Costa Rica: Jungle, Wildlife, & Beaches

Arrive in San Jose
Upon arrival at the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, your guide will be waiting outside the Customs exit doors to meet you and transfer you to the hotel.

Enjoy a lively welcome dinner as you get to know your fellow travelers this evening. Share stories and learn about why each woman on your trip is excited to explore Costa Rica!
Welcome Dinner

Overnight: Hotel Costa Rica

San Jose
Rise and shine early today and depart the hotel at 7:00am for a visit to the Feria Verde, an organic Farmers’ Market, which has much more than fruits and vegetables. There are local artisans with hand-made clothes, artisanal jewels, medicinal herbs, hand-made aromatherapy oils, musicians, and plenty of places to eat. The majority of vendors are women, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to talk with them and find out about their businesses and crafts. Enjoy breakfast at the market.

In the afternoon, take a walking tour of the city of San José, visiting the Central Market, the National Theater and either the Gold or the Jade museum.

There’s free time in the afternoon to do some exploring on your own. This is a perfect time for souvenir shopping, to enjoy the sights and sounds of San José or simply to do some people-watching.

Enjoy a cooking class with a master chef this evening.

NOTE: There is a limit on luggage of 25 pounds per person when traveling on local boats while visiting the Tortuguero National Park. Please take only what you will need for the next two days. Bring light clothes, bathing suit, hat, insect repellent, sunblock. It will be hot and humid weather! Your driver will take the rest of your luggage and you will get it back on the way to Arenal on Day 5.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight: Hotel Costa Rica

San Jose to Tortuguero National Park
Set out very early for our destination, Tortuguero National Park, the “Venice” of the rainforest. Drive through Braulio Carrillo National Park, seeing the vegetation change from rainforest to cloud forest and back to rainforest again. Reaching the riverside village of Caño Blanco, board your boat to Tortuguero for a 90-minute ride on the Parismina river and on some man-made canals.

Breakfast will be in a local restaurant during the drive today.

One of the few Costa Rican National Parks where walking isn’t necessarily the best way to see things, you get to tour the lagoons and jungle waterways of Tortuguero National Park this afternoon by sea kayak. The extensive network of freshwater creeks and lagoons behind the beaches of Tortuguero are home to seven species of river turtles, spectacled caiman, southern river otters, a number of crustaceans, and more than 50 species of freshwater fish. You might also see spider, howler, and capuchin monkeys and dozens of species of birds. If you are really lucky, you might spot an endangered West Indian manatee.

Relax at your lodge this evening and enjoy dinner as a group.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight: Aninga Lodge

Tortuguero
Explore the Park’s winding jungle waterways by boat, looking for monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, and more.

After lunch at the lodge, spend the afternoon visiting Tortuguero Village and the Sea Turtle
Conservancy. Tortuguero beach is the most important nesting site of the endangered green
turtle in the Western Hemishpere. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest here.

The turtle nesting season is between June and September in Tortuguero. There will be night hikes to the beach after dinner tonight in search of this wonderful sight. Please note that dates and times are on a lottery system, so there is no guarantee in which group each person will be.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight Aninga Lodge

Tortuguero to Arenal
Leave Tortuguero by boat on your way to Arenal, stopping in Caño Blanco, where your driver will be waiting (with the rest of your luggage) to take you to the Arenal Volcano area.

Before arriving in Arenal, stop at the Sarapiqui River for an exciting guided whitewater rafting trip! This Class II – III rafting adventure takes you through more than 20 rapids in about three hours. You will be briefed on safety, and wear a helmet and life jacket.

Originating from clear mountain streams, the Sarapiqui River runs from the Central Mountain Range just north of San Jose to the San Marcos River which runs along the shared border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The river is considered a national monument because of the vital service it provided in transporting arms, goods, and soldiers in the 1856 war against the filibusters.

Finishing your adrenaline-packed raft trip, continue to the spectacular Volcán Arenal area and Hotel Arenal Kioro, with its hot springs and uninterrupted views of the volcano. Once at Kioro Hot Springs, the rest of the afternoon is free to relax and enjoy the famous hot spring pools at the Hotel Arenal Kioro.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight Hotel Arenal Kioro

Arenal to Guanacaste
Stop to swim in the emerald pools beneath La Fortuna waterfall. You can choose to horseback ride or hike to the falls. La Fortuna waterfall emerges from dense jungle greenery before plummeting some 200 feet into a pool below. Bring your bathing suit!

Head to the Guanacaste region in the Northwestern province in Costa Rica. Arriving late afternoon at Rio Perdido, there is time to enjoy a massage or spa treatment and spend some time relaxing and soaking in the surroundings.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight: Rio Perdido

Guanacaste
Begin a full day of adventure at Rio Perdido by floating down the river in a modified inner tube, through a gorgeous narrow canyon with the rainforest canopy above. Some parts of the river are very calm and slow, others are faster and very exciting! Sometimes you will need to carry your tube for a little while in order to get over rocks to the other side. Make sure to wear water shoes, sneakers, or Teva sandals. No flip-flops! Life vests and helmets are provided.

In the afternoon there will be a zip-lining/canyoning tour. While Costa Rica has dozens of “canopy tours,” with hundreds of zip-lines, Rio Perdido has truly innovated with their Canyon Adventure. Under the guidance of renowned adventure designers, they have created a sequence that will please and surprise. Inspiring Rio Blanco canyon is the
main stage for the awesome cable-based zip-line experience. Good walking shoes are a must! The adventure includes 15 platforms, six of which are rock-based and nine of which are suspended on the canyon walls, as well as zip lines of varying lengths from 260 to over 800 feet.

Share stories of today’s adventures this evening with your group over dinner.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight at Rio Perdido

Guanacaste
Begin the day at Anita Rainforest Ranch where you will meet the owners, Pablo and Ana, and spend time with Ana as she gives you a private tour of the property. Learn how they grow and harvest their crops, especially cacao, and how it is transformed from dry beans to paste and on to artisan chocolate. Of course, you get to try some too!

In a short cooking class, you’ll enjoy delicious food – heart of palm ceviche, taro chips, beef in red wine and rosemary sauce, and fresh produce from their organic gardens finished off with homemade ginger spiced lemon and natural fruit juices.

Continuing to the small town of Colonia Libertad, meet Aracely, a neighbor in the village, where she will share a wonderful and special dessert treat in her home.

Have a farewell dinner with your new AdventureWomen friends. Reminisce over all of the
memories you have made and celebrate the end of an amazing journey through this truly spectacular country.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Overnight at Rio Perdido

Guanacaste and Depart
Enjoy one last morning in Guanacaste before heading home.

Say goodbye to your new AdventureWomen friends as you transfer to the airport for your flights home.
Breakfast

Please note: AdventureWomen will attempt to adhere to the itinerary as much as possible. However, certain conditions (political, climatic, environmental, and cultural) may necessitate changes in the itinerary. AdventureWomen reserves the right to alter any itinerary at any time, if necessary. We will attempt to notify participants of changes as far in advance as possible. Costs incurred by such changes will be the responsibility of the participants.