Escorted Tour - Ultra Nature in Costa Rica

Welcome to San Jose, Costa Rica!

On arrival at the SJO international airport, you will be met and transferred to HOTEL GRANO DE ORO for one night. Welcome Dinner this evening to meet your tour leaders and fellow travellers. 

Early departure by road transfer, crossing the immense Braulio Carrillo National Park, to reach Guapiles, where we will enjoy a delicious local breakfast. We continue the drive past banana and pineapple plantations until we reach the pier where we will board our boat to Tortuguero. The boat ride along rivers and canals takes approximately an hour and a half to arrive at PACHIRA LODGE, just in time for lunch!

We will spend two nights here.
Free time in the afternoon.

This morning we will walk along the lodge’s private trails with a naturalist guide, then have free time to enjoy the facilities before lunch. In the afternoon, we will enjoy a boat trip through the canals of the Tortuguero National Park. Called Costa Rica’s “little Amazon”, Tortuguero National Park is one of the country’s wilderness areas with the greatest biological biodiversity. The canals are surrounded by lush tropical forest filled with abundant wildlife, and the beaches are famous for being the habitat of seven species of sea turtles. 

Mid-morning we will depart by boat back to the main dock and then travel by road to Guápiles, where we will have lunch. Onwards to the Arenal Volcano in the Northern Plains region. Majestic in its grand stature, the volcano is one of the country’s natural wonders. Along our journey to the town of La Fortuna, at the base of the volcano, we will pass through agricultural plantations, large ornamental plant nurseries, and cattle farms. MONTANA DE FUEGO HOTEL will be our home for two nights. 

Morning tour to the Arenal Hanging Bridges from where we can enjoy magnificent views of the Arenal Volcano. While walking along the 16 hanging bridges and trails you will find a great variety of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and insects.

Afternoon free to enjoy the hot spring pools and facilities at our hotel.

Today we travel to Guanacaste Province to the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano, one of the five most active volcanoes in Costa Rica. Rincon de la Vieja is a fascinating volcano, due to its unique characteristics such as sulfurous lagoons, relaxing thermal springs, boiling mud pits, fumaroles, and its main active crater. Lush, dense vegetation surrounds the area, home to a plethora of insect and wildlife species.

En route to Rincón de la Vieja we enjoy a walking tour in the town of Liberia, once a sleepy cowboy town, but now, with the recent opening of the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport, it is undergoing comprehensive metamorphosis as it transitions from old colonial town to modern-day tourism hub. 

But it remains a small town at heart, with a population of only 40,000. It is one of Costa Rica's oldest towns, which is clearly visible in the colonial appearance of many buildings featuring red tile roofs atop whitewashed walls - no wonder Liberia is known as the "White City." The historic church of Iglesia de la Agonia, the town's oldest, is a relic from the past colonial era. Its white exterior is beautifully adorned in typical Spanish fashion, sporting twin pillars and an arched entrance.

The neighbourhood is comprised of old colonial style houses constructed over a century and a half ago, and there is a wealth of small architectural gems.

We will spend two nights at HACIENDA GUACHIPELI. 

Day at leisure today to explore the area and enjoy the hotel’s facilities. There is a variety of optional tours available through the hotel, for those who wish to venture further afield today.

Transfer to Monteverde. Encompassing rainforest, cloud forest, and spectacular biodiversity, Monteverde has one of the rarest and most unique habitats on the planet, not to mention an astonishing variety of flora and fauna. We will experience beautiful landscapes during our journey and will see how locals live when we pass typical small villages.

Check into MONTEVERDE COUNTRY LODGE for two nights.
At dusk, we will depart from the hotel for the Night Walk tour. At night, many species not usually seen during the day, will emerge to offer a unique show in the forest.

Today we will hike in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, astounding in its beauty, bounty and biodiversity.

Wind-sculpted elfin woodlands give way to rain forests where tall trees — festooned with orchids, bromeliads, ferns, vines and mosses — rise high into the sky.

This morning, we will travel to the warm coast of the Central Pacific. Manuel Antonio National Park is often called a natural jewel for its picturesque beauty and abundant wildlife diversity. It is one of the smallest parks, yet it is the most visited for its beautiful beaches. There are several trails for walking with many viewpoints, and a high probability of seeing animals in their natural habitat. At various points, the trails branch off and lead to four separate beaches: Espadilla Sur, Manuel Antonio, Escondida, and Playita, where you can swim in crystal clear, warm water.

Check into VILLAS LIRIO HOTEL for three nights. 

Today we will hike in the Manuel Antonio National Park where we could see the four species of monkeys found in Costa Rica, also sloths, coatis, and raccoons.

Free day to explore the area and enjoy the hotel facilities.

Today we transfer to the quiet town of Sierpe, where our adventure begins at the La Hacienda dock, from where we take a 90 minute boat ride through the most extensive mangrove wetland system on Central America's Pacific coast. There will be a good chance of spotting monkeys, crocodiles, and many birds. After passing through the river's mouth into the ocean, we will follow the coast south. Depending on weather conditions and season, we could see dolphins and even whales.

Our home for the next three nights will be DRAKE BAY WILDERNESS RESORT. 

Today we hike in the Corcovado National Park. Corcovado is the last sustainably-sized Pacific lowland rainforest in Central America, and has been called "the most biologically intense place on Earth." The morning hours offer the best opportunity to observe wildlife and the incredible variety of birds in the park.

A river with a stunning waterfall is one of our destinations, where we can cool off in one of the pools. We will enjoy a picnic lunch during the tour.

Today’s adventure is a boat tour to the spectacular Caño Island Biological Reserve, which was once an important ceremonial site and cemetery for pre-Columbian indigenous people. The island has one of the most extensive coral formations and the best snorkeling conditions on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. The place where we will snorkel offers the chance to see a variety of fish and marine mammals. (Snorkelling equipment is provided.) On our return, we will enjoy a picnic lunch at the lodge's beach rancho.

Farewell Dinner this evening at our lodge.

Road transfer to Drake Bay airstrip to take a domestic flight back to San Jose airport for connection with ongoing flights home. Time to bid farewell to new found friends as we depart this incredible country, armed with memories to last a lifetime and perhaps a promise to return one day.