Nature Tour in Costa Rica
February 14-20, 2009

Annual Escorted Group Tour
Limited to 15 passengers
to ensure best nature viewing
 
See also Nature Tour, April 18-24, 2009

Travel off the beaten path to the Heredia Highlands, Sarapiqui, and Tortuguero on the northern Caribbean coast.  Enjoy the flora and fauna of Costa Rica that make this country the #1 destination worldwide for nature travel. You will have a full-time Costa Rican naturalist guide and U.S. Tour Escort -- our Associate, Dr. Frank Rutowski, a veterinarian with a specialty in tropical birds.

Tour Highlights: 

• Morning Birding Tours
• Poas Volcano
• La Paz Waterfall Gardens: rainforest, Butterfly Garden & Aviary
• La Selva Biological Station
• Choice of a sport activity at Hacienda Pozo Azul: canopy/zipline, white water rafting, horseback riding, mountain biking, or rapelling
• Bat Tour or Night Tour at Tirimbina Reserve
• Nature tours on the secondary canals of Tortuguero National Park
• Tour of Costa Flores Flower Farm
• Handicraft shopping in Moravia
• Dinner & Folk Dance Show

Daily Itinerary:

Day 1: Upon your afternoon arrival in San Jose, you will transfer directly to your lodge in the Heredia Highlands, one hour north of San Jose. We have an orientation session and dinner at Poas Volcano Lodge.

Day 2: We will spend the day in the Heredia Highlands.  First we visit Poas Volcano National Park to view the 1.5 km wide crater, the largest in the world. At La Paz Waterfall Gardens, your naturalist guide will lead a walk to five waterfalls, and through the Butterfly Observatory (largest in the world) and aviary. Next, you transfer north to La Virgen de Sarapiqui near the Nicaraguan border.

Day 3:  In the morning we visit La Selva Biological Station, the premier research facility worldwide of the Organization for Tropical Studies. With our naturalist guide we will explore the flora and fauna of this 1600 hectares lush rainforest.

In the afternoon you can choose a sport activity at Hacienda Pozo Azul: a Canopy Tour on a zipline across the rainforest; mountain biking or horseback riding through the grounds of the hacienda away from traffic; white water rafting (Class I-II or Class III-IV). Also, you can choose to tour the working farm, or visit an archaeological museum and the burial site of the indigenous people who lived in the region centuries ago. 

Day 4  You will travel by motorcoach through the Caribbean lowlands to Caño Blanco for your transfer by boat to Tortuguero on the Northern Caribbean coast. This protected area is only accessible by boat or small plane. You will have a walking tour of Tortuguero Village, the museum and the ocean coastline near your lodge.

Day 5: You will wake up at your rainforest lodge with the sounds of howler monkeys overhead.  Today, you will take a morning and an afternoon boat tour on the secondary canals of Tortuguero National Park where you will search for crocodiles, turtles, birds, sloths, monkeys, and perhaps the rare green macaws. 

Day 6: On your transfer back to San Jose you stop at Costa Flores, formerly the largest commercial flower grower and exporter in the world.  Now, the farm is open to tourists and provides an opportunity to view the abundant flora that thrives there.  You will stop in the town of Moravia to shop for crafts to take home. Your farewell dinner will be at a mountain restaurant with a folk dance show and a magnificent view of the Central Valley.

Day 7:  You transfer to the international airport in San Jose for your flight home.          

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2008 Passenger Comments:  

"What an adventure we had in Costa Rica!!! It is such a beautiful country, with so much wildlife, and the people are so personable. It really is difficult to describe to family and friends what we saw and did. You just have to be there to witness what Mother Nature has created. Costa Rica Tours, Ltd. is to be commended for all your hard work in making this a trip of a lifetime."  Barbara H., RN, (CA)