Cloud Forest, Coastal Rain Forest, and the Osa Peninsula
Trip Type: Custom-Made Travel
Territory:
Region: Costa Rica
Trip Price: $8,790
Duration: 13 days/12 nights
Trip Begins/Ends: San Jose, Costa Rica / San Jose, Costa Rica
National Parklands:
All custom travel is tailored to the desires and interests of our traveling clients (see How Custom Travel Works tab). Trip pricing detailed is an estimate of the per person pricing for the sample itinerary detailed and includes all of the lodging, activities, and guided experiences described. Actual pricing for the trip designed expressly for you and others traveling with you will depend on the features and elements developed during the trip planning process. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.
No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities
Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration
High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun
The Energy Index detailed above relates to the level of exertion associated with the sample trip detailed. This would be modified to fit the style and ability of your group as a part of the custom trip planning process
We’ve been tailoring custom journeys for clients since our very inception in the mid-1980s! The process is all about connecting the interests of the travelers with the best that a given destination has to offer. To achieve this, we rely upon good ol’ fashioned conversation! Our geographically focused travel designer love to meet new people and learn about their interests for travel. Understanding your goals informs the process immensely and serves as the foundation for the development of a bespoke travel experience for you and yours.
The trip detailed on this web page is a sample of something we’ve done for other clients over the years. In order to start the process of designing your own custom travel experience, just call us at (800) 445-2995 and ask to speak with one of our Travel Advisors. After a bit of time on the phone, you will then have the opportunity to connect with one of our travel designers.
The entire planning process is very personalized and works in an iterative fashion until a final, perfect trip has been created. We then secure all of the lodging, activities, and guided experiences associated with your trip and send along abundant trip materials capturing these details – and much more about your travels!
A driver meets you at the airport for the transfer to your accommodations in a converted Victorian mansion in the heart of historic San Jose. All proceeds from the hotel’s outstanding restaurant go to support a half-way house for young women.
Your guide picks you up and you’re off to explore the higher-elevation cloud forest, the habitat of choice for a variety of unique wildlife, birds, and plants. Walking and exploring with a guide in places like Los Quetzales National Park and the private reserve surrounding your ecolodge gives you a deeper understanding of the ecosystems and enhances your chances of spotting elusive species like the resplendent quetzal and tapir.
With your guide at the wheel, drive from the jungle to the beach today, stopping along the way to ride horseback to a typical Costa Rican finca, then on to the stunning Nauyuca Waterfalls. Take a dip in the pool at the base of the waterfall!
Savor a guided experience in Marino Ballena National Park today. Ballena is the Spanish word for “whale,” a nod to the humpbacks that migrate here. The park features a sandy spit known as the “Whale Tail” that is shaped just like, you guessed it, a whale’s tail.
Bid farewell to your guide and continue on with a representative of your next ecolodge. You’ll catch a boat across the beautiful Golfo Dulce (watch for dolphins!) and land at your boutique lodge, built in harmony with the rain forest environment. A network of trails fans out from the lodge for your exploring pleasure there and in Piedras Blancas National Park. The lodge is set near Corcovado National Park, so has very similar habitats with far fewer visitors—and even more tree species.
Catch a boat, then a lodge shuttle to your next ecolodge base near Corcovado National Park. Your lodge is on a 700-acre private reserve of undisturbed rain forest, still on the richly biodiverse Osa Peninsula. On your first morning here, a guide will meet you for a quick boat ride to a beach gateway into Corcovado. The day is devoted to walking and wildlife watching in this spectacular, pristine park.
Fly to San Jose for one last evening of birding and fine dining at your coffee plantation hotel. Fly out the next morning.
Escape to the cloud forest on a 1,000-acre private reserve adjacent to Los Quetzales National Park, just 55 miles south of San Jose. The 41-room lodge features a restaurant and day spa, and over 18 miles of hiking trails on the private reserve, with plenty more on the outskirts and in the national park. A perfect base camp for hikers!
Cuna del Angel (Angel's cradle) hotel is an exclusive and cozy boutique hotel amidst incredible tropical forest, in the heart of the Earth's most ecologically diverse area. Great views along the South Pacific Coast abound from every angle in this intimate and warmly constructed hotel. Built in a lovely combination of Colonial and Native Costa Rican style, we're quite sure you'll love this unique and authentic property!
Experience the pure, natural beauty of the Golfo Dulce and the private rain forest reserve right from this harmonious lodge. Uniquely decorated rooms feature ocean or rain forest views, and the lodge hosts an abundance of wildlife at any given time, including toucans, monkeys, frogs, sloths, and more. At the end of a full day, settle into a luxurious bed as you fall asleep listening to the gentle sounds of the gulf and the forest.
Situated on the Osa Peninsula, this distinctive lodge rests on 700 acres of undisturbed rain forest. The lodge is surrounded by primary rain forest, streams and waterfalls, and open gardens—all of which are frequented by the peninsula’s incredible wildlife, including agouti, coati, monkeys, toucans, and even the occasional puma. What you won’t find here are crowds of people! Though the coastline at the lodge is rugged and cliffed, several lightly visited beaches are accessible by trail.
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