Best of Costa Rica - 9 days / 8 nights
Accommodations
The best kept secret in Costa Rica, Tiskita Jungle Lodge offers guests the opportunity to experience pristine tropical rainforest and wilderness beaches on its 800 acre biological reserve either on foot or horseback. 
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.
Tours
Tiskita is a private rain forest reserve in the remote region of Golfito on the southern Pacific coast. Explore rain forest and trails, fresh water jungle pools and beautiful, isolated beaches. The bird watching is fabulous with over 285 species identified in the area so far.
The La Fortuna Waterfall offers some of the most gorgeous scenery in all of Costa Rica. The 70-meter ribbon of water falls into a great swimming hole, surrounded by lush tropical forest, protected by the local conservation project.
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".
Rates
| Dates | Until Nov 30 / 2011 |
Dec 1 - Nov 30 / 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Rates | $2,513.00 | $2,515.00 |
| CentralAmerica.Com's SPECIAL |
$2,363.00 | $2,365.00 |
| Single supplement | $625.00 | $712.00 |
| Children (3-11 yrs) | $1,107.00 | $1,247.00 |
For package price with discount airfare use Package Quote Form.
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Itinerary
Day 1: ARRIVE -San José Airport ‘Meet & Greet’ and transfer to selected San José hotel for overnight.
Day 2, 3-4: TISKITA RAINFOREST RESERVE - Travel by flight and ground transfer directly to the jungle! The Tiskita Reserve is set on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a deserted beach lined with coconut palms that extends for miles. Three species of monkeys, over 285 species of birds (including toucans, parrots and scarlet macaws), sloths, iguanas and much more reside here. You will enjoy guided hikes through the private forest reserve of Tiskita, and the tour of the tropical fruit orchard. In the afternoons you will have free time to explore on your own. You may wish to walk to the nearby seaside village of Punta Banco to see how rural Costa Ricans live, or enjoy an optional tour: ride horses, bike, go surfing or sea fishing. Overnight at Tiskita Jungle Lodge. (3B,3L,3D)
Day 5-6: COCORA GARDENS & FORTUNA WATERFALLS - ARENAL VOLCANO - Flight back to San José. En route to Arenal Volcano you will take a short break and visit the community’s agriculture town market in San Ramon. This market offers a variety of tropical fruits and vegetables, including some that are rarely seen outside the tropics. In addition to the produce, you will also find local products and handcrafts at the market. (Note: The market is closed on holidays).
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)
Next day in the morning you will visit the beautiful 200 foot-tall Fortuna Waterfalls.The fees collected are used for important community projects such as supporting area schools, buying books, and helping cover some of the expenses for the town orphanage. Later you will have lunch at a local organic farm in the town of La Fortuna. With your guide, you will learn about many of the crops and the challenges and benefits of farming organically in the tropics.
After lunch you will have a natural history walk at the Danaus Ecological Center. Slow-moving sloths live here, and along the main trail visitors may see a number of the 154 bird species recorded. (L)
Overnight at Arenal Observatory Lodge (2 nights) or similar. (2B)
Day 7-8: ARENAL HANGING BRIDGES - TRANSFER TO MONTEVERDE
Today 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 Monteverde. Your journey will bring you through small rural Costa Rican villages passing coffee and dairy farms.
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 9: DEPARTURE - Transfer to San José or Liberia 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.
