Expedition through Costa Rica 9-days

Welcome to Costa Rica! You’ll arrive to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) where you’ll be picked up and taken to your hotel in the capital of the country: San José.

Lodging: Palma Real Hotel 3* – standard room (or similar)

Meals included: -

Inclusions:

• Airport pick-up service

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we’ll hit the road to visit Costa Rica’s highest elevation volcano: Irazú. The crater is located at 3,432 m. above sea level, which makes the drive to the National Park quite interesting as you leave the city and start driving through the countryside and many different crops such as: potatoes, carrots, onions and even cabbage. The scenery change is dramatic.

On your way down you’ll visit the city of Cartago, which used to be Costa Rica’s capital throughout the colony. We recommend you visit the temple of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, its a beautiful neo-byzantine structure built in 1924. If you choose to have a certified guide with you this day, he or she will have plenty of history to share with you. 

We’ll continue our journey towards the high lands of San Gerardo de Dota and we’ll stop for lunch on the way there. Once we arrive to the hotel you’ll have the afternoon for yourself; you can go for a walk on the trails, or just relax with a book and a cup of coffee. 

Lodging: Hotel Sueños del Bosque 2* (or similar) 

Meals included: Breakfast 

Inclusions: 

• National Park tickets

Add-ons: 

• Bilingual certified guide for the Irazú volcano and Cartago tours 

You know what they say about the early bird... so we’ll start early on a quest to find the magnificent Quetzal and other birds of the cloud forest. We’ll be back at the hotel for breakfast and have some rest before we head down to the South Pacific of Costa Rica, to the incredible Osa Peninsula. We’ll stop for lunch on the way.

Once we get to Sierpe we’ll say goodbye to our car for a few days and embark on a boat to navigate the impressive mangrove forest of the Sierpe river all the way out the river delta until we reach Drake Bay. We’ll spend three nights here, so make yourself at home. Once settled into your room you’ll have the rest of the afternoon for yourself to enjoy the hotel’s pool, the natural tide pools at the beach or just chill on a hammock with the waves as your soundtrack.

Lodging: Drake Bay Wilderness Resort 4* (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast & dinner

Additional inclusions:

• Boat transportation from Sierpe to Drake Bay

Wake up to the sound of the waves and the Scarlett Macaws. We’ll have breakfast at 5:45 am so we can head out to visit the legendary and ever so majestic Corcovado National Park which protects 2,5% of the world biodiversity (read that again!!!). Imagine running into a tapir bathing at the beach or finding a puma taking a nap up in a tree. Although we can never guarantee what the forest will have for you on your visit, we promise it’s an experience you’ll never forget.

We’ll be back at the hotel for lunch and the rest of the afternoon is all yours, to remind yourself that you’re in paradise.

Lodging: Drake Bay Wilderness Resort 4* (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Inclusions:

• National Park tickets
• Certified nature guide
• Guided hike on Corcovado National Park

Breakfast at the hotel and then we’ll hike on the San Josecito beach in Drake Bay with your knowledgeable guide unveiling all sorts of mesmerizing natural wonders before your eyes. We’ll have a picnic lunch on the San Josecito beach where you’ll have some time to enjoy it’s pristine waters before the boat comes pick us up to take us back to the hotel. The rest of the day is yours to seize.

Lodging: Drake Bay Wilderness Resort 4* (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner

Inclusions:

• Local guide
• Guided hike to San Jocesito beach

After the delicious breakfast at the hotel, we’ll take the boat back to Sierpe and drive up the National Route #34 towards Manuel Antonio. We highly recommend to make a stop at the astonishing Nauyaca Waterfalls, one of the main attractions of the southern region in Costa Rica. They are located in an 80-meter-wide canyon and one of the waterfalls is a 45-meter drop.

Have lunch in Dominical beach and then continue towards to Manuel Antonio. Once you settle in your room you’ll have the rest of the afternoon for yourself to enjoy the pool or take a walk around the village.

Lodging: Hotel San Bada 4* (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

Inclusions:

• Boat transportation from Drake Bay to Sierpe

Spend the day relaxing in a catamaran. Either at 8:00am or 1:00pm (your choice) you’ll be picked up at the hotel and taken to the Quepos’s pier. A bilingual guide will help you board the catamaran. Set sail towards the horizon and cruise over sapphire hued waves. The catamaran will chart a picturesque course departing from Quepos and gliding around the back of the Manuel Antonio National Park. Be sure to have your camera ready as your guide will point out wildlife, vegetation. Amazing scenarios adorned with islands, cliffs and rock formations will fill your camera roll.

Beverages and snacks are available onboard, throughout the trip. After touring the coastline, your captain will set anchor at Biesanz Bay where you can snorkel or simply rest onboard. You are most likely to spot parrotfish, starfish, angelfish and if you are lucky a dolphin! During the tour you’ll have a tasty barbeque lunch onboard.

Five hours later you’ll be taken back to the hotel.

Note: during the months of late August, September and October humpback whales come to the warm waters of Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast as part of their migration. If you’re travelling on those months and whale watching sounds like something you’d like to do, please ask about switching the catamaran tour for a whale watching tour.

Lodging: Hotel San Bada 4* (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

Inclusions:

• Transportation
• Bilingual guide
• Snacks, lunch and beverages

Visit Manuel Antonio National Park with an expert local guide who will tell you everything there is to know and show you all the wildlife that makes this park the most visited national park in the whole country. The trail will lead you to beautiful white sand beaches and you’ll have some time to enjoy yourself or explore on your own the other trails the park has to offer.

After lunch, get back on the highway and drive back to the Central Valley. On the way there, we recommend to do a quick stop to see the famous crocodiles in the Tarcoles river.

*Important note: Manuel Antonio National Park is not open on Tuesdays. If you fly into Costa Rica on a Monday we’ll reschedule this visit to Day 7 of the itinerary and swap the activities.

Lodging: Palma Real Hotel 3* – standard room (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

Inclusions:

-

We don’t know when, and we don’t know where, but we hope we’ll meet again some sunny day. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but we hope the past few days hold some good memories and epic stories to tell your loved ones back home. Until the next time, pura vida!

Lodging: Palma Real Hotel 3* – standard room (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

Additional inclusions:

Add-ons:

• Airport drop-off service