ALAJUELA | SAN JOSE | TORTUGUERO | PACUARE | MANZANILLO | BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA
A profound journey into the heart of one of the most biodiverse places on the planet: Costa Rica! This is the perfect combination of serenity and luxury to spoil your senses, body and spirit; getting in touch with nature and local essence. Wander charming places immersed in magic forests and chill out while enjoying the laid-back Caribbean lifestyle!
Highlights:
- Visit Doka Estate Coffee Plantation
- Explore the Art of Craft Beer in downtown San José
- Visit Tortuguero National Park
- Massage at Aninga Spa
- Dinner in the Rainforest canopy known as “The Nest”
- Visit the Sloth Sanctuary
- Visit Cahuita National Park
- Private dinner at the beach
- Visit Playa Las Estrellas and Bocas del Drago
- Visit Dolphin Bay
Package Includes:
- Roundtrip international and domestic airfare from Toronto*
- Welcome assistance upon arrival and departure at all airports
- Private transfers between airport and hotel
- Domestic flight to Bocas del Toro, Panamá
- 14 nights accommodation
- 3 nights in Alajuela at Xandari Hotel (or similar)
- 2 nights in Tortuguero at Evergreen Lodge (or similar)
- 2 nights in Pacuare at Pacuare Lodge (or similar)
- 3 nights in Manzanillo at Almonds and Corals Hotel (or similar)
- 3 nights in Bocas del Toro at Panamá. Eclypse del Mar hotel (or similar)
- 3 nights in San José at Grano de Oro Hotel (or similar)
- Breakfast daily and other meals as indicated
- Hotel taxes and service charges
*Add-ons from other cities available upon request.
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Optional Add-On Tours: (Priced separately)
- Hanging bridges in Arenal
- Canyon Rapelling
Ongoing monitoring of the Zika virus continues around the world including Central, South America and the Caribbean. Please evaluate your risks before travelling.
Rates are subject to availability at time of booking. Soft drinks, bottled water, alcoholic beverages, spa treatments and optional tours and activities are not included. Times of scheduled tours may vary based on weather conditions.
Airport and departure taxes not included.
Itinerary
Day 1
TORONTO – SAN JOSE – ALAJUELA Depart from Toronto to San José, the capital and largest city in Costa Rica. Meet and greet, and take your private transfer to your hotel. Overnight at Hotel Xandari, Alajuela.
Day 2
BreakfastALAJUELA Breakfast at your hotel. Today you will be picked up in the lobby to start your journey towards a coffee plantation on the slopes of Poás Volcano National Park. As we ascend the terrain you will notice a change in temperature and vegetation; we will see coffee plantations as well as fern, flower and strawberry farms along the way, creating a beautiful array of colors and textures. Once at Doka Coffee Estate, we will be treated to a coffee tour in an actual coffee plantation where we will learn the ancient techniques used by the experts to produce some of the best coffee in Costa Rica and around the world. The careful process involved in the cultivation, harvesting and roasting of the Golden Bean will then be illustrated, very hands-on, and then we will savor the delectable end product. During the afternoon, you will be picked up from your hotel to enjoy of The Art of Craft Beer in San José. Let us start with the first pub stop that brews their own beer and you will get to try three different types of their delicious home brew. From there, you'll travel around San Jose on foot, taking time to stop into a bunch of beer-focused pubs to try their house “cerveza” paired with some yummy local food options. The tour will finish up in a lovely local pub which is the perfect place to grab dinner (if you're still hungry after taste-testing Costa Rican "bocas" along the way) or stay for a few more beers! This is a walking tour and we cover almost 2 to 4 kilometers during this tour, stopping along the way and learning a lot.
Day 3
BreakfastALAJUELA Breakfast at your hotel. Today you can enjoy a massage in one of the private palm-roofed jalapas which has its own hot tub and massage table. Here you can enjoy one of our many treatment options, from scrubs to massages, with a full view of the Central Valley. The Special Feature at Xandari Spa Village is your own palm-roofed jalapa with an open-air jacuzzi, perched on a hill overlooking the Central Valley. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon at leisure.
Day 4
BreakfastALAJUELA – SAN JOSE – TORTUGUERO Breakfast at your hotel. Today you will be transferred from San Jose to Tortuguero. We will leave San José around 06:00 a.m. towards the north Caribbean coast, to Tortuguero National Park. On the way, we will cross the exuberant Braulio Carrillo Cloud Forest, stop for breakfast in Guápiles and continue by bus and boat towards Tortuguero. The boat ride is by itself a real naturalist tour; you will see caimans, water birds and incredible rain forest flora from the canals and lagoons. We will arrive at the Lodge around noon for lunch. After lunch, your guide will invite you to go for a hike around Tortuguero town, visit the Turtles Museum ($1 donation) and come back for dinner at your hotel. Evening at leisure at the lodge.
Day 5
BreakfastTORTUGUERO Breakfast at your hotel. Morning boat ride along the canals of Tortuguero, a national park renowned for its diverse habitats that shelter seven species of turtle, a large variety of crustaceans and many species of fresh water fish. After lunch you are free to stroll through the grounds and explore the hotel surroundings and take a massage in Aninga Lodge, this SPA is pioneer in Tortuguero area providing innovative and relaxing techniques for your body, spirit and soul. Dinner included at the lodge.
Day 6
BreakfastTORTUGUERO – GUAPILES – PACUARE Breakfast at your hotel. We will once again board the boat to transfer you towards the pier and then continue by land to Guápiles, where you can enjoy a delicious lunch. After lunch we continue our journey to Pacuare Lodge Hotel.
Day 7
Breakfast, DinnerPACUARE You’ll awake to birdsong and the soothing sound of the river. Head over to the main lodge for a hearty breakfast of homemade bread, tropical fruits, yogurt, eggs, pancakes, gallo pinto , Turrialba cheese , homemade granola, juice, coffee and tea complemented by a rainforest view. The lodge employs resident naturalist guides who can provide information about the plants and animals that inhabit the surrounding forest. This day is open for enjoying one or more of the lodge’s optional tours (not included in package price). Nature lovers may want to start before breakfast with a daybreak birdwatching tour. Other options are to visit the nearby Cabecar Indian Ranch, for an introduction to the local indigenous culture, or hike to the closest farming community to experience a bit of rural Costa Rican life. Outdoor adventure options include the Canopy Adventure Tour, which takes you gliding between treetop platforms on cables, or Tropical Canyoning, which combines hiking, rock climbing and rappelling. If you prefer the water, you can paddle down a stretch of the Pacuare River in an inflatable duckie. Hikers have several options to choose from: the Bajo del Tigre & Nairi Awari Reserve Hike, which combines visits to the two nearest communities with rainforest hiking; the Cabecar Indian Tour, a more demanding hike to an isolated indigenous home deep in the forest; or the Ancient Trail and Hidden Waterfall Hike, which heads higher into the mountains to a waterfall, taking most of the day. Dinner in the rainforest canopy “The Nest”
Day 8
BreakfastPACUARE – LIMON – MANZANILLOAfter another great breakfast, you’ll depart between 9:00-10:00 am by raft for a day of white water rafting that is more exhilarating than the first day (approximately 3½ hours over class III-IV rapids). This stretch of the Pacuare River flows through canyons and past waterfalls and virgin rainforest. You’re likely to catch glimpses of varied birds and other wildlife during the quiet stretches. A deli-style lunch will be served on the riverbank en route, and you’ll have a chance to change into dry clothes at our private facilities by the river take-out before the drive back to your hotel in Manzanillo, Almonds’ and Corals Hotel.
Day 9
Breakfast MANZANILLO Breakfast at the hotel. This day you will experience the snorkeling activity at the most famous coral reef in Costa Rica, Cahuita National Park. There, we will go snorkeling for about two hours in the most important Coral Reef of Costa Rica where you could see: 35 different species of coral, 123 species of tropical fish, 3 species of sharks, 6 species of eels, 3 species of sea urchins, 140 of shellfish, 44 crustaceans, 128 types of algae, sea turtles, sea cucumbers, ocean sponges, lobster, shrimp, among others. You will be provided with snorkeling equipment (mask, fins and snorkel tube). After Snorkeling, you will be given a tropical fruit snack plus water and then begin the second part of the tour, which is hiking on the trails of Cahuita National Park with one our naturalist tour guides. Our tour guide will take you to different points between Cahuita National Park and Cahuita town (3.5 km) observing various types of snakes (boas, bocaraca, bush master, eyelash vipers, etc.) Evening at leisure at the hotel. Private dinner on the beach at Almonds and Corals Hotel.
Day 10
Breakfast, LunchMANZANILLO Breakfast at the hotel. Today visit the Sloth Sanctuary is an Integrated Model who works in research, protection and rehabilitation of sloths. Once at the Sanctuary, there will be a short video presentation that will help you to understand more about these small and enigmatic creatures. Then take a boat for up to 5 people, guide and boatman for a 45 minutes ride down the river through tropical vegetation, watching the wealth and exuberance of the Caribbean rainforest. Then a 20 minute hike where you will see sloths in the wilderness, birds, butterflies, monkeys and other species. Finally we can visit the gift shop that features a number of memories of the sloths. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure.
Day 11
BreakfastMANZANILLO – BOCAS DEL TORO Breakfast at the hotel. The Tour leaves from your hotel around 6:00 a.m. We will stop for breakfast rather in Sixaola or in Changuinola, do the migration procedures and continue towards Guabito and later on to Admiral pier, where a speed boat awaits us to take us to Colón Island, arriving around 09:30 a.m. Overnight in Bocas del Toro.
Day 12
BOCAS DEL TORO Breakfast at the hotel. We will begin our journey around 9:30 in the morning and have our first stop at Bahía Delfines. During this 30 minutes ride, we will be able to admire the interesting Caribbean Architecture of Bocas Island and its crystal clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean. After enjoying the spectacle of dolphins, we leave to Coral Key for a 20-minute drive, while we observe and learn about the different types of mangroves that adorn the sea route. Leisure at Coral Key and about 4:30 in the afternoon, we return to Isla Colon, ecstatic of the natural beauties that we found in this pristine paradise.
Day 13
Breakfast, LunchBOCAS DEL TORO Breakfast at the hotel. For those nature lovers, we offer the ideal tour in Colón Island. Here, we can learn about the fascinating mysteries of the Neo Tropical Rainforest. After crossing the Grotto we will continue our way to Bocas del Drago being always aware of the possibility of watching the abundant island wildlife. Upon the arrival in Bocas del Drago, we will walk along the beach to get to the famous La Estrella beach, where we can swim in this natural pool with an absent surf and the water completely crystalline and surrounded by a large population of gigantic sea stars. On our way back to Bocas del Drago we will have lunch time and then we will return to the center of the village finishing our adventure on the island.
Day 14
BreakfastBOCAS DEL TORO – SAN JOSE Breakfast at your hotel. Domestic flight to San Jose intentional Airport. Then transfer to San José for your last night in Costa Rica.
Day 15
BreakfastSAN JOSE Breakfast at your hotel. At a convenient time, our representative will transfer you to San José International Airport to take your flight back home.
General Information & Maps
Not Included:
- Airport and departure taxes
- Gratuities to guides and drivers
- Items of a personal nature
- Travel insurance
- Reciprocity and/or local taxes if applicable
- Visas required for entry into the country as necessary. Please discuss this with your travel agent to determine your requirements prior to departure.
Gateways International Tailor-made Tours
View LargeITS-Sloth Sanctuary Bradypus
View LargeITS-Pacuare River Rafting
View LargeITS-Pacuare Lodge-Canopy Suite
View LargeITS-Doka Coffee Tour
