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Rainforest Hike - Tortuguero - Poas Volcano - Butterfly Garden - Hot Springs - Cloud Forest - Manuel Antonio - Carara - Coffee Plantation

10 Days from $995

Tour Price Includes All Meals All Excursions Fully Escorted

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1st day - San Jose', Costa Rica
Welcome to the "rich coast," friendly land of democracy and rare natural beauty. With naturalist guides, see exotic birds and wildlife, hike in jungle rainforests, view volcanoes, soak in hot springs and cruise through biological reserves. Relax on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Caravan provides transfers from the San Jose airport to the Barcelo Palacio Hotel. Rooms are available for check in after 3:00 p.m. Dine at your hotel, then participate in an 8:00p.m. welcome briefing. D

2nd day-Poas Volcano
After breakfast, see the statue of the drummer boy: Costa Rica's hero. Next, weather permitting, visit Poas Volcano, dormant since 1991. You can safely view this dramatic mile-wide crater from an overlook. Enjoy lunch. See San Jose's Plaza de Ia Cultura, Central Park and the National Theatre. Visit the National Museum. See pre-Columbian granite spheres and dazzling displays of gold and jade. Enjoy dinner BLD

3rd day-Rainforest Hike, Tortuguero
Scenic morning drive through Braulio Carrillo Park. Look for cascading waterfalls. With a naturalist guide, enjoy a short rainforest hike on level terrain. Lunch, then cruise through rivers and canals to the 47,000 acre Tortuguero Park. Tortuguero is home to more than 300 species of birds. Look for toucans, kingfishers, parrots and the rare green macaw Enjoy a two night stay at your lodge. After dinner in Tortuguero, a naturalist talks about the rainforest. BLD

4th day-Tortuguero Park, Canal Cruise
Cruise this morning with naturalist guides along canals lined by raffia palm, habitat of howler and white-faced monkeys, green iguanas and tropical birds. Look for white and snowy egrets and the amazing nests of the montezuma oropendola. Then, enter the mysterious reflecting waters of Cano Palma wildlife reserve. Next, visit the Green Turtle Research Station. Learn about efforts to protect the turtle's nesting habitat, eggs and young hatchlings. Walk along the Atlantic turtle nesting beaches with a naturalist guide. Next, to Tortuguero village. Meet Costa Rican school children on your visit to a local school (when in session). Return to your lodge for lunch. Free time to enjoy your lodge's swimming pool and tropical flower gardens. Visit a butterfly garden. See colorful butterflies. Enjoy an afternoon boat excursion into Tortuguero Park. Look for otters, turtles and manatees. Dinner. BLD

5th day-San Carlos Valley, Fortuna
Morning cruise on Tortuguero River. See a banana plantation. Lunch, then a brief stop at Selva Verde Rainforest Rainforest Reserve. Here you can walk the nearly 300 foot long suspension bridge through jungle canopy and over the Sarapapiqui River. Next, through scenic countryside to the San Carlos Valley for a two night stay in Fortuna. Dinner. BLD

6th day-Cano Negro, Hot Springs, Arenal
Head north this morning, passing through sugar cane, teak and orange plantations. Then, cruise on the Rio Frio through the world famous Cano Negro wildlife refuge, home to many migratory birds found nowhere else in Costa Rica. Look for whistling ducks, cormorants, anhingas, blue heron. Watch for caimans, spider monkeys and web-footed water-walking lizards. Box lunch. Return to Fortuna. Free time to explore the charming village of Fortuna. Then enjoy a relaxing soak in the volcanic hot springs. Weather permitting, see nearby Arenal Volcano's softly glowing lava flow. Dinner at Las Cabanitas. BLD

7th day-Cloud Forest Hike, Jaco
This morning drive by the Children's Eternal Rainforest, part of the Monteverde cloud forest region. The Children's Rainforest was purchased with donations from school children around the world to be preserved forever. Next, enter a cloud forest reserve, home to epiphytes, orchids, ferns and tropical birds, for a guided walk. Cloud forests are like rain-forests, but with less rain and more humidity Look for many species of hummingbirds in the feeding gallery. Lunch at a cloud forest lodge. Then, to Jaco on the Pacific Ccean for a two night stay Dinner is at your resort. This evening you may wish to explore the shops along Jaco's lively main street. BLD

8th day-Manuel Antonio, Tarcoles Cruise
Visit Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica's most beautiful park, this morning. Time to beach-comb or swim at the three pristine beaches, rated among the top ten in the world. Easy hiking trails wind through the jungle, home to one of the last natural habitats of the playful rare squirrel monkey Lunch at your resort. Next drive by the Carara Biological Reserve. Carara is an Indian word meaning "river of crocodiles." Enjoy a bird and crocodile spotting cruise on the Rio Tarcoles this afternoon.

Cruise through a mangrove reserve. Look for roseate spoonbills, northern jacanas and boat billed herons, toucans, trogons, sloths and monkeys. This tropical bird and wildlife sanctuary is one of the world's few nesting places for the scarlet macaw. Your cruise time depends on tidal fluctuations and may take place in the morning, with a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park in the afternoon. Dinner in Jaco. BLD

9th day-Sarchi, Coffee Plantation
Morning visit to Sarchi, see the painted ox carts and colorful handicrafts. Lunch. Next, see the metallic church of Grecia. Then, visit a coffee plantation. Pick a few beans when in season. Sample fresh Costa Rican coffee and enjoy a musical comedy devoted to the coffee bean. Next, return to San Jose'. Tonight, celebrate your Costa Rica adventure at farewell dinner. BLD

10th day-San Jose'
Your tour ends after breakfast this morning at the San Jose' Palacio. Transfers throughout the day to the San Jose' airport.  Hasta la vista! B

B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner
Bottled water provided on motorcoach.
Purified water provided at all meals.

  All Hotels Included - listed by day

2005 Departures - Begins San Jose

Departures every Friday from January 7 to December 30, 2005.

Per Person U.S. Dollars - Airfare is extra

Taxes and fees: Twin $98;Triple $95; Single $111.
Hold space free for 7 days, then $300 deposit due.
Final payment due 60 days prior to departure. Travel protection plan available.

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