Costa Rican rainforest at sunrise

Off-the-Beaten-Path Costa Rica Family Tour

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

Costa Rica

Places Visited

Turrialba, Puerto Viejo, Tortuguero National Park

Suggested Duration

7 Days

Connect with the indigenous culture and explore wildlife-filled nature during this adventurous 7-day family journey through Costa Rica. Featuring local experiences and beautiful off-the-beaten-path locations, this handcrafted tour will show you the natural splendor Costa Rica, which is a land of authentic and often surprising scenes. Meet Bribri Indians, savor a cultural farm-stay experience, paddle through the jungle in search of monkeys, and search for sea turtles on Caribbean beaches.

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Enjoy an incredible day with an indigenous Bribri community, where you can experience a very unique culture and lifestyle
  • Venture by flashlight onto Tortuguero’s beaches for a thrilling search for sea turtle hatchlings
  • Experience a Costa Rican working farm during a cultural exchange in Turrialba, which is one of the country’s least-visited regions
  • Discover magnificent wildlife in Tortuguero National Park and the Jaguar Rescue Center, which is also home to howler monkeys and strange sloths
  • Lounge and play on breathtaking Caribbean beaches, where an off-the-beaten-path atmosphere is part of the fun
  • Ride through the wild in a wooden canoe and experience the wonders of a surreal wildlife world
  • Savor Costa Rica’s active volcanos and learn all about fumaroles and thermal power

Detailed Description

Costa Rica creates a rare paradox. This is a country where so much remains off the beaten track, and authentic experiences are part of the everyday schedule; it is also a country where offbeat locales and activities have been made accessible. There are few other countries where you can take your family off the beaten track without needing long journeys or any steps beyond your comfort zone. Over these seven days, you will be canoeing through the jungle to a Bribri Indian community, exchanging ideas on a rural coffee farm, and finding breathtaking Caribbean beaches void of footprints.

This seven-day family tour is handcrafted to celebrate indigenous cultural experiences and serene nature excursions. It will take you off the beaten track to Turrialba, the Belli Bamboo Parkland, Puerto Viejo, and Tortuguero National Park. Whether you are searching for sea turtles or spending time with a local family, your Costa Rica tour will be a celebration of local authenticity. By skipping popular destinations like Arenal and the Pacific coast, you can indulge in an adventure to places where few other foreigners tread. With stunning family lodges and sucure transport connections, this will be a 7-day experience that is suitable for all ages.

To begin your journey, you will fly into San Jose and transfer directly to the volcanos, which are majestic cones that peer down as you ride through green landscapes to Turrialba. After a customizable day on the volcanos, you will spend day two experiencing a family cultural exchange that will teach you about the everyday life of a working coffee farm. It is a beautiful place to be, and everyone can be involved in different elements of farm life, from roasting coffee beans to working with horses. By traveling further east on day three, you can seek out sloths and monkeys in the Jaguar Rescue Center before settling in to two nights on the Caribbean sand.

Puerto Viejo is the starting point for a cultural jungle adventure, and it will take about 90 minutes to reach the Bribri Indian community on a journey down the Yorkin River in a canoe. Once in the village, you can discover local life, from the art of palm thatching to learning the language and exploring everyday traditions. Part wetland wilderness and part Caribbean coast, Tortuguero will provide a dazzling final destination, where the experiences focus on intimate connections with rare and unique wildlife. A canoe cruise will then showcase one world, and, out on the beaches, you will be searching for sea turtles, including hatchlings that emerge after dark. This is the part of Costa Rica that most are yet to know of, and these seven days will include many new and intriguing experiences.

Starting Price

$1,633 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.

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