Costa Rica \| Small group holidays \| Costa Rican Odyssey tour

Tortuguero National Park (Day 3-5)	Manuel Antonio National Park (Day 13-14)

Costa Rican Odyssey

This small group escorted tour has a strong accent on Costa Rica’s nature and wildlife, complemented by impressive scenery, and by times when the local way of life takes centre stage.

Our tour discovers the wildlife of flooded forest, rain forest, cloud forest and dry forest, including the world famous sites of Monteverde and La Selva. We see two of the country’s largest and most active volcanoes, a cowboy ranch in Guanacaste, and tour both the Caribbean and the beautiful central Pacific coast, with a final day’s sightseeing in San José.

We stay at good quality comfortable tourist class hotels and lodges and the tour is escorted throughout by an experienced and knowledgeable local professional guide with excellent English.

San Jose

Day 1 We meet in San José in the early evening at Hotel San Gildar (3*)–a comfortable hotel set around a swimming pool in the quiet suburb of Escazú. You will be collected from the international airport on arrival for the drive to the hotel (½ hr).

Irazú Volcano, Lankester Gardens and the Orosí Valley

Day 2 BL This morning our tour takes us by road through scenic farmlands to Volcán Irazú (p5): the tallest volcano in Costa Rica with dramatic lagoon-filled craters. We visit Lankester Botanical Gardens which are laid out in areas of heliconia, bromeliads, palm, ferns, cacti and bamboo. Its glasshouses hold 800 species of orchid that bloom between February and May. In the afternoon we descend to the Orosí Valley–a steep-sided secret valley where we visit the photogenic ruins of Ujarrás, the country’s oldest church, dating from 1575. We stay overnight in the Orosí Valley at the Hotel Rancho Rio Perlas.

Tortuguero

Day 3 BLD This morning we descend through the Turrialba region of coffee cultivation, through banana plantations, to Caño Blanco (3hr). From here a boat ride (1½ hr) takes us along the waterways of the flooded forest into Tortuguero National Park. We hope to see three-toed sloths, large iridescent blue morpho butterflies, howler monkeys, white-faced and spider monkeys, toucans, macaws, orange-eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs and the Jesus Christ or Basilisk lizard–a lime green lizard with blue spots which can run on the water’s surface. We stay 2 nights at Laguna Lodge, a cabin-style lodge with a lovely swimming pool and gardens.

Day 4 BLD A full day at Tortuguero. With an early start, we explore the smaller channels by boat with the lodge’s naturalist guide. We return to visit butterfly gardens and walk by the Caribbean shore where green turtles lay their eggs between May and September. In season, the lodge provides an optional turtle watching tour during the evening.

Day 5 BL After breakfast our tour continues travelling by boat (1½ hr) and road (2 hr) to Sarapiquí to stay 2 nights at Sueño Azul–a beautiful retreat-style lodge. The afternoon is free to enjoy the lodge’s many facilities: relax by the pool or in riverside gardens, walk or birdwatch in the very extensive grounds, or take a horse ride, massage, or spa treatment which are offered at extra charge.

Day 6 BL Today we visit nearby La Selva Biological Station, one of the world’s most important centres for research into tropical rainforests. One of La Selva’s bilingual naturalists joins us for a guided walking tour and provides an overview of their research, education and conservation programmes. The reserve comprises 3,900 acres of old growth and disturbed tropical wet forests with enormous species diversity: more than 1,900 plant species, 330 tree species, and 436 species of birds. Showy birds, such as toucans, parrots, trogons, and hummingbirds, and mammals such as monkeys, peccaries, agoutis, and coatis, are seen frequently. We return from our tour to Sueño Azul in the afternoon with time for activities around the lodge.

Arenal Volcano

Day 7 BL This morning we drive to La Fortuna near Arenal Volcano (p5, 2½hrs). We visit Tabacón Hot Springs, where hot pools, streams and waterfalls are laid out for bathing among attractively planted gardens below the volcano. On a clear day Arenal’s pyrotechnics and glowing lava can be seen while swimming in waters heated by the same source! We stay 1 night at a 3* lodge outside La Fortuna with good views of the volcano, weather permitting.

Rincón de la Vieja

Day 8 BLD Rounding the northern shore of Lake Arenal, we drive north on the Pan American Highway which runs from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego for the next part of our tour. We take a stroll in the white city of Liberia, the capital of Guanacaste, with its handsome colonial streets around Calle Real, where many houses have traditional ‘puerta del sol’ corner doors that let in the sun in the morning and cooling breezes in the late afternoon. We continue a short distance to Hacienda Guachipelín, a homely working cowboy ranch set in open countryside below the volcanic peaks of Rincón de la Vieja (1,806m) and Santa María (1,916m)–our base for the next 2 nights.

Day 9 BLD If you ever dreamed of being a cowboy you will love the friendly down-to-earth atmosphere of Hacienda Guachipelín. Early risers can watch cows being milked by hand, and perhaps take an optional early morning horse ride with the cowboys to help round up the cattle or move groups of horses from one field to another. During the day we walk in Rincón de la Vieja National Park through dry forest to see hot springs, mud pots and sulphurous vents spawned by the volcanic activity underground.

Monteverde

Day 10 BL Today our tour continues with a 4½hr drive to Monteverde, the last half along a bone-shaking road intended to deter the day tripper. The scenery en route is reminiscent of the low Alps. Dairy farming is a main occupation: milk churns stand at farmers’ gates as contented cows munch on lush pasture. We stay 2 nights at Fonda Vela Lodge (3*), a beautiful mountain hotel set in 35 acres of forest and pasture just 2km from the Monteverde reserve.

Day 11 B Early this morning we take a guided walk in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve – probably the most famous reserve in Costa Rica. 100 species of mammals and more than 400 species of birds can be seen here, including the Resplendent Quetzal, best seen January-May when the aguacadito tree is fruiting. Our tour includes a visit to the hummingbird gallery where a string of sugar water feeders are kept constantly replenished at the edge of the cloud forest to the delight of the local hummingbirds. The tiny birds are aggressively territorial, sparkling as they beat their wings to defend their turn at the feeders, while others patiently wait their turn on nearby branches. There is free time in the middle of the day to visit some of the other local sites laid on for visitors, such as the cheese factory, or the women’s arts and crafts collective. We then experience the cloud forest from the Sky Walk, a wonderful trail via a series of suspended walkways at canopy height. The walkways are sturdily built with strong wire mesh from floor to the hand rails which are set high for security. Most people feel sufficiently steady to be absorbed by the wonderful sights that only this system can provide, with rare view of the orchids, bromeliads, mosses and lichens which weigh down every bough. Looking down on the crowns of trees and shrubs below reveals a tremendous variety of leaf shapes and shades of green.

Carara, Manuel Antonio and the Central Pacific coast

Day 12 BL After a leisurely start we descend from the mountains to Villa Lapas in time for lunch and to check-in for 1 night. The hotel has a private 570 acre forest reserve adjacent to the Carara Biological Reserve, a swimming pool with 2 separate Jacuzzis, and an optional ‘Sky Way’ trail, with hanging bridges similar those at Monteverde. If the tide is high we will visit the mouth of the Río Tarcoles to see the mangroves and watch sea and water birds such as boatbilled heron and black-necked stilt. On the way back we’ll pause at a bridge over a spot favoured by local crocodiles and alligators. Here at dusk we may also witness the wonderful sight of Scarlet Macaw returning from their feeding grounds in the Carara Forest to their roosts in the mangroves (particularly reliable between January and March).

Day 13 BL In the early morning we tour on foot in the Carara reserve, a transitional mix of ‘dry’ and ‘rain’ forest ecosystems. Mammals include monkeys, armadillos, agoutis and most of the large felines–though, of course, the latter rarely allow themselves to be seen. Birds include toucans, trogons, guans, and macaws. Our tour continues along the coast to Quepos, staying 2 nights at Hotel Casitas Eclipse. Taking our picnic lunch we walk into Manuel Antonio National Park for some of the most beautiful scenery in Costa Rica along a series of headlands including Cathedral Point, a classic tombolo or island connected to the land by a sand spit. Breakers wash up to a rainforest teeming with wildlife–monkeys, coatimundi, racoons, sloths, iguanas, toucans and parrots. There are sparkling white sand beaches (the nearest is 1km from the entrance), coral reefs and forest hiking trails. Casitas Eclipse is a small hotel of interconnected whitewashed villas perched around a natural bowl looking onto the forest. From the rooftop bar there are spectacular sunsets across the Pacific.

Day 14 B A free day in the Manuel Antonio area. You might choose to relax by the hotel pool, watch the surfing on the local beach, or return to Manuel Antonio National Park for a second day. Your tour guide is available to advise and assist.

San José

Day 15 B This morning we journey by road back to San José (3½hr) and the Hotel San Gildar, where we stayed on the first night of our tour. In the afternoon we go city sightseeing in cosmopolitan San José, visiting the magnificent post-baroque National Theatre, the Museum of Pre-Colombian Gold, and the city’s main shopping streets close by. In the evening we gather for a farewell dinner in El Pueblo, a popular area of boutiques and restaurants, with an opportunity for last minute souvenir or handicraft shopping.

Day 16B Our tour ends today. You will be transferred to the airport for your chosen international flight home: most depart in the morning.

Note: All journey times are approximate and subject to local conditions.

Dates & prices

16 days/15 nights. Grade: Easy. Group size 4 - 12. Starts Friday, ends Saturday.

Tour code	starts San José	ends San José	tour price	single supplement*
CRO 08/1	25 Jan 08	09 Feb 08	£1,495	£345
CRO 08/2	22 Feb 08	08 Mar 08	£1,495	£345
CRO 09/1	23 Jan 09	07 Feb 09	£1,720	£395
CRO 09/2	20 Feb 09	07 Mar 09	£1,720	£395
CRO 09/3	20 Mar 09	04 Apr 09	£1,720	£395
Tour price includes: all travel in Costa Rica, services of an English speaking local guide throughout, all accommodation (5 nights hotels, 10 nights tourist lodges), most meals (except for 3 lunches and 10 dinners - allow £200 spending money for these). *Single supplements and how to avoid them Our standard tour prices for small group trips are per person based on two adults sharing twin-bed rooms where applicable. Hotels charge extra for single occupancy. We think this is unfair in the context of a group holiday and we will absorb this extra cost ourselves if you are willing to share with another person of the same sex in the group - regardless of whether there is another person to share with you. (If you prefer a room to yourself and are not willing to share then you do need to pay the single supplement.)