Arrive at Juan Santamaria International Airport. After passing through Immigration one of our representatives will greet you at the airport. Look for a sign that has your unique identifier along with your name. After you submit your booking request you will receive a full itinerary along with in-country descriptions, including all airport and hotel transfer instructions included in your proposal. He or she will accompany you on the transfer to Sarapiqui (1 hours). Overnight at Peace Lodge.

Day at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Overnight at Peace Lodge.

After breakfast you will be met by a Costa Rica Adventure Vacation driver (Spanish-speaking) for the approximately 3 -hour drive to Arenal Volcano. This almost perfect cone, which soars 1,633 meters above sea level, 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 Guidelines for the Arenal Volcano Area.)

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 Arenal. 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 five 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 at The Lost Iguana Resort.

After breakfast, morning visit to Arenal Hanging Bridges, 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 in 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. Overnight at The Lost Iguana Resort.

In the morning, you will be driven to the La Fortuna Airstrip (30 mins). Here you will board a Costa Rica Adventure Vacation chartered flight** to Tambor (40 mins). Upon arrival, a representative from your hotel will be waiting to drive you to Flor Blanca (1 hours). Overnight at Flor Blanca Villas (one-bedroom villa).

Return to the Tambor airstrip to board another Costa Rica Adventure Vacation chartered flight back to San Jose (30 mins). Upon arrival to San Jose, you will be met by a guide and driver for the transfer to your hotel. Overnight at Hotel Grano de Oro (deluxe room).

The most beautiful river canyon in the tropics will bewitch the adventuresome beginner and the experienced rafter alike. The Pacuare River cuts through one of those rare pockets of wilderness left on the planet. Early morning pick up at your San Jose hotel. Stop en route for a typical Costa Rican breakfast and then continue on to Tres Equis where, depending on road conditions, you may have to switch to a 4x4 shuttle to take you down to the put-in. Total drive time to put-in location is about 3 hours. After an orientation and safety talk, proceed down the river. Picnic lunch on the riverbank. Total river time is about 5 hours (depending on the water level). Afternoon take-out in Siquirres, followed by a 2-hour drive back to San Jose via Braulio Carrillo National Park. Overnight Hotel Grano de Oro (deluxe room).

Transfer to the international airport about three hours before your flight's scheduled departure.