Coast to Coast – Standard Self-drive

Included:

* 17 nights lodging at hotels indicated at the preceding proposal. Breakfast and local taxes.
* All meals, transfers by boat and bus, guide and tours in Tortuguero
* 15 days rental car Daihatsu BEGO 4x4, free mileage
* Free Cellular Phone during car rental.
* Personalized information, maps, brochures, vouchers
* Airport transfers upon arrival and departure.
* Local Travel Program Support, 24 hours emergency service

Not included:
* Other meals than indicated as included.
* Basic car insurance US $ 18,00 daily
* Entrance fees, entrance fee Tortuguero US $ 10,00 per person,
* Other excursions tours and activities indicated as optional or not included.
* Airport taxes (US $ 26,00 per person not included).
* International Flights.
* Personal expenses.
* Tips.

DAY BY DAY ITINERARY:

Day 01: Arrival at San Jose, Costa Rica. Transfer to hotel in San Jose.

Welcome to Costa Rica. Arrive at Juan Santamaria International Airport. After passing through Immigration you will be met by one of ours representatives. He will take you to your hotel and give you your welcome kit. Overnight in San Jose City.

Hotel: Fleur de Lys is a small, enchanting hotel located in the cultural district of San José, on a quiet street close to numerous restaurants, theaters, casinos and shops and within walking distance to the most important cultural sites: the National Museum, the Gold Museum, the National Theater, the pre-Columbian Jade Museum, and more.

Day 02: Transfer to Tortuguero National Park.

Early in the morning a bilingual guide will meet you in Fleur de Lys Hotel. Transfer to Mawamba Lodge in luxury minibus.

Mawamba Lodge is a beachfront lodge in Tortuguero National Park at the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, a navigable network of lakes and canals that cross the National Park. Activities include day excursions to Tortuguero National Park, visit to the town. Beautiful gardens and rustic accommodations, two family style restaurants. The lodge includes swimming pool, relaxing ranchos with hammocks, nature trails, beach access by foot, comfortable rooms. Specialized naturalist bilingual guides. Apart from the boat tours along the canals of the national park (or even beyond), you can walk along the pristine beach, or visit the simple Tortuguero village and the Caribbean Conservation Corporation’s visitor center and turtle museum. If energetic, you can also climb the only hill in the area, the short but steep 150m high Cerro Tortuguero, for a great scenic view of the canals and ocean.

Day 03: Tortuguero NP. Mawamba Lodge.

Opportunity to explore the Tortuguero National Park area. Hiking and boat trips are included.
On turtle nesting season (July to October), there is an optional tour at night available upon request at the hotel (Not included).

Day 04: Pick up rental car. Self drive to Puerto Viejo.

Hotel: Azania Lodge is located in front of Cocles Beach (awarded with the Costa Rican Government Blue Flag for clean beaches), at the South Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. Just a few steps from the Caribbean Sea, with the tropical rainforest in background. The spacious and tastefully decorated bungalows are privately set apart amidst lush gardens full of color and natural beauty. Each bungalow comes equipped with a refrigerator and has its own private deck and hammock out front, inviting to relax and enjoy the colourful tropical gardens. Azania also offers a restaurant where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner under a palm leave rancho.

Day 05: Puerto Viejo.

Day 06: Self drive to Sarapiqui.

More than 400 bird species have been recorded in this area (50% of the species of Costa Rica).

Hotel: On a curve along the Sardinal River, La Quinta is owned and operated by a Costa Rican family giving the place a very personal atmosphere. The hotel offers spacious rooms in bungalows surrounded by a beautiful, tropical garden full of heliconias, ginger, palms & flowering trees. Hotel services include a restaurant that offers delicious food. There also is a swimming pool, butterfly garden and poison dart frog garden on the property.

Day 07: Self drive to Arenal Volcano.

Breakfast at the hotel. Arenal volcano is the most active volcano in Costa Rica and with some luck you observe the red lava. Best spot to enjoy these wonders are Tabacon or Baldi Hot Springs (not included ), a veritable thermal wonderland, where a hot volcanic stream is channeled in five pools of varying temperature.

Hotel: Accommodation at Arenal Springs Hotel Wood and concrete bungalows, with private bathroom, and air conditioning, surrounded by some of the most astonishing flora and fauna of Costa Rica, that you will be able to enjoy from your own porch with a perfect view to the volcano.

Day 08: Arenal Volcano.

Optional tours: Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, Tour To the Arenal Volcano and Tabacón Resort Hot Springs, Sport Fishing in the Arenal Lake, Arenal Volcano Hike Tour, Mountain Biking, Venado Caves Tour, horseback Riding to Arenal Volcano, Peñas Blancas Safari Float.

Day 09: Self drive to Rincón de la Vieja.

Along the Pan American highway you will discover Guanacaste and Rincon de la Vieja National Park.

Hotel: Hacienda Guachipelin is a lodge located near beautiful waterfalls that can be discovered by horse or hiking. Swimming pool. All of the rooms have private bathrooms with hot water.

There are rivers, waterfalls, natural pools, thermal waters, volcanic mud, tropical forests, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and more. In the National Park exist countless attractions, waterfalls, boiling mud pools, vapor vents, thermal waters, sulfur springs, a volcanic crater and a lake on the mountain summit.

Day 10: Rincón de la Vieja.

Day 11: Self drive to Playa Samara.

Costa Rica's hidden tropical paradise on the Pacific coast. Playa Samara is the perfect long white sand beach with shallow, gentle waters. Samara Beach was awarded the Blue Flag -- recognition of a clean beach with clean water. In Samara you can spend your daytime hours relaxing on the beach or you can entertain yourself with a variety of optional activities: like: Horseback riding along the beach and scenic nature trails. Boat tours to Isla Chora to spend the day on an idyllic uninhabited island or navigating along the beautiful coast.

Hotel: Lodging at Hotel Giada, charming rooms with private baths and hot water for a comfortable and pleasant stay.

Day 12: Playa Samara.

Day 13: Selfdrive to Monteverde.

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Monteverde. Check-in in your hotel. This is probably the most recognized ecotourism destination in Costa Rica. If you start early, you will arrive in Monteverde around noon. During the afternoon you could visit the famous Skywalk, Canopy tour or visit an orchid farm.

Hotel: Accommodation at Cloud Forest Lodge, which offers you the opportunity to enjoy a quite and comforting time in the rooms. All rooms offer private bath, amenities, hot water and a patio where you can appreciate the tranquil beauty of our surrounding gardens and forest. With in minutes of the Cloud Forest Lodge are a variety of natural attractions.
Optional tours: Sky Walk or Sky Trek, Canopy Tour, Selvatura, etc.

Day 14: Monteverde.

You may want to get up early to visit the cloud forest. The forest is quite different from the lowland rainforests. The name comes from the observation that the forests are nearly always shrouded in clouds. These forests are situated at high altitude along the continental divide down the spine of Costa Rica. A tour through the misty wood is a magical experience. The huge forest is overgrown with bromeliads, orchids, ferns, deer horns as well as moss and the beautiful red-green feathered quetzal breeds here.

Day 15: Self drive to Manuel Antonio.

Manuel Antonio, on the Pacific Coast with an estuary, mangroves, a lagoon, beaches and winding paths, all this on 638 hectares of land and 55.000 hectares of protected marine environment. Take a walk through the tropical forest and find mosses, ferns, flowers and epiphytes growing thickly on every tree. Throughout the park, you will find the famous wildlife Costa Rica is known for, monkeys, sloths and lots of birds among others. A splendid combination of nature experience and beach fun!

Hotel: The Hotel California, Set on a mountain, surrounded by jungle, with awesome views of the Pacific Ocean, is the perfect place to experience the peace of paradise and the thrill of local attractions.

Day 16: Manuel Antonio

Day 17: Manuel Antonio

Day 18: Self drive to San Jose airport. Drop Off car, return flight.