Once you’ve touched down to San Jose, you’ll be warmly welcomed by your driver and taken to your accommodation. San José, located at about 3,770ft. (1,253 m.) above sea level, is a metropolitan city and sits in a high valley between green volcanic mountains. Depending on the time of your arrival in Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose, you will have the rest of the day free to explore, either meandering at will or doing the self-guided ‘San Jose Like a Local’ walking tour.
Don’t let “capital” intimidate you – San Jose is small enough to navigate by foot and grand enough to keep you entertained all day.
With some beautiful 19th century architecture buildings to admire, independently owned coffee shops brewing local beans to visit, several parks and museums to explore, there’s no chance you’ll miss an opportunity to enjoy authentic Costa Rican culture. If you want to save seeing the highlights of Costa Rica’s charming capital city until a later moment, you can use the rest of today to walk through the colorful Mercado Central. Make sure to stop for a ‘casado’ (traditional plate of rice and beans, beef or fish, plantain and salad) or, a freshly brewed coffee and soak up the atmosphere of the Central Market.
Included: Private transfer from San Jose airport to hotel in San Jose, Accommodation in San Jose (Meals – None).

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View Travel Guide for Arenal
Leaving San Jose, you will continue your journey to Arenal, the drive is approximately 4 hours long. As you approach the town of La Fortuna, one of the first things you’ll see is the Arenal Volcano. Although it is no longer spewing out hot lava your first sighting of the sleeping giant will always be the most memorable as it rises up high above the surrounding landscape. Depending on the time of your arrival to the town of La Fortuna, situated at the foot of the Arenal Volcano and having settled in to your accommodation, the rest of the day is free to explore or relax.

If you’re ready to start your Costa Rica adventure in La Fortuna, one of our favorite optional activities is the frog & cultural exchange night tour (not included). You will spend the evening at the home of Don Oscar and his family who own an amazing property with beautiful gardens and rainforest. An expert nature guide will take you out along the property trails as the sun goes down to help you spot nocturnal wildlife at this magical time of night. Here you will get eye to eye with Costa Rica’s famous frogs and is a great introduction to the wildlife of this region. Afterwards you will sit down for a typical home cooked meal prepared on a wood burning stove.
Included: Shuttle transfer from San Jose to Arenal, Accommodation around La Fortuna / Arenal (Meals – Breakfast).

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Today, you will enjoy two of what we consider some of the most interesting activities to do near the Arenal Volcano: a nature hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall as well as a delicious Chocolate Tasting Tour. You will be picked up at your hotel and drive towards the La Fortuna Waterfall where you will enjoy a guided hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall. This waterfall is a must-see when you come to the Arenal Area.
Its cascading 150-ft crystalline waters are refreshing and the exuberant nature that surrounds this secluded canyon will astound. The base of the waterfall offers a perfect place to swim, relax, and take photos. Not only will the waterfall take your breath away, but also the hike back up, but it is well worth it!
Then continue for just a bit to enjoy the Rainforest Chocolate Tour, discovering the ancient secrets of chocolate: from its discovery and use in tropical America, to the processing of the product we know and enjoy nowadays. Considered “a gift of the Gods”, the cacao tree was very important to the ancient culture, it was not only used as a ceremonial drink, but its cocoa seeds were also used as currency because of its economic value in many regions of Mesoamerica, including Costa Rica. The tour brings history, culture, traditions and flavor together as you participate in the production process, from the harvesting of the fruit, drying and grinding of the seed, to the tasting of a high-quality organic chocolate.
Arriving back in the town of La Fortuna, the rest of the afternoon is free for you to relax or take an optional excursion. After a morning hike, we recommend taking a soak at the hot springs warmed by the heart of the Arenal Volcano. Many of the area’s best hot springs are situated just at the foot of the Arenal Volcano which means that you can enjoy looking up at the mighty volcano while soaking in the warm waters rich in minerals while listening to the calls of the rainforest around you…this is truly a heavenly experience!
Included: Half Day Fortuna Waterfall and Rainforest Chocolate Tour in Group service with Transfer and Entrance fee, Accommodation around La Fortuna / Arenal (Meals – Breakfast).
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View Travel Guide for Monteverde
Leaving Arenal and La Fortuna behind, you will continue your journey across the lovely Lake Arenal before heading up into the lush, green cloud forest high of Monteverde. The total duration of this adventure connection is approximately 4 hours long and this is the fastest way to get from Arenal up into the Cloud Forest of Monteverde. The first leg of the connection takes you by transfer to Lake Arenal where you will board a boat that will take you across to the other side of the lake, during which you may have the opportunity to see the Arenal Volcano as well as some beautiful tropical birds.
After the lake crossing, you will continue the journey by land in shared transportation for the last 38-kilometer drive of scenic dirt roads into the mountains, to the cloud forests of Monteverde. Upon arrival you will be taken to your hotel.
Located on the Pacific highlands, the small town of Santa Elena sits as the gateway to the beautiful Monteverde and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. The area is known as one of the most outstanding wildlife refuges in the New World Tropics. Santa Elena is slightly reminiscent of a tropical Switzerland, with its charming wooden houses and alpine climate. This environment creates a constant game of drizzle and warm sunshine; a combination that makes Monteverde the most famous cloud forest in the world. It is called a cloud forest rather than a rain forest because of its altitude: as the high-altitude forest juts up through the clouds.
Depending on the time of your arrival in Santa Elena and having settled in to your accommodation, the rest of the day is free to explore or relax.
As the sun begins to go down and the light mystically disappears from the sky, you’ll be picked up from your accommodation to start your Coffee Tour with a Twilight Nature Walk. Experiencing the peaceful darkness of the Cloud Forest is both an eerie yet thrilling experience as more than 60% of the Cloud Forest life awakens at this time. Guided by an expert nature guide, they’ll take you to the best places on the property to spot the different types of mammals, insects, amphibians and reptiles. One of the highlights of tonight’s nature walk will be seeing the dart frogs waking up and observe them as they go about their nightly business with their bright colors and night chants.
After your evening nature hike, you will be guided to the on-site coffee farm of Don Juan to learn about the secrets of planting, harvesting, washing and drying the world-renowned coffee beans of Monteverde into a delicate cup of coffee. Sown into every Costa Rican, coffee is a very important product for both the economy and culture of Costa Rica. The owners of the Don Juan Coffee Farm were one of the first families to settle in Monteverde and the tour will give you a great understanding of the unique bond between the age-old authentic coffee production process and how it turned Costa Rica into a country known for its peace, stability and progress.
Included: Adventure connection from Arenal to Monteverde in Shared service with Lake Crossing Road-boat-Road, Don Juan Coffee tour and Twilight Walk in Group service with Transfer, Accommodation around Monteverde (Meals – Breakfast).
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Today you will explore the Monteverde Cloud Forest from on high via its famous canopy zip lines which will give you an unforgettable perspective of the Cloud Forest and the wildlife that live in the treetops. You’ll begin your treetop excursion by riding in an open-air gondola to an observation point high above the forest floor. Then it’s time to start the adrenaline pumping part of your Cloud Forest adventure back down to ground level as you whizz along 1.7 miles of cables
slung between towering trees, stretching across canyons and between treetops on what is one of the longest zip lines in Costa Rica. You’ll go from lofty platform to platform via horizontal traverse cables, ultimately returning you back to where you started today’s adventure. Although you’ll be moving too fast to see much of the wildlife on this part of the tour, it’s definitely a thrill worth experiencing! With your feet firmly on the floor, you’ll be transferred back to your accommodation where the rest of the day is free for you to spend at your leisure.
If you’re feeling a little hungry or like cheese, then the Monteverde Cheese Factory is where you should head to. Opened in 1953 by the area’s original Quaker settlers, you can learn about the history of Quakers in Costa Rica and how they make their incredibly tasty cheese, especially the Monte Rico which is famous throughout Costa Rica. Alternatively, you may wish to get your wildlife adventure started and there are a number of places in Monteverde to get your wildlife fix ranging from the Butterfly Garden and the Serpentarium to the Frog Pond and Bat Jungle.
Included: Half Day Sky Tram & Sky Trek Zipline in Group service with Transfer and Entrance fee, Accommodation around Monteverde (Meals – Breakfast).
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View Travel Guide for Tamarindo
Leaving Monteverde and the cloud forest behind, you will continue your journey to Tamarindo, the drive is approximately 5 hours long. Now’s the time to unleash the Beach Boys playlist as you arrive in the vibrant beach town of Tamarindo on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast. Tamarindo has some of the best beaches on Costa Rica’s Pacific coastline, and especially so if you’re into surfing, or are at least game for a go. Most people’s instinctive reaction upon reaching Tamarindo is to run straight for the beach.
All we ask is that you check into your hotel first, and from then on the rest of your day is free to spend at leisure and enjoy the pure beach life.
The long, golden sands of Tamarindo are separated from the neighboring beach of Playa Grande in the north, by the Matapalo River which is part of the Tamarindo Wildlife Reserve. This neighboring beach is also a protected nesting ground for the endangered Leatherback turtle, and during the breeding season (Nov – Feb) you can take a guided moonlight walk to see the turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.
Included: Shuttle transfer from Monteverde to Tamarindo, Accommodation in Tamarindo (Meals – Breakfast).

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Today, you will be picked up at your hotel and head towards the protected reserve of the Tamarindo Mangrove and Estuary. Here you will board a small boat to cruise through this natural paradise. Cruising slowly through the mangroves, will give you the chance to observe the different species of animals and allowing you to take photos and create memories. Keep your eye out for brown pelicans, magnificent frigate birds, ibis and ospreys, as well as two types of monkeys, iguanas and American crocodiles!

After paddling for about an hour, you’ll climb out of your kayak to enjoy some fresh fruits that will give you all the natural energy and hydration you need, to continue enjoying this beautiful environment. Once the tour is over you will be transferred back to your accommodation in Tamarindo where the rest of the afternoon and evening is free to spend on the beach, enjoying a tropical cocktail while watching the sun go down.
Included: Half Day Mangrove & Estuary Tour on Boat in Group service with Entrance fee, Accommodation in Tamarindo (Meals – Breakfast).
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Today is left free for you to relax at the beach, stroll through the beach town or explore more of the natural beauty around Tamarindo. One of our favorite optional excursions (not included) is to go on a gentle horseback ride through the dry-tropical forest of the Guanacaste lowlands where you’ll arrive at a number of beautiful viewpoints and secluded beaches. If you’d rather take to the water, you can try your hand or perfect your style at surfing with a professional teacher.
Tamarindo is the perfect place to learn how to surf and is a safe, fun and easy-going experience. Another of our recommended activities is to set sail and enjoy a day snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters off the coast of Tamarindo or simply relaxing on the boat. Sailing back to Tamarindo just in time to watch the sunset from the boat.
After a day on the beach, or a fun day out with one of the optional activities, head back to your accommodation to freshen up before going out to enjoy freshly caught seafood at one of the local restaurants in Tamarindo.
Included: Accommodation in Tamarindo (Meals – Breakfast).

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Enjoy one last walk along Tamarindo’s beach and then it’s time to say goodbye to this tropical country with its wide diversity in ecosystems and natural beauty. You will continue your journey to the San Jose or Liberia International Airport for your flight out. We wish you a pleasant flight and great memories of Costa Rica!

Note: It is a 5 hrs. drive to San Jose Airport (SJO) and you would need to be at the airport 3 hrs. prior to your flight.
Included: Private transfer from Tamarindo to San Jose or Liberia Airport (Meals – Breakfast (Depending on your departure time).