Customized Group Travel Tours STS Educational Holiday to Europe, North America

Destination > Central / South America > Costa Rica

Rain Forests to Cloud Forests

Day 1: Home - San Jose, Costa Rica

After your flight, relax at your hotel and get ready for the week’s adventures. Overnight: San Jose

Day 2: San Jose - Puerto Viejo De Talamanca

In the morning, your group will leave the city far behind as you drive past banana plantations through the port city of Limon, on your way to the Southern Caribbean coast. Enjoy a leisurely hike through Cahuita National Park - a lowland coastal rainforest, and take some time at the beach. Overnight: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Limon)

Day 3: Puerto Viejo De Talamanca

After breakfast this morning, begin your rainforest exploration at the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve with your native guide, learning about the culture and customs of the Bribri people. After a two-hour hike through secondary rainforest, arrive at the community center and see how the Bribri make everything from crafts to chocolate. A native lunch is served with all ingredients coming straight from the rainforest! Then, enjoy the afternoon at Punta Uva, one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, where the rainforest practically pours into the sea. Overnight: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Limon)

Day 4: Puerto Viejo - Punta Mona

Get an early start as you prepare for your overnight adventure at Punta Mona. The hike through the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge takes you on the only path into your remote campsite. Along the way, you travel from the beach path into the jungle, where the diversity of flora and fauna is both beautiful and extensive. These days at Punta Mona are an exercise in sustainable living, as you bring little food with you. Swim, relax, and gather local fruits and vegetables for your night’s feast. Most of what you enjoy for dinner will be caught from the sea or harvested from the organic gardens. After nightfall, walk the beach in total darkness in search of nesting leatherback turtles, some of which weigh over one thousand pounds! (March-June). Overnight: Punta Mona (Monkey Point)

Day 5: Punta Mona

Spend the day exploring the mangroves of the Gandoca Lagoon by kayak as well as touring and working in the organic gardens. The gardens grow and experiment with over 180 different types of tropical fruits and vegetables! Other activities include bathing in the therapeutic mud spa, hand making chocolate from the local cacao beans, and a relaxing yoga session. At night, return to the beach in search of the nesting turtles and join an international volunteer crew working to protect this endangered species. (March – June). Overnight: Punta Mona (Monkey Point)

Day 6: Punta Mona - Turrialba

After a final morning in paradise, you return to the small town of Manzanillo by boat. Along the way, search for some of the three species of dolphins that are living offshore. After your last Caribbean style lunch, you leave the coast for the mountain town of Turrialba. A visit to the serpentarium allows you the rare opportunity to witness the venom being extracted from the deadly fer-de-lance snake by the country’s foremost herpetologist. Overnight: Turrialba

Day 7: Turrialba - La Fortuna

Early in the morning, head to the banks of the Pacuare River to see one of the world's most scenic rivers as it slices through virgin rainforest and plunges down mountain gorges while beautiful waterfalls cascade from far above. In the afternoon, head to the mighty slopes of the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica’s most active volcano. That evening, bathe in the delightful hot springs with a view of the lava-spewing volcano. Overnight: La Fortuna

Day 8: La Fortuna - Monteverde

After breakfast, you will go on a short hike to an amazing waterfall. Swim in the refreshing pools at its base. From here, your group will drive over the Continental Divide and up into the misty cloud forests of Monteverde. In the evening, experience the nocturnal world of the forest with a night hike through the Ecological Farm. Overnight: Monteverde

Day 9: Monteverde - San Jose

After breakfast, experience the Sky Trek - a unique way to encounter the canopy. Navigate from tree to tree and from platform to platform using pulleys on horizontal traverse cables as you sail through the treetops of the canopy and over the trails far below. Expert guides assist you in this exciting journey through the different layers of the virgin cloud forests and explain what’s going on around you - from the time you leave the ground until you rappel back down to the forest floor. Orchids, bromeliads and ferns share this aerial existence with an abundance of wildlife. If you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the resplendent quetzal. You then head back to San Jose to have your farewell dinner as a group. Overnight: San Jose

Day 10: San Jose - Home

After an early breakfast, you board the plane filled with memories that will last a lifetime!

Tour includes:

Return Air Home - San Jose, Costa Rica
Return transfers airport and hotel in San Jose
7 nights hotel accommodation - Participants in multiple bedded rooms. Chaperones in double rooms.
2 nights accommodation Punta Mona
All meals, snacks and drinking water throughout tour
Naturalist guides throughout tour
Air conditioned coach throughout tour
All entrances and activities and tours as indicated on itinerary

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