Reserves and Volcanoes

Arrival at San José Airport. Meet and greet and transfer to your hotel. Free time to relax or explore the surrounding area.

After breakfast, we’ll head to a coffee plantation in the Poas Volcano region for a comprehensive guided tour led by a specialist guide. Here, we’ll have the opportunity to learn about all the steps and processes involved in coffee farming and production in Costa Rica, visiting the plantation, factory, and roasting facility. The comprehensive coffee plantation tour also includes a coffee tasting.

In the afternoon, we visit the picturesque towns of Grecia and Sarchí, each with its rich artisan traditions and unusual architecture. We then travel to the Monteverde region, a scenic route punctuated by a few pleasant breaks. As we leave the Cordillera Central to enter and explore the reliefs of the Tilaran mountain range, our guide will discuss the geology of Costa Rica. Check in at a charming eco-lodge in the verdant Monteverde region, surrounded by the cloud forest.

In the early evening, we follow our guides on a nocturnal wildlife observation excursion into the forest, as the creatures of the night awaken and become active. This excursion includes the loan of a flashlight and the assistance of a local guide, an expert in nocturnal wildlife and the region’s trails, to support our French-speaking naturalist tour guide.

Breakfast at the lodge, followed by an exploration of the Curi-Cancha Biological Reserve, or Santuario Ecologico  , or Santa Elena, to observe the flora and fauna of the Monteverde cloud forests. Divided by the Tilaran Mountains, the region’s reserves span several ecological zones, home to more than 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, and 1,500 species of plants. Guided hike and wildlife photography along the nature trails, accompanied by our French-speaking naturalist guide.

In the afternoon, we explore the trails and suspension bridges of a private reserve in the region. Here, we’ll have the opportunity to gaze up into the canopy and enjoy exceptional vantage points for observing and photographing the flora and fauna.

Option : The more adventurous can also experience zip lines here by sliding down the cable courses that crisscross the property (optional activity replacing the visit to the suspension bridges and for which a fee applies).

At the end of the day we will have the opportunity to visit a hummingbird garden where we can observe a wide variety of species as the birds drink nectar from the feeders.

After breakfast, we will travel through the bucolic landscapes of the Tilaran mountain range, towards the Arenal Volcano region. We will make a few interesting stops along the way, to observe and photograph wildlife if the opportunity arises (monkeys, coatis, birds, reptiles that our guide and driver might spot along the way…); to appreciate the landscapes of the region; to have a snack-coffee in a restaurant located on a promontory offering beautiful views of the lake and to visit craft stalls encountered along the way.

In the afternoon, check into a pleasant, charming hotel located on the edge of the volcano. Relax by the hotel’s pool and gardens, or take a local observation walk with our guide.

Option: This evening, we offer an optional visit to one of the region’s thermal baths. These havens of relaxation in the heart of nature feature pools fed by spring water heated by volcanic activity. The pools have different temperatures, allowing visitors to switch from hotter to colder, depending on their preferences. Enjoy a pleasant moment of relaxation here in a charming natural setting (optional activity payable on site).

After breakfast, we head to the Arenal Volcano National Park area for a morning exploration to observe the birdlife and perhaps monkeys and other mammals that reside in the area, as well as to contemplate the majestic volcano from the designated observation points. Our guide will tell us about the different types of volcanoes and volcanology in general, and will talk to us more specifically about the characteristics of this one. Hiking trails lead close (while respecting safety limits) to the volcano’s crater, evolving among young secondary forests and on lava formations from old volcanic eruptions. Since 2010, the surface activity of the volcano has decreased its production of lava and smoke exhalations and seismic activity has ceased. There are now almost no more carbon dioxide emissions or acid rain. For these reasons, it is believed that the colossus is now in a dormant stage.

After visiting the park, we will travel by road (approx. 25 min.) to the other side of the mountain, to a small estancia where we will be served a delicious typical Costa Rican lunch, before our visit to the farm’s plantations (ornamental, edible and medicinal plants), the nursery and the biomass digester using bio-methanization.

Enjoy your afternoon relaxing by the pool. You can also take a walk with our local guide to explore the area or visit the thermal baths in the evening (optional activities payable locally).

We’ll depart early in the morning for Guapiles, where we’ll enjoy a hearty breakfast in a pleasant restaurant. After lunch, we’ll continue our journey to the private dock at La Pavona, where we’ll board a speedboat to travel through the region’s rivers and canals to Tortuguero. We might make a few stops along the way to observe wildlife. Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

In the afternoon, we join our guide for a tour of the village of Tortuguero, located on a sandbar bordering the Caribbean Sea and separated from the mainland by the Tortuguero River. Here, we’re far from the hustle and bustle of big cities: no cars can access this region, which can only be reached by boat or plane. The village tour will conclude with a walk along the beach to the lodge, during which we may have some great opportunities to observe wildlife.

Free morning to relax or to participate in optional activities offered by the hotel (not included), such as kayak rental and fishing.

Tortuguero National Park, connected to the rest of Costa Rica only by canals or by air, is located in the Caribbean lowlands, bordered by the ocean, in one of the wettest regions of the country (nearly 6 meters of rain fall here each year); these are factors that condition this entire bioclimatic zone. The region is known for its very diverse birdlife and for its beaches ideal for observing the turtles that come to nest there, notably the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) from June to October and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) from May to October and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) from March to July.

In the afternoon, we will enjoy a boat excursion to discover the floral and faunal life of the region.

Option: In the evening (in the green season only, from July to October), an activity of observing turtle nesting can be considered by those interested (optional activity payable on site).

Departure to San José for a last night.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight stay in San José

Transfer to San Jose airport to take your return flight to Montreal.

Meals: Breakfast