Highlights Of Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano And Tortuguero

Group Tour – UK Departures On Sundays
An escorted group tour that leaves San Jose every Monday visiting all of the major tourist attractions of Costa Rica and returning to the capital on a Saturday. From here you may travel onwards to Costa Rica’s wonderful beaches for a private beach holiday, or transfer back to San Jose Airport for a return flight to the UK.

You can fly to Costa Rica from any UK Airport on a Sunday and be met upon arrival by our representative and transfer to your stopover hotel in San Jose prior to your tour.

Included in the tour are visits to the Poas Volcano and La Fortuna, Costa Rica’s most popular sightseeing location with the majestic Arenal Volcano towering over rich tropical forests. At Sarapiqui, you can learn all about organic chocolates and delicious Costa Rican pineapples.

You end your tour with a visit to Tortuguero National Park, one of the world’s great tropical rainforest reserves, easily observed by boat along idyllic waterways.

Recommended For: Anyone wishing to see the main sights and attractions of Costa Rica in a country-wide tour.

Day 01

Depart UK – San Jose

Hotel Barceló Palma Real

Depart UK – Arrive San Jose Airport to be met by your tour representative on arrival at the airport.

Transfer to your hotel at San Jose.

Day 02

La Fortuna

Hotel Lomas del Volcán

Visit The Poás Volcano For A Breathtaking View Of Its Crater
Only 30 miles away from San Jose, the Poás Volcano (8,200 feet) is considered the largest active crater in the world, about 1 mile wide and 980 feet deep, with frequent geyser-like eruptions. Near the volcano's crater are lakes of molten sulphur, thought to be the only examples of their kind in the world. Poas has erupted 39 times since 1828.

Nearby Botos Lagoon is an extinct crater with a lake of deep blue water and surrounding dense tropical forests that contain many species of birds.

Visit The Tropical Hot Springs At Ecotermales Lush Hot Springs at Arenal in a beautiful tropical
environment with 4 pools that vary in temperature: the
coolest one is 91°F and the hottest is 105°F. One of the
pools has a cascading waterfall with misty water that is
refreshing and inviting. The restaurant features wonderfully prepared delicious Costa Rican cuisine.

Day 03

Sarapiqui

La Quinta De Sarapiquí Lodge

Guided Trek To View The Arenal Volcano
You will be accompanied by a knowledgeable guide who will explain everything about the Arenal Volcano’s formation, eruption and the area’s eco-system. After the hike you’ll be taken to an observation point where you will have the best possible views of the volcano and the lava flows. The Arenal Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, constantly rumbling and erupting. With a little luck, you can expect to see a dazzling firework display as the lava rolls down the side of the volcano.

The Butterfly Garden At Ecocentro Danaus
Upon arrival, set out on a short trail through forests and gardens to a butterfly enclosure. About thirty species are bred at Danaus and you can observe the stages of their life-cycle as well as seeing the adults close up in a natural habitat.

Plant A Tree At Sarapiquí Lodge
Do your bit to save Costa Rica’s rainforests by planting a tree in the forest next to your hotel.

Day 04

Sarapiqui

La Quinta de Sarapiquí Lodge

Visit A Local Costa Rican Village School
During term time you are most welcome to visit a rural Costa Rican School.

Guided Tour Of A Pineapple Plantation
Visit a 3,000 acre pineapple plantation where over 38 million pineapples are harvested each year. The sea of pineapple arranged in geometric patterns across the floor of this valley is an amazing sight.

The Chocolate Tour
The Chocolate Tour begins with a visit to a former cacao-tree plantation where a guide will reveal the secrets of transforming cacao fruit into chocolate.

You will see the chocolate-making process first-hand and even have the opportunity to treat your taste buds to organic rainforest chocolate! After the tour, you can visit a gift shop to purchase authentic organic cacao chocolate bars.

Day 05

Tortuguero

Mawamba Lodge

Tortuguero National Park
Tortuguero National Park is the third-most visited
reserve in Costa Rica, despite the fact that it can only be reached by airplane or boat. This is due to its wonderful location on the Caribbean Coast with superb turtle nesting beaches as well as the maze of waterways inside the park that allow visitors to observe wildlife by boat.

Night Excursion To The Beach At Tortuguero To See Turtles Nesting Tortuguero is one of the most important turtle hatcheries in the entire Western Caribbean. An estimated 30,000 turtles come ashore each year to lay eggs on a long, straight 22 mile expanse of beach, which is a favoured nesting ground for sea turtles. Hawksbill, Loggerheads, and Pacific Green Turtles nest from July through October. The Leatherback, the largest sea turtle species in the world, nests from February to July. Local guides escort visitors on ‘Turtle Walks’ each evening in turtle-nesting season (Payable Locally)

Day 06

Tortuguero

Mawamba Lodge

Wildlife Boat Tour Through The Backwater Channels Of Tortuguero National Park
The wide-open canals make wildlife viewing easy at close quarters. On a guided three-hour tour you can get superb views of crocodiles, giant iguanas, lizards basking atop the branches, swallow-tailed hawks and vultures swooping over the treetops, and caimans luxuriating on the fallen raffia palm branches at the side of the river.

Day 07

San Jose

Hotel Barceló Palma Real

Transfer back by boat along the waterways for a pick up and return to San Jose through beautiful Costa Rican landscapes.

The lovely beaches of the Central Pacific Coastline are easily accessed from San Jose by vehicle transfer within 2 hours. There are also cheap internal flights to Liberia Airport and Tamarindo Airport to get to the wonderful beach resorts of the Northern Pacific Coastline, Gunacaste and Nicoya.

Tortuguero also has an airstrip, so people can fly to a beach resort like Tamarindo or Manuel Antonio/Quepos from there without returning to San José.

NOTE: You can choose as many beach nights as you require.

NOTE: Depending on the location of your beach hotel and flight timings a stopover night at San Jose may be necessary prior to your departure.

Depart Costa Rica

Depart Costa Rica – Daytime flights arrive back in UK the next day.

* We will send you a detailed quote with flight options, descriptions of hotels used and daily schedules.