Price from:
$649
Wildlife and Cultural Tours | Vacation Packages Costa Rica | Monteverde and Arenal
This carefully designed package tour lets you enjoy the best of the hiking and culture tours in the areas of Monteverde and Arenal Volcano. Besides lots of hiking you will visit wildlife areas and enjoy tours with cultural themes of Costa Rica.
Package tour Includes transport, hotels, guided tours, breakfast and some lunches.
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Itinerary
Day 1.
7.00am to 10.00am Pick-up from your hotel in San Jose or the airport (San Jose or Liberia) by private transport. Enjoy the scenery as you make your ascent to the beautiful green mountains of Monteverde (3 - 4 hours). There will be a stop along the way for a bathroom stop and a snack. The views of the distant Monteverde Cloud Forest are amazing as well as the Gulf of Nicoya. Now with the road improvements to Monteverde the journey is less of a challenge and more of a wonderful photo opportunity!
2.30 pm.El Trapiche Tour Monteverde’s El Trapiche tour (which is the Spanish word for ‘sugar mill’) first started in 1948, closed for a while and then re-opened in 1989: From 2005 it was open for tourism. The Monteverde Trapiche tour is run by a local family who tries to teach a little more about Costa Rica culture and even though the name of the tour means sugar mill process the tour also demonstrates how coffee is produced and you will learn about other crops grown on the farm. Perhaps the tour would be better named as general agriculture tour with emphasis on sugar production!
To make it more interesting the family have made the tour partly ‘hands-on’. The bilingual guide will walk with you through their small forest, help you feed the tilapia fish, pick coffee if possible and take you an ox cart ride back to the main building – a unique Costa Rican experience! Here you can enjoy a refreshment of sugar cane juice or lemonade, eat picadillo de arracache (a typical Costa Rican food) and make candy out of sugar cane (everyone makes their own candy!).
The Monteverde Trapiche tour takes place on a farm located two kilometers outside of Santa Elena, Monteverde. The two hour tour involve walk along an easy trail and at the end of the tour there is a gift shop.
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Day 2.
7.00am. Guided Hike in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. You'll be picked up at your hotel and taken to the Monteverde Cloud Forest park entrance where your bilingual guide will be waiting. The guides at the Monteverde Reserve are some of the best in Costa Rica and they have a wealth of knowledge about the Monteverde Cloud Forest, it's fauna and flora, the history and the growth of Monteverde. You will go on a 3- hour hike around this wonderful forest.
12.50pm. Selvatura Walkways (Hanging Bridges) and Guided Butterfly Garden Tour
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The walkways are a series of suspended bridges, high in the canopy of the rain forest. The tour is not just bridges but a series of trails that wind between the bridges. In total, these trails cover 3.3km. There are eight different bridges which have lengths and heights that vary between 50 to 170m long and 12 and 60m high.. Every bridge is 1.5m wide and has a capacity for 60 people. The hanging bridges are designed for people of every age and reasonable physical condition. The duration of the tour is usually about 1.5 and 2 hours.
Selvatura Butterfly Garden: one of the world's largest live butterfly exhibitions featuring an 8100 square feet dome where more than 50 different species of butterflies from all over Costa Rica can be spotted . The tour of just under an hour includes a bilingual guide.
Day 3.
Today you will go to La Fortuna, the nearest village to one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Arenal Volcano. You will travel by what is locally known as "taxi-boat-taxi". This is a method of getting from Monteverde to La Fortuna and takes about 3 hours and involves the following:
- 1.5-hour microbus ride from Monteverde to Arenal Lake
- 30-minute boat ride on beautiful Arenal Lake on the foot of the volcano.
- 25 minutes microbus transport from Arenal Dam where transport to your hotel in La Fortuna
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3.30pm. Volcano Hike and Baldi Hot Springs. Arenal Volcano Natural History Walk
A visit to Costa Rica is not complete without seeing Arenal's exciting live volcano! Hike through lush rainforest with an experienced naturalist, bilingual guide who will point out flora and fauna in the primary and secondary rainforest that lines the base of the Arenal Volcano. You'll then arrive at the observation point - the closest you can get to the base of Arenal Volcano. Note that over the last few months there has not been much lava activity, although your can still hear it and it is still emitting gases. The tours are still very interesting as you learn about the history of this impressive volcano!
Duration: 1.5-2 hours of an easy hike (although there are some muddy sections and a little uphill).
After the night hike we will take you to Baldi Hot Springs where you can soak any aches away from the past few day's activities. Located near La Fortuna, these Arenal hot springs is a place where you can really relax and pamper yourself. Baldi's has a series of pools and hot springs fed by Arenal Volcano which are set amid glorious tropical gardens so that you can relax in the water, while enjoying the surroundings. The pools vary in temperature, from the temperature of a swimming pool to the warmest at around 39C (102F). It's a place where, on a clear night, you can sit in a warm pool, sipping the cocktail of your choice.
You might also decide to pamper your body by opting for one of the many body treatments which are available such as massage, reflexology, body polish, volcanic mud wraps and facials (these are not included on the tour).
Includes: bilingual guide, transportation, entrance to private reserve and volcano viewpoint with beverages. Entrance to Baldi Hot Springs.
Day 4.
Cano Negro Natural Wildlife Refuge, often nicknamed the everglades of Costa Rica, is one of the best spots for seeing certain wildlife in the entire country. Situated on a stretch of wetlands along the Nicaraguan border, the 9,969-hectare (24620 acre, or 38 square miles) Cano Negro reserve follows the Rio Frio and eventually emptying out into a grassy marshland. The refuge and the area leading to the reserve boasts one of the highest diversities of wildlife in the Americas and is of special interest to birders. Cano Negro Tour takes place on the Rio Frio on the Outskirts of the Refuge which is the best part for wildlife viewing.
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The Cano Negro full-day tour leaves La Fortuna at 7.30am (earlier from Arenal hotels) and includes lunch. Transport will pick you up at your hotel to begin the 1 hour or so long drive to the city of Los Chiles at the entrance of the reserve. There is a lot to see on the journey to Los Chiles as you will pass through one of the most productive agricultural areas of Costa Rica with immense plantations of Pineapple, Papaya, Beans, Rica and Sugar Cane.
Upon arrival in Los Chiles, the group departs the bus for a motorized covered boat to travel up and down the Rio Frio. This part of the river is full of fish; including large fish called snook, silver-gold tarpon and garfish. The fish in the river attract a huge number of birds including anhinga, roseate spoonbills, storks, ducks, kingfishers, herons and cormorants. You can also see many species of mammals along the banks including white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, two and three toed sloths, pumas, jaguars and bats. There are even reptiles to see; caimans, lizards and turtles are all around.
Day 5. Community, Culture & Conservation Tour
This unique tour is a relaxing, peaceful way of going behind the scenes and putting you in direct contact with some of the promising cultural projects happening in the area.
The tour starts with a drive to the Proyecto Asis Animal Rescue Shelter. Along the way you are encouraged to ask questions about the local agriculture and surroundingfarms.
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Asis is a privately-run wildlife rehabilitation center that rescues and cares for up to 40 animals at any given time. Named “Asis” for the patron saint of nature, the shelter was founded by a locally-famous veterinarian to house the many orphaned and injured animals brought to his practice. The shelter’s eight acres of primary and secondary forest included swampy areas that attracted local species like alligator snapping turtles, caiman, boat-billed herons and black-billed whistling ducks.
At the center you will be greeted by the owner or manager and treated to an easy 30-minute walk through secondary rainforest. You will then be introduced to the current resident wild animals such as crocodiles, wild boars and monkeys and learn about local efforts to rehabilitate injured, abandoned animals and release them back to their environment (where possible) as well as educational programs underway to help prevent hunting and poaching of the surrounding Children’s Rainforest. Proyecto Asis also rescues animals, like Hercules the spider monkey that had been chained up as tourist attraction at a hotel.
Biodiesel plant
You will spend approx 2 hours in a Biodiesel plant, where you will learn the entire process on how they collect waste from different restaurants, hotels, processing animal plants and butcher’s shops, to produce their final product.
Desafio Adventure Company buys biodiesel from them to use in their 4x4 cars for several tours.
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The next stop is Luna Nueva. Started in 1994, its 208 acres encompass a medicinal plant farm, organic fruit and veggie garden, as well as a working ranch where pigs, goats, chickens, water buffalo and cattle are raised. One of the farm’s main purpose is to connect people to their food: an important, forgotten concept in an era of frenzied work schedules and fast-food consumption. The farm cultivates and exports over 50 tons of turmeric and ginger each year (extolled for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, these spices along with other healing plants are used in conjunction with conventional methods to treat everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s).
You will go on a one easy guided hike with hands-on exploration of the medicinal plant farm. Visitors will amble through a maze of earthy patchouli plants, sweet lemongrass and spicy wasabi.
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Among other plants to be spotted are the nutrient-dense plants such as chaya, which contains ten times more calcium than spinach, and the healing but foul-tasting noni fruit. Among the sixty varieties of fruit trees, the farm also grow jatropha, a new source of biofue. It is a fascinating tour and you'll learn all about their 'sacred seed project'.
The helpers at the farm or the owner will be happy to answer any questions and you can feel their enthusiasm and interest as they do their best to make you feel at home and inform you on the projects they are involved in. A delicious organic buffet lunch will be laid out with many products from the farm so you can taste as well as learn about the plants.
4.00pm to 5.00pm. Transport back to San José or Liberia (We can also drop off at the beach for an extra charge).
Details:
Minimum 2 people (Double occupancy): $649 per person
Dates of trip: We can schedule dates by request.
Monteverde Hotels: 2 nights. NOTE FOR AN EXTRA COST WE CAN UPGRADE THE HOTELS
In Monteverde we use Hotel Montana Monteverde whenever possible. Monteverde Montana is historically the first hotel in the Monteverde area and has since been remodeled to modern standards. The hotel has wonderful views of the Golf of Nicoya and its own trails. It is ideally located in an area called Cerro Plano, situated between the small town of Santa Elena and the Monteverde Reserve, . It is not far from the Ecological Sanctuary and a short walk to various restaurants in the area.
The hotel offers very comfortable rooms with private bathroom. Breakfast is included in the package. There is also a restaurant with a wide menu and a jacuzzi which clients are able to use.
Arenal Volcano Hotels: 2 nights at San Bosco (note we can use other hotels such as Volcano Lodge, Los Lagos etc for a small extra costI
Located on the edge of the town La Fortuna, Hotel San Bosco is a good-sized hotel with about 34 rooms. Rooms are very comfortable with A/C, private bathrooms with plenty of hot water and cable television There is a swimming pool, 2 jacuzzis and some gym equipment. While lava flow is very rarely seen from La Fortuna, the volcano is plainly visible from the hotel San Bosco on a clear day.
Included on Trip: All accommodation,all transport, all tours in the itinerary, all breakfasts, some lunches and guides
Not Included: Flights to Costa Rica, hotels in San Jose*, evening meals and lunches, optional tours or transportation to other places not included in the schedule
What to Bring: T-shirts, shorts, long pants for riding, sweater or light jacket, sandals, light hiking boots, rain jacket, sun screen, insect repellant, any personal medication, swimming wear, towel, traveler's insurance (to include white-water rafting and horse riding), full passport (a driving license is not sufficient), traveler's checks and a credit card (VISA or MC, other cards are difficult to use in Monteverde).
Beach Extensions! Ask for details about adding some days at the beach - we can arrange all transport, hotels and tours. Manuel Antonio beach and Samara beach are popular choices. We have many contacts with Manuel Antonio hotels.
We can also arrange hotels and transport in San Jose and other parts of Costa Rica. Please let us know if you need our help. desafio@monteverdetours.com
NOTE: Adventure tours such as whitewater rafting, horse riding, kayaking, canyoneering and hiking require physical effort. Clients should be in good condition. For client safety and enjoyment, Desafio Adventure Company reserves the right to offer a substitution, postpone, change or cancel any tour due to unfavorable conditions. Full refund is given if (on rare occasion) a tour is cancelled. Desafio Adventure Company and its affiliates are not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items.
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