COSTA RICA MULTI-SPORT ITINERARY - 7 Days

Itinerary

After breakfast with your guide, drive four hours to Tilajari. After settling in and having lunch, you will go out for your first bike ride. The area around Tilajari and Arenal Volcano is recognized for having some of the best conditions for biking in the world. Tilajari co-owner Ricardo Araya, an avid biker, has found some especially unique and beautiful rides for you.

This afternoon's 10.4-mile ride goes through flat to easy rolling countryside. From the hotel you pedal 1.8 miles on a lightly travelled, paved highway, before turning off the pavement for 2.2 miles of easy dirt roads through cane and dairy farms. At the end of the dirt road, you will cross two hanging footbridges over the Penas Blancas River. This means that you will be without the support vehicle for a few miles, while it goes around to meet you on the other side. You meet up with the paved road 6.4 miles from the lodge and pedal back for a well-deserved dip in the pool.

Overnight Tilajari Resort. (B,L,D)

Your last day of biking takes you from the base of Arenal Volcano, 1,625 feet above sea level, back down to Tilajari, 211 feet above sea level. Although you will need to climb (or ride in the van) up a few steep hills, this ride is characterized by its exhilarating down hills. You start out on this 33.5-mile ride with 7.5 miles of dirt roads. There will be stops on this section to take in the views of Lake Arenal. You reach the pavement at the Arenal Dam and start a series of steep down hills and two short, steep; uphill stretches over the next four miles. For the next six miles, the terrain becomes more gently rolling. If you are lucky enough to catch Arenal out of the clouds, the views of the Volcano are spectacular on this stretch. Having pedalled 17.5 miles in all, you will stop at

Doña Mireya's hot springs for lunch and a soak. Dona Mireya, your host, will prepare a typical Costa Rican lunch in the tradition of Costa Rican hospitality. After lunch, the bike ride consist of 16 miles of mostly gentle downhill and a few short, easy climbs back to the lodge. Overnight Tilajari Resort. (B,L,D)

This day is the least active because we will travel from Arenal to the North Atlantic Coast (with your Spanish speaking driver). After an early breakfast, drive for about five hours to the Caño Blanco dock near Siquirres, passing through banana plantations and coffee fields. In Caño Blanco, you will meet the boat and Tortuguero Guide for the 1 1⁄2-hour ride to Tortuguero. You will arrive at Tortuga Lodge in time for a dip in the award-winning pool before dinner.. Overnight at Tortuga Lodge. (B,L,D)

After breakfast join a local Tortuguero Guide (trip may be shared with other guests) for a kayak tour into the Tortuguero Rainforest. These agile, human-powered vessels will allow you to go where our motorboats cannot and wildlife is most abundant.

Tortuguero National Park was created originally to protect an important nesting beach of the Atlantic Green Sea Turtle. The Park is now 51,870 acres and is one of the last large areas of tropical rainforest in Central America. The Park is home to the endangered Great Green Macaw, White-faced, Howler and Spider Monkeys, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, the Slatey-tailed Trogon, and many more species, which you will have the opportunity to observe.

After lunch, a natural history boat excursion in the National Park is planned. Relax in the pool or a hammock before dinner.

Overnight at Tortuga Lodge

After an early breakfast, depart from Tortuga Lodge for a 1-1⁄2 hour boat ride to Caño Blanco. Here your Spanish-speaking driver will be waiting to take you by van to the put-in on the Pacuare River (2-hour drive). After a safety talk and paddling instruction, you will raft the most beautiful river canyon in the tropics. Over 20 Class III and IV rapids, primary rainforest miraculously clinging to 100-foot-high vertical canyon walls, and waterfalls plunging from the canyon rim into the river will bewitch the beginner and the experienced rafter alike. Half way down the river, your guides suddenly become chefs and prepare and serve lunch on the riverbank. Finally, after more great rapids and scenery, you arrive at the take-out by mid afternoon and return to San José (2-hour drive).

Farewell Dinner and overnight at Hotel Bougainvillea.

RATES - Peak Season

RATES -  Season A

$1,998.00 per person double occupancy

RATES -  Season C

$1,798.00 per person double occupancy

Always wear a helmet. It will protect your head in case of a fall.