Jungles, Volcanoes & Beaches

The Trip

Day 1: San Jose – Arrive and transfer to the hotel / Grano de Oro
Day 2: Tortuguero – Transfer to the National Park / Manatus Lodge
Day 3: Tortuguero – Explore the canals, jungle and wildlife / Manatus Lodge
Day 4: Arenal – Transfer to Arenal with free afternoon / Arenal Kioro
Day 5: Arenal – Hiking the volcano trails / Arenal Kioro
Day 6: Monteverde – Boat trip across Arenal Lake / Fonda Vela
Day 7: Monteverde – Visit Monteverde Cloud Forest / Fonda Vela
Day 8: Nicoya Peninsula – Transfer to Guanacaste Coast / Punta Islita
Day 9: Nicoya Peninsula – Free day to swim, snorkel, surf or relax / Punta Islita
Day 10: Nicoya Peninsula – Free day to swim, snorkel, surf or relax / Punta Islita
Day 11: San Jose – Transfer to San Jose / Grano de Oro
Day 12: San Jose – Transfer to airport for return flight

Into the jungle

After arriving in San Jose you’ll spend the first night at the wonderful Grano de Oro. The next day you’ll be picked up by our guide to head out to the Tortuguero National Park. Along the way you’ll stop for a delicious typical Costa Rican breakfast. Continue on through banana plantations and the Braulio Carrillo National Park to the pier.

Once inside the exotic paradise of the national park you’ll gently boat through the canals, pausing to look out for the enchanting wildlife that live here in idyllic nature. The area brims with pristine jungle and you’ll enjoy this from the Manatus Lodge.

During the next couple of days there will be plenty of activities to keep you busy. Depending on the season our guides can take you to the unforgettable sight of seeing turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on the beach or later in the year watching the baby turtles emerging from the nests and making the perilous journey to the sea.  Alternatively if you want a little more colour in your life you can pause to look out for some of the most colourful species of butterflies on the planet.

Volcanoes and thermal springs

We step up the gear as we take you to the Arenal Kioro, among one of the finest examples of this natural phenomenon. Here you will stay at the luxury Arenal Kioro Hotel. The next day our guide will take you on a hike around the volcano through prisine forest and recent lava flows.

Return for a another comfortable night at the hotel. If you are lucky you will sometimes you can see lava flowing down the sides of the volcano and on some days you might even see it erupting in one of nature’s finest firework displays.

Misty cloud forests

Your next stop is Monteverde, located at the south end of the cloud forest, it’s a stunning national park shrouded in mists that hover over its verdant greenery. It’s renowned among photographers as offering some of the best photo opportunities in Latin America. You’ll stay at the Fonda Vela while you enjoy this wonderful region.

Here you will glide over the forests on ‘zip’ ropes, or explore the cloud forests by taking a 3–kilometre trail over eight different bridges.

Spot the 50 different species of butterflies as well as looking out for hummingbirds in the exotic gardens. You can even go off in search of the legendary quetzal with our guides, believed to bestow any onlooker with spiritual enlightenment.

Beach life

Last stop is the paradise-reaches of the Nicoya Peninsula where you will stay at the wonderful Punta Islita.  Here you can snorkel in the prisitine waters with colourful fish, swim among dolphins, relax on the sandy white beaches on swim in your hammock and read a book Absolute bliss. Head home suitable sun kissed and relaxed.