Explore Costa Rica's Cloud Forests, Volcanoes & Caribbean Coast - 13 Days

Highlights

• Venture into Monteverde's cloud forests after dark to spot nocturnal creatures
• Follow tracks formed by ancient lava flows as you hike the slopes of Arenal
• Snorkel among the pristine coral reefs of Cahuita National Park
• Visit a Caribbean wildlife rescue center to learn how they rescue and rehabilitate 
• Spot caimans and sloths as you kayak the biodiverse waterways of Tortuguero

Brief Itinerary

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in San José, Transfer to Monteverde, Coffee Farm Visit & Night Walk

Welcome to Costa Rica! You'll touch down in the thriving capital, San José, a cultural hub ringed by mountains and volcanic peaks that rise from the fertile Central Valley. Here you'll meet your private driver and guide for the three-hour transfer northwest to Monteverde. Considered one of the country's main ecotourism destinations, Monteverde's cloud forests, cooler climate, and wildlife-drenched terrain offer plenty of outdoor adventure opportunities.

After settling in at your hotel, you could start your explorations with a guided visit to a local coffee plantation, where you'll have the opportunity to identify and learn about the coffee plant firsthand. Your guide will walk you through every step of the process, from harvesting to roasting and brewing, and show you the simplest way to prepare a perfect cup of coffee.

After finishing your coffee, it's time to head into the jungle as the sun sets. This part of the tour takes place in a protected forest that covers about 50% of the plantation's property. The trail extends along a creek that runs through the farm, making it the perfect location to spot creatures in the trees and along the shores. it's common to observe frogs and various snake species along the trail. With a little luck, you might even see forest dwellers such as the two-toed sloth or the kinkajou.

Day 2: Monteverde Cloud Forest Hike, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Get ready for an expedition into the famous "green lung of Costa Rica." Meet your guide in the morning and embark on a half-day hike through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, home to a whopping 2.5% of the world's biodiversity. Unsurprisingly, the reserve is teeming with wildlife, including spider monkeys, tree frogs, sloths, spiders, and big cats like pumas and jaguars. It's also a birder's paradise, with more than 350 bird species, including the quetzal.

Follow your naturalist guide along forest trails as you search for some of the birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects that call the 26,000-acre (3,500 ha) reserve home. After an immersive and educational few hours in nature, you'll stop by a local women's artisan cooperative to end the experience. 

More thrills are in store this afternoon at Treetopia Park Monteverde, an aerial amusement park that raises jungle excitement to the next level. Begin with a guided walk along trails and suspension bridges that reach heights of up to 984 feet (300 m) above the cloud forest. Later, you'll ride in an open-air gondola, ascending over the canopy as you enjoy sweeping views over the mountains. At the end of the line, you'll strap into a zipline cable that stretches over the treetops and across valleys, returning you to the starting point.

Day 3: Transfer & Boat to La Fortuna/Arenal

Day 4: Arenal Volcano Nature Hike, Soak in the Tabacón Hot Springs

Spend today discovering more of La Fortuna's natural landscapes with a guided hike around the Arenal volcano and other nearby nature reserves. Start at the entrance of the 1968 Trail, where you'll hit the well-maintained trails that skirt the base of the volcano and Lake Arenal. This 1.5-hour route offers some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the park, and your naturalist guide will keep a well-trained eye out for exotic birds, monkeys, and other animals along the way.

After hiking the trails, your guide will drop you off at Tabacón Hot Springs so you can soothe your muscles with a dip in mineral-rich waters, which have been used as therapeutic baths for more than 200 years.

Day 5: Transfer to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca & the Caribbean Coast

Say goodbye to the Costa Rican lowlands today and join your driver for the four-hour drive south to the Caribbean coast. Your destination is Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a beach town beloved for its supreme surf breaks, fringed by mangroves and backed by thick rainforests home to native wildlife. The area is also rich in Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean culture, with distinctive Caribbean-influenced cuisine and music.

Once you've settled at your hotel, take a stroll to scope out some of the town's many beaches, including the white-sand Playa Cocles to the south and the black-sand Playa Negra to the north. If you work up an appetite, stop by a beachfront bar for some ceviche, or head to one of the town's sodas (simple, traditional restaurants) to taste Caribbean dishes like spicy jerk chicken, coconut rice and beans, and red snapper with plantains. 

Day 6: Explore Cahuita National Park: Boating, Snorkeling & Hiking

Grab your hiking boots and your swimsuit and join your guide for a trip just north of Puerto Viejo to Cahuita National Park. This 6,754-acre (2,732 ha) protected area is renowned for its coastal rainforest, soft white-sand beaches, and crystalline waters, home to the country's largest coral reef system. The adventure begins with a scenic cruise to Punta Cahuita, where you'll drop anchor for some snorkeling, glimpsing dozens of varieties of fish, along with rays, sea turtles, and even reef sharks.

Step ashore afterward and fuel up with a spread of tropical fruit on the beach, then set off on a guided hike along Cahuita's famous rainforest trails, where you'll have chances to spot exotic animals like sloths, agoutis, howler monkeys, and tropical birds along the way. At the end of this half-day excursion, your driver will drop you back in Puerto Viejo, where you'll have the afternoon free. Rent a bike to pedal along the coast, searching out pristine stretches of sand, or stop in the town itself to explore the colorful streets. For more wildlife encounters, take a tour of the nearby Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica. 

Day 7: Visit a Wildlife Rescue Center, BriBri Village & Chocolate Making

Start this morning with a visit to the inspiring Jaguar Animal Center. Despite the name, you won't find any jaguars here, but you'll encounter plenty of monkeys, sloths, birds, and even wild cats. Knowledgeable volunteers guide you through the inner workings of the rescue and rehabilitation facilities, where they provide round-the-clock care to injured and abandoned wildlife. Meet Encar, a passionate biologist who founded the center with her late partner, and hear how they've successfully rescued over 9,000 wild animals, returning about 48% successfully to their natural habitats.

Afterward, you'll continue into the nearby Bribri Reserve to visit the local Indigenous community and the region's traditional landowners. You'll be welcomed into a family home, where five generations live together under one roof, as you learn about the family's lifestyle and tour their Costa Rican cacao finca (farm). Taste different chocolate types before grinding your own chocolate to discover the secrets behind this ancient process. After the chocolate demonstration, join the family for a home-cooked meal made with typical local staples, like maize and sweet manioc (yuca). 

Day 8: Beachfront Horseback Ride, Afternoon Surfing Lesson

This morning, you'll saddle up for a relaxed horseback ride along one of the region's loveliest beaches. After meeting your well-trained mount and experienced guide, you'll set off through the jungle, watching for local flora and fauna like howler monkeys, two-toed and three-toed sloths, and many tropical birds along the way. Near the trail's end, the jungle opens to the beach, where you can trot along the sandy shoreline or cool off with a canter through the surf. 

Later on, there's more beach fun in store with a trip to Playa Salsa Brava for a surf lesson. This is an excellent place for it, as the right-hand reef break at Salsa Brava is regarded as the best surf in the country. Once here, you'll meet an expert instructor and grab a board for a two-hour lesson. You'll learn the basics, like proper paddling technique and balance, and when you're ready, head out into the surf and catch a few waves.

Day 9: Transfer & Boat to Tortuguero National Park

It's time to continue your Caribbean adventure as you make your way up the coast to Tortuguero. This village is the main hub for excursions into Tortuguero National Park, a 194-square-mile (312 sq km) protected area of ocean, coastline, wetlands, and rainforests that's only accessible by boat or plane. You'll start with an hour-long transfer north to the dock, where you'll board a boat for a slow but spectacularly scenic four-hour cruise up the coast. As your captain guides you through the region's distinctive canals and waterways, keep an eye out for plentiful wildlife like monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, and more.

When you pull up at your lodge's dock, step ashore and get settled in after the long trip. When you're feeling refreshed, you'll have the option later on to join an expert guide for an evening walk through well-maintained forest trails, spotting diverse nocturnal wildlife such as moths, crickets, frogs, and bats before returning to the lodge in time for dinner.

Day 10: Tortuguero National Park Cruise, Evening Turtle Nesting Experience

Take to the water this morning on a two-hour boat ride to discover the miraculous array of flora and fauna in Tortuguero National Park. Accompanied by a local naturalist guide, you'll travel along the canals to the more remote sections of the park, where you can glimpse rare species of wildlife. The freshwater creeks and lagoons here are home to crustaceans, river turtles, spectacled caiman, southern river otters, and dozens of freshwater fish species. If you're lucky, you might spot the endangered West Indian manatee.

Later on, wait for the sun to go down before setting off on the most popular activity in the region: a night tour to witness sea turtles nesting. Leaving around 5 pm, you'll travel to Tortuguero Beach, where sea turtles arrive to lay their eggs. A common sight here is the leatherback, the world's largest sea turtle, which can grow to 6-7 feet (1.8-2 m) long. The best time to see this spectacular phenomenon is from May to October, but if you're visiting later in the year, you'll get the chance to see the nestlings as they hatch and return to the sea.

Day 11: Cerro Tortuguero Hike, Kayak on the Tortuguero Canals

Eat a hearty breakfast and lace up your hiking boots this morning for a 2.5-hour hike up Cerro Tortuguero, the region's highest peak at only 390 feet (119 m). It begins with a boat ride to the trailhead, where you'll begin the 1.25-mile (2 km) out-and-back hike on a jungle path that demands a decent level of physical fitness. During the trek, your expert guide will point out wildlife like butterflies, sloths, and various monkeys. When you reach the top, you'll be rewarded with an inspired view of Tortuguero, spanning the canals out to the Caribbean.

Return to your lodge for lunch and some downtime, then head back out in the afternoon for a kayaking tour through the lagoons and canals of Tortuguero National Park. Paddle through quiet waterways in a specially-designed kayak that lets you get much closer to the shore and navigate into narrower tributaries. As you explore, look out for more of the region's over 200 species of birds, three monkey species, crocodiles, caimans, toucans, and much more.

Day 12: Transfer to San José, Afternoon Food Tour

Say your goodbyes to the Caribbean coast, board a boat, and set off on an hour-long cruise to the nearest dock, where a driver will be waiting to transfer you another three hours west to San José. No doubt you'll be hungry after the long journey, so drop your bags at your hotel and join a local guide for a half-day food tour around the city. It begins at Mercado Central, the epicenter for all things culinary. Browse over 200 shops, food stalls, and traditional sodas in this massive municipal market, stopping to sample local herbs and exotic tropical fruits.

After the market, continue walking down Avenida Central, the city's historic heart. As you go, you'll pass landmarks like the Teatro Nacional, a masterpiece of neoclassical architecture that dates to 1897, and the Museo del Oro Precolombino (Pre-Columbian Gold Museum), which holds a vast collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts. At the end of the tour, you'll return to your hotel and rest up for tomorrow's flight.

Day 13: Depart San José 

As the sun rises on your final day in Costa Rica, you might have some free time to see a little more of the capital before it's time to pack your bags and head to the airport for your departing flight. Safe travels!

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