Costa Rica: Jungles & Rainforests
Tauck Bridges - Family Discovery Tours
The Costa Rica: Jungles and Rainforests tour is an 8 day luxury adventure tour that truly highlights the geographical features that make Costa Rica such an interesting place to visit. This Tauck tour features elements from BBC’s Planet Earth and exclusive opportunities like jungle river rafting.
This 8 day tour will show you why Costa Rica is such a popular travel destination. Your Tauck tour will start in San Jose, Costa Rica where you can check out the wild toucans and learn how to make chocolate before you head to your rainforest lodge. Then it’s on to the Arenal volcano where you can take part in the zip-line adventure of a lifetime, cruising over the volcano and through the canopy. You’ll also tour a local pineapple farm and take part in a river float trip, criss-crossing Costa Rica before your farewell party on the beach.
8 Days • fr. $4,690
Tour Includes
- On-tour film vignettes custom-made for Tauck by BBC Earth natural history experts plus other select BBC Earth touches
- Zip line adventure for extraordinary views of Arenal Volcano and the lush rainforest canopy
- Jungle river-rafting adventure with an expert wildlife guide
- Private home visit with a local farm family who have lived along the river for generations
- Guided pineapple tour includes tastings of field-fresh pineapples and pineapple treats
- Hands-on demonstration in making chocolate
- Exploration of Tortuguero National Park by boat and land with expert naturalists includes a canal cruise
- On-Tour Air (1 flight)
- Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as detailed
- All customary gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff and local guides are included.
Not Included
- The customary gratuities for the Tauck Director and local drivers are not included. We ask that gratuities be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not as a group.
- All items of a personal nature (room service, beverages, telephone charges, laundry, dry cleaning, special food requests, etc.) and meals not specified on the tour itinerary are not included and must be paid by the client.
- Airline excess luggage charges, vaccinations, visa fees and services, airport arrival and departure taxes, individual airport transfers (when applicable), and other optional or incidental extras are not included.
- All rates exclude airfare unless expressly noted.
Meal Inclusions
- 7 breakfasts
- 6 lunches
- 7 dinners
Hotel Details
- InterContinental Costa Rica at Multiplaza Mall in San José, Costa Rica (1 night)
- Aninga Lodge in Tortuguero, Costa Rica (2 nights)
- The Royal Corin Thermal Water Spa & Resort in La Fortuna, Costa Rica (2 nights)
- El Mangroove Resort in Guanacaste, Costa Rica (2 nights)
Day 1
Arrive San José Location Information Description
San Jose/Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Tauck Bridges' family Costa Rica vacation begins at InterContinental Costa Rica at 6:00 PM. A transfer is included from San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport to InterContinental Costa Rica in the heart of Costa Rica's capital city, San José. Meet your fellow eco-adventurers at this evening's welcome reception followed by dinner at your hotel, where your family enjoys Deluxe Rooms.
Dinner
INTERCONTINENTAL COSTA RICA AT MULTIPLAZA MALL
Day 2
Toucans, chocolate & on to Tortuguero Location Information Description
Tortuguero N.P., Costa Rica
A day of fun awaits your family today as you depart the capital, San José, and make your way to Tortuguero National Park, a tropical paradise in the heart of the coastal rainforest and your first taste of Costa Rica's incredible biodiversity! En route, pay a visit to the Toucan Rescue Center, where you'll tour the facilities and meet some of the toucans, sloths, monkeys and other wildlife the center's staff cares for.
Next, learn everything you ever wanted to know about one of our favorite food groups – chocolate – at an artisan chocolatier! See the natural process of transforming the cacao fruit into chocolate during a hands-on demonstration, do a little tasting and have lunch.
This afternoon, a boat transports you to your rustic rainforest retreat adjacent to Tortuguero National Park – where most travel is by water, toucans and blue morpho butterflies fly all around you, and howler monkeys provide a natural wake-up call! Enjoy a poolside barbecue for dinner tonight.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
ANINGA LODGE
Day 3
The natural treasures of Tortuguero Location Information Description
Tortuguero N.P., Costa Rica
Wake up today in your rainforest lodge near the entrance to Tortuguero National Park, where 11 different habitats have been identified in the surrounding wilderness – providing homes to 60 kinds of mammals, 57 species of amphibians, 111 varieties of reptiles and more than 309 recorded species of birds! Your day begins with a morning canal cruise, where you'll do some birding and nature viewing with our local guides, then return to your lodge for lunch.
This afternoon, take a boat to explore the village of Tortuguero; learn about the medicinal benefits of coconuts, and the "tree of life" they come from, during a coconut demonstration; and, if you wish, take an optional canal cruise inside Tortuguero National Park, or just relax at your resort. And if you're traveling with us between July and August, this evening we'll take an unforgettable nighttime trip to the beach to observe nesting green sea turtles in one of the world's top nesting grounds for these endangered animals. You'll have a chance to see them make their way up the beach from the water to dig their nests in the sand, leaving tractor-tread trails behind them!
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
ANINGA LODGE
Day 4
Zip lining & more at Arenal Location Information Description
Alajuela, Costa Rica
Depart your coastal lodge by boat this morning, then hop aboard a short flight to Costa Rica's Arenal region – home to Arenal Volcano, Lake Arenal and Arenal National Park. Upon arrival, get an extraordinary bird's-eye view of cone-shaped Arenal Volcano, an actively "restless" volcano, on a thrilling zip-line ride* at Sky Trek Adventure Park, where you'll soar over and through the canopy of rainforest treetops! (Those not into zip lining can take a nature walk instead.)
After lunch, continue to your luxury spa resort, your family's home for the next two nights; spend a free afternoon relaxing at the resort, where you'll have dinner tonight.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
THE ROYAL CORIN THERMAL WATER SPA & RESORT
Day 5
River float trip & a pineapple tour Location Information Description
Alajuela, Costa Rica
Head to the banks of the Peñas Blancas River today, a quiet backdrop perfect for taking in the sights and sounds of the rainforest. Board a rubber river raft for a gentle float trip* through the jungle today; try to spot giant iguanas, sloths, monkeys, toucans, herons, kingfishers – maybe even crocodiles and caimans – that call the Peñas Blancas home, and stop along the way to meet a local farming family who have lived on the river all of their lives.
Following lunch at a local restaurant, join us for a pineapple tour on which you'll taste pineapples fresh from the field, learn how to choose the best pineapple at the supermarket, and sample some local pineapple treats. Return to your resort for some time at leisure and dinner this evening.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
THE ROYAL CORIN THERMAL WATER SPA & RESORT
Day 6
Across Costa Rica to coastal Guanacaste Location Information Description
Golfo de Papagayo, Costa Rica
Head out from Arenal and across Costa Rica's interior today to Guanacaste on the Pacific coast, stopping for lunch on the way. Then continue on to your eclectic oceanfront resort, El Mangroove, on the shores of the Pacific in Guanacaste.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
EL MANGROOVE
Day 7
Outdoor fun & a beachfront farewell Location Information Description
Golfo de Papagayo, Costa Rica
A day of fun awaits your family today at Vandara Adventure Park & Spa in Guanacaste... where the only other guests will be your fellow Tauck travelers! You can choose from activities including horseback riding, a zip-line adventure*, waterslides, a dip in volcanic hot springs, or a massage. Whichever you choose, it's a great way to wind up your family's Costa Rica vacation!
After enjoying a farm-to-table lunch at Vandara featuring products from the park's own organic garden, return to your oceanfront resort, where you'll celebrate the end of your amazing eco-trip with a farewell reception on the beach, complete with traditional Costa Rican music by a marimba band, followed by a farewell dinner.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
EL MANGROOVE
Day 8
Adios, Costa Rica! Location Information Description
Liberia, Costa Rica
Your family's memorable Costa Rica vacation ends in Guanacaste. Fly home anytime. A transfer from El Mangroove to Liberia International Airport is included. You should allow a minimum of three hours for check-in at the airport.
Breakfast
Important information:
Important Information
Cancellation Policy
- 60 days or more before departure: $350.00 per person
- 59-8 days before departure: $600.00 per person
- 7-1 days before departure: $900.00 per person
- On departure day and later: 100% of total price
- Any changes or cancellations to airline reservations made through Tauck either before or after departure are subject to the cancellation / change policies of the individual airlines. In n some instances these cancellation / change fees may be up to 100% of the ticket price.
- Cancellation fees may also apply to any additional services, including extra night accommodations, independently supplied services, and optional excursions reserved prior to, during, and after the tour. If flight changes, including, but not limited to, flight cancellations or name changes, are requested after full land and air deposits are received, revision fees, change fees, or airline cancellation fees will apply.
- All cancellations must be received in writing prior to tour departure. The cancellation policy will apply according to the date that the cancellation notification is received. The MINIMUM cancellation penalty is the deposit amount.
- The purchase to trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended.
Terms and Conditions
- Land only “from price” is per person based on two people sharing a room together and does not include airfare unless expressly stated.
- All prices are in US Dollars.
- A $350 non-refundable, non-transferable, per-person, per-vacation deposit is required to reserve space for you. Payment of the deposit indicates you have read and accepted all Terms & Conditions. Your booking is not confirmed until the deposit payment is processed and you receive a confirmation invoice.
- Final payment is due 75 days prior to departure. Within the final payment date, payment in full is required at time of booking to reserve space. Reservations (land, cruise, and air) are canceled if final payment is not received by the due date.
- Additional deposits or payments are required for international air added to the start and/or end of your vacation.