Tentative Itinerary

Upon your arrival at the San Jose International Airport you will be picked up at the airport building by one of our drivers and taken to your hotel. Our driver will tell you when you are to be picked up the next day to begin your tour and answer any questions you may have at this time.

After your early morning pick-up at your hotel, you will be transferred to the domestic airport in Pavas just outside San José for your flight to Golfito. Upon arrival have a 4x4 ground transfer to Tiskita Jungle Lodge. After a welcome briefing and before lunch, we will explore the waterfall rainforest trails and look for poison arrow frogs and birds. In the afternoon another introductory walk to this diverse and unique ecosystem.

Tiskita Lodge (6 miles hike in the rainforest, occasional up and downs and creeks crossings)
Take the “back trail” and explore the jungle with your local guide, look for monkeys, sloths and toucans! After lunch another 3-4 miles hike.

Additional activities such as sea fishing, surfing lessons, horseback riding in the forest and on the beach are available at an extra cost.

Some birds seen in Tiskita: King Vulture, Osprey, Scarlet Macaw, Blue-headed Parrot, Costa Rican Swift, Band-tailed Barbthroat, Green-breasted Mango, Baird´s Trogon, Golden-naped Woodpecker, White Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Orange-collared Manakin, Chesnut-backed Antbird, Black-hooded Antshrike, Fiery-billed Aracari, Chesnut-mandibled  Toucan, Riverside Wren, Cherrie´s Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper, Shinnig Honeycreeper.

Tiskita has one of the last populations of Squirrel monkeys, locally known as Titis, other animals that may be seen in their natural habitat are: Howler Monkey, White-faced Capuchin Monkey, Three-toed Sloth and Two-toed Sloth, Collared Peccaries, White-nosed Coati, Agouti, and Tamandua Anteater. Among reptiles and amphibians: Granular Dart Frog, Green and Black Poison Dart Frog, Basilisk Lizard, Central American Whip-tailed Lizard, Boa Constrictor, Black Iguana and Green Iguana. Occasionally Humpback whales!

Tiskita Lodge (7-8 mile hike to Guaymí-Ngabe Indian Reservation, occasional up and downs and creeks crossings)
Today take a long walk toward the Indian Reservation of Guaymi in remote Burica Peninsula. Walk along roads, pastures and forest with great vistas of the Pacific Ocean, on the way to the edge of the Reservation. With some luck meet local indigenous people.

This morning you will be transferred to Manuel Antonio, Quepos. En route there visit the Mangrove at Sierpe River. This reserve is an important habitat of many species of birds, fish, mammals and reptiles. The mangroves play an important direct and indirect role in maintaining the fish stock. Some species depend on these sites for their life cycle or for an important part of this cycle (reproduction, growth or feeding). The area includes the estuary of the Rivers Térraba and Sierpe, and adjacent lagoons (Laguna Sierpe, Laguna Porvenir), periodically inundated mangrove and "yolillo" palm Raphia taedigera swamp forest, sandy beaches and cliffs. The flora in the reserve is formed by hydrophytes whose growth cycle is in harmony with the aquatic environment. There are three types of vegetation (mangrove, palustrine and herbaceous) in Térraba-Sierpe. Sea life includes fish, mollusks, oysters and other shellfish. More than 55 species of fish use this wetland, and there are at least 10 commercially exploited species of shellfish. Resident and migratory bird species visit the area. Bird species include Herons, Egrets, Cotingas, and Osprey; mammals include Agouti and Otters and reptiles Caiman, Crocodiles and Tree Boas. The Térraba-Sierpe wetland is characterized by a woodland ecosystem with periodically flooded swamps and mangrove forest, at the mouths of the Térraba and Sierpe Rivers.

Then after this memorable tour enjoy lunch at the local restaurant of the area and then continue towards Manuel Antonio, Quepos.

Los Campesinos Reserve (6-7 mile hike)
Driving toward the mountains of Talamanca, 45 minutes from Quepos-Manuel Antonio, is the town of Londres. After enjoying fresh fruits and coffee at Vikis Restaurant start our hike to Los Campesinos Private Reserve with your private guide. The hike covers a total of 7 kms starting on an old farm road then passing many creeks and waterfalls inside untouched rainforests. Along this road we have amazing views of this pristine area with great opportunities for wildlife and bird observation.

At the end of the road hike we stop at The Campesinos Reserve, located on a beautiful mountain range between the Naranjo and Savegre rivers watersheds. The Reserve is part of the community of Quebrada Arroyo, and is managed by local Costa Ricans that want to share their experience of "tico" traditions, great food and rainforest knowledge.

Once in the Reserve there is time to swim in a great natural pool at the base of a waterfall, see vanilla plants, as well as other tropical species. A highlight of the Reserve is a suspension bridge over a really deep river gorge. After lunch, 3 more kms of hiking takes us to the Savegre River where, with the help of the local guides, we use a traditional manual tram or "andarivel” (kind of metal tram suspended by ropes) to get across the River. Here the driver will be waiting for us to go back to the hotel.

Manuel Antonio to San Gerardo de Dota, Los Quetzales National Park (approximately 4-5 mile hike, some challenging sections with mud, roots, down and up steep hills)

This morning visit Manuel Antonio National Park; this is one of the country’s most popular parks because of its beautiful beaches, forest growing to the beach’s edge and nature trails with abundant wildlife.  Your guide will take you for a hike in the park trails (great views of the ocean from hilltop lookouts).

Manuel Antonio nature highlights: Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Baird´s Trogon, Violaceous Trogon, Golden-naped Woodpecker, White Hawk, King Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Orange-collared Manakin, Chesnut-backed Antbird, Bicolored Antbird, Black-hooded Antshrike, Fiery-billed Aracari, Rufous Piha, Chesnut-mandibled Toucan. Other animals that may be seen in their natural habitat are: Titi or Squirrel Monkey, White-faced Capuchins and Howlers monkeys, Three-toed Sloth and Two-toed Sloth, Tamandua Anteater, Agouties, Coatis, Northern Raccon. Among reptiles and amphibians: Basilisk Lizard, Central American Whip-tailed Lizard, Boa Constrictor, Black Iguana and Green Iguana.

After visiting the park enjoy lunch at any of the local restaurants or en route to San Gerardo de Dota. Some easily seen endemic birds in this area are Black-billed Nightingale-Thrushes, Black-cheeked Warblers, Timberline Wrens, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanagers and Volcano Hummingbirds

Savegre Lodge to Providencia (approximately 6 miles hike, some challenging sections with mud, roots, down and up steep hills)
Before breakfast your guide will offer an optional birding walk. Don’t miss it! The area around the lodge usually has great birding. You will see hummingbirds and other highland species which may include Flame-throated warblers, Band-tailed Pigeons, Sulfur-winged Parakeets, Hairy Woodpeckers, Acorn Woodpeckers, Mountain Robins and Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers. Be sure to dress in layers, mornings are usually very cool here. After a hearty breakfast of hot Costa Rican coffee and the famous gallo pinto (a flavored rice and bean breakfast dish that is very popular in Costa Rica), you will start your day hike in cloud forest. Your chances of seeing Resplendent Quetzales are high! On the way down to Providencia you will pass through several altitudinal belts of vegetation, which will give you a first-hand understanding of the diversity of plants and animals in the tropical high mountains. At the end of the hike when you reach Providencia our mini-bus will be waiting for you to take you back to Savegre Lodge (approximately 2 hours), en route to the hotel you will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

Savegre Lodge to Rio Celeste (approximately 5-6 hours drive)
This morning you will be traveling to the lowlands of the northern plains in the area of Tenorio National Park, Guanacaste Province. En route there visit Carara Biological Reserve, located west and slightly south of San José, Carara Reserve is nearly at the geographical mid-point of the Pacific Coast. The Reserve has a transitional climate between the hot dry northwest and the rainy region of southwest Costa Rica and so contains flora and fauna from both regions. It has year-round wet habitats, and is criss-crossed by several streams and rivers making the reserve a green oasis with its epiphytes, ferns and palms. Carara's habitat includes marshes, primary and secondary forests, and a lake covered with water hyacinth and other floating plants. It is home to parrots, parakeets, toucan, trogons, three species of monkeys, and one of only three viable populations of Scarlet Macaws in Central America. Here you might see free flying Scarlet Macaws and the rare American Crocodiles that bask along the embankments of the Tarcoles River that passes by the entrance of the reserve. After visiting the reserve, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then continue en route to Guanacaste.

Rio Celeste to Rincon de la Vieja (approximately 4-5 miles hike, some challenging sections with mud, roots, down and up steep hills)
This morning with your guide enjoy a tour to the Rio Celeste, the crown jewel of Northern Costa Rica. The Light Blue River, a winding body of water surrounded by amazing rainforest in the Tenorio Volcano National Park, sports one of Costa Rica's most beautiful waterfalls, natural hot springs, as well as the unique phenomenon of clear water turning blue by means of a volcanic chemical reaction. A trip to Rio Celeste involves a pleasant, yet somewhat challenging, hike through the cool rainforest scenery of the Tenorio Volcano National Park. The hike will last about an hour and a half before you reach the Rio Celeste Waterfall. Take some time here to enjoy the beauty of this gorgeous cascading water crashing into the baby blue swimming hole below. The lush green tropical surroundings top off one of most aesthetically-pleasing views in all of Costa Rica.

After this tour enjoy lunch at the local restaurant and then start traveling to Rincon de la Vieja area. (3 hours drive)

Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Santa Maria hike (5 miles hike, occasional up and downs and creeks crossings)

Today’s guided hike covers the foothills of the park, a beautiful trail thru dense primary forest and several river crossings. It starts at the “old house” or Santa María station and finishes at the entrance of the park at Sector Pailas ranger station.

Rincon de la Vieja has a main volcanic peak rising 6300 feet above sea level and its steep slopes are densely cloaked by forest up to near the top. The main crater contains a blue lake in its center, and has numerous fumaroles (vents) along its walls that release hot sulfurous steam. In the 1980’s and 1990’s the volcano had several small but powerful eruptions, and such intermittent eruptions will likely continue into the distant future. In the lowlands below in an area that extends over 125 acres is a landscape of mixed open scrub vegetation and forest covering a network of hot steam vents, bubbling “mud pots”, and hot water rivers. Extending back from this section are forests with ancient trees and home to spider monkeys, howling monkeys, white-faced capuchin monkeys, agoutis, leaf-cutter ants, toucans, morpho butterflies and other creatures great and small.

Rincon de la Vieja Volcano nature highlights: Great Tinamou, Turkey Vulture, King Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Double-toothed Kite, Laughing Falcon, White-crowned Parrot, Little Hermit, Green-fronted Lancebill, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Purple-crowned Fairy, Violaceous Trogon, Collared Trogon, Black-throated Trogon, Tody Motmot, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Collared Aracari, Keel-billed Toucan, Lineated Woodpecker, Bicolored Antbird, Masked Tityra, Rufous Piha, Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant, Bananaquit, Montezuma Oropendola, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Golden-hooded Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Red-legged Honeycreeper.

At lower elevations close to the park, you may see birds that could be found in wetlands and pastures in Dry Guanacaste: Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Wood storks, Jabiru, Zone-tailed hawks, Crested Caracara, Laughing Falcon, Double-striped Thick-Knee, Black-necked stilts, Northern Jacana, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. Thicket Tinamou, Great Curassow, White-fronted Parrot, Yellow-naped Parrot, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Black-headed Trogon, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Hoffmann´s Woodpecker, Long-tailed Manakin, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Rufous-naped Wren.
Other animals that may be seen in their natural habitat are: White-faced Capuchins and Howlers monkeys, Three-toed Sloth and Two-toed Sloth, Tamandua Anteater, Agouties & Coatis. Among reptiles and amphibians: Basilisk Lizard, Central American Whip-tailed Lizard, and Boa Constrictor.

Departure Rincon de la Vieja to Liberia International Airport 
Departure transfer to the International Airport for your departure flight, you are required to check in at least 3 hours before flight departure.

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