SELF-DRIVE – 17 NIGHTS, 18 DAYS
MANUEL ANTONIO, TAMBOR BEACH, MONTEVERDE, RINCÓN DE LA VIEJA, ARENAL, TORTUGUERO,
PUERTO VIEJO DE LIMON
   Manuel Antonio    Tambor  Monteverde   Rincon de la Vieja   Arenal     Tortuguero Wildlife   Puerto Viejo |
Day 1 Arrival at San José,
Costa Rica. Welcome to beautiful Costa Rica! You will be picked up by a friendly bilingual driver who will be waiting for you with a sign with your name on it. Relax in the mini van with air conditioning while the driver takes you to your hotel for the night. Day 2 Car rental – Drive to Manuel Antonio After breakfast at the hotel, your 4x4 rental car will be dropped of. Let’s head off to the beach: Manuel Antonio, on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is famous because of its expensive white sand beaches backed by an evergreen forest. There is quite a variety of fauna with 109 species of mammals and 184 species of birds spotted right in the Park! The Park also includes 12 little isles just off the coast; here dolphins and migrating whales have been observed. Day 3 Manuel Antonio After breakfast enjoy a tour in the area! Optional tours include: rafting, canopy, Manuel Antonio National Park, hiking, bird watching, swimming), kayak, canoe, mangrove tour, Damas Island boat coastal tour, sunset sailing cruise, Carara National Park, river floating, ATV, horseback riding on the beach or to the Nauyaca Waterfall, botanical garden tour or visit the town of Quepos. Day 4 Drive to Tambor, Nicoya Peninsula After breakfast at the hotel, follow the main road back along the coast to the town of Puntarenas. Here you can take the ferry, departing every 2 hours, starting at 4:30 a.m. The ferry takes around 1 hour and 10 minutes to cross the Golf of Nicoya and reach land at the small town of Paquera. From here the drive is around 1 hour to Tambor Beach. You will enjoy the scenery and diversity of this coastal area. Tambor is a unique spot on the Pacific shore of Costa Rica surrounded by tropical nature, sandy beaches, islands, rivers, waterfalls and a friendly atmosphere. Enjoy the beach and the amazing sunsets. At night you can visit the local disco. Day 5 Tambor Beach After breakfast enjoy a tour in the area! Optional tours include: Isla Tortuga, Curú National Park, sport fishing, snorkeling, diving, windsurfing, boogie boarding, hiking, ATV, mountain biking, horseback riding, waterfall tours… Day 6 Tambor Beach Visit nearby beaches and towns such as: Montezuma, Cóbano, Mal País and Santa Teresita. Day 7 Drive to Monteverde After breakfast, check-out and the relaxing ferry ride, you’ll head off to Monteverde. The Monteverde Cloud Forest is a private non-profit reserve administered by the Tropical Science Center. There are 6 distinct ecological zones in this reserve and the canopy is extremely rich with birds, insects, butterflies and thousands of plants. A must see, especially for nature lovers! You can enjoy a night walk in the park as well. Day 8 Enjoy Monteverde After breakfast enjoy a tour in the area! Optional tours include: hiking in the Monteverde of Santa Elena Reserve, canopy, hanging bridges, butterfly garden, horseback riding, visit to local art and craft galleries, frog pond… Day 9 Drive to Rincon de la Vieja After breakfast, continue the drive up the “General Cañas Highway” to Rincón de la Vieja. Rincon de la Vieja is a volcano that rises 1916 meters above sea level and spreads over 400 square kilometers. This Volcano erupted last on February 16, 1998. The Volcano provides hot springs baths, mud baths and vapor holes, great for cleansing and relaxing your body. Day 10 Rincon de la Vieja After breakfast enjoy a tour in the area! Optional tours include: horseback riding to the Oropéndula waterfall, spa packages (mud baths, vapor sauna, hot springs), hiking in the National Park, visit to Las Chorreras Waterfall, river tubing, ATV, culture tours, farming tours (cattle gathering, milking, and other farmyard activities), canopy, bird watching. Day 11 Drive to Arenal After breakfast at the hotel, drive to Arenal. This is a beautiful drive along Lake Arenal. Visit local craftsman and enjoy the views of the lake. The Arenal Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes is in the Americas. You can feel the ground tremble and see the night sky explode with ash and lava in a natural display of fireworks. Visit the hot springs of the volcano, where you can relax in the soothing waters and be caressed by the cool night air while observing the stars and the incredible night sky above the volcano. Day 12 Arenal After breakfast enjoy a tour in the area! Optional tours include: volcano hike, horseback riding to the waterfall, canopy, ATV, mountain bike, river rafting or floating, Caño Negro wildlife refuge, sport fishing, Venado caves, hot springs, Rio Celeste, Canyoning, visit to the Maleku Indians, canoe safari, hike on Chato Mountain, bird watching, hanging bridges, hot springs… Day 13 Drive to Tortuguero After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll continue your journey to the Caribbean Coast: to the world famous Tortuguero Canals. You’ll connect with the tour to the take the boat through the first Tortuguero Canals to your hotel. After a refreshing welcome cocktail and check in, we’ll have a typical Caribbean lunch. After some relaxing we’ll head of deep into the Tortuguero Canals to journey through primary and secondary canals in search of wildlife and peace of nature. We’ll also visit the local village and school and learn about the way of life of the people living along the river banks. After happy hour and dinner there is an optional night tour: turtle observation. Here we will learn first hand about the conservation of the sea turtles. We’ll walk along the beach by night in search of turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs… Day 14 Tortuguero After breakfast we’ll head out for an early morning visit to the canals to observe the flora and fauna by daybreak. Breathe in the fresh air as you prepare yourself for the morning hike in the National Reserve. After lunch you have time to relax in a hammock or enjoy the hotel activities like kayak, sport fishing, hiking... In the afternoon the optional tour departs to visit the turtle nursery. If we are lucky we’ll be part of the amazing experience of seeing baby turtles being born! Help them out, see them reach the ocean and be taken into the deep by a Caribbean wave… After happy hour and dinner there is an optional night tour: caiman observation. See the caiman and crocodiles in their natural environment and our guide will try to catch and release one for us! Day 15 Drive to Puerto Viejo de Limón After breakfast we’ll head out for an early morning visit to the canals to observe the flora and fauna by daybreak. Breathe in the fresh air as you prepare yourself for the morning hike in the National Reserve. After lunch in Guápiles, your 4x4 rental car will ready for you to continue your journey to the South Caribbean: the beautiful beaches of Puerto Viejo. Also visit playa Cocles playa Uva and playa Manzanillo. Day 16 Puerto Viejo de Limón After breakfast enjoy a tour in the area! Optional tours include: snorkeling, Cahuita National Park, dolphin tour, canopy, Indian reserve, waterfalls, Manzanillo wildlife refuge, ATV, botanical gardens, horseback riding, sport fishing… Day 17 Puerto Viejo de Limón Enjoy the beaches, local activities, sunbath, enjoy the waters… Enjoy, because for now, this is unfortunately the last day in beautiful Costa Rica… Day 18 Drive to San José After your last hardy Costa Rican breakfast, it will be time to head back to San José, so you can drop off your rental car in time to catch your flight, or if you do not want to go home yet, ask for our extension options! |
| Package includes: - Transfer from the airport to the hotel - Meet & great - 17 nights lodging -> 1 San José, 2 Manuel Antonio, 3 Tambor, 2 Monteverde, 2 Rincón de la Vieja, -> 2 Arenal, 2 Tortuguero, 3 Puerto Viejo de Limón - Daily breakfast -> Tortuguero package includes all meals - Tour of the Tortuguero Canals, local village, hike - 17 days 4x4 car rental -> Daihatsu Terios for 2 persons -> Daihatsu Bego for 3 or 4 persons - Free cell phone with the 4x4 car rental - Free airport drop off Package does not include: - International airline ticket - Meals, tours and services not mentioned - Entrance fee to Tortuguero Park: $6 per person - Fees for the optional tours in Tortuguero - Basic car insurance $18 daily - Ferry passes ¢4.550 car + driver, ¢710 per person - Departure taxes $26 per person - Personal expenses |
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High
season: December 1st 2006 to April 30th 2007 and June 1st to August
31st 2007
Low season: May 2007, September 1st to November 30th 2007
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Rates per person, per
occupancy, per season, in American dollars.
- Children rate applies for those younger than 10 years of age. - Maximum 4 adults per room or 2 adults and 2 children (where available). - Rates not valid for Holy week and from December 15th to January 5th (additional fee applies) - All packages subject to availability and all prices subject to change. - Restrictions may apply |