Tropical Forests & Manuel Antonio Tour- 8 days / 7 nights
Accommodations
Guests of Hotel Grano de Oro enjoy the charm and character of a stately mansion built at the turn of the century, with all the comforts, amenities and the service expected in a fine hotel.
The Observatory Lodge is just 1.8 kilometers across a deep valley from the active crater of Arenal Volcano. The location was specifically chosen by the Smithsonian Institute. Adjacent to Arenal Volcano National Park, the site contains 270 acres of primary rain forest with well-marked trails. 
The Fonda Vela is dedicated to the idea of eco-tourism in harmony with nature, The Latin root Fonda means a place of rest or nourishment after a long journey. Vela, or candle, for us represents service and hospitality. To this we add a peaceful atmosphere that is sensitive to the local environment. 
The Costa Verde Hotel is on a coastal rainforest bluff overlooking the beaches of Manuel Antonio National Park. It is a great destination for those seeking adventure travel, ecotourism, or just the tranquility of white sand beaches and magnificent ocean views.
Tours
A visit to Arenal Hanging Bridges consists of traversing 15 bridges from 5 to 100 meters long that cross the rain forest and a 3 km circuit of interpretive trails built with paving blocks to prevent slipping.
The Monteverde Trapiche tour is run by a local family who tries to teach a little more about Costa Rica culture and even though the name of the tour means sugar mill process the tour also demonstrates how coffee is produced and you will learn about other crops grown on the farm.
In Newsweek's 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, Monteverde appears as the Americas' #14. It has also been deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica by popular vote, and has been called by National Geographic "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest reserves".
Manuel Antonio National Park is so popular because of its extensive white sand beaches backed by an evergreen forest that grows right up to the high tide line. There is quite a varied fauna with 109 species of mammals and 184 of birds.
Rates
| Dates | Until Nov 30 / 2011 |
Dec 1 - Nov 30 / 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Rate | $1,725.00 | $1,615.00 |
| CentralAmerica.Com's SPECIAL |
$1,625.00 | $1,515.00 |
| Single supplement | $532.00 | $578.00 |
| Children (3-11 yrs) | $475.00 | $551.00 |
For package price with discount airfare use Package Quote Form.
Please read the normal Terms and Conditions
Itinerary
Day 1: ARRIVE - San Jose Airport meet & greet and transfer to hotel. Overnight in San Jose at Hotel Grano de Oro or similar.
Day 2: COCORA GARDENS - ARENAL VOLCANO - Your journey will begin by traveling northwest along the Interamerican Highway to head north through the town of San Ramon. Here you will take a short break and visit the community’s agriculture town market. 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. Overnight at the Arenal Observatory Lodge or similar. (B,L)
Day 3 - 4: ARENAL HANGING BRIDGES - 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. Overnight in Monteverde at Hotel Fonda Vela (2 nights) or similar. (2B)
Day 5 - 7: MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK - In the morning you will be taken overland from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio National Park. Manuel Antonio consists of several beautiful beaches on the Pacific coast, a forest growing to the beach’s edge, easy walking trails and abundant wildlife. Visitors frequently have up-close views of white-faced capuchin and squirrel monkeys, sluggish sloths, racoons, agoutis, colorful black & scarlet land crabs, and black iguanas.
The following days you will take hikes with a naturalist guide through the park’s forest, you will enjoy a canopy tour were you will zip between platforms above the ground. Among the many optional activities available are rafting, sea kayaking, surfing lessons and horseback riding. Overnight at Hotel Costa Verde (3 nights) or similar. (3B)
Day 8: DEPARTURE - Today you will fly back to San Jose and then transfer to the International Airport to check in 3 hours before your scheduled flight home.
Trip Includes: 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: International airfare, 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.
