Day 1

La Fortuna

WELCOME TO COSTA RICA

Arrival at the San Jose Airport. When you leave the customs area, you will be met by our driver. Later you’ll be transported by deluxe Van to the beautiful town of La Fortuna where the majestic Arenal Volcano is located.  

Note: the duration for this trip is about 2 and a half hours, and you are free to ask the driver to make as many stops as you like on the route to La Fortuna.

Upon your arrival, you will check in at the Arenal Paraiso Resort where you will have a comfortable “Superior room” with two queen size beds, bathroom with hot water and a hair dryer, air conditioning, Cable TV, refrigerator, safety box, phone line, and free wi-fi internet.

The hotel also offers awesome views of the Volcano, a large outdoor pool with wet bar, and its own Hot Springs complex. There are acres of tropical gardens, two restaurants, a fully equipped massage parlor and a spa, a large conference center, a souvenirs shop, and more.

After your check-in, the rest of the day is at your leisure for relaxing and make use of the hotel’s amenities.

The dinner for this night is on your own at any of the restaurants in the hotel.

Day 2

La Fortuna

(B, L, D)

After breakfast, you will join a rafting tour on the rapids class II, III and IV of the Balsa River.

We’ll drive for about 60 minutes from the Arenal Paraiso Resort to the embarking place.  Here your guides will explain the safety procedures and safety equipment before embarking down the river.  You will enjoy up to 2 exhilarating hours of white water action on this beautiful tropical river, get wet through rapids such as the "Magnetic Rock" and the "Dredges", enjoy a swim in the river’s natural pools, plus some fresh tropical fruits and cold drinks and a succulent Costa Rican style  lunch will be served at the end of tour.

Pick-up time for this tour is at 10:05 am from the lobby of the hotel. The estimated return time at the hotel is 4:30 pm, with the rest of the day at your leisure.

What to bring for this tour: Sun lotion, comfortable clothing, tennis shoes or velcro sandals, an extra set of clothing and a towel.

The dinner for this day served at the restaurant of the hotel is included.

Day 3

La Fortuna

(B, L, D)

After breakfast, you will join the following activities on the beautiful Lake Arenal – the largest artificial lake in Central America:

Fly boarding experience

You will fly over 32 feet (10 meters) above the water, swimming like a dolphin, or competing with your friends over who can stay up the longest.

The flyboard is a device which you attach to your feet and works with water propulsion provided from a sports watercraft that elevates you above the water.

After you complete a 10 minute instruction class, you will be ready to enjoy 25 minutes of a pure adrenaline flyboarding experience.  The propulsion is controlled by the tour operator’s staff on a sports watercraft in case you are drifting off.

Safety equipment will be provided, including a helmet and a life vest. Additionally the Flyboard device is very comfortable and easy to learn how to use.

Tour restrictions:

* The Flyers must weigh in between 45kg to 120kg

* The Flyers must know how to swim.

Lake Kayaking

We encourage you to enjoy this beautiful lake in your own way. Paddle leisurely along the shoreline enjoying the scenery, drop a fishing line in, or put some effort into it for a good workout. You can catch one of ten species of fish.  Throughout the tour, you will probably see howler monkeys along the shore, and many of the over 400 species of birds.  You will explore coves, lagoons, river outlets, and enjoy amazing views of the Arenal volcano.

A delicious Costa Rican style lunch is included at the end of this tour.

The pick-up time from the hotel’s lobby is at 9:45am. The estimated return time is at 4:45 pm.

What to bring for tours: comfortable clothing and shoes, sun lotion, sun glasses, towel, binoculars, and camera.

The dinner for this night is included.

Day 4

Monteverde

(B, L, D)

At 8:15 am, after breakfast, you will be transported by van to the border of Lake Arenal to take a covered boat that for about 2 and half hours will cross the lake from border to border.  Beautiful panoramic views of the lake and the Arenal volcano are here for your enjoyment. After crossing the lake by boat, you will go by van to beautiful town of Monteverde.But firstly we’ll make a stop in Finca Don Juan located on the route to Monteverde, for a guided coffee tour.

Here you will learn about the ancient farming techniques used to produce one of the bestGourmet coffees in the world. Youwill see the whole process involved in the cultivation, harvesting and roastingof Costa Rica´s Golden CoffeeBean.  And you are even invited to collect coffee beans off the plants with the staff of the farm. The tour in FincaDon Juan includes entrance to the park, a guided tour in the coffee plantations, free personal consumption of gourmet coffee, and coffee based liquors and chocolates made from the coffee beans, and lunch. The duration of this tour is about 60 minutes.

On your arrival, you will check in at Hotel El Establo in a comfortable "deluxe room" with two queen size beds, private bathroom with hot water, tub and hair dryer, cable TV, coffee maker, mini fridge, phone line, alarm clock, safety box, and a balcony or terrace offering nice views of the Cloud Forest and hotel's  gardens.  The room does not offer air conditioning because the weather in Monteverde is normally very fresh in the daytime and cool at night, so bring a sweater or light jacket.

The hotel also has indoor swimming pools with temperate water, a private preserve with beautiful natural trails and look-out points offering amazing views of the Gulf of Nicoya, two fine restaurants, a lounge bar and cafeteria. There is also a tennis court, a nice Canopy tour offering hanging bridges, a tarzan swing and rappel wall.  A Gym, and fully equipped Spa, is within the property, and more. 

After checking in, the rest of the day is at your leisure for relaxing and make use of the hotel amenities.

Also included for this day is a guided nightly tour in the hotel’s private preserve to watch the abundant cloud forest wildlife that is mostly active at night including raccons, sloths, armadillos, olingos, kinkajous, gray haired foxes, a great variety of frogs and insects, and more.

This tours start at 5:40 pm from the hotel’s lobby.

What to bring for tour: comfortable clothing and shoes, insect repellent, binoculars, and camera.

A buffet dinner for this day is included at any of the restaurants in the hotel.

Day 5

Monteverde

(B, L, D)

At 7:45 am, after breakfast, you’ll join a full day of adventure in the area of Monteverde.

The activities included for this day are:

Zip lining, Bungee jumping from the tallest platform in Central America, a Tarzan Swing, Superman Fly, and a 2 hour ride in a shared buggy for the rural roads and trails of Monteverde .

All the safety equipment, professional tour guides, and lunch are included in this tour.

What to bring for this tour: comfortable clothing and shoes, sun lotion, sun glasses, and camera.

Back in the hotel, about 5 pm, you’ll have the rest of the day at your leisure.

A buffet dinner for this day at any of the hotel restaurants is included.

Day 6

Uvita beach

(B, D)

After breakfast, you will be transported by shuttle to Uvita beach on the Costa Rican Pacific Coast for a stay of 3 nights in the middle of the rainforest but a short drive to the beach.

(The duration of this trip is 5 hours departing at 8:15 am from the lobby of Hotel El Establo)

On your arrival, you will check-in at the boutique “Vista Ballena Hotel & Wellness Resort”. Here you will have accommodations in a superior room featuring two double size beds, a bathroom with hot water and hair dryer, air conditioning, refrigerator and mini bar, cable tv and free wi-fi internet access, and a balcony offering amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, the famous Uvita’s whale tail, the local wildlife and the stunning sunsets. 
 
Also included in your Stay at Hotel Vista Ballena are a daily Costa Rican style breakfast, and three a la carte dinners served in the hotel’s gourmet restaurant, and complimentary yoga and meditation classes every morning.
 
The hotel also offers the following amenities:  a nice outdoor two-tier pool, lush tropical gardens which are visited daily by a wide array of birds and other local wildlife, a gourmet international cuisine restaurant, a lounge bar next to the pool, a Yoga and meditation center, professional massage service, and a boutique store which offers active and swimwear, fine jewelry, and personal care products manufactured by local and international artists.

After check-in, the rest of the day is at your leisure for relaxing and to make use of the hotel amenities. The dinner is included for this night . 

Day 7

Uvita beach

(B, D)

After breakfast, you will have the rest of the day at the hotel for relaxing and to enjoy the hotel amenities.

You are also invited to join the Yoga and meditation class that the hotel organizes daily at the Yoga Center – starting at 9 am.

Our driver will be available to take you to the main beach of Uvita or the main entrance of Marino Ballena National Park, and bring you back to the hotel at the time of your convenience – free of charge.  You only have to let us know the time you want to be picked at the hotel.

The lunch for this day is on your own, but the dinner for this night served at the hotel restaurant is included.

Day 8

Uvita beach

(B, D)

For this day, we have included a whale and dolphin watching tour – which is a “must do” tour if you are visiting UVITA.

We’ll visit the famous Punta Uvita Whale’s Tail landmark, the Ballena Island, the Tres Hermanas (Three sisters) Islets and the Ventanas Sea caves.  During this tour we search for Humpback Whales (seasonally) and two different species of resident dolphins. When granted the opportunity, you might see and hear the song of the Humpback Whales and or observe the acrobatic displays of the dolphins making this trip the  best whale watching tour in Costa Rica. Other species that are seen occasionally during this tour are:  Bryde’s Whales, Pilot whales, False Killer whales and Whales sharks.

We also visit the coral and rock reefs to snorkel and observe the wonderful marine wildlife of the Marino Ballena National Park. While cruising in the boat you can enjoy the scenic beauty of the coast line of Costa Ballena and observe the diversity of shore and pelagic birds nesting in the Islets of the park. Later we’ll visit Ventanas beach where you can observe wonderful rocky formations and the amazing caverns that were carved out by the ocean and tectonic movements over thousands of years. 
 
The humpback whales visit the waters of Costa Rica and the Marino Ballena National Park between mid-July and late October (Southern Humpback Whales), and again in mid December through late March (Northern Humpback Whales) as they  migrate to and from feeding and mating grounds. 
 
This tour includes transportation, snorkeling equipment, bottled water, fruits, professional naturalist guide, and park entrance fee.

The pick-up time for this tour is at 12:55 pm from the lobby of the hotel, and the estimated return time is at 6 pm.

Breakfast and dinner at the hotel are included for this day, however the lunch is on your own.

You are also invited to join the Yoga class that the hotel organizes daily at the Yoga Center – starting at 9 am.

Day 9

Return Home

(B)

The breakfast is included for this day.

At your convenience, you’ll be transported by deluxe van to the San Jose airport for your return flight  (This trip has a duration of 4 hours)