Costa Rica: Exploring a Natural Paradise

We meet in the late afternoon at San José airport. A short road transfer takes us to our 4-star hotel, set in lush tropical gardens with a wide range of native Costa Rican trees and flowers with attendant hummingbirds. There is time for an introductory drink (guaro, made from local sugarcane, with a fresh tropical juice) before dinner.

After a leisurely start and a bird watching stroll in the gardens, we set off for the capital, San José, to see the wonderful collections of the Jade Museum before taking the Pan-American Highway south and then up 2,200 m on the Pacific slope of the Talamanca mountains. We walk on the paramo (sub-Alpine) zone above the tree line - excellent for hummingbirds and rarities including the elusive Volcano Junco - before descending into the Savegre valley and our comfortable eco-lodge.

A morning’s birdwatching walk beside the river introduces specialities such as White-throated mountain gem, Spangle-cheeked tanager and Torrent tyrannulet. We also visit the charming Batsu Gardens. The photographic opportunities are excellent at our local lunch spot – fresh grilled trout accompanied by Acorn woodpeckers and Summer tanagers!

Savegre is considered one of the best locations in Costa Rica for resplendent quetzals, whose preferred food is the fruit of the wild avocado tree and we are up very early this morning to walk in search of them. A hearty Costa Rican breakfast is our reward. A scenic drive through the mountains of the Braulio Carrillo National Park brings us to Sarapiqui, where we visit a private nature reserve offering exceptional views of birds, including owls and Montezuma oropendolas. Our hacienda tonight has a small pool and a good restaurant.

We are awake early (howler monkeys are aptly named!) and embark on a morning’s inflatable raft ride on the Sarapiqui river. There are excellent views of tiger herons, snowy egrets and kingfishers as we alternately paddle and float gently down the river. After lunch in Puerto Viejo, we have a guided walk on a cacao estate, including an extensive chocolate tasting, and keep an eye out for sloths and the stunning keel-billed toucan in the treetops.

We drive north, pausing en route for coffee and iguana watching, to the Caño Negro National Refuge, close to the Nicaraguan border. During the dry season (Dec – April) the Rio Frio dries up, leaving waterholes and marshes where huge numbers of birds congregate, including kingfishers, herons, ibises, the enormous Jabiru stork and the secretive Sungrebe. We spend the afternoon exploring by boat, then settle into our comfortable lodge.

An early morning boat trip reveals sloths and monkeys in the trees along the river, anhingas and herons perched on overhanging branches, and caimans, basilisk lizards and neotropical otters on the muddy banks. The photographic opportunities are excellent. We have a free afternoon to relax at the lodge whose facilities include a pool before another boat trip in search of potoo, fishing bats and owls.

Driving south through farmland, we stop to visit an historic estate where we have a lesson in making tortillas by hand and witness a traditional ox-powered trapiche (sugar cane mill) in action, followed by an estate lunch and some home-produced rum! Reaching the Arenal highlands area, we settle into our first-class hotel and walk on the forest trails, learning about the Arenal volcano’s geology from our expert guide.

We take a gondola ride with close-up views of all the birds and mammals that live high in the forest canopy. Birds of prey such as vultures, swallow-tailed kites and broad-winged hawks soar above us and we search for epiphytic orchids as we walk down through the forest. We cross Arenal lake by private boat, then have a scenic drive down from the Continental Divide and through lovely open ranch country to La Ensenada Wildlife Refuge. A swim with magnificent sunset views over the Gulf of Nicoya precedes dinner in the open-sided thatched restaurant.

Early this morning (tide dependent) we travel by boat into the extensive coastal mangroves, home to Roseate spoonbills, Royal terns, black Skimmers, mangrove vireos, ospreys, Mantled howler monkeys and Crab-eating foxes. After a swim and a siesta, we walk and birdwatch in dry forest and on the saltpans close to the hacienda, hoping for three-wattled bellbirds, flocks of N. American waders, king vultures and parrots.

A private boat trip takes us on a morning’s ride down the gulf to land on the Nicoya peninsula. After lunch in a fishing village, we drive to our beachfront boutique hotel for 3 nights. We have free time to walk and swim on the beautiful private beach, indulge in the spa, swim in the pool or just relax by the pool, with a cocktail to hand.

Following a short drive, we have a guided walking tour of the Curú Nature reserve, excellent for watching white-faced capuchin and howler monkeys and spectacular birds such as the blue-crowned motmot and scarlet macaw. We board a private boat for a trip along the coast, where spotted eagle rays occur, then continue to offshore islands and deserted beaches for swimming and snorkelling opportunities.

This morning, we take a half day sea kayak tour, visiting pristine beaches and swimming or perhaps (wind/tide dependent) visiting Isla Nancital to see spider monkeys. Our final afternoon on the Pacific coast is left free before dinner by candlelight, overlooking the ocean and accompanied by the musical calls of tropical tree frogs and the sound of the surf.

A local ferry trip takes us across the gulf back to the mainland, looking out for dolphins, brown pelicans and magnificent frigatebirds en route. We travel by road to San José (2.5 hrs). There are opportunities to shop for local woodcarvings, textiles and hammocks before settling into our 4-star hotel, with individual luxury villas set in 40 acres of tropical gardens high in the hills of the Central Valley. Our farewell dinner of organic estate produce is accompanied, as always on the tour, by excellent South American wines.

After a leisurely morning enjoying the walking trails in the hotel gardens, the spa or one of the 4 swimming pools and hot tubs set amongst the tropical flowers, we transfer to the airport for late afternoon flights home.

Please note that the single room supplement is imposed by the hotels and not by Kudu Travel. We shall endeavour to obtain double rooms for single occupancy whenever possible.

• Accommodation for Days 1 through 15, on a twin shared basis
• Meals with local beer/soft drinks at lunch and wine at dinner, as listed
• Land transportation in private air-conditioned vehicles (plus jeeps) as described
• Arenal gondola trip and canopy bridge walk as described
• Trips on watercraft as described
• Ferry tickets for crossing the Gulf of Nicoya
• Snorkelling and sea kayaking trips as described
• All entrance, National Park and sightseeing fees except during free periods
• Services of an English-speaking local naturalist guide and a driver throughout (plus a Kudu tour leader)
• Services of specialist guides in National Parks and reserves
• Tips for porters, driver, restaurant and hotel staff (appreciation for tour leaders is entirely at your discretion)

• Flights to and from San José
• Trip cancellation, medical or other insurance
• Immunisations, prescriptions or other medical requirements
• Passport, visa and health documentation
• Personal expenses (laundry, alcohol besides beer & wine with group meals, free time activities, etc.)
• Meals noted as excepted in the daily notation
• Transport and transfer of excess baggage
• Costa Rica departure tax, if any

On Kudu trips, you will only need money for postcards, presents to take home, the odd G & T or an irresistible ice cream. Festival and opera tickets, museum and gallery entrances, National Park fees, all meals (with a very few exceptions specified in individual itineraries), wine with lunch and dinner, access to specialist books carried by the guides, gratuities for porters and hotel and restaurant staff, boat rides, train trips, internal flights, wine tastings, 4WDs with drivers, the services of skilled local guides and trackers etc are ALL INCLUDED in the cost of your holiday. 

We are confident that, like previous very satisfied guests, you will discover that our tours give you excellent value for money.

• 1 night in San Jose, in a 4-star hotel set in lush tropical gardens with a wide range of native Costa Rican trees and flowers
  
• 2 nights in a comfortable eco-lodge in Savegre valley
• 2 nights in Sarapiqui, in a hacienda with a small pool and a good restaurant
• 2 nights in the Caño Negro Natural Reserve, in a comfortable air-conditioned lodge with a pool
• 1 night near the Arenal Volcano, in a first-class hotel
• 2 nights in a simple, comfortable hacienda in La Ensenada Wildlife Refuge
• 3 nights on the Nicoya peninsula, in a beachfront boutique hotel
• 1 night in a 4-star hotel, with individual luxury villas set in 40 acres of tropical gardens, high in the hills of the Central Valley

Visitors from the EU, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand currently require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to Costa Rica. If you are a national of any other country, please check visa regulations with your nearest Embassy of Costa Rica.

A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is not required when arriving from Europe or the USA. Immunisation/boosters against Hepatitis A, Tetanus, Typhoid and Polio are usually recommended. Please consult your doctor in good time (at least 6 weeks before departure) about this and anything else they recommend. You may also wish to check the advice given to travellers by the Department of Health and the FCO.

This trip will run with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 14 guests.