The Top 3 Tailor-Made Costa Rica Holidays
Costa Rica’s small area has abundant wildlife, wonderful scenery, fine beaches and much more. It’s knowing where to go, how best to get there and which hotels to choose that has become the hardest part of planning a Costa Rican holiday. In this article we’ll cover a number of examples of tailor made holidays with the aim of giving you a good sense of the options available.
1. Secret Costa Rica (14 nights)
If you like to discover new places, and prefer the road less-travelled, then this holiday might be the one for you. As always, they can tailor-make it to suit you exactly as you want. (They say they have plenty of other undiscovered parts of Costa Rica to let you in on, from visits as the guests of tribal communities, to journeys across the remote San Juan river and into Nicaragua, so it’s worth getting in touch if this is the sort of thing you like best.)
After arriving in San Jose, you have a leisurely day to acclimatise, or to explore the Central Valley. The next day a rental car is delivered to your hotel. The plan is for you to drive south to a beautiful valley tucked away in the mountains south of the capital, and the little hamlet of San Gerardo de Dota. There are botanical gardens for you to visit en route, and the delightful Orosi Valley. San Gerado de Dota is set in bird-rich cloud forest, with very good chances of seeing the legendary Resplendant Quetzal, the sacred bird of the Mayans, with its irridescent plumage and extraordinary long tail that streams fully two feet behind as the males fly. There’s a neat mid-range lodge in the valley for a two-night stay. They say that this cloud-forested valley has the peace and tranquillity that the more famous Monteverde has lost, and your chances of seeing the Quetzal are much higher.
Then it’s an easy drive southwards to arrive at the Osa Peninsula, where there are several choices of places to stay. You should spend at least two days around here and you really should check out the quirky Hacienda Baru, a national wildlife refuge stretching from wetland and secondary forest up to primary forest on a high coastal ridge facing the ocean.
Turning north, there’s a newly upgraded road which allows you to make a loop, and brings you to a relatively undeveloped area around Dominical. It’s known to surfers for its broad sand beaches and excellent breaks. Stop awhile, or continue north via Manuel Antonio National Park, but don’t forget to stop at Carara National Park, especially if you enjoy birds, because there’s a population of Scarlet Macaw here that should be easy to find.
You’ll need to put in a couple more hours at the wheel to reach your next stop, a private lodge called La Ensenada reached by dirt road, but set high over the Gulf of Nicoya, with great views. Horse-riding is a great option here and birdwatching too in habitats similar to those of Palo Verde, where birdwatchers have been coming for years for its fabulous waterbirds.
The next stop is the village of Nosara on the Pacific coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, up in the northwest of the country, where the shoreline has been set aside as a wildlife reserve, so it’s a short walk to the sea but when you get there the beaches are completely natural. A special reason for coming is the nearby Ostional Wildlife Refuge, where Olive Ridley turtles come in great ‘arribada’ events to lay their eggs, with the biggest numbers in the events between August to October. Humpback and Grey whales are seen in winter months. Even if you miss these, there are guided tours into Nosara’s own Biological Reserve, and boat trips on the Nosara river to make up for it.
2. Costa Rica Chill-out (12 nights)
This tailor-made holiday is just the thing for a relaxing getaway or a special honeymoon. It includes a spa hotel, some wonderful wildlife and a beautiful Pacific beach. Again, everything about this holiday can be custom built to suit you.
You are collected from the airport when you arrive in San Jose and driven to the lovely Xandari Spa, a gorgeous boutique hotel set in a 40 acre coffee and fruit plantation with views over the Central Valley. It’s a wonderful place to unwind and de-stress, with two swimming pools, an outdoor Jacuzzi, and a lovely dining room with exquisite cooking and panoramic views. The spa facilities provide some extra pampering. A short excursion to see the impressive Poas volcano and visit the La Paz waterfall garden begins your discovery of Costa Rica.
You will also want to see something of Costa Rica’s wildlife, so this holiday includes a visit to Tortuguero National Park, where you explore the natural world of the flooded forest by boat with naturalist guides. You stay at a small upper-range lodge with open air restaurant whose menu includes some Afro-Caribbean specialities from this part of the country.
You shouldn’t visit Costa Rica without spending time at the beach, and there is plenty of it to choose from. There are a wonderful selection of properties, from Punta Islita, a sophisticated retreat and one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, to barefoot style at the romantic Ylang-Ylang on the south coast of the Nicoya Peninsula. For a focus on well-being, choose Harmony at Nosara, a holistic retreat hotel with yoga classes, a spa and laid-back style.
For your final night, they suggest you return to San Jose to stay at the Grano de Oro, a Victorian family mansion converted to a sophisticated upper-range hotel in fin de siecle style. with original art and furnishings by Costa Rican artists. The dining room is considered one of the top spots to eat in the city.
3. Just a Week in Costa Rica (7 nights)
A week is not long, but if it’s all the time you can spare it’s amazing how much you can see in a country the size of Costa Rica. Wildlife, volcanoes and cloud forest make a great holiday, and this itinerary was designed to condense their classic ‘Coast to Coast’ holiday to make the most of a seven night visit.
From San Jose, where you spend your first night, you travel to Tortuguero for its wonderful wildlife, then to the impressive Arenal volcano and all the options around the town of La Fortuna. (Sadly you have to miss out the visit to the south of the Caribbean coast, and the forests of Sarapiqui.) You travel on to Monteverde, which many would say is a must, from where you return to San Jose, missing out on time at the beach – unless you really could stay a little longer?
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