Tortuguero & Tropical Forests - 7 days / 6 nights
Accommodations
This lovely lodge has 26 comfortable rooms, all are spacious, with comfortable beds, private bathrooms, hot water, and ceiling fans, swimming pool. The property has an excellent restaurant and bar services and offer bilingual guided tours in the area.
The Observatory Lodge is just 1.8 kilometers across a deep valley from the active crater of Arenal Volcano. The location was specifically chosen by the Smithsonian Institute. Adjacent to Arenal Volcano National Park, the site contains 270 acres of primary rain forest with well-marked trails. 
The Fonda Vela is dedicated to the idea of eco-tourism in harmony with nature, The Latin root Fonda means a place of rest or nourishment after a long journey. Vela, or candle, for us represents service and hospitality. To this we add a peaceful atmosphere that is sensitive to the local environment. Tours
Tortuguero National Park --one of the most varied within the park system--has 11 ecological habitats, from high rainforest to herbaceous marsh communities. Fronting the sea is the seemingly endless expanse of beach. Behind that is a narrow lagoon, connected to the sea at one end and fed by a river at the other, 
A visit to Arenal Hanging Bridges consists of traversing 15 bridges from 5 to 100 meters long that cross the rain forest and a 3 km circuit of interpretive trails built with paving blocks to prevent slipping.
The Monteverde Trapiche tour is run by a local family who tries to teach a little more about Costa Rica culture and even though the name of the tour means sugar mill process the tour also demonstrates how coffee is produced and you will learn about other crops grown on the farm.
In Newsweek's 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, Monteverde appears as the Americas' #14. It has also been deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica by popular vote, and has been called by National Geographic "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest reserves".
Rates
| Dates | Until Nov 30 / 2011 |
Dec 1 - Nov 30 / 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Rates | $1,547.00 | $1,280.00 |
| CentralAmerica.Com's SPECIAL |
$1,457.00 | $1,180.00 |
| Single supplement | $282.00 | $311.00 |
| Children (3-11 yrs) | $513.00 | $434.00 |
For package price with discount airfare use Package Quote Form.
Please read the normal Terms and Conditions
Itinerary
Day 1: ARRIVE - San José Airport ‘Meet & Greet’ and transfer to selected San José hotel for overnight.
Day 2-3: TORTUGUERO - Start your journey to Tortuguero National Park in the northeastern lowlands. With its abundant wildlife Tortuguero is one of the best areas in Costa Rica for viewing wild animals! You will have the chance to see everything from a variety of bird species; howling, white-faced, and spider monkeys; sloths; crocodiles; iguanas, basilisk lizards and more from the comfort of your boat. During July to September, green sea turtles come ashore at night to nest on the beach. Overnight at Evergreen Lodge (2 nights) or similar. (2B,2L,2D)
Day 4: COCORA GARDENS - ARENAL VOLCANO - Flight back to San Jose. On the way to Arenal Volcano stop en route at the community’s agriculture town market of San Ramon. This market offers a variety of tropical fruits and vegetables, including some that are rarely seen outside the tropics.
You will continue on with a visit to the Cocora Private hummingbird and butterfly gardens. Cocora is located in the cloud forest belt at 3000 feet elevation and offers the visitor attractive tropical plants and colorful butterflies and hummingbirds.
After a traditional lunch at Doña Rosa´s house, you will continue on to your Arenal area hotel, travelling in the north central lowlands of Costa Rica among farmlands of tropical crops and cattle ranches. (L)
Overnight at the Arenal Observatory Lodge (1 night) or similar. (B)
Day 5 - 6: ARENAL HANGING BRIDGES - MONTEVERDE -Today in the morning you will visit the Arenal Hanging Bridges. This is a complex of suspended bridges and trails through a beautiful rain forest. As you walk through the forest, you may encounter a variety of the forest wildlife, including toucans, motmots, trogons, poison dart frogs, howling monkeys, spider monkeys and white-faced capuchin monkeys.
After your rainforest bridges walk, you will travel up into the mountains on your way to the world-famousMonteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. A place that has been intensely studied by scientists since its founding in 1972, and is the site of important pioneering research on the effects of climate change in tropical ecosystems. Outside the reserve the most important farm products around are organic coffee and milk for the local Cheese Factory. The factory has been producing a variety of high-quality cheeses in Costa Rica since shortly after Quakers from the United States settled the area in 1950’s. Near and around the community centers, a large selection of restaurants, and other visitor attractions are found, such as butterfly gardens, horse rentals, treetop forest canopy tours, an orchid garden, art galleries, and a bat exhibit among others.
Next day in the morning you will visit the Trapiche ('sugar mill') and coffee farm, that first began operation in 1948. The Monteverde Trapiche is run by a local family, and on your tour you will not only learn about the local process of making sugar, but also about the other most important agricultural product of the region, “café”. There you will enjoy a refreshment of sugar cane juice or lemonade, eat picadillo de arracache (a typical Costa Rican food) and make candy out of sugar cane (everyone makes their own candy!).
After lunch enjoy a guided visit to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, one of the premier natural history destinations in Costa Rica. The forest consists of lush, verdant vegetation containing understory palms, majestic canopy trees, arching “ropy” lianas, bizarre “strangler” fig trees and epiphytes- small plants that grow on the trees. As you walk through the forest, you may encounter a variety of wildlife including white-faced capuchins, white-nosed coatis and two-toed sloths. Among birds, you may see the Resplendent Quetzal, hummingbirds, toucanets, guans and solitaires. Overnight in Monteverde at Hotel Fonda Vela (2 nights) or similar. (2B)
Day 7: DEPARTURE - Transfer to San José or Liberia International Airport to check in 3 hours before your scheduled flight home.
Trip Includes: As specified in the above itinerary, lodging, transportation within Costa Rica, airport/hotel transfers on scheduled arrival/departure dates, meals [B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner], national park entrance fees, guide services, ground operator support within Costa Rica and taxes.
Not Included: International airfare, airport departure taxes, meals not specified in the itinerary, alcoholic beverages, personal equipment, extras in hotels (laundry, phone calls, room service), gratuities, or costs associated with changes in your itinerary for reasons beyond our control.
