Tortuguero Canal & Tropical Forest

Tortuguero & Costa Rica Tropical Forest Tour

This trip begins with two days in wildlife-rich Tortuguero National Park- Costa Rica’s “little Amazon”.

Afterwards you will fly back to San Jose where you will be picked up and driven to Arenal Volcano via the cultural road of San Ramon.

Following “the fireworks” at Arenal, travel west into the mountains to visit the lush, cool forests of Monteverde Cloud Forest. Reflective of its name, Monteverde (Green Mountain), is the striking result of a forest shaped by regular and prolonged cloud baths.

 

TOUR DETAILS:

Day 1 - Arrival

Airport Meet and Greet and transfer to hotel. Overnight in San Jose at Hotel Grano de Oro or similar.

Day 2 and 3 -Tortuguero

Start your journey to Tortuguero National Park in the northeastern lowlands.  With its abundant wildlife Tortuguero is one of the best areas in Costa Rica for viewing wild animals! You will have the chance to see everything from a variety of bird species; howling, white-faced, and spider monkeys; sloths; crocodiles; iguanas, basilisk lizards and more from the comfort of your boat. During July to September, green sea turtles come ashore at night to nest on the beach.

Hotel: Evergreen Lodge or similar (2 nts)
Meals Incl:   2B, 2L, 2D

Day 4 Cocora Gardens and transfer to Arenal Volcano  

Flight back to San Jose. On the way to Arenal Volcano stop en route at the community’s agriculture town market of San Ramon. This market offers a variety of tropical fruits and vegetables, including some that are rarely seen outside the tropics.

You will continue on with a visit to the Cocora Private hummingbird and butterfly gardens. Cocora is located in the cloud forest belt at 3000 feet elevation and offers the visitor attractive tropical plants and colorful butterflies and hummingbirds.

After a traditional lunch at Doña Rosa´s house, you will continue on to your Arenal area hotel, travelling in the north central lowlands of Costa Rica among farmlands of tropical crops and cattle ranches. (L)

Hotel: Arenal Observatory Lodge or similar (1 nts)
Meals Incl: 2B

 

Day 5 and 6 - Arenal Hanging Bridges and transfer to Monteverde 

Today in the morning you will visit the Arenal Hanging Bridges.  This is a complex of suspended bridges and trails through a beautiful rain forest. As you walk through the forest, you may encounter a variety of the forest wildlife, including toucans, motmots, trogons, poison dart frogs, howling monkeys, spider monkeys and white-faced capuchin monkeys.

After your rainforest bridges walk, you will travel up into the mountains on your way to the world-famous Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. A place that has been intensely studied by scientists since its founding in 1972, and is the site of important pioneering research on the effects of climate change in tropical ecosystems. Outside the reserve the most important farm products around are organic coffee and milk for the local Cheese Factory.  The factory has been producing a variety of high-quality cheeses in Costa Rica since shortly after Quakers from the United States settled the area in 1950´s. Near and around the community centers, a large selection of restaurants, and other visitor attractions are found, such as butterfly gardens, horse rentals, treetop forest canopy tours, an orchid garden, art galleries, and a bat exhibit among others.

Next day in the morning you will visit the Trapiche ('sugar mill') and coffee farm, that first began operation in 1948. The Monteverde Trapiche is run by a local family, and on your tour you will not only learn about the local process of making sugar, but also about the other most important agricultural product of the region, “café”. There you will enjoy a refreshment of sugar cane juice or lemonade, eat picadillo de arracache (a typical Costa Rican food) and make candy out of sugar cane (everyone makes their own candy!).

After lunch enjoy a guided visit to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, one of the premier natural history destinations in Costa Rica.  The forest consists of lush, verdant vegetation containing understory palms, majestic canopy trees, arching “ropy” lianas, bizarre “strangler” fig trees and epiphytes- small plants that grow on the trees. As you walk through the forest, you may encounter a variety of wildlife including white-faced capuchins, white-nosed coatis and two-toed sloths.  Among birds, you may see the Resplendent Quetzal, hummingbirds, toucanets, guans and solitaires.

Hotel: Fonda Vela or similar (2 nts)                          
Meals Incl: 2B

Day 7 -Departure

Transfer to San Jose or Liberia International Airport to check in 3 hours before your scheduled flight home 

Included

As specified in the above itinerary, lodging, transportation within Costa Rica, airport/hotel transfers on scheduled arrival/departure dates, meals [B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner], national park entrance fees, guide services, ground operator support within Costa Rica and taxes.

Not Included

Airfare to Costa Rica , airport departure taxes, meals not specified in the itinerary, alcoholic beverages, personal equipment, extras in hotels (laundry, phone calls, room service), gratuities, or costs associated with changes in your itinerary for reasons beyond our control.