8-Day Touristy
8 Days | 7 Nights - From $1,450 USD* per person
Follow the crowds through the most visited tourist destinations and attractions of Costa Rica! Explore San Jose on a double-decker bus. Hike to the rim of Poas Volcano and chase waterfalls in the Waterfall Gardens or raft the infamous Pacuare River III and IV rapids. Relax on hot springs and cross Lake Arenal to Monteverde. Explore the cloud forest above and below: TreeTop Walk on the hanging bridges and zip above trees on the longest zip line cable. Stroll the grounds of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Head to Manuel Antonio to relax at the beach and enjoy its National Park and waterfall jump or just sail the shaggy coastline on a Trimaran.
Highlights
- 7-Night Standard Accommodations
- Meals: 3 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 dinner person
- Private Transportation from Destination to Destination & Hotel to Hotel
- Shared Transportation from Arenal to Monteverde
- All Attractions Entrance Fees Included
Activities Included
- Poas Volcano & Waterfall Gardens, or Raft the Pacuare River III & IV Rapids
- Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike
- Zip Line & TreeTop Self-Guided Nature Hike in Monteverde
- Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Walk
- Waterfall Jumping or Sunset Sails Trimaran
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival and Spend the Night in San Jose
Meet your bilingual driver at Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) near San Jose and jump in a private van that will whisk you away on a 30-to-45 minute ride through the central valley to your hotel in San Jose.
Check in your hotel!
Experience the magical sights and sound of San Jose in comfort and safety aboard a double-decker bus and inspire yourself from Costa Rican folk music traditions and performing artists.
Overnight: San Jose
Meals: Dinner
Day 2 - Try your luck looking at Volcanoes or Whitewater Raft the Pacuare River
Choose your level of excitement:
Visit Poas Volcano & Waterfall Gardens
Ascend to Poas Volcano, to the rim of its main water-vapor sulfuric-gas pluming crater, traversing its widest dormant crater feathered with wiry, wind-swept trees, cloud forest, stunted forest and barren scrub lands.
Hidden in the rolling clouds of the cloud forest and the mist of the rain forest, five picturesque waterfalls cascade over the course of La Paz River trimmed with a one-third of a mile hiking trail along gorges and the bottom of a canyon.
Or,
Whitewater Rafting The Pacuare River
The Pacuare River is often considered one of the world's best whitewater rafting destinations, known for its warm waters, dazzling rainforest, colorful wildlife and immense canyon walls. But an excursion down the Pacuare is more than just a rafting trip on class II, III and IV rapids along 18-mile stretch of river, it's a glimpse back through time; a journey that reveals Costa Rica's development from the primordial rainforest to thriving urban centers connected by a series of bridges dating back more than a hundred years.
Bubbling cauldrons of natural minerals from Arenal Volcano revitalize your skin to that silky smooth texture and replenish your energy after a day of adventure.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3 – Cross Lake Arenal to Monteverde & Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Nature Walk
Take in all the views of Arenal Volcano and Cerro Chato as you cross Lake Arenal by boat on your way to Monteverde.
Clouds curl over the continental divide drifting through the forest creating one of the most unique habitats on the face of the earth. Inside the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, three-hundred-year-old trees twist toward the skies, weighed down with layers of bromeliads and moss in a spectacular scene at the heart of every childhood fantasy; one where at every moment you expect a fairy to pop out from a hollowed log.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 4 – Hanging Bridges & Zip Line
Fly like an eagle out across a valley over the rainforest on the Superman cables. Guests line up and wait while the guide straps in the next superhero; giggling with anticipation as he or she soars out of sight.
Try not to think about anything, especially not the bridge gently swaying in the breeze. Thankfully, the guides are there to take pity on you by speedily, strapping you in and dropping your feet (sometimes with a helping hand) before you have the chance to second-guess this misadventure at the 130-foot Mega Tarzan swing.
Zip Line - the longest zip line in Latin America
- 9 regular Zip Line
- 2 Superman Ziplines (which includes the longest zip line in Latin America)
- 1 hammock bridge
- 1 rappel
- 1 Mega Tarzan Swing
Explore the different layers of the rainforest on a treetop loop; a trail meandering 1.5 miles through the cloud forest over eight different suspension bridges ranging from 150 to more than 500 feet long; some reaching heights of 180 feet above the forest floor. Standing on the bridges, you have the opportunity to look inside the canopies of some cloud forest's tallest trees – a unique habitat for thousands of species plants and home to monkeys, coatis, snakes and frogs. The trail is also one of the best places in Monteverde to spot three-wattled bellbirds and the resplendent quetzal: a brilliant turquoise bird with a red breast and a mohawk.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5 - Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Tour
Grab a towel, a pair of binoculars and some hiking shoes and discover Manuel Antonio National Park on a guided nature walk and end it playing in the waves; you'll want to cover as much ground as you can to explore the park's beaches, secondary and primary rainforests, mangroves, marshlands and rocky islands. Manuel Antonio Beach, the park's most popular destination, is a stunning tropical cove featuring white sands, and crystal blue waters.
Meals: None
Day 6 – Waterfall Jumping or Sunset Sails Trimaran
Choose your level of Adventure:
Waterfall Jumping
Take a plunge into the sparkling emerald water pools of the most secluded waterfalls south of Manuel Antonio on this waterfall tour. Climb, jump, slide, swim and float through an amazing world of water, sculptural rocks and rainforest, or simply enjoy the landscape and sound of rushing water.
Sunset Sails Trimaran
Cruise out around Manuel Antonio's shaggy rainforest laden coastlines replete with sandy coves, jagged cliffs and rocky islands searching for marine wildlife, sailing past Espadilla Beach and snorkeling in a cove beside Quepos Point.
Meals: Lunch
Day 7 - Stroll the sands of Espadilla Beach, Check Out Quepos town & Explore Biesanz Cove on Your Own
Traverse the town of Quepos, get caught up in the local flavors by eating at a soda. Hike and climb to Biesanz Beach's hidden cove where the tropical rainforest camouflages its cream-colored sand.
Walk along the waterfront of Espadilla beach with awesome views of the coastline in the afternoon.
Depending on your flight departure time, you may stay in Manuel Antonio and leave the following day or we take you to San Jose at the end of the day.
Meals: None
Day 8 - Rejoice in San Jose & Take Your Private Transfer to the Airport
Enjoy those last few hours of relaxation with a private return transfer to the Juan Santamaria Airport near San Jose for your journey back to the real world.
Meals: None
* Price is for reference only, subject to availability and the confirmation at the time of booking.
All prices are per person (8 years old & above) based on double occupancy in standard rooms & traveling during a year except on Easter Week, the last two weeks of December and first two weeks of January.
Prices do not include airfare, fuel surcharges, airport taxes and fees, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks.
Tours are subject to a two-passenger minimum (or management discretion), weather conditions and age limit. costarica.com reserves the right to suspend a tour based on non-complying conditions and provide an alternative tour.