14 days from £1,626Travel with us to this small, breathtakingly beautiful country, a treasure trove for the nature-lover with a multitude of national parks, and rich and fertile landscapes. You’ll visit active volcanoes and lodge in mountain cloud forest, home to vivid bird-life, and boat through lowland tropical jungle on the Caribbean coast. On the Pacific coast, your hotel sits beside jungle creeping down to the shoreline, which is enlivened by the chattering of monkeys and parrots.
Suggested holiday itinerary (flexible)
Day 1 Depart from the UK, arriving at the capital San José same evening. Transfer to hotel in a quiet area of the city.
Day 2 Optional excursion through lush coffee plantations to visit the active Poás Volcano; or try one of our river rafting trips.
Day 3 Drive through hazy cloud forest via Braulio Carrillo National Park to the Caribbean coast, then by riverboat for 3-4hrs to the wildlife reserve at Tortuguero, inaccessible by road.
Day 4 Explore Tortuguero by boat.
Day 5 Return by air (30mins), or by road, to San José and drive on to Monteverde.
Day 6 Explore the well-laid trails through the cloud forest with expert guides.
Days 7,8 Continue to Arenal where startling red lava can be seen flowing from the almost perfect cone.
Days 9-11 It’s a 4-hour drive to the dramatic Pacific coast at Manuel Antonio. Spend 3 nights at a hotel close to the sweeping sandy beach and jungle-filled national park.
Day 12 Return to San José by light aircraft.
Day 13 Fly to the UK, arriving day 14.
Our Comment
"I know Costa Rica is well known for its wildlife, but I hadn’t anticipated just quite how much of it I’d see! The 5-hour bus ride from San Jose to Monteverde felt more like an excursion as we came across snakes, motmots, kingfishers, and two and three-toed sloths, but my favourite part of the trip was the stay in Tortuguero – watching hundreds of leatherback turtles arriving in the middle of the night to lay their eggs was an experience I’ll never forget."
Laura Rendell-Dunn, Press and Marketing Executive
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|  Resplendent quetzal
 Monteverde Lodge
 Tortuga Lodge
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