An ACTUAR representative will meet your flight and take you to a charming San José hotel. If you have time, do a walking tour of downtown.

Your Tortuguero guide will pick you up at your hotel early to start the trip to the Costa Rican Caribbean. You will pass through the immense forests of Braulio Carrillo National Park while learning about the history of Limón Province. Enjoy a tropical breakfast enroute, and be our guest at a banana processing plant, our second most important export. Around 11 a.m., you will board a comfortable boat for the exotic and enchanting trip down the freshwater canals that take you to Tortuguero. Have a refreshing tropical drink and a scrumptious lunch as you are welcomed to Pachira Lodge. After lunch, boat across the river to visit the Sea Turtle Museum, the beach, and Tortuguero Village. Enjoy a wonderful tropical buffet dinner that evening. Overnight at Pachira or a similar lodge. *(B, L, D)

Optional morning tour: Boat through the canals at dawn. If the weather is clear, get some great photos of a Caribbean sunrise. When you return to the lodge, discover the flavors of Costa Rica with a hearty tropical breakfast. Hike up Cerro Tortuguero, the highest hill in this region, or travel through the waterways, marveling at the flora and fauna protected by Tortuguero National Park. In the afternoon, take whatever time you need to enjoy the private nature trails at the lodge, take another boat trip, or simply relax around the pool. If it is turtle season (July through September), an optional night tour will be offered where you walk on the beach and observe the sea turtle nesting process with an experienced local guide. Overnight at Pachira or a similar lodge. *(B, L, D) 

After breakfast, a boat will take you down the canals to the port of Moín, where your 4-WD rental car will be waiting for you. The adventure continues as you drive toward the southern Caribbean. Enjoy the afternoon in Cahuita National Park, where it is easy to see monkeys, sloths, iguanas and many tropical birds on the well-maintained path that goes through the forest next to the sea. Take a dip in the ocean, then drive to Casa Calateas Rural Inn, 4 kilometers inland. Enjoy Caribbean cuisine in this campesino village and learn about the conservation efforts of the local association that owns the lodge. Overnight at Casa Calateas. *(B, L, D)

Wake up with the sounds of the forest and direct yourself to the BriBri Indigenous Territories to explore the BriBri paradise. Drive 45 minutes to the village of Bambú, where your local guide will meet you. Get aboard a dugout canoe that will ply the Yorkín River, the natural border between Costa Rica and Panamá, surrounded by the exuberant vegetation of this area. Arriving at Yorkín, you’ll walk through the village, seeing plantations of organic bananas and cacao on your way to the Stibrawpa Rural Inn. When you arrive, have a tasty snack and learn about the work of the indigenous association that owns and manages the lodge. Walking on a nearby trail, you’ll see indigenous medicinal plants and the tree crops that are vital to the community. You’ll be served a BriBri-style lunch, and, for dessert, learn about how chocolate is produced! Try your hand at weaving the palm fronds that villagers craft into thatch for their houses. The rest of the afternoon will be free for relaxing, for a delicious dip in the river, or a snooze in a hammock. In the night, listen to BriBri myths around a bonfire. Overnight at Stibrawpa. *(B, L, D)

After breakfast, hike to the Panamá waterfall with your local BriBri guide. When you return, have lunch, then set out in the canoe for Bambú, where your car has been safely guarded. Drive to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, and continue south to Playa Chiquita, one of the most beautiful of Caribbean beaches. Relax on the beach in the afternoon, or explore Puerto Viejo. Overnight at Kukula Lodge, or similar. *(B, L)

Enjoy the beach, or take part in a range of optional activities: salsa classes, Caribbean cooking classes, canopy zipline tours, dolphin observation and snorkeling tours in Manzanillo. Overnight at Kukula Lodge. *(B)

Drive north and west to Boca Tapada to find El Pedacito de Cielo, your little piece of heaven. It’s located in the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor and was a pioneering member of the Costa Rican Bird Route. The inn is surrounded by a great variety of fruit trees and flowers, which attract birds. You’ll see toucans, Montezuma oropéndulas, and even the famous and endangered scarlet macaw and green macaw. You’ll discover beautiful landscapes and a great diversity of rainforest flora and fauna as you enjoy the pure air, the tranquility and comfort of Pedacito de Cielo.*(B)

After breakfast, choose any of the optional activities offered at Pedacito de Cielo: hiking in their rainforest reserve, boating or kayaking on the Río San Carlos, or horseback riding. Overnight at Pedacito de Cielo. *(B)

Set out for active Arenal Volcano. If the weather is clear, you can see red lava sliding down the southwestern side of the volcano at night. When you arrive at Arenal Oasis, the owners will greet you and orient you to their nature trails, frog ponds and wildlife exhibits. Go for a relaxing soak at the hot springs that night.

Enjoy optional activities like a visit to Arenal Volcano National Park, hiking at Arenal Hanging Bridges, a canopy zipline tour, or hiking to the La Fortuna waterfall. For those who enjoy a more strenuous hike, there is Cerro Chato, an extinct volcano south of Arenal. In the afternoon, drive back to San José, where you will stay in a charming hotel, and turn in your car.

Breakfast and transport to the airport for your flight home. *(B)