the “canopy tour”, on which you fly through the forest on lianas/vines like Tarzan. Because of the high humidity in the air it is recommended that you bring a rain jacket.
Day 8: Monteverde - Liberia.
Day 9: Rincon de la Vieja NP. Before we go on our way to Liberia we can go on the “sky walk.” This is a hike of about one and a half hours across six different hanging bridges of an average length of 328 feet long and 131 feet up high which thus offers you the possibility to explore from up close the rich flora in the higher regions of the rainforests. In about 3 to 4 hours we will reach Liberia, the provincial capital of Guanacaste, which forms the base from where we take a day excursion to Rincón de la Vieja. Liberia itself is a calm provincial town with about forty thousand inhabitants. The National Park, dominated by the active volcano of the same name, is only visited by few tourists because of its difficult accessibility. The untouched volcanic region area invites us to go on a sturdy hike past thermal springs, boiling mud pools and fast flowing brooks. The last serious volcanic activity took place in 1991, but luckily it has been safe to visit the area in the past several years.
Day 10: Liberia – La Fortuna.
Day 11: La Fortuna. By way of a beautiful route past the largest reservoir of Costa Rica we will then arrive at the most active volcano of Latin America, the Arenal. The village of Fortuna lies at the foot of the “fire-spitting” volcano and so from here you have a beautiful view of the 5240 ft. high peek in the green surroundings. Often you hear a rumble and the volcano spits a glowing cloud of ashes and dirt into the sky again. Lava continuously flows from the crater. On clear days that offers a fantastic spectacle whereby just after the sun sets the sky turns red and you see the glowing lava flow down the mountain. A visit to the wild waterfall near Fortuna is a good reason to put on the hiking boots. At the end of the hike you can take a dive into the deep pool into which the water crashes. An excursion to the Cano Negro Reservation, rich with water, is a great possibility for bird lovers to view various species of water birds like serpent-neck birds and ibises, especially in the period between January and March.
Day 12: La Fortuna - Sarapiqui.
Day 13: Sarapiqui - Tortuguero NP. At the small city Puerto Vieja de Sarapiqui the rivers Rio Puerto Viejo and Rio Sarapiqui that flow together in the middle of the tropical rainforest there offer another adventurous excursion: a raft trip. From here we travel to one of the most beautiful Parks of Costa Rica. Tortuguero is situated in the North East on the Caribbean Sea. Because of its many rivers, creeks and canals and the dense swamp-like rainforest this area can only be reached by boat. After a drive with the bus we will switch to a motorboat and sail through the jungle for about two and a half hours to the small village Tortuguero.
We will probably see many birds, like the serpent-neck bird, king fisher or toucan. While you look for birds don’t be frightened when suddenly a howler monkey comes by. Also pay attention to the banks because often there are sunbathing swamp turtles or lurking alligators there. From our lodge you have the option to take walks to for example the beach or to explore the narrow creeks by boat. Tortuguero, as its name already suggests, thanks a great deal of its fame to the large amount of green turtles that come onto the beach to lay their eggs in the period from July to the beginning of October. A fascinating sight! The large leather- turtles, which namely nest in the months of February through July do not come to the beach in groups but are very impressive to watch. Make sure you have dark clothing so you are not too visible in the dark because otherwise this might scare away the turtles. Tortuguero is a very wet area that does not really know a “dry” period, so raingear is essential.
Day 14: Tortuguero - Cahuita.
Day 15: Cahuita. We leave Tortuguero as we came: per motorboat. After sailing for about two hours the bus will be waiting to bring us to the atmospheric village of Cahuita. We spend the night in “cabinas” near the beach. In Cahuita you can taste the Caribbean atmosphere with its mainly black population and cozy bars where the whole day through reggae music resounds. At the white beach that is bordered by the tropical jungle, beach lovers can get their fill, if the weather cooperates. Of course a walk through the jungle of the National Park Cahuita will be on everyone’s list because for a while this will be the last opportunity to hike through a tropical rainforest and search for howler monkeys.
Day 16: Cahuita – Bocas del Toro (Isla Colon).
Day 17: Bocas del Toro (Isla Colon). Before we arrive at the border with Panama we drive through enormous banana plantations. The trip continues on to Almirante where one of the ferryboats will take us to the island Colon, one of the islands of the island group Bocas del Toro. The town Bocas del Toro is the most important settlement on this island group. Because of the beautiful sea and the wooden houses with large porches it has precisely the atmosphere that you expect from the Caribbean. You can explore Isla Colon per bicycle or you can take walks along pristine white beaches. During a voluntary boat excursion you can pay a visit to still uninhabited mangrove-islands. The shallow crystal-clear water invites you to go snorkeling and if you do you will be amazed at the colorful underwater world. Your thirst is quenched here with fresh coconut milk!
Day 18: Bocas del Toro (Isla Colon) - Boquete.
Day 19: Boquete - Dominical. From the island we will take a ferryboat back to the mainland where the bus will pick us up for a pretty trip across mountain ranges. Our goal Boquete is a nice village situated amidst mountains and surrounded by plantations at an altitude of about 3280 feet. On the day off you can walk for hours along the wooded hills of the Baru volcano. Many rare animal species can cross your path here. Another possibility is an excursion to one of the coffee-plantations in the vicinity where the entire production process will be explained to you. In the morning we leave for Dominical which we will reach somewhere early in the afternoon.
Day 20: Dominical.
Day 21: Dominical - San Jose.
Day 22: San Jose – Return USA. In the village of Dominical on the Pacific Ocean you can quietly recover from all the hiking we did in Panama. Here sun-worshippers can make use of the last opportunity to get some color. From the beach you can admire the surfers who brave the waves and the undercurrent. Back in San Jose there is a little time left to buy some souvenirs and to enjoy the aftermath of all the gathered memories of the weeks before during dinner in one of the many cozy restaurants. After we spend the night we set out for our return trip back to the USA.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- 21 days hotels
- City to city transport
- 20 days with guide
- Dutch tour leader who addresses group in Dutch and then in English
- Land/Air package
- International flights and airport transfers.
Price Excludes:
- Travel insurance
- Airport tax
- Meals
- Entry fees
- Optional excursions
- Tips
- Personal expenses, etc.
Also see tour packages in:
Central America and Caribbean
Costa Rica
Panama
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Hiking & Trekking
Wildlife Viewing
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