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Learn about horticulture while enjoying exotic gardens in Costa Rica, the #1 destination worldwide for nature travel. See many of their 10,000 plants while also experiencing the charm of Tico culture. Costa Rica Tours, Ltd.'s commitment to providing you with the best travel experience has resulted in a tour which takes you off the usual tourist path in a small group of like-minded travelers. Our full-time Costa Rican naturalist guide helps insure we never miss a thing, whether on a planned stop or in a chance roadside encounter. TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Day 1: Upon your arrival in Costa Rica, you will be greeted at the airport and transferred to your beautiful art lodge in the western suburbs of San Jose. In the evening, you will have a welcome cocktail, dinner and tour orientation. Day 2: Your day will begin with an informative motor coach tour of San Jose with stops at the National Museum and the Jade Museum, which has the best collection of Pre-Columbian ceramics in Central America. After lunch at the Nuestra Tierra Restaurant we will spend the afternoon at the annual National Orchid Show or a plant nursery and residential gardens. In the evening you go to La Tiquicia Restaurant where you will see a folk dance show and have a typical Costa Rican dinner. Day 3: You travel to Cartago, the first capital of Costa Rica, to visit the Basilica de Los Angeles and catch the Saturday market, full of exotic tropical vegetables and fruits. Your lunch will be at a restaurant with a spectacular view of the Orosi Valley. Next, on to Lankester Gardens, known for its orchid collection and tropical plants. At the end of the day, relax at your mountain lodge with a beautiful view of the countryside. Day 4: We will tour the beautiful Tayutic Hacienda of the Ortuño Family where they grow organic sugarcane, coffee and macadamia nuts. The tour offers a good inside view of how these products are processed, and will help you to understand their historical importance for Costa Rica. On the farm you can see a little church built in the beginning of the 20th Century and beautiful gardens. In the afternoon, you visit CATIE (Center for Tropical Agriculture Research and Education). You will see tropical fruits that you probably have never seen before. CATIE’s Botanical Garden serves to enrich genetic diversity and help scientists, students and the public in general to become more aware of the importance of protecting our natural resources that provide us medicines, food, and the enjoyment of nature. After dinner at your lodge, you will see a demonstration of how chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao fruit. Day 5: Today you take a scenic trip from Turrialba, through the Heredia Highlands, and on to Arenal in the San Carlos Lowlands. Along the way you visit La Paz Waterfall Gardens where your naturalist guide will lead a walk to five waterfalls and through the aviary and the largest butterfly observatory in the world. Day 6: In the morning you join your naturalist guide on a rainforest hike on trails and multiple suspension bridges at Arenal Hanging Bridges. At lunchtime you can visit the nearby town of La Fortuna where you can have lunch and stroll the streets window shopping or more! Alternatively, you can relax at your hotel pool, or take an optional Canopy / Zipline Tour or optional spa treatments. In the late afternoon, you will visit Tabacon Hot Springs, enjoying the thermal waters and a buffet dinner while perhaps catching the sight of the smoldering Arenal Volcano and its lava flow. Day 7: On your transfer back to San Jose, you will see the topiary of the church in Zarcero and the Else Kientzler Botanical Garden known for its ornamental plants. You will also stop in Sarchi, a mountain town famous for its range of Costa Rican crafts, including painted ox carts of various sizes and carved leather rockers. Your farewell dinner will be at your colonial-style villa in the outskirts of San Jose. Day 8: You are transferred to the airport for your flight home. Cost: $1960 per person, double occupancy (add $375 for single occupancy). Includes 18 meals, 7 hotel nights, airport transfers and group transportation, full-time Costa Rican naturalist guide, driver with motorcoach, and U.S. Tour Escort. International airfare and airport exit tax (currently $26) are not included. What
passengers have said about their Garden Tour... "I thought the trip was terrific. A friend of mine said before I left that I would fall in love with the country. Was he ever right! I have never had so much fun learning new things and seeing new places. Being a lifelong plantsman and insect fancier I couldn't get enough of either. It was the best tour I've gone on. I have traveled a lot, but this was the first in Latin America. It has spoiled me for other tours." Phil P, Master Gardener/PA in 2007
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2008 Tour Photos
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