Costa Rica Highlights

Lost World Adventures itineraries can be tailor-made according to your plans and preferences: budget, hotel selections, travel dates, optional excursions, length of trip, etc.

Day 1 : San Jose

Upon arrival in San José, you’ll be taken to your downtown hotel to rest.

Day 2 : San Jose – Arenal Volcano

Butterfly sanctuaries, toucan feedings, frog gardens awarble with singing amphibians: this is La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and it’s the first of many wonders you’ll experience on your Costa Rican odyssey. Following a leisurely breakfast, you’ll visit this humming rainforest preserve to marvel at its jungle cats and monkeys, as well as its riverside trails overlooking some of Central America’s most crystalline waterfalls.

After lunch, you’ll pass through tropical farmlands to arrive at your Arenal-area hotel.

Day 3 : Arenal Volcano – Monteverde

Arenal may be one of the world’s most active volcanoes, but don’t worry: you can view its smoky rumblings from the safety of its observatory lodge, ideally situated on the peak’s northern side. Monitored by the Smithsonian Institution ever since its spectacular explosion on July 29, 1968, the volcano sports a craggy lava trail with panoramic views of the surrounding forest.

You’ll experience it all in a half-day hike. Afterwards, transfer overland to the Monteverde cloud forest, where you’ll rest for the evening in your luxury hotel.

Day 4 : Monteverde

Monteverde means “green mountain,” and this misty, 26,000-acre oasis is among the most verdant paradises on the planet. Colonized in 1951 by pacifist Quakers, who converted it into a protected cloud forest, it’s home to 100 mammal and over 400 avian species, most famously the resplendent quetzal, the mythological bird that’s also the national symbol of Guatemala.

In the morning, you’ll take a 20-minute aerial tram tour of the park, followed by a slide down a 3,300-foot zip line that provides an exhilarating overview of the jungle. If the weather is fine, you’ll glimpse both the Caribbean and the Pacific in the distance. After lunch, explore the park’s lush undergrowth with an expert naturalist guide.

Day 5 : Monteverde – Manuel Antonio National Park

Next up: Manuel Antonio National Park, chosen as one of the most beautiful in the world by Forbes magazine. With its secluded coves, branching trails, and lush rainforest growing right up to the water’s edge, it’s a perfect place to get lost amidst nature’s beauty. Here, after a morning trip overland, you’ll be dropped off at your hotel and left to explore the park on your own.

Day 6 : Manuel Antonio National Park

Flora and fauna are the star attraction in Manuel Antonio Park, and your second day here will be spent in the company of an expert naturalist who will get you up close to its many resident species.

These include camouflaged iguanas and three-toed sloths, orange-and-purple crabs and white-faced capuchin monkeys. The latter, in particular, are so abundant here that authorities have built them their own suspension bridge to allow them to swing freely through the terrain.

Day 7 : Manuel Antonio – Sea Kayaking Isla Damas Estuary

For your last day in Costa Rica, you’ll take to the water in an open-seat kayak to explore the exotic ecosystem of the Damas Island Estuary. Paddle with the currents as your naturalist guide reveals to you the protected inland waterways of this mangrove swamp.

Here you’ll float beneath the shade of tall mangroves, which grow only in rarified climates, while watching sloths and howler monkeys scurry through the tree canopy. Your guide will point out nocturnal silky anteaters and non-poisonous mangrove snakes, before bringing you back to your hotel to rest.

Day 8 : Quepos – San Jose – Home

Transfer to the airport in San Jose in time for your connection home.