Off the Beaten Track on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast

Off the Beaten Track on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival Day

  Arrive into San Jose Airport, where you will be picked up and taken directly to your hotel in the Costa Rican capital, where you will get the chance to relax, refresh and get ready for your adventure to begin.

• Day 2: Volcanoes and Traditional Haciendas

  Your first visit will be to Irazú Volcano National Park. Irazú is the highest volcano in Costa Rica at just over 3400 meters above sea level. Then you drive to the Turrialba Valley, a city that was once the gateway to the Atlantic coast, now an important agricultural region and tourism destination. Turrialba is named after the volcano (Torre=tower and alba=white). The volcano sits along the southeast of the Central Volcanic Corridor and currently it is the most active volcano in the country. A combination of reliable rainfall, numerous powerful rivers and rich volcanic soils have made Turrialba an important agricultural region which has been carefully developed to ensure a balance with nature and conservation. The lush mountainous landscapes, pristine tropical forests, thundering rivers and wildlife ensures that there is plenty to do here, and it is also a great place to discover the agricultural side of the country with a visit to one of the plantations to sample some of the best organic produce in Costa Rica. You will stay in a Costa Rican Old Hacienda, where a guide can show you the farm animals and the beautiful tropical gardens, or you could take a kayak out on the beautiful lake of the Reventazón River Dam.

• Day 3: Cooking with a Local Family

  Turrialba hosts a beautiful reserve full of tropical plant species and today you will take a guided hike through La Marta wildlife reserve to a research station administered by a local private university, drinking in views of jungle-covered hillsides. After this experience immersed in nature, you will have the opportunity to enjoy cooking lessons with a local family, discovering the secrets of local Costa Rican cuisine, before enjoying your delicious handmade lunch, a truly local experience.

• Day 4: The Costa Rican Amazon

  Transfer to the Caribbean plains on a scenic drive as you cross the green mountains that divide Turrialba and the Caribbean Coast. Boca Pacuare is today’s destination, the fascinating canals of the Caribbean coast, known as the Costa Rican Amazon, as they snake their way through the jungle. A boat will take you up to this area through the extensive system of canals to the lodge where you will spend the next two nights. Your guide will provide invaluable insight into this complex ecosystem, before you reach the miles of untouched Caribbean beaches. The world’s largest Green sea turtles, nest in this region from June to October, peaking in numbers during July and August, whilst the mighty leatherbacks, measuring up to eight feet in length, nest from February to June.

• Day 5: Sea Turtle Experience

  Today you’ll have a full day to explore the Boca Pacuare area, start with a floating trip on the canals of the Madre de Dios lagoon, a great opportunity to see a huge variety of birds, reptiles, monkeys, and butterflies. To top it off, you will also visit the Pacuare Biological Reserve. Head to the Sea Turtle Conservation Project and spend time with the volunteers in charge of the program to get an idea of local life in the area. If you visit during the weekdays, you will also visit the local rural school. When in season, there is an optional night tour to see the green turtle laying eggs on the beach. All the visits will be done with a local naturalist guide.

• Day 6: Transfer to Caribbean Paradise

  Your adventure in Costa Rica continues after breakfast, when you get back on the boat through the canals so you can rejoin your driver and head to the South Caribbean. On the way, you will visit an iguana conservation project lead by the Bribri Indigenous Group of the Kekoldi Reserve. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon and night immersing yourself in the relaxing Caribbean lifestyle, music and gastronomy, as you reach one of the best beaches in Costa Rica and your hotel, Le Cameleon Hotel.

• Days 7-9: Relax on the Caribbean Coast. Hike in Manzanillo & Dolphin Spotting

  Spend your final days in Costa Rica relaxing on the beautiful Caribbean coast, drinking in the rays on white-sand, palm-fringed beaches. On one of the days, you will meet a local guide in Manzanillo, and head out on a hike of this amazing refuge. It was created in 1985, to protect both marine and coastal land areas. It also includes communities whose traditional lifestyle has always been to care for their natural environment, so it has some residential/ecotourism zones. After the hike you will board a boat to search for dolphins: between Punta Mona (Monkey Point) and the mouth of the Sixaola River you can observe three species of dolphins, including the rare Small Pink Tucuxi.

• Day 10: Coffee Highlands and the Central Valley

  Transfer back to the Central Valley for your last night in Costa Rica. On this day, enjoy a great last experience of authentic Costa Rican culture and cuisine on a day that includes a visit to a sustainable forested coffee farm. Taste cuisine that creatively honours the culinary traditions of the coffee highlands, and drink in the richness of the local culture, views of steaming volcanoes, cloud forests and the splendour of the lush natural surroundings. You will stay the night on the stunning coffee plantation, a unique place to stay that help you feel truly immersed in authentic Costa Rican culture.

• Day 11: Farewell to Costa Rica

  The time has come for you to say farewell to Costa Rica and your new friends who have helped you see the country through the eyes of a local. We hope you have had an incredible time in Costa Rica, and are returning home with wonderful travel memories that will last a lifetime.