Costa Rica Culinary Delights

Meet our fellow travelers at MSP Airport for the flight to Costa Rica! (flight details TBA)

On arrival at the San Jose airport, we are met and assisted with our arrival and board our transfer bus for the interesting journey to our first destination. The transfer takes about 2 hours and traverses through the bustling suburbs of the city to lush mountain vistas and jungles. 

Hotel Villa Florencia is owned by a local Costa Rican couple with the vision of offering a new and enriching experience for tourism. The hotel was born with the focus of maintaining the essence of being Costa Rican and bringing to life the beauty of the region with memorable hospitality.  Hotel facilities include a swimming pool, jacuzzi, gym, walking trails, and in-room massage/spa treatments. Meals are taken at the Verolis Restaurant located in the hotel and offer both local and international dishes.

We enjoy a welcome dinner to get to know our fellow group members and trip hosts. It's time to relax and let the fun and adventure begin!

Welcome to Costa Rica!

This morning we will visit Hacienda Sitio de Mata where you will enjoy gorgeous views of the Turrialba Valley while you learn about how coffee, macadamia nuts, and sugar cane are processed. The hacienda is a unique place full of Costa Rican history and beautiful gardens. A traditional Costa Rican lunch will be served.

Return to the villa for dinner on your own.

This morning enjoy a guided walk in CATIE Botanical Garden with its hundreds of plants from around the world.  Make sure you taste all the exotic fruits at the end of the tour!

Since 1942, the valley has been home to the campus headquarters of CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), housing some of the most important plant collections in the Americas. The majority of the center’s collections are located in Botanical Garden, a 45-hectare farm that maintains nearly 4,400 genetic samples— representing more than 280 species from around the world. 

The Garden is an interactive experience based on CATIE’s scientific work to create sustainable agro-productive systems and promote the sustainability of natural resources.  Here, you will learn about a breathtaking variety of tropical fruits, medicinal, oil-producing, and ornamental plants, roots, tubers, and timber trees.

Enjoy lunch at CATIE in the Botanical Garden.

Returning to the Villa, you'll have time to relax, take a swim or a siesta before we complete this tasteful day with a cooking class and dinner.

After breakfast, start driving down the mountains and to the Caribbean lowlands, where different crops and tastes await. Visit an active Palmito plantation, and enjoy a tasting of hearts-of-palm-based foods for lunch. Then, head to a pineapple plantation to enjoy a tour and the sweetest flavors.

Continue to our lodge for a 2-night stay. Dinner is on your own.

La Quinta Sarapiqui Lodge was established in 1993 by a Costa Rican family. They first acquired the property when it was an operations center for a surrounding orange farm. The main house was turned into the lodge's front desk, lobby, and dining room, and the adjacent houses were remodeled to serve as the lodge's rooms. Along with these changes, a reforestation project, that aimed to protect and strengthen the populations of native flora and fauna, was launched. This eco-lodge was nationally certified by the Costa Rican Tourists Board' Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) as a sustainable lodge. La Quinta earned the maximum qualification of 5 Leaves. 

Every effort is taken to co-exist harmoniously with our surroundings. Our twenty acres are composed of regenerating agriculture, a reforested area with native trees, an old-growth forest on the riverside and tropical gardens. We will always treat our environment with the utmost care and responsibility, and would greatly appreciate your help in upholding these practices while you are visiting. We hope you enjoy the natural beauty of this lodge.

La Quinta has 36 rooms in bungalows with concrete walls to ensure privacy. These are surrounded by tropical gardens rich in heliconias, gingers, palms and flowering trees.  Rooms have private bathrooms, hot water, clean fresh towels, air conditioning, a ceiling fan, a walk-in closet area, hairdryer, safety box, and a beautiful porch facing the gardens with hammocks and rocking chairs, from where you can enjoy the view of our native flora and fauna.

This beautiful estate offers 20 acres of walking trails, butterfly and frog gardens, swimming pools, yoga areas, library, organic gardens and more. Costa Rica is home to over 850 species of birds and birdwatching at the lodge is spectacular.  All the photographs displayed in both, this tab and throughout the website, were taken on-site at La Quinta by photographers who have stayed at the lodge.

Morning Optional tour choice (choose one): River floating or Rafting in the Sarapiquí River or Canopy tour. Includes transportation, equipment, guide, and fruits.

River Float: Nearby, on the Sarapiquí River, are prime spots for white water rafting from Class I-IV.

• Class I-II: From Chilamate to Puerto Viejo (Floating): This 7-mile journey takes you through the small communities of Chilamate and Puerto Viejo. This trip is especially attractive for bird watchers and tropical forest lovers of all ages, including small children. This section does not require previous experience. The journey on the inflatable rafts is calm enough for passengers to their cameras, video cameras, and binoculars with them.

Rafting: 

• Class II-III: From La Virgen to Chilamate: This 7.5-mile trip takes you through the communities of La Virgen and Chilamate in Sarapiquí. It is a trip especially suitable for crystalline ponds and agitated rapids. Along the journey, one can enjoy four Class III rapids and about 20 Class II rapids, all of which have a good technical level. Halfway through the journey on a peaceful pond, passengers can swim and eat the tasty tropical fruits of the season. No previous experience is required. 
• Class IV: From San Miguel to La Virgen: This 5-mile long trip takes you through the steepest slope of the river. This is 100% adrenaline and experience is a must. No beginners or intermediate riders are allowed on this journey. 

Canopy Tour: This amazing experience consists of 12 zip lines located in Hacienda La Linda, from which you can enjoy incredible passages through fields of ornamental plants, an exciting tropical rainforest of 114 hectares, as well as the magnificent Sarapiquí River, which we will cross two times during the trip. During this experience, you will be accompanied by experienced guides, using specialized equipment of the highest quality.

Lunch on your own.

This afternoon we learn about the wonderous cacao plant and every scrumptious stage of the chocolate process! 

This 2-hour chocolate tour starts in the 2 acres of cacao plantation. Expert, friendly naturalist guides will share great details about the cacao plant, flowers and pollination, and then continue to the Cacao Rancho in the middle of the RESERVA CURARE (private protected forest), to talk about the history of cacao. You will have the chance to see, taste, drink and feel all the stages of the chocolate process!

Return to the lodge for dinner (on your own) and overnight. 

After breakfast, we make our way back to the Central Valley, stopping briefly for some pictures at Catarata La Paz waterfall.  We will continue on to the  Green Ark Botanical Garden to awaken our senses before enjoying a delicious farm-to-table lunch.

Gran Hotel Costa Rica in San Jose: Iconic gem located in the heart of San Jose overlooking the Plaza de la Cultura and the National Theater, perfect for a memorable experience. This 1930’s building, a historical-architectural monument of Costa Rica, features contemporary urban interiors and is located on the Avenida Central pedestrian boulevard, steps from the National Theatre, Gold Museum, cafés, and shops. Facilities include a fitness center and piano bar. 

Evening at your leisure. Dinner on your own.

After breakfast, we enjoy a guided walking city tour exploring the Central Market.

The Central Market is a must-see sightseeing attraction for those looking for the authentic side of San Jose, Costa Rica. This indoor market opened its doors for the first time back in 1880 and it feels it hasn’t changed that much since. Its numerous shops comprise a maze of narrow corridors where shoppers can ponder all sorts of products, like herbs, flowers, meats, authentic meals, apparel, souvenirs, coffee, tobacco, poultry birds, tropical fruits, jewelry, and so much more.

Return to the hotel. Lunch on your own and a free afternoon to explore on your own or unwind at your hotel.

Tonight, we savor a farewell dinner at a local restaurant and regale one another with the many adventures and experiences we have shared.

Time to go home!

Breakfast and check out.

Group Transfer to the Juan Santamaria International Airport for our scheduled flight back to Minneapolis/St Paul.

Buen Viaje!