Discover Costa Rica South and Central Pacific

Highlights

  • Hike in the Corcoval National Park - one of the most biodiverse places on earth
  • Snorkel with marine life at Cano Island
  • Enjoy beachside glamping on remote and beautiful Isla Chiquita
From £3825 pp*
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What you'll do

Overview

This immersive Costa Rica Tour takes you to the country's most stunning locations, where you'll experience some of the most captivating natural sights that Central America has to offer.

Tour summary

Day 1         San Jose

Day 2 & 3  San Gerardo De Dota

Day 4-6     Drake Bay

Day 7-11    Manuel Antonio

Day 12 & 13 Puntarenas

Day 14        Santa Barbara de Heredia

Day 15        Departure

San José...Read All

Begin your adventure

Arrive in San Jose and you will be met and taken to your  hotel for your first night in San José.

The hotel  Parque del Lago is a comfortable hotel close to the airport where you can relax and be ready for your adventure to start first thing in the morning.

 

 

 

 

Accommodation

Parque Del Lago Hotel (or similar)

Meals

None

San Jose to San Gerardo, Dota

This Morning you will be collected by your guide and driver. The first stop on your journey will be the Irazú National Park, home to the still active Irazú Volcano. At 3400 meters above sea level this is the highest volcano in Costa Rica. Here you’ll take a short hike up to the top of the majestic crater of the volcano, and see the amazing views inside the crater.

Later on, you’ll visit the colonial capital of the country San José, with the opportunity to explore her beautif...Read All

Dota

Day 3 will start off with a guided morning hike in the forest to find one of the most exotic and beautiful birds in the world, the Resplendent Quetzal.

For the rest of the day you have the opportunity to explore more areas of  the Tropical Cloud Forest and visit the local indigenous village of San Gerardo.

This picturesque village is the perfect opportunity to explore and interact with the locals with our Authentic community experience, visiting various families of Providencia,...Read All

Journey to Drake Bay

Today you will explore the different ecosystems of the country as you leave the cloud forests of Dota and make your way to Drake bay

Your next destination will be one of the most exciting experiences of nature in the country, within the lowlands rainforest where the climate is tropical.

On your journey there, you’ll drive through the Subalpine Paramo, pass the Mangrove swamps of the local town of Sierpe before arriving at  the Pacific coastline.

En route, you will ...Read All

Sail to Caño Island

Today you’ll take a boat trip to the wonderful, untouched Caño Island  the gem of the South Pacific of Costa Rica! The waters around Cano island are renowned as one of the worlds best snorkelling and diving areas, with amazing coral reefs and some of the most abundant and varied marine life in the world.

The island itself has Pre Columbian architectural remains and it is believed to have once been a pirate hideout and some say it was the inspiration for Robert Stevenson’s...Read All

Corcovado National Park

Today you will visit the Osa Península and Corcovado National Park.

These are considered the most biologically diverse places on Earth and the jewel on the crown of Costa Rica’s national parks! A must see for wildlife and nature lovers, Corcovado is one of the less accessible parks in Costa Rica, and this means less tourists visit this area, making it all the more appealing.

This wild, untamed region is home to the only tropical primary lowland rainforest in the world and...Read All

Travel from Drake Bay to Manuel Antonio

Day 8 will start with a boat tour with your local guide through the Sierpe River and its mangrove. The Sierpe area is recognised by its canal system and is surrounded by a lush, mangrove forest.

After your boat ride you will head to the Central Pacific area of the country.

On the way, you will stop at the spherical stones park. The archealogical site of Palmar Sur is located in the Diquís Delta, in the southern part of the Puntarenas Province. Here there are an assortment of ov...Read All

Si Como No Resort and Wildlife Refuge - Manuel Antonio

 

During your stay in Manuel Antonio on one of the days you will take part in a Costa Rican Cooking class. At a local ranch you will take a tour of the garden to gather herbs and spices and learn about the recipes and techniques of Costa Rican cooking, and then enjoy the wonderful authentic lunch. Then you will learn the dripped coffee making technique to prepare your coffee the typical way.  And for those who prefer tea, you can pick the aromatic leaves of plants and trees withi...Read All

Glamping on the Isla Chiquita - Central Pacific Coast

After breakfast on Day 12, you will be transferred to Puntarenas in the Central Pacific area. You will board the ferry boat that takes you across the Nicoya Gulf, and as you approach Isla Chiquita from the water, you will be struck by the lush foliage covering this tiny island. Once you’ve arrived and been shown to your high-quality glamping tent nestled amidst the trees, looking out to the Gulf, you’ll be  immersed in the nature surrounding you.

Children and adults alike will relish...Read All

Transfer back to San Jose

After breakfast you will be transferred from the island to Central Valley for your last day in Costa Rica.

Finca Rosa Blanca is a friendly boutique eco-resort set within a coffee farm plantation only 25 minutes from the international airport.

All 15 rooms are individually designed and have a Jacuzzi bath along with spectacular views. There is a strong emphasis on sustainability here and a tour of the coffee farm is available.

The Restaurant offers classic Costa Rican foo...Read All

Departure Day

It’s time to say goodbye to Costa Rica and head back to San Jose airport, with amazing memories of your wonderful Costa Rican adventure.

What's included

Included

  • Private transfers from and to the airport
  • 14 Overnight stays with Breakfast each day
  • 1 night - Parque del Lago Boutique San Jose BB*
  • 2 nights - Trogon Lodge, Dota BB
  • 3 nights - Aguila de Osa Inn, Drake Bay FB*
  • 5 nights - Eco Lodge Si Como No, Manuel Antonio BB
  • 2 nights Isla Chiquita Luxury Glamping BB
  • 1 night Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation Resort BB
  • Guided tour of Dota Cloud forest, community visit and lunch
  • Private transfers and shared Boat trip to Drake Bay
  • Boat trip and snorkle adventure at Cano Island with lunch
  • Guided tour of Corcavado national park with lunch
  • Boat tour with a local guide through the Sierpe River
  • Costa Rican cooking class including lunch
  • Land and boat transfers to Isla Chiquita
  • BB - Breakfast Included
  • FB - Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included)
Your local host

Roberto

I was born and raised in Costa Rica and have lived here my entire life. And ever since I could, I’ve been travelling the world. Soon after I left school, I travelled around Costa Rica and discovered every single part of it! Although, we do have a fairly small country, there’s an insane amount to explore, and I’m still exploring it today, seeking out new hiking trails, new lagoons, different viewpoints, that take you to places you hadn’t even knew existed before, it really is fascinating.

My deep knowledge of countries extends far beyond just Costa Rica as well, I’ve been lucky enough to have a broad knowledge of most of the other Central American countries, as well as, a lot of the South American coun... Read All

I was born and raised in Costa Rica and have lived here my entire life. And ever since I could, I’ve been travelling the world. Soon after I left school, I travelled around Costa Rica and discovered every single part of it! Although, we do have a fairly small country, there’s an insane amount to explore, and I’m still exploring it today, seeking out new hiking trails, new lagoons, different viewpoints, that take you to places you hadn’t even knew existed before, it really is fascinating.

My deep knowledge of countries extends far beyond just Costa Rica as well, I’ve been lucky enough to have a broad knowledge of most of the other Central American countries, as well as, a lot of the South American countries, allowing me to extend tours over there as well.

You might be surprised to know that I started out in a completely different field altogether, I studied engineering at university and worked in this industry for a little while. But, a little while later, due that passion for discovery and exploring new places eating away at me, I started my immersive travel company with a friend (14 years ago to be exact) and began having way too much fun helping people discover my wonderful country and the countries around it, so as soon as the possibility came around I just grabbed it, decided to leave engineering behind and have worked in the industry ever since.

What inspired you to work in travel?

As I’ve mentioned, I do have a bit of an obsession when it comes to showing people the beauty of Costa Rica. But apart from this, I’ve always been very much pro environment and have a keen interest in conservation. One of the best things about travel is that it can have a large component of conservation, at some point before I started working in travel, I thought I would work within conservation. So travel is a great bridge between my passions of discovery and conservation. Because if tourism is done right can help change both people’s lives and the world, and that’s really powerful.

What makes your experiences special?

Firstly, supplier and destination selection is key for us when choosing our experiences. If you get these right, you have a pretty good shot of having a truly authentic experience. So, we choose destinations that are not the same as all the other tour companies out there, those that are emerging or have something special about them, that most people don’t know about. An example would be, Drake Bay in Costa Rica, there’s a few things that everybody does e.g. the Corcovado National Park, a must visit for this area. But the difference between us and the other companies is that we use the local companies, that employ real locals, so this gives smaller companies a chance to compete with the large companies. When we choose hotels, we choose those that are sustainable, away from the normal ones.

And we always ensure the places/people we work with are committed to sustainability, it’s our mission to spread the wealth of toursim, to make sure money just doesn’t go to all the large companies, we think it should be shared equally to everyone in the country. So our suppliers are always real local people, that truly love their country and are trying to make an honest living out of it.

 

Location

This tour starts from Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, where your guide will lead you for the next ten days around the central Pacific region.

You’ll drink in incredible natural parks, volcanoes, waterfalls, jungles, and graceful colonial cities, get to know local, offbeat communities and, spot stunning wildlife and try the best, most authentic food.

The experience ends on a beautiful island resort called Isla Chiquita

Your Itinerary
1. San Jose
2. Gerardo Dota
3. Drake Bay
4. Manuel Antonio
5. Isla Chiquita
6. San Jose

 

What our travellers are saying...

We were keen to have a family trip of a lifetime before our eldest left home and had flight vouchers to use. We had an amazing time exploring the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. This trip ticked all the boxes- no long journeys, we had amazing local knowledgeable private transfers (by minibus or boat!) and the support of a local guide when we decided last minute to alter a trip and go zip lining! It was brilliant to be off the beaten trail and we saw

Ruth

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