THE REAL COSTA RICA

Upon your arrival at Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose, you’ll be picked up by a private driver, who’ll whisk you off to our quaint country lodge in the central Costa Rican town of Naranjo. You should have plenty of time to settle in before gathering to meet the group and our Local Insider during a welcome meeting, swiftly followed by our first group dinner.

If breakfast at the lodge doesn’t wake you up this morning, then our first activity will, as we make our way to a local cooperative’s coffee estate. Costa Rica is home to the finest coffee growing culture on the planet, with perfect climate conditions and a ban on growing any beans that aren’t 100% Arabica. You’ll spend around an hour and a half learning about each phase of the coffee growing process, from seed to cup, amid glorious natural scenery. After a good walk and a cup of world-class Joe, you’ll have developed an appetite, so we’ll head to a local home to take part in an authentic Costa Rican cooking class. You’ll be using traditional equipment, like a wooden stove, and focusing on local produce grown in the region, before gobbling down your creations for lunch. After that we get creative in an Ox Cart Painting class as we learn about the importance of the Ox in this region of Costa Rica. We’ll return to the lodge later this afternoon where you can spend the rest of the evening at leisure.

After breakfast we’ll head north towards Arenal Volcano National Park but, first, we’ll stop off in Los Bajos del Tor, a small village surrounded by the rainforest slopes of Poas Volcano. This area is home to Toro Amarillo Waterfall, one of the most spectacularly beautiful in all of Costa Rica, which you’ll get to see up close. Our drive will continue past potato and cabbage plantations as well as dense green forests en route to Arenal. The park’s titular volcano is famous for its near perfect cone shape and the splendid natural beauty surrounding it, including countless natural hot springs. We’ll check-in at our hotel in La Fortuna and have some free time before dinner at the hotel.

This morning starts with a guided walk through the luscious rainforests surrounding Arenal Volcano, which are a perfect representation of Costa Rica’s remarkable eco-diversity. You’ll traverse through a wide variety of plant life and fungi, spot exotic birds and reptiles, and perhaps even a sloth or two hanging above. We’ll lunch at a local restaurant but hold back on the dessert, since our afternoon will be spent on a sumptuous chocolate tour. Cocoa is another high-class Costa Rican export and you’ll spend around 45 minutes strolling through trails to learn about the process of planting, maintaining and harvesting organic cocoa – you could taste some cocoa fruit if you come during harvest. Back at the ranch you’ll learn about the roasting, grinding and conching of the beans, tasting a series of delicious flavors along the way and even making your own chocolate bonbon. Our chocoholic experience is capped off with “God’s Drink”, a rich concoction thought to have originated from the ancient civilisations of Mesoamerica.

Having had a taste of Arenal, we’ll continue our journey west to the beautiful Pacific beaches of Tamarindo. The route we’ll take is spectacular, as we drive around the serene Arenal Lake, before ascending into the Tilaran Mountains and towards the plains of Guanacaste, before finally reaching the coast. After check-in at our beach resort, you’ll have an evening to chill, but just make sure you find a good spot to enjoy the sunset – it is truly special in this part of the world.

Today starts with some cultural learning as we head to Santa Cruz de Guanacaste, where you’ll get to visit the community of Guaitil. This place is the cradle of two important Chorotega (Costa Rica’s largest indigenous culture) traditions, namely the unique traditional methods of pottery and cooking, both connected deeply to the mud of the mountains and the ancestral roots of indigenous people. There really is nowhere better to experience authentic Costa Rica first hand. We’ll return to the coast for the afternoon, where the rest of the day can be spent at your own leisure.

We want to make sure you have plenty of time to bask in the bounties of Costa Rica’s majestic coastline, so our last full day in Tamarindo is a blank page ready to be written by you. You could chill by the pool, book a massage and hit the beach, or you could go exploring the area – popular activities include diving, river tubing and horseback riding. We’ll reconvene in the evening for one final group dinner, where you can reminisce about the adventure of a lifetime and say farewell to your fellow travellers.

Sadly, our time in paradise has come to an end. You’ll have one last breakfast at the resort before we transfer you to Guanacaste International Airport (LIR) in Liberia, unless you’re planning to continue your adventures solo, of course…