Costa Rica is considered one of the countries with big diversity of the planet, has 27 National Parks, and during your trip you will visit two of them, one is Tortuguero National Park that protects nesting of Green turtles and many other species of animals. The other is the Arenal Volcano National Park which is one of the most visited in the country, where you will be able to appreciate the wildlife and the resources that are protected.
At your arrival to the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) and after going through all the airport steps, look for the exit sign, where many people will be asking if you need a taxi to somewhere, just tell them “no thanks” and look for one of our drivers, who will be holding a sign with either your name or your last name, and will drive you for about 35 minutes to the Hotel in San Jose.
The guided shared transportation will drive through the road to Limon crossing the Braulio Carrillo National Park. On the way you will stop for a delicious breakfast in a local restaurant. Then, after passing the long banana plantations and, maybe, been able to see the packing process of them, you will arrive to the shipment port. Around 11:00am you will start this boat journey throughout the lush canals of La Suerte River, arriving to Laguna Tortuguero Lodge around 12:30pm. A welcome cocktail will be provided while the tour guides provide all the information for a relaxing stay at the lodge.
The first tour starts during the afternoon, guests are taken to a guided 2-hour tour to the Tortuguero town; located between the Caribbean Sea and the Tortuguero Lagoon, you will find no cars, no roads but sidewalks and a colorful small Caribbean typical town. In the north of the Tortuguero Town is the Caribbean Consevations Corportation Research Center with a small museum dedicated to the Sea Turtles and the Tortuguero Town history, entrance fee is around US$2.00.
At the lodge, you can also enjoy of its facilities or just a walk along the Caribbean beach.
The adventure starts at 8:30am with a boat tour thought-out the Tortuguero National Park Canals enjoying its dense tropical rainforest. (Entrance to the National Park is not included). Tortuguero is extremely humid, and known as one of the rainiest places in Costa Rica, where dry season doesn’t actually exist. The canals were built to connect a series of lagoons and rivers, making it proper for the navigation of small boats, being the most important mean of transportation for people and products in the region.
Tortuguero black-sand beaches are the most important egg-laying point for the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the whole Caribbean Sea and for their protection was created by the villages the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. But turtles are not the only attraction, the National Park is full of life; sloths and howler monkeys over the tree tops, miniature frogs and green iguanas within the tree buttress roots, and endanger aquatic species such as the manatee (the sea cow) and the Tarpon Fish
From June to October, at night you can also witness the nesting of the green turtle, which is a great attraction for tourists from all over the world.
After the breakfast head back by boat to the Pier where you will board the van to Guapiles town. Once there, a typical lunch will be served in a local restaurant.
After lunch one of our drivers will pick you up to take you to your hotel in Arenal. On the way you will have the opportunity of capture typical scenes of Costa Rican towns, cattle farms, pineapple plantations and much more.
Get ready for one of the top tours in Arenal Volcano area. The Hanging Bridges Forest Reserve covers an area of 243 hectares (600 acres) of protected forest, the perfect place for those nature lovers. The 3.1 km (2 mi.) circuit trail will cross 15 impressive bridges, some suspended over the forest canopy and others, which are stationary. The bridges have different lengths and altitudes and were designed to offer different perspectives from which to observe the flora and fauna, as you pass through several levels of the forest. From the bridges, you will have views of the treetops making it easier to locate animals and birds. The topography of the terrain is relatively simple with some short slopes, suitable for all ages and ability levels.
In the afternoon, you will be greeted by our guide in order to reach El Silencio Private Reserve, to reach as close to the Arenal Volcano as possible by car. From there, we will begin a 1 km walk along a trail of volcanic rock, rated as moderate in difficulty, to reach the observation point, which is the closest to the base of the volcano we can legally get. At the observation point, your guide will provide you with a lot of information about the formation of the Arenal Volcano, its periods of activity and interesting details of its great eruption in 1968, while you enjoy the incredible views of the Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal. Later, we will begin our return trip through a forest regeneration path to the starting point. At the end of the day, the perfect place to relax will be in the Arenal Paradise Hot Springs including a delicious dinner served in its restaurant. At approximately 9:00 p.m., our driver will pick you up to return to the hotel.
Arenal is the best area in Costa Rica for activities & tours; you will have the day off to choose between all of the options available for an extra charge. We recommend you to book your activities before your travel date to ensure your space.
Some of our Top recommendations are:
Nature Lovers? Sloth watching Tour or Nocturnal Natural Experience
Hikers? Rio Celeste Hike or Trekking in Laguna de Hule
Adventurous? Zip Line Tour or White-Water Rafting
Culture lovers? Traditional Campesino Tour or Traditional Chocolate Experience
Bird lovers? Ask for our 10 private hot spots
Let us plan for you the best activities in Arenal, Costa Rica.
10% Discount for early bookings.
Today, you have the shuttle back to the San Jose Airport at 8:00 am.
Please consider this transfer takes about 3 hours to the airport, and you must be there at least 2 hours earlier your flight time for checking in; if you need a transportation at a different time there might be an extra charge
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