From Monkeys to Macaws: Colorful Costa Rica With Your Family

Orientation: 6:00 p.m. at the hotel. The Group Leaders will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will learn from the Group Leaders as well as local experts who will give lectures and lead field trips. This program includes a number of bus transfers. The air-conditioned Road Scholar bus does not have a bathroom on board. However, the program includes stops for program activities, meals, and/or basic pit stops that help to break up longer travel times. Stops are built into the schedule for every 1.5-2 hours of bus travel. Meals on our program feature local cuisine. This is a Road Scholar Family program. Adults are responsible for their minor children. If/when separate age group activities are conducted concurrently, program staff will supervise. Minors are never to be left unsupervised. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leaders will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

At the hotel.

At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

At the hotel.

At the hotel, we will attend a lecture given by a local expert on biodiversity in Costa Rica. We will then check out of the hotel, board our bus, and transfer via Varablanca to Sarapiquí. On the way, we’ll make a stop at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is an ecological park located near the Poás Volcano, in a verdant, misty area where cloud and rain forests meet. The park has five beautiful waterfalls that can be admired from various viewpoints through a network of stairways and viewing platforms. Other attractions include a serpentarium, frog exhibit, walking trails, and one of the largest butterfly observatories in the world. A walk inside the oversized butterfly observatory reveals a large flowering garden with thousands of fluttering butterflies belonging to more than 25 different species. Some resident favorites include the Blue Morpho, Monarch, Blue-banded Purplewing, Salome Yellow, and Banded Orange.

At La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Upon our arrival at the lodge, we’ll check in and get our room assignments.

At the lodge.

At leisure.

At the lodge.

We will have an early morning (pre-breakfast) birding walk. Next, we’ll ride to a local farm to learn about cacao production and the secrets of making chocolate. We’ll accompany a local expert on a brief walking exploration of the farm as we learn how cacao is grown, harvested, processed, and turned into chocolate. An added treat: We will have an opportunity to sample different kinds of chocolate! We’ll return to the lodge after our field trip.

At the lodge.

We’ll ride to an assigned drop-off location on the Sarapiqui River in preparation for an exhilarating river-rafting field trip where we’ll participate in paddling. Each raft will have its own rafting expert who will sit at the back to navigate and direct participants on how and when to paddle. The Sarapiquí River winds through a region of Costa Rica called the “Eternal Spring” due to its ever present thick, verdant flora and abundant corresponding fauna. The source is in the mountains and flows down through the rainforest before joining the main body of the river. Whitewater rapids are classified by level of difficulty. Class I: Moving water with a few riffles and small waves; few or no obstructions. Class II: Easy rapids with smaller waves, clear channels that are obvious without scouting; some maneuvering required. Please note that this classification system is only a guide; degrees of difficulty vary based on local conditions including water levels. We’ll return to the lodge to freshen up and change clothes.

At the lodge.

At leisure.

At the lodge.

We’ll ride to the dock at Puerto Viejo to embark on a nature boat ride on the Sarapiqui River, followed by time spent in the river frontier town of Puerto Viejo. During the boat ride, our Group Leader will introduce us to the birds and animals that frequent the riverine vegetation, including caimans and a variety of water birds. We’ll also take this opportunity to observe land utilization along the riverbanks and consider the human impact on the ecology of the river system. After disembarkation, we’ll return to our bus and ride a short distance into the Sarapiquí community, where a local resident will invite us into her home, talk about daily life, and show us how to prepare some typical Tico dishes. We’ll be accompanied by a member of the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center (SCLC), who will also give us an overview of their mission and talk to us about their work together with the community. Founded by Giovanna Holbrook in the mid-1990s, the SCLC is a registered nonprofit organization whose mission is to link communities and conservation through education and ecotourism in the Sarapiqui region. Programs include environmental education, ecotourism activities, English classes, an ecology club, community outreach, a women’s group, and many others.

At a local home.

Back at the lodge, we will have some downtime to rest and freshen up before our next activity. Later in the afternoon, we will join our Group Leader for a presentation on tropical rainforests. During our session, we will learn about rainforest layers, plant and animal adaptations, environmental threats, and local conservation efforts. Then, we’ll put on boots (provided at the lodge) and head across the hanging bridge to experience firsthand the sights and sounds of a rainforest during a walk in the lodge’s private reserve.

At the lodge.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

At the lodge.

After checking out of the lodge, we’ll board our bus and transfer to the Rio Cuarto region to view semi-wild Macaws. The bus transfer presents an excellent time to practice your Spanish informally with the Group Leaders and others. Our first stop will be to a local family-owned farm that semi-wild Great Green Macaws and Scarlet Macaws like to frequent. These colorful and vocal birds can usually be spotted perched on surrounding trees or flying about the farm. During our visit our Group Leaders will introduce the group to the concept of a “biological corridor” and we will learn how this farm plays a role in that concept. We’ll then travel to La Fortuna town for lunch.

At a local restaurant.

After lunch, we will take a field trip with our Group Leaders to Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges. During our visit, we will traverse a combination of nature trails and hanging bridges through the rainforest canopy. Upon arrival, we’ll go on an interpretative walk in the rainforest canopy for an opportunity to obtain a perspective that is usually reserved to monkeys and birds only! The Hanging Bridges project consists of a system of trails covering a distance of about two miles with eight fixed bridges and six hanging bridges, all built with the latest techniques and designed with an eye for both beauty and safety. The entire project was designed to blend with the natural environment, leaving the forest virtually intact. The idea of the operation is to facilitate access, with the minimum possible impact, to one of the least explored parts of the rainforest: the canopy. We’ll then go to the hotel, check in, and enjoy dinner.

At the hotel.

At leisure.

At the hotel.

Get ready for our exciting canopy zip-lining adventure! We’ll ride by bus from the hotel to an establishment just outside of the Arenal Volcano National Park to begin our adventure. Thrill-seekers come here to enjoy the adventure of whizzing through the forest canopy on zip lines while nature lovers rejoice in the sights and sounds of the forest. The experience begins with a leisurely open-air gondola ride up the mountain followed by a safety lesson. Then, we will experience a heart-pumping descent via a network of zip lines and platforms before returning to the grounds via the open-air gondola. At the end of the activity, we will enjoy beautiful views of Arenal Volcano National Park while learning from local experts and our Group Leaders about the unique flora and fauna of the adjacent park's transitional forest.

At a local restaurant. After lunch, we will board the bus and ride back to the hotel.

Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leaders will be happy to offer suggestions. You may wish to enjoy the pools, or just relax at the hotel.

At the hotel.

Tonight, we’ll enjoy an up-close and educational evening with bats. We’ll ride to a nearby location to meet a local expert who will teach us about the history and characteristics of bats. At the end of the presentation, we will have the chance to observe some bats up close that were captured by researchers to study. We’ll then return to the lodge and adjourn for the night.

At the hotel.

We’ll board our bus and ride to a local farm to learn about its history and some of the agricultural traditions in this fertile region. Although tourism surpassed agriculture as the main source of revenue in the area, many local plantations still produce important amounts of papaya, sugar cane, tapioca, and ornamental plants. At the farm’s sugar cane mill, we will learn about the traditional methods of sugar cane processing. Then we’ll work up an appetite while learning to make tortillas and cooking them on a traditional wood stove. We’ll also enjoy a presentation by a local dance group who will perform folkloric dances wearing traditional costumes.

At the farm, we’ll have a traditional meal hosted by the family.

Completing our activities, we’ll ride back to the hotel for free time.

At the hotel.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

At the hotel.

Once checked out, we’ll begin our transfer to the Central Pacific Area.

At a restaurant en route.

Upon arrival to the Tarcoles River area, we will board a flat-bottomed pontoon boat and travel on the Tarcoles River searching these estuarine habitats of the Tarcoles River Basin for some of the local wildlife. As one of the most important in the Pacific coastal region, this basin virtually drains the entire western side of the Central Valley and hosts an amazing diversity of wildlife along its banks and in the extensive mangrove areas near its estuary. In addition to scarlet macaws, water birds and other creatures, some of the large population of American crocodiles (Crocodilus acutus) can often be spotted sunning themselves on the riverbanks. Our Group Leaders will offer commentary as we search and afterwards, in a special on-site presentation about crocs, a local expert will provide facts that were discovered over the years by local and foreign specialists. After finishing up our boat safari, we’ll complete our transfer to Punta Leona and check in at the hotel.

At the hotel.

At leisure.

At the hotel.

We’ll transfer via bus to the small coastal village of Agujas for an outrigger canoe paddling adventure led by expert boating staff. Before getting on the water, we'll attend a safety orientation and familiarize ourselves with the equipment. The canoes we’ll use are outriggers, also known as Polynesian canoes, which can carry several people at a time, plus a staff member. Easier to handle, more stable, and safer then kayaks, especially for inexperienced persons, these types of canoes have been plying the oceans of the world for centuries. They were created as tools for survival and travel and, as such, their design remains basically unchanged after generations of refinement. Their beauty lies in their simplicity and functionality. Our modern canoes are built of fiberglass and are equipped with an outrigger on each side to ensure safety and provide peace of mind. As the paddle hits the water, think of the ancient traditions, knowledge and skill that went into the canoe’s evolution. We’ll return to the hotel after our paddling adventure.

At the beach, picnic-style.

Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leaders will be happy to offer suggestions. You may wish to enjoy the beaches and pools, or just relax at the hotel.

At the hotel. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

At the hotel (dependent on flight times). Take-away breakfasts available upon request.

There will be an early morning transfer to the San Jose airport included in the program cost for those interested. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!