Overview
Fly to the Osa Peninsula to stay at the Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp, where you will observe life in the canopy 120 feet above the forest floor and explore the nearby Preserve. Then to the Arenal area to walk the Hanging Bridges Project trails and soak in a natural hot springs in the shadow of the Volcano. Drive to Nosara Beach in the Guanacaste Province to relax on the beach and learn to surf at one of the country's best breaks (includes one 2-hour class).
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Arrival San Jose
Day 2 San Jose / Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp
After breakfast you will meet your private Naturalist Guide and drive to Pavas Airport (30 mins). You will be taken to the correct hangar for a Costa Rica Adventure Vacation chartered flight** to Carate (1 hour), about a mile southeast of Corcovado Lodge. Upon arrival, walk 30-45 mins. with a Corcovado Guide to the Lodge (luggage will be transported by the Lodge). Afternoon free to explore the grounds with your guide. Overnight at Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp.
Day 3 Corcovado Lodge Tree Platform
Today, in groups of up to six participants at a time, you will visit the Tree Canopy Platform. The adventure begins with a one-hour guided hike through the Corcovado Lodge Private Nature Reserve to the Canopy Platform. The Platform is located in an emergent tree, 120 feet above the forest floor. From the platform, you have the opportunity to view the rainforest from a seldom-seen perspective. White Hawks, Howler Monkeys, Anole Lizards and Pygmy Squirrels may be sighted. Overnight at Corcovado Lodge.
Day 4 Corcovado / Arenal Volcano
Walk 30–45 minutes to the Carate Airstrip with a Corcovado Guide to catch your flight back to San Jose. Upon arrival, you will meet your driver, who will accompany you for the next two days in Arenal. He will drive you to Arenal (3- hours). The volcano is an almost perfect cone, which soars 1,633 meters above sea level and has a crater 140 meters deep formed over an ancient caldera. From time to time loud explosions are heard and a mushroom cloud of gray, brown, orange or blue smoke billows out of the top. Although the volcano is capable of inspiring intense fright and awe in visitors, inhabitants of nearby Fortuna, San Carlos and the dairy farms at its base seem to live with relative peace of mind. If you ask, they will tell you with surprising tranquility about the time it erupted. See Arenal Safety Guidelines. Overnight at The Lost Iguana Resort.
Day 5 Arenal Hanging Bridges
Your private Naturalist Guide will take on morning walk on the Arenal Hanging Bridges trails. This is a project that consists of eight fixed bridges, ranging in length between 8 and 22 meters, and six hanging bridges, built with the latest techniques and designed with an eye for both beauty and safety. The bridges and trails, which cover a distance of 3 kms were designed to blend with the natural environment, leaving the forest virtually intact. As you walk, you be able to appreciate the great diversity of flowers and wildlife that are typical of the rainforest, along with the imposing views (weather permitting) of Arenal Volcano.
Evening visit to the Hidalgo Family Hot Springs. The Hidalgo Family Hot springs are the ideal alternative to the mass tourism overcrowded hot springs in the Arenal Area. When we first met the Hidalgo Family in 2000, they were reluctant to open up their family farm to visitors. Finally they agreed to try it by appointment only on a trial basis. They found, perhaps to their surprise, that they enjoyed having foreign guests on this basis and have now put in changing rooms and a restaurant. The springs consist of 5 free-flowing pools set in a natural river gorge. Water temperature ranges from 100F (38C) to 109F (43C) depending on the pool. A Costa Rican Home style meal in the restaurant, modeled after the first house that Don Manuel and Dona Hortemida Hidalgo built when they settled on the Farm in 1940 is included. Overnight The Lost Iguana Resort.
Day 6 Arenal / Nosara Beach
Your guide and driver will accompany you on the 5-hour drive to Nosara. Afternoon free to enjoy the pool or walk the beach. (Note: End of Naturalist Guide service.) Overnight at Harmony Hotel (Coco room).
Day 7 Nosara
In the morning you will have a two-hour surfing lesson with a local surfer. Overnight at Harmony Hotel.
Day 8 Nosara
Free day. Overnight at Harmony Hotel.
Day 9 Nosara / San Jose
Morning transfer to the Nosara Airstrip (10 mins). Here you will board a chartered flight back to San Jose (50 mins). Upon arrival, you will be met by a transfer guide, who will accompany you to your hotel. Overnight at Hotel Grano de Oro (deluxe room).
Day 10 Departure
Transfer to the International Airport approximately three hours before your flight's scheduled departure.
Feb. 15, 2006. “At every point we were met by a smiling face.”
“A lifetime experience” is my husband's description of our trip Feb. 3-10. Between Herrol and our daughter Martha Rebour, a trip was planned for two small children, their parents and we grandparents. Let me say that at every point we were met by a smiling face, a knowledgeable person, helpful in every respect. We learned about your crops, pineapples, bananas, and coffee. What was the most fun, however, was meeting your plants, animals, birds, and butterflies. My neck is still stiff from looking for sloths, toucans, Scarlet Macaws, new native birds and, of course, the monkeys. The canal trip with Miguel was exciting but no more so than the hike to the Madrigal River in Corcovado with Marcia. The small plane rides were a treat, especially for my husband, a small plane pilot. We all loved the scenery from above. The children were treated to many kindnesses all along the way and their memories must be special. As a child, I played a good deal of Animal Lotto. Never did I dream I would actually see a sloth, a tapir or an ocelot!
-Tony and Ann Brockelman