Arrive at the 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 take you to your hotel in San Jose. Overnight at Hotel Bougainvillea.

In the morning your Naturalist Guide and private van will pick you up at the front desk of the hotel for the three-hour drive to Sarapiqui. Stop en route at La Paz Waterfall Gardens for a hike and buffet lunch with view of the Poas Volcano Mountain Range and the La Paz River Valley.

The Gardens are designed around five waterfalls accessed by three kilometers of paved trails and viewing platforms (2.5 to 3-hour walk). It also includes the largest enclosed butterfly observatory in the world with a beautiful collection of tropical species, as well as a hummingbird garden. Altitude ranges from 4,300-5,000 feet and includes both cloud and rainforest. Arrive in Sarapiqui mid-afternoon. Dinner and overnight at Selva Verde Lodge.

Located in the lowlands of Sarapiqui on Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast. This station is owned and administered by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a consortium of U.S. and Costa Rican institutes of higher learning. Discover the biodiversity of lowland tropical rainforest at this internationally renowned research station. With it's laboratories, online geographic information system, extensive trails and large forest reserve bordering Braulio Carrillo National Park, La Selva is one of the world's most important sites for tropical ecosystem research. Each year more than 250 scientists from some 25 countries and thousands of international students come to La Selva to study tropical ecology.

La Selva comprises 1,513 hectares (3,739 acres) of old growth and disturbed tropical wet forests. There are more than 1,900 species of plants, 330 species of trees, 436 species of birds and 450 species of ants. Showy birds, such as toucans, parrots, trogons and hummingbirds are seen frequently. So are mammals such as monkeys, peccaries, agoutis and coatis. Dinner and overnight at Selva Verde Lodge.

This day is the least active because we have to travel to the North Atlantic Coast. After an early breakfast, drive for about 1-1/2 hours to the Cao Blanco dock near Siquirres, passing through banana plantations and coffee fields. In Cano Blanco, you will meet the boat for the 1 -hour ride to Tortuguero. Overnight at Tortuga Lodge & Gardens.

Early morning boat tour in Tortuguero National Park rainforest. Originally intended to protect a major nesting beach of the Atlantic Green Sea Turtle, Tortuguero National Park now protects 51,870 acres, one of the last large areas of tropical rainforest in Central America. Eleven habitats are found in the park. Three species of monkeys (Spider, Howler and White-faced), Three-toed Sloths, and river otters are frequently seen along the natural inland waterways and canals. Caiman, iguanas, river turtles, Basilisk Lizards, and Poison Dart Frogs (Dendrobates) inhabit the area, along with more than 320 species of birds including all six species of kingfishers found in the new world, three species of toucans, eight species of parrots, and other neotropical species such as the Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-collared Manakin, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, and White-fronted Nunbird and many more species which we will have the opportunity to observe during this morning boat ride through the backwater canals of Tortuguero National Park.

Return to the Hotel mid-day for lunch at Tortuga Lodge. After lunch, your guide will take you to the village of Tortuguero. Learn about the history of the village and it's efforts to get their basic needs met such as running water, medical and dental care, garbage collection and management. Visit Park headquarters, the general goods store and take a walk through town to observe colorful afro-Caribbean homes. Visit the Atlantic Green Sea Turtle Museum founded by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC). The late Dr. Archie Carr began to study and tag the thousands of sea turtles that come to Tortuguero Beach every year from June through October to lay their eggs. The study has continued without fail ever since, under the auspices of the CCC. It is the longest running continuous study of its kind in the world, and it has had a profound effect on the community of Tortuguero. Dinner and overnight at Tortuga Lodge.

Your Naturalist Guide will be leading a bird walk at 5:30 a.m. today. Breakfast is at 6:30 a.m. After breakfast, depart in kayak for a day of adventure and exercise. These agile human powered vessels will allow you to go where our motorboats cannot and wildlife is most abundant. Return to the Lodge midday for lunch. Afternoon garden walk with your guide. Dinner and overnight at Tortuga Lodge.

After an early breakfast we depart Tortuga Lodge to meet a private charter flight back to San Jose. Upon arrival, your private van will be waiting for the 4 1?2-hour drive to Monteverde. Stop en route at Nectandra Garden, 80 km northwest of San Jose, going north from San Ramon. It is the centerpiece of 104 hectares (257 acres) of primary and secondary forest. With few exceptions, most of the plants featured in the horticultural observation area are from the preserve and its immediate surroundings. Some of the plants in the design are included as pure aesthetic elements, others for their importance in medicinal, indigenous and cultural uses. A small number of changing exhibits highlight scientific information on the ecology of the cloud forest. Beyond the confines of the Garden, the remaining biological preserve is restricted to scientific field research carried out by a non-profit organization, the Nectandra Institute. Current scientific activities include botanic inventory, preparation and identification of herbarium specimens of dominant and unusual plants, and investigation into the variables influencing natural reforestation in cloud forests. Lunch is included at the Garden. After lunch, continue to Monteverde. Dinner and overnight at Monteverde Lodge & Gardens.

After breakfast, full day guided excursion in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Founded in 1972, the Reserve extends down both slopes of the Tilaran Mountains (elevation 2,300 to 5,600 ft.), encompassing six different ecological life zones and protecting more than 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and 1,500 species of plants. From January to July, depending upon your luck and patience, you may observe in its natural habitat the Resplendent Quetzal (occasionally a dozen or more individuals at once). Other species include the Three-wattled Bellbird, the Emerald Toucanet, and White-faced and Howler Monkeys.

Afternoon return to the Lodge. Night visit to the Monteverde Frog Pond. Learn about species that are unique to Costa Rica. Each species is put in a terrarium simulating their natural habitat. Species include the large Marine Toad, the colorful Poison Arrow Frog and the Red-eyed Tree Frog. It is best to visit after dark as the frogs are more active and you can hear their calls. Dinner and overnight Monteverde Lodge.

Morning visit the Butterfly Garden. The Monteverde Butterfly Garden includes a nature center, four gardens, a 500-square-meter netted flyway, three greenhouses, a gift shop and botanical gardens. Founded in 1991 by biologist Jim Wolfe and his wife Marta Iris Salazar, the main focus of the project is environmental education. In the nature center, guests learn about the complexities of the butterfly life cycle and can see live eggs, caterpillars and chrysalids. In addition, there are demonstrations of other live, local insects. Expect to see the flashy Blue Morpho Butterfly and the Owl Butterfly, the largest in the country.

Lunch at Monteverde Lodge. Afternoon visit to the Ecological Farm. Accessible by a 10-min. trail across a ravine from Monteverde Lodge, this small private reserve provides the chance to see flora, birds and mammals. Founded in 1992, with the idea of protecting 75 acres (30 hectares) of forest located on the Pacific slope in Monteverde, the Ecological Farm has a great diversity of plants and animals. In addition to the forest, one hectare of the Ecological Farm is used for the growth of banana, coffee, beans and vegetables. Walk along short or long trails through the forest with views, two waterfalls, coffee, and banana plantations. More than 150 species of birds have been seen in this farm. You will have an excellent chance to see different mammals such as coatimundis, sloths, agoutis, porcupines and White-faced Monkeys, as well as butterflies and birds. Dinner and overnight Monteverde Lodge.

After breakfast, depart on a 4 1?2-hour drive back to San Jose with your guide. Stop en route at Carara National Park. Covering approximately 10,000 acres, Carara is one of the last remaining examples of tropical wet forest to be found on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and is important as a protected habitat for Scarlet Macaws, Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, Marbled Wood Quails, and Baird's Trogons as well as Collared Peccaries, Tayras (a black weasel), and Banded Anteaters. Crocodiles up to 10 feet long can be found along the Rio Grande de Tarcoles, on the western boundary of the reserve. Lunch en route. Afternoon return to San Jose. Overnight Hotel Bougainvillea.

Transfer to the international airport arriving approximately two hours before your flight's scheduled departure time.