Costa Rica Grand Tour

Tour Itinerary

• Day 1 • Join tour in San Jose

  Your tour starts in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital city, and starting point for all this great country has to offer. Your transfer is included when booking flights with Jules Verne, and you will be met in the arrivals hall of San Jose Airport at 5.45pm. We aim to depart no later than 6.15pm, and flights will be booked in line with these timings. If booking your own flights, please speak to us about arranging a private airport transfer or you can make your own way to the hotel.

• Day 2 • Enjoy sightseeing en route to Turrialba

  Your Tour Guide will catch up with you this morning during breakfast. Visit Irazú Volcano National Park, the largest and most magnificent of Costa Rica’s volcanoes, its name derived from an indigenous word meaning ‘thunder and earthquake’; and continue to Cartago, the country’s former capital city. Travel to Turrialba Valley, where ferns, mosses and lichens soften the landscape of forested mountains; and visit the CATIE Botanical Garden, with 4000 tropical plants creating its 45 hectares of grand displays. Overnight in Turrialba at the Villa Florencia or similar.

• Day 3 • Travel to Tortuguero and visit the Turtle Museum

  Transfer by boat to Tortuguero. Truly off the beaten track, there is no road to this watery wonderland where marshes meet the ocean. Visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy Museum, to learn about the habitats and different turtle species which nest on local beaches. Two nights at the Evergreen Lodge or similar.

• Day 4 • Enjoy a walk and boat tour, before a cocktail experience

  Morning walk at the lodge’s private trail. Afternoon boat tour, perhaps spotting crocs or caimans, exploring the Amazonesque channels surrounding the Tortuguero Lagoon. Evening Unique Experience cocktail.

• Day 5 • Fly to San Jose, visiting a coffee estate and botanical gardens

  Fly to San José and travel to the Alajuela province. Visit the Doka Coffee Estate, the little town of Grecia, a jewel of the Central Valley, focused on its unique metal church; the artisan village of Sarchi, famed for crafting flamboyant ox carts; and the beautifully manicured acres of Else Kientzler Botanical Gardens. Continue to Arenal for two nights at Volcano Lodge or similar.

• Day 6 • Explore Arenal and enjoy the local hot springs

  Explore Arenal’s rainforest on a naturalist walk, including a bird’s eye view from the hanging bridges; see the park’s eponymous volcano, the soaring symmetrical cone currently ‘resting’, after forty years of fiery emissions finally petered out in 2010; continue to Arenal Volcano National Park. Later, bathe in the hot springs of Ecotermales La Fortuna, in the foothills of the sleeping giant.

• Day 7 • Visit Palo Verde National Park

  Visit Palo Verde National Park, a rare and intriguing mix of spectacular wetlands and tropical dry forests and enjoy a cruise along its border on the Bebedero River. Continue to Rincón de la Vieja, a volcanic enclave of rapids, hot springs, simmering mud pools and cascading waterfalls, for overnight at the Hacienda Guachipelin Hotel or similar, positioned next to the National Park, in Guanacaste.

• Day 8 • Explore Rincon de la Vieja National Park and travel to Tamarindo Beach

  Discover Rincón de la Vieja National Park with a gentle hike to see geothermal wonders and ancient forests. Travel to Tamarindo Beach, a perfect crescent of pale sand hemming the Pacific Ocean for two nights at the Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort or similar.

• Day 9 • Enjoy a day at leisure to relax or explore

  Enjoy a day at leisure in Tamarindo Beach, the town’s long bay indented with small coves, some totally tranquil with palm tree shade, others hemmed with water sports.

• Day 10 • Transfer to Monteverde for a guided night walk

  Travel to Monteverde (3 ½ hrs) for two nights at the Monteverde Country Lodge or similar. Experience a night walk in the grounds of the Bosque Eterno de Los Niños (Children’s Eternal Rainforest). A 20,000 hectare private reserve, it was created by the efforts of youngsters from 44 countries, designated a UNESCO Water and Peace Biosphere Reserve in 2007, and is noted as encapsulating the Costa Rican ‘Pura vida!’ (Pure Life) ethos.

• Day 11 • Visit the Cloud Forest Reserve with a free afternoon

  Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is the high-elevation home of jaguars and ocelots; lush with orchids, ferns, ancient fig trees and luxuriant foliage; its miles of trails making excellent birdwatching grounds, where collared redstarts, silver-throated tanagers, and the vividly plumed quetzal are often seen. Explore the reserve on a walk this morning. Afternoon at leisure, perhaps to enjoy the hotel facilities.

• Day 12 • Travel to Turrubares

  Travel towards the Central Pacific Area and visit the Carara National Park with its unique ecosystems providing the habitats for armadillos and amphibians, parakeets, kingfishers, keel-billed toucans, and huge numbers of scarlet macaws. Continue to the unspoilt hills of Turrubares for two nights at Macaw Lodge or similar.

• Day 13 • Visit a local farm before an optional chocolate tour

  Visit Macaw Lodge Sustainable Farm, preserving the landscape from erosion and creating a sustainable farm with trees, fruit and vegetables. Afternoon at leisure or take an optional chocolate tour in the hotel grounds (pre-bookable).

• Day 14 • Travel to Dominical for an afternoon jungle walk

  Travel to the Pacific area of Dominical and take a guided jungle walk this afternoon. With small coves, long sands, huge waves and a surfer vibe, Dominical town’s very laid-back tempo is in line with its affable locals, and unpaved roads. Two nights at Hotel Villas Río Mar or similar.

• Day 15 • Enjoy a dolphin and whale watching tour

  Board the boat for a morning dolphin and whale watching tour; and enjoy an afternoon at leisure, perhaps to explore the craft stalls and impromptu markets which spring up at the back of the beach.

• Day 16 • Transfer to San Gerardo de Rivas and enjoy an optional walk

  Drive to the small rural town of San Gerardo de Rivas, set against the Talamanca Mountains at an altitude of 2,200m, and enjoy time at leisure or join the guide for a walk, in search of rare bird species within the Reserve. Three nights at the Talamanca Reserve or similar.

• Day 17 • Spend time at the Secret Gardens

  San Gerardo de Rivas is a village of gardeners, tending their Secret Gardens for decades to create the botanical beauty and meandering paths of its peaceful enclave. Visit the gardens today to discover its orchids, flowering trees, spring-fed pools and abundant birdlife.

• Day 18 • Explore a Quetzal trail with a later cheese tour

  Take a Quetzal trail within the Talamanca’s Reserve Private trails. Enjoy a cheese tour in the mountainside area of Canaan including a tasting.

• Day 19 • Tour ends at San Jose Airport

  Our group transfer will depart the hotel for San José Airport at midday for all customers where the tour ends. This is around a three-hour drive