Costa Rica Travel Ideas

Itinerary:

Day 1. San Jose

Arrival in San Jose! Upon arrival you will be welcomed inside the International Airport and assisted during your customs procedures. One of our guide-drivers will meet you outside the terminal to give you an introductory briefing about Costa Rica and review the itinerary with you. This person will provide you with a Welcome Kit including documentation on Costa Rica, a map, brochures of properties and attractions, and recommendations on what to bring and wear to the excursions. The guide will also answer all your questions during transfer towards the hotel in San Jose. Check in at the hotel and rest of the evening at leisure.

Day 2. San Jose - Alajuela – Poas Volcano – Doka Coffee Estate – Arenal

After breakfast at the hotel, your private guide-driver will meet you in order to start today's journey. You will visit first the Poas Volcano National Park, where you will enjoy a guided walk. The active Poas Volcano that has one of the largest craters in the world - 1.5 Km / 0.94 miles wide. Besides walking to visit the crater's sightseeing point, you may also wish to wander through the cloud forest to the nearby Botos Lagoon, a former crater which today is a picturesque lagoon. The viewing terrace provides a bird's-eye view not only 320 m (1050 ft) down into the bowels of the volcano, with its greenish sulfuric pool, but also a magnificent view of the northern lowlands.

Afterwards you will continue to the Doka Coffee Estate, where you will learn about the coffee process. Doka Estate is a family owned sustainable certified coffee plantation and mill located in the skirts of the Poas Volcano located at an altitude of 4, 550 FT above sea level.

The tour begins with an explanation about the production of seedlings and techniques for growing coffee. The milling process follows: experience how the cherries are sorted, peeled, fermented and dried on sun soaked patios in the traditional methods. Then visit to the handicraft house where you can buy souvenirs and coffee in all the different presentations and the last stop is in the Ranch where you will taste the six types of coffee Doka Estate produces under the name of Three Coffee Generations.

After lunch in the Doka restaurant you will continue to the Arenal Volcano area. Arrival during the afternoon, rest of the day at leisure. The Arenal Oasis Ecolodge is a friendly, family run lodge. The rooms are simple but very comfortable and the property is surrounded by nice forests. A visit to the Arenal Volcano is a must! From time to time loud explosions can be heard and, if the sky is clear, clouds of gases and rolling rocks can easily be spotted. At night the spectacle becomes even more impressive, as the red-orange lava cascades down the volcano's perfectly shaped cone. BL

Day 3. Arenal

Morning at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities or explore the surroundings, some optional activities that can be done from the hotel are: visit to the Fortuna Waterfall, the Aerial Tram, white water rafting and a wide variety of activities and interesting natural spots within a short distance of one another.

Early afternoon you will be picked up for the Arenal Volcano National Park & Ecotermales Hot Springs. The tour begins on the active west side with a hike along the Las Coladas Trail, where it is possible to observe a variety of flora and fauna. From there you will reach the recently formed lava flows from where there is an exceptional view of the volcano, Lake Arenal, and the surrounding forest.

After this guided walk, the tour continues to the Ecotermales Hot Springs where you will have time to relax! To get to Ecotermales you will enter a private gate and travel 1 km through deep woods before seeing fairy lights twinkling through the darkness. To preserve the intimacy, it's by reservation only. The pools are in the middle of lush jungle and their cattle farm; clean hot spring mineral water enters the large pool and flows out the other end, down the river. There are 3 small pools where cascading falls give a natural massage. Behind one waterfall there is a natural sauna. After having dinner in a nice restaurant in La Fortuna town you will have the transfer back to the hotel. BD

NOTE: The Arenal volcano is undergoing a "quiet" period. While eruptions may occur their frequency has dramatically dropped. This is part of a 12 year cycle.

Day 4. Arenal Volcano - Monteverde

After breakfast at the hotel you will be picked for the transfer to Monteverde by minibus and boat, crossing the Arenal Lake. You will have first a private ground transfer to the Arenal Lake, the largest lake in the country, from the Tapon Pier, you will board the boat that will take you across the lake, to the Rio Chiquito Pier. The boat ride takes 30 minutes approximately and if weather permits it, you will enjoy great views of the Arenal volcano as well as beautiful views of the forest and small lsletas located along the lake. Upon arrival at Rio Chiquito Pier, you will meet again a mini-bus for the ground transfer to Monteverde.

Once in Monteverde check in at the hotel and rest of the day at leisure. Some recommended activities for this afternoon are the zipline tour or the hanging bridges canopy tour. Monteverde, means "Green Mountain", is most appropriate to introduce visitors to the wildlife sanctuary it preserves. This community, secluded on a 1400 meter-high plateau, was founded in 1951 by a group of North American Quakers. Although some of the original virgin forest was cleared for dairy farming, the founder's environmental consciousness, together with help from private organizations, led to the creation of a biological preserve that hosts one of the richest ecological systems in the country. Due to its location on a relatively high altitude, Monteverde's climate is rather fresh. B

Day 5. Monteverde Cloud Forest

This morning you will be picked up for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Tour. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is home to over 100 species of mammals, more than 400 species of birds, including the Quetzal and 30 local hummingbird species, and 120 species of amphibians and reptiles. The reserve hosts one of the richest ecological systems and one of the most important virgin cloud forests in the country. A well-developed system of trails of varying levels of difficulty leads visitors throughout primary cloud forest for a close encounter with nature. After this guided walk transfer back to the hotel.

Early afternoon you will enjoy the Trapiche Tour. This is a Costa Rican Family project, and trapiche means sugarcane mill machine. On this tour you will take a walk on the farm where you will learn about the production of sugarcane, coffee, and the traditional ways of cultivating bananas, arracache (a local legume), avocado, macadamia nuts as well as other products. You will also observe the Tilapia fish project and a small-forested area where it is possible to see various flora and fauna. Also, on the farm there are oxen with a traditional cart waiting to transport visitors to the sugarcane mill where they will demonstrate the process of making brown sugar and the other types of products made from sugarcane. You will also enjoy a representation of the extraction of guaro, a Costa Rican alcohol made from sugarcane. To end this eventful you will enjoy "picadillo de arracache", a traditional vegetable hash, accompanied by a cup of coffee or lemonade. Transfer back to the hotel after the tour. B

Day 6. Monteverde – Selvatura – San Jose

After an early breakfast at the hotel, you will depart from Monteverde to Costa de Monterverde Selvatura Park. You will enjoy a guided tour of the famous Hanging Bridges. Consisting of a 1.9 mile (approximately 3 kilometre) trails that cross through the Monteverde Cloud Forest  you have the opportunity to walk on eight different bridges of various lengths ranging between 150 feet (50 meters) up to 510 feet (170 meters) and heights between 36 feet (12 meters) up to 180 feet (60 meters).

There is also a visit to a Butterfly Garden and the Reptile exhibition where you gain an insight into the complicated life cycle and their special abilities and behaviours that have helped them evolve throughout thousands of years before moving onto the worlds 3rd largest insect collection!

Late afternoon you are transferred back to San Jose. BL

Day 7. Onward Travels

Today, based on your flights departure time you will be transferred to the airport for your onward travels. B

Additional nights are available on request.

PRICES FROM:

Exchange rates differ from time to time. For the most up-to-date prices of this holiday idea please fill out our Latin America Travel Quote form.

NOTES:

GOWAY VIP MEET AND GREET SERVICE

As part of your tour price you receive a VIP Meet & Greet Service which includes:

Meet & Greet service San José by an English - Speaking guide
The guide will do a general introduction of Costa Rica, pointing out the essential information for first time visitors, including tips, routes and recommendations and will review the program in detial in order to clarify any doubts or questions they might have.

Information Package:
Detailed program including the route descriptions and the activities included per day depending on the client itinerary. It also includes also security tips and important information while traveling in Costa Rica and brochures of the different visited hotels visited.

VIP service San José Airport:
Upon arrival clients are welcome at the gate inside the airport terminal with a sign with their names on it. They will be given a sticker to wear through immigration and customs to speed up the procedures inside the restricted areas.

Please obtain your sticker which designates you as a Goway VIP from the person holding the sign. The sticker will also help our guides and drivers to identify you when you are outside the terminal.

Costa Rica Map
A full color Costa Rica map will be included in the information package of the client tourist attractions, national parks, Pacific and Caribbean beaches, main roads and highways and GPS locations.

• Costa Rica international departure tax $26 USD
• Local currency is Colons
• Time Zone: GMT/UTC -6
• Dialing Code: 506
• Electricity: 120V, 60Hz
• Weights & measures: Metric

HOTELS

San Jose: Hotel Buena Vista (M), Hotel Bougainvillea (F), Herradura Plaza Ramada Inn (Deluxe)

Arenal: Catarata Eco Lodge (M), Arenal Springs (F), Arenal Kioro (D)

Monteverde: Monteverde Cloud Forest Lodge (M), Hotel Belmar (F), Hotel Fonda Vela (D)

DEPARTURE:

Departs daily

PRICE INCLUDES:

• All accommodation
• All Transfers
• VIP Meet and Greet Service San Jose
• All tours as listed
• Taxes
• All meals as listed B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner

NOT INCLUDED

• Visa fees (if required)
• Passport & Visa Costs
• Vaccination Costs
• Personal Spending Money
• Meals where not listed
• Drinks
• International Flights
• Travel Insurance
• Airport departure taxes
• Border taxes or fees

Package Information

Costa Rica Optional Tours, Costa Rica (activities)

Package Departures

Please call us to inquire about departure dates

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9 - Our Antarctic adventure begins. Flight from Punta Arenas to King George Island (South Shetland Islands).
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10 - Our Antarctic adventure begins. Flight from Punta Arenas to King George Island (South Shetland Islands).
The flight takes a little under 2 hours. Upon arrival we will be able to tour around the area where the "Presidente Eduardo Frei M." Chilean Base and "Bellinghausen" Russian Base are located. We will gather at the beach on Fildes Bay for embarkation, by Zodiac boats, to M/V "Ocean Nova". BLD