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Arrival in San José. Welcome on arrival by your English-speaking guide and transfer to the hotel.
Dinner and overnight at Sleep Inn Las Damas Hotel or Similar
Visit the La Paz waterfall gardens, one of Costa Rica's most popular natural attractions. You will see animals, insects, plants, and a beautiful waterfall. A lunch of local cuisine will be served during the visit.
The day continues to the northern plains: The Arenal Volcano, emblematic image of Costa Rica with its perfect conical shape. Arrival in the village of La Fortuna, located at the foot of the Volcano.
(Breakfast & Lunch included)
Morning hike to meet the sloths. They live in the tropical forests around the volcano. Your guide will find the sloths' favorite hiding places. On this hike, you'll also get to see all the wildlife: monkeys, toucans, iguanas, and poisonous frogs.
The afternoon is devoted to a walking tour of Park 1968, along the marked trails, followed by a hike to the first eruption of that year. This is undoubtedly the best viewpoint when the volcano is clear. Overlooking Arenal National Park, it's easy to observe the rich nature that surrounds the volcano.
The park boasts a rich variety of flora and fauna, including tapirs, deer, monkeys, a wide variety of snakes and birds, more than half the species found in the country.
(Breakfast & lunch included)
Optional Activity: Bathing in the Baldi thermal waters. Naturally heated pools. Dinner in a restaurant near the thermal pools. (without guide) $56 per person.
Visit a small village to discover life in a rural community: the church, the central square, the school and the “pulperia”. After lunch, you'll meet Doña Ivonne and her husband, both farmers and owners of a sugarcane plantation. Learn about the whole process, from harvesting to extracting the juice. You'll then taste sugar cane extract in its various forms: liquid, honey, and lumps.
You can also visit a coffee plantation. Drive to the Monteverde / Santa Elena cloud forest, skirting the volcano and skirting Lake Arenal. As you drive along, you'll quickly notice how the magnificent rainforest begins to unfold before your eyes. You may come across the occasional coati or monkey, and of course you'll spot a variety of colorful birds. When you feel the road begin to crunch under your wheels and you can see potholes all around, it's a sign that you'll soon reach the village of Nuevo Arenal.
(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included)
The morning is devoted to the Monteverde suspension bridges, where you can take a stroll. Across the 8 suspension bridges, you'll be able to appreciate a unique flora and fauna. Then you'll head off to the Don Juan plantation to discover the process of coffee production. Cultivated in volcanic soil at an altitude of 1,300 m, your guide will tell you more about this product of which Costa Rica is so proud!
(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included)
Optional Tour: Night walk. You'll watch the sun set, then get ready for the nocturnal life of the forest. Most mammals come out to feed: raccoons, armadillos, sloths, olingos, martillas, gray foxes, bats, but also frogs, insects, tarantulas.
Short boat trip to observe crocodiles in their natural habitat, birds, and other animals: armadillos, sloths, jaguars etc. The area is home to one of the largest crocodile colonies in the region and the hemisphere. Continuation to the Quepos region, surrounded by primary rainforest. This is one of the highlights of your trip! Arrive in the charming village of Quepos, a year-round delight with party bars, an art gallery, and many small, charming hotels. The village is just a few kilometers from Manuel Antonio National Park. Overnight in the Quepos or Herradura area.
(Breakfast included)
Visit the magnificent Manuel Antonio National Park, with its 683 hectares of land and 55,000 hectares of sea. It offers impressive landscapes, beaches, forests, and high mountains.
Hike about 2 km, during which you'll take a break to rest on the beach (approx. 20 min). Along the way, you'll spot monkeys, sloths, birds, reptiles, orchids, butterflies, and tropical trees. Then off to Dominical, a small seaside village. This is where surfers and tourists gather to discover the splendid Marino Ballena National Park. Overnight in the South Pacific
(Breakfast included).
Depending on weather conditions, it is a 4 km walk to visit the Nauyaca waterfalls. These majestic waterfalls are ideal for relaxation, swimming, climbing, and jumping.
(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included).
Optional Tour: Full day to discover Corcovado National Park, considered the country's most important nature reserve and one of Central America's most biodiverse national parks. The peninsula is home to one of the last remaining tropical rainforests on the Pacific coast. A unique natural paradise, the rainforest captivates visitors. Early morning departure for a 1h45-hour boat trip where you'll have a good chance of spotting whales and dolphins. Snack on arrival, then walk the trails to observe a wide variety of flora and fauna: jaguar, tapir, spider, howler or capuchin monkeys, sloths, macaws, toucans and numerous amphibians and reptiles, (minimum 4 people required, in good physical condition, accompanied by a local English/Spanish-speaking guide who knows the park inside out and is in charge of food and safety throughout the day). $145 per person.
(If you choose the excursion to Corcovado National Park, the visit to Nauyaca Falls will not be possible)
Visit the megalithic archaeological site of the Spheres, where you can see a series of large spheres from Costa Rica's pre-Columbian past. Drive to the San Gerardo de Dota region, the 2nd largest cloud forest in the country. Dota, a small rural village perched at an altitude of 2,000 m, is an ideal stopover for travelers wishing to meet the quetzal, the country's sumptuous, legendary, and emblematic bird. Check-in at the lodge. Overnight in the Los Santos region.
(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included).
Early departure from the lodge, around 5:00/5:30 a.m., at dawn, when life awakens! Walk through the cloud forest, watching quetzals in their natural habitat. Drive to San José, arrive, and check into hotel.
(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included)
Depending on your flight schedule, transfer to the airport and flight back to the United States.
(Breakfast included)
Important information : check in 3 hours before flight
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