Day 1 · San Jose
Arrive in San Jose
You are met at the airport and taken by shared transfer to your hotel for the night.
- Travel
- 20 km, about 30 minutes
10 days · 9 nights
Rainforest canals, a volcano and the cloud forest, then two nights by the sea at Samara with a morning among the dolphins.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesCross from the Caribbean canals of Tortuguero to the Arenal Volcano, where your hotel has its own hot springs, then take the lake crossing up to Monteverde for two nights in the cloud forest. The journey ends on the Guanacaste coast at Samara, with a boat trip to look for dolphins and snorkel off a small island.
The same person from your first question to the flight home, with a wedding or vow renewal planned alongside if you like.
How the days unfold. Your advisor tailors the pace, the hotels and the extras to you.
San Jose
Day 1 · San Jose
You are met at the airport and taken by shared transfer to your hotel for the night.
Tortuguero
Day 2 · Tortuguero
A 6.30am pick-up takes you through Braulio Carrillo National Park towards the Caribbean plains, with breakfast at Guapiles. A boat then carries you along the rivers and canals to your lodge for lunch. In the afternoon your guide walks you round Tortuguero town and its turtle museum.
Day 3 · Tortuguero
At 9am set out with a naturalist guide on a two-hour boat tour of the canals, lagoons and rainforest, home to dozens of amphibian, reptile and mammal species. The rest of the day is free.
Arenal
Day 4 · Arenal
Leave Tortuguero around 9am by shared boat and road, stopping in Guapiles for lunch. A transfer takes you on to Arenal, arriving around 5pm.
Day 5 · Arenal
A guided hike along the volcano's lava trails, learning about its eruptions and history and the plants that have grown back since. Return to your hotel and spend the afternoon in its hot springs, warmed by the volcano.
Monteverde
Day 6 · Monteverde
After an early breakfast, cross Lake Arenal by boat and continue by road up to Monteverde, arriving around 11.30am. The climb takes you from rainforest into cloud forest at about 1,200 metres. Spend the rest of the day in Santa Elena, with its cafes and craft shops.
Day 7 · Monteverde
A free day to explore the cloud forest, settled by Quakers in the 1950s and spread across several life zones that shelter rare plants and animals.
Samara
Day 8 · Samara
A shared transfer takes you to Samara on the north Pacific coast of Guanacaste, checking in around 3pm. The afternoon is free.
Day 9 · Samara
A boat takes you a few kilometres offshore to look for spotted, spinner and bottlenose dolphins, and humpback whales from August to November. On the way back, anchor off Isla Chora, a white sand island, to swim and snorkel before a fruit snack and the trip back to your hotel.
San Jose
Day 10 · San Jose
After a last breakfast, you are collected from your hotel for the shared transfer to Juan Santamaria International Airport.
The hotels for each stop. Your advisor confirms them, or something just as good, for your dates.
San Jose · 1 night
Or similar
Tortuguero · 2 nights
Or similar
Arenal · 2 nights
With its own hot springs. Or similar
Monteverde · 2 nights
Or similar
Samara · 2 nights
Or similar
Tell us when you would like to travel. Your advisor confirms dates and hotels, tailors the trip to the two of you, and stays with you until you are home.
Costa Rica
4 days · 3 nights
La Fortuna → Monteverde
Two nights in La Fortuna, in sight of Arenal Volcano, with a guided walk to look for sloths and time for the hotel's thermal pools. Cross Lake Arenal by boat to the misty highlands of Monteverde for a guided night walk in the cloud forest.
Costa Rica
4 days · 3 nights
San José → Arenal → Monteverde → San José
Fly into San José and head north to La Fortuna, at the foot of the Arenal Volcano, for two nights of hot springs, a gentle river float and lunch with a local family. Cross Lake Arenal by boat to Monteverde for a guided walk in the cloud forest, then return to the airport on day four.
Costa Rica
3 days · 2 nights
San José → Arenal → San José
A short trip from San José to La Fortuna, the village beneath the Arenal Volcano. Your one full day crosses the hanging bridges of Mistico Park and ends with a swim below the La Fortuna Waterfall, with two quiet evenings in the rainforest either side.
Cross from the Caribbean canals of Tortuguero to the Arenal Volcano, where your hotel has its own hot springs, then take the lake crossing up to Monteverde for two nights in the cloud forest. The journey ends on the Guanacaste coast at Samara, with a boat trip to look for dolphins and snorkel off a small island.
Every trip can be shaped around you before you book.
Arrive early or stay on at the end, in the same hotel or somewhere new.
Your travel expert books flights that fit the first and last day.
Choose a better room or a hotel with a view for the nights that count.
A honeymoon, an anniversary or a birthday, planned into the trip.
Other ways to see Costa Rica, closest in length first.
Small group tour | 10 days | San José · Tortuguero · Monteverde | Price on enquiry.
Small group tour | 10 days | San José · Tortuguero · Manuel Antonio
Self-drive | 10 days | San José · Tortuguero · Monteverde | Price on enquiry.
Small group tour | 10 days | San José · Tortuguero · Tamarindo | Price on enquiry.
