The Costa Rica Best Destinations & Attractions Vacation Package is ideal for those people who don’t have a lot of vacation time or a large budget. On this itinerary you will visit the 3 most popular and representative touristic destinations of our country; you will basically see everything that is to be seen in Costa Rica: our volcanoes, waterfalls, beaches, rainforests, cloud forests and culture overall. This vacation package also includes the most popular activities that the vast majority of the visitors search for, like zip-lining, hanging bridges hikes, wildlife observation, waterfalls observation, hiking in the rainforest, hot springs, beach time, coffee plantation, etc.
This vacation package has the convenience that you don’t have to pack and unpack when switching destinations because you will stay in a hotel in San Jose which is located in the middle of the country and then will travel every day in the different directions where the tours are done.
On your arrival day, you will be picked up directly from the airport and will be dropped off at your hotel for you to rest and start the adventure on the following day.
On the second day of your vacation, you will be pick up from your hotel to go to Manuel Antonio National Park, a place that features a beautiful contrast of Green-lush Rainforest vegetation and gorgeous white sand beaches. On the way to this National Park, we will do a few stops for you to experience and see the most of our country, our main goal is for you to explore Costa Rica in the best possible way. The first stop we make is at the famous crocodile bridge over the Tarcoles River, a place where we normally observe 20-60 crocodiles, some of them as big as 18 feet (6 meters). Of course, we will be seeing these animals from a safe viewing point up on the bridge and the crocodiles will be 40 feet below (15 meters). The second stop will be done at Tarcoles Beach, where we normally observe Scarlet Macaws in the wild. Scarlet Macaws are the most beautiful birds of Costa Rica, large colorful parrots that fly every day from their home at the Carara National Park to feed at the numerous almond trees down at the coast. The last stop before reaching Manuel Antonio will be done at the Jaco Beach Look-out point, a great spot to take pictures of the beautiful Jaco Bay, the most developed coastal town of Costa Rica.
Once in Manuel Antonio, you will have lunch in a restaurant located up on a 6th floor, from where you will get stunning ocean views and great views of the Rainforest of the National Park from above. After lunch, you will visit Manuel Antonio National Park. It is important to understand that we prefer to visit this National Park in the afternoon to avoid the huge massive crowds that visit the park in the mornings; by entering in the afternoon we will have a better chance of not seeing lots of people and be able to observe the wild animals in a more relaxed way. Here you will hike on the main trail of the park, which is surrounded by lush rainforest vegetation. Seeing wild animals on this trail is very common, such as howler monkeys, white-faced capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, sloths, agoutis, colorful birds, and many others. Once you finish with this hike, you can opt to relax at the beautiful beaches or to continue hiking on other trails of the park to search for more wild animals. The park closes at 4 p.m. and that’s when we start the journey back to your San Jose hotel.
On the third day of your vacation, you will head to the North of the country towards the Monteverde Cloud Forest, another main destination of Costa Rica. On the way to Monteverde, we will also do a few fun stops for you to see more of our country. The first stop will be made at the largest fruit stand of Costa Rica, where you will learn about the numerous tropical fruits that we have here. The second stop is done at a house in a regular Costa Rican neighborhood, where there is a lady who has the ability to call wild white-faced capuchin monkeys to come to her backyard. These monkeys are very playful and they put up quite a show for the visitors, many participants of this tour have told us that this was the highlight of the trip. It is important to understand that these are wild monkeys and there is a possibility that they could not be there on a certain day. The third stop on the way to Monteverde will be done for you to take pictures of the beautiful mountain landscape, as well as the Gulf of Nicoya which can be observed on clear days. Once in Monteverde, you will have lunch and then will proceed to do the hanging bridges hike in the Cloud Forest. On this hike you will have the opportunity to observe the jungles from the bottom and from the top when you are on the numerous bridges. This hike is normally completed in 2.5-3 hours and here you will have the chance to observe more of the Wildlife of Costa Rica. After the hike you will enjoy the hummingbird gallery, in our opinion the best one in Costa Rica. At the end of all these activities, we will head back to your San Jose Hotel.
On the fourth day of your vacation, you will do our most popular excursion: The Arenal Volcano Mega Combo tour. This is the tour where you will be able to see the most of what Costa Rica has to offer in a single day. After being picked up in the morning from your hotel you will head to the road that goes in between Poas and Barva Volcanoes, from where you will get views of these 2 beautiful mountains. We call this road the “scenic route to Arenal” because is far more picturesque than the regular highway that goes from San Jose to Arenal and that doesn’t offer the same great views. Continuing with your trip you will stop in a coffee plantation on the foothills of Poas Volcano, where your guide will show you the coffee plants and will explain about the history of coffee in Costa Rica; the way we plant it, the way we harvest it and the way we process it. The following stop will be made at the famous “La Paz Waterfall”, where you will have the chance to take great pictures up close of this beautiful waterfall. Further ahead you will visit the San Fernando Waterfall look-out point, where you will be able to take pictures, but will also have the chance to admire their bird’s observatory, which normally has many colorful tropical species. The following stop will be made at the iguana bridge, a place where you will have the chance to observe lots of these rainforest animals at eye level; this is one of the main attractions of this part of the country. Once in Arenal, you will have lunch in a restaurant that provides great views of the volcano on clear days. After lunch you will do zip lining in the rainforests of the beautiful Arenal River Canyon, a 9 adventure cables-course that will test your adrenaline; on this tour, there are also good chances of seeing some of the local fauna. At the end of the last cable, you will have the chance to test your adrenaline even more on a 150 feet high rappel line (50 meters), which is done over the Arenal River. This activity can be skipped if you don’t feel like doing it. Continuing with this full day of activities you will participate in a short indigenous tribe presentation performed by some members of a local tribe called the “Malekus”; on this presentation, you will learn about their traditions and culture overall. To end this day in a perfect way, you will relax in the thermal waters of Paradise Hot Springs and gardens, located at the base of Arenal Volcano. Here you will spend a couple of hours relaxing your muscles before returning to San Jose; dinner will be served on the way to your hotel.
On the 5th day of your vacation, you will be taken to the San Jose International Airport for your returning flight, after having lots of fun during your 3 days touring in Costa Rica!
Itinerary
Day 1