Tackle your Life List in the Tropical Forests of Costa Rica Day 1: Fly into the
San Jose International Airport where your private transfer will be waiting to take you to the stately Grano de Oro hotel in the city center. Enjoy one of the top gourmet restaurants in the country before resting up for the adventures ahead.
Day 2: Take flight this morning in route to the Osa Peninsula, the biological gem of Costa Rica. You’ll stay at the remote Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge, with extensive nature trails, ocean views, fine accommodations and all your meals included. Be sure to be at the observation rancho around 5pm to watch the scarlet macaws returning to their roosting sites, the toucans playing in the trees, and to enjoy a cold drink while watching the spectacular sunset.
Days 3-4: Your stay in the jungle includes a guided tour to the Corcovado National Park as well as Caño Island, which offers some of the best snorkeling in the country. You will have plenty of free time to explore nearby beaches and do some bird watching right from your room’s private balcony. Corcovado National Park is home to a vast array of mammals, reptiles, and birds. You will have the opportunity to find some of the rarest creatures of the rain forest, surrounding your bungalow.
Day 5: Another short domestic flight will take you to the coastal town of Quepos for your private ground transfer to the luxurious
Villa Caletas hotel set on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean.The grounds of Villa Caletas is a haven for painted buntings, cuckoos, toucans, and many more of the country's most colorful species. The hotel has many trails that provide excellent bird watching.
Day 6: Take a guided tour of the Carara National Park where you will not only be amazed by the size of the ancient trees but you will be inspired by the variety of bird species you'll find. The elusive yellow billed and turquoise cotingas are among the many species that visiting bird watchers hope to see. It is quite possible in Carara.
Day 7-8: Today it’s time to head to the hills with a private transfer to the misty town of Monteverde. You will enjoy two nights at the
Trapp Family Lodge, just outside the entrance to the
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. On your second day, enjoy a guided tour through the reserve where you’ll be on the lookout for the resplendent quetzal, the three-wattled bell bird, and the very interesting umbrella bird!
Day 9-10: For your last two days in Costa Rica, you will stop in for a stay at the boutique hilltop Bougainvillea Hotel. Set amid a working coffee plantation, the hotel offers great bird sighting and a very authentically Costa Rican feel. There are several bird species that are hard to find throughout the country but easy to see in the gardens at the Bougainvillea. During your stay you will take a day tour to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens where beautiful trails take you to several lookout points with some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country. La Paz waterfall gardens features an incredible hummingbird garden. You can see up to 15 species of hummingbirds right in the gardens including the very difficult to find endemic coppery-headed emerald.
Day 11: Transfer to the international airport in San José and begin your journey home.