DAY 1
D included
We meet in the late afternoon at San José airport. An hour’s road transfer takes us to our 4 star hotel, set in tropical gardens featuring a wide range of native Costa Rican trees and flowers with attendant hummingbirds. As with all our accommodations, this hotel is privately owned and operated with the attendant high standards of service and supervision.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
A short drive takes us to a well-regarded wildlife centre dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured animals. We learn about the re-introduction school with its grades and classes. We meet at close hand the sanctuary residents ranging from toucans, owls and parrots to sloths, monkeys and wild cats. The afternoon is free to stroll in the lush hotel gardens or visit the spa and pool area, enabling guests to shake off the rigours of the British winter.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
We see the well-presented collections of the Jade Museum and walk through downtown San José to the 19th century National Theatre. We take the Pan-American Highway south, heading for the 3,000 m Pacific slope of the Talamanca mountains and later descend into the remote Savegre valley and our serene eco-lodge. At dinner, we sample grilled trout and the lodge’s hydroponic farm produce.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
A morning’s birdwatching walk in the forest and beside the river introduces high altitude specialities such as the White-throated Mountain gem, Sooty Thrush and Torrent tyrannulet. Our riverside lunch is bound to feature locally grown avocados and it may be accompanied by observations of Acorn woodpeckers and Collared Redstarts! More opportunities for close up photography await us in the charming Batsu Gardens where hummingbirds and tanagers pose for our view.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
Savegre valley is considered one of the best locations in Costa Rica for resplendent quetzals, whose preferred food is the fruit of the wild avocado tree. We are up early this morning to walk in search of them with local guides training their experienced eyes on the lush forest and rising hills. A hearty Costa Rican breakfast is our reward. A scenic drive through the mountains of the Braulio Carrillo National Park brings us to Sarapiqui, our home for the next two nights.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
We are awake early (howler monkeys are aptly named!) and embark on a morning’s raft ride on the Sarapiqui river. We have fleeting views of tiger herons, snowy egrets and kingfishers as we alternately paddle and float gently down the river while fishermen seek local fish and children dangle from ropes overhanging the gently flowing river. In the afternoon, 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.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
We drive north, pausing en route for ice cream and iguana watching, to the Caño Negro National Refuge, close to the Nicaraguan border. During the dry season (Dec – April) the Rio Frio (literally the cold river) 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, after settling into our comfortable lodge with spider monkeys as company and resplendent oropendolas on display.
DAY 8
B, L, D included
An early morning boat trip, in a different area of the nature reserve, 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 multiple. We have a free afternoon to relax at the lodge before a walk through the surrounding farmland ending at a rustic bar with great views.
DAY 9
B, L, D included
Driving through pastures and alternating fields of pineapple, sugar cane and cassava, we stop to visit a small organic farm and learn about their traditional sustainable production techniques. We have lessons in sugar cane juice extraction in a trapiche and try our hand at making tortillas, before enjoying a fire cooked lunch. Reaching the Arenal volcano area, we take an aerial tram ride with close-up views of the forest canopy and the great lake below.
DAY 10
B, L, D included
Setting off on foot from our first class hotel, the only lodge within the Arenal national park, we walk (2.5 hrs) on forest trails and tracks, learning about the Arenal volcano’s geology. In the afternoon, we have a scenic drive (3.5 hrs) along the lake shore, down from the Continental Divide and across the impressive Friendship Bridge, from which hangs a tale of betrayal and money. Our exclusive accommodation is on a working estancia in a private nature reserve on the banks of the Tempisque river, bordering the Palo Verde National Park.
DAY 11
B, L, D included
In the morning, we travel by boat in the meandering Tempisque river, scanning the mangrove on the riverbanks for crocodiles, iguanas, howler monkeys, ospreys and kingfishers. Our expert boatman and our specialist guide train their eyes on the banks of this tidal river while we relax in our covered boat. After a swim in a swimming pool and a siesta, we walk and birdwatch in the dry forest with an early evening sunset view.
DAY 12
B, L, D included
Heading for southern Nicoya peninsula, we visit the charming 17th century Church of San Blas, the oldest church in Costa Rica and close associations with English towns and churches, and enjoy a seafood lunch, looking out on the Gulf of Nicoya, en route to our beachfront hotel, our exclusive home for the next 3 nights. We have free time to walk in the hotel grounds, paddle on the wild beach watching pelicans passing in formations or just relax by the pool, with a cocktail to hand.
DAY 13
B, L, D included
An hour’s drive takes us to the southern tip of the Nicoya peninsula. At low tide, we walk across the natural bridge to the atmospheric Cabuya Island Cemetery whither locals still carry their dear departed by moonlight, it is said. In the nearby Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, we walk a short trail through a unique combination of evergreens and deciduous trees in the transition zone between tropical dry and rainforest.
DAY 14
B, L, D included
Following a short drive, we have a guided walking tour of the Curú Nature reserve, ideal for watching White-faced capuchin monkeys and spectacular birds such as the Blue-crowned motmot and Scarlet macaw. We board a small boat for a trip to a rocky islet with snorkelling opportunities en route, before continuing to a nearby island for our lunch on a white sand beach, popular with the locals.
DAY 15
B, L included
A morning ferry (1.5 hrs) brings us across the Gulf back to the mainland, as we look out for dolphins, brown pelicans and magnificent frigatebirds en route. We continue by road, stopping in a tree-shaded coffee plantation to learn about the golden grain’s journey from red coffee cherry to roasted brew. Our tour concludes with a transfer to the airport for late afternoon flights home.
