Costa Rica Rivers and Rainforest

Letter Codes: B=Breakfast; L=Lunch; D=Dinner;          SG=Service Guide; TG=Transfer Guide; LG=Local Guide

Day 1: Arrive San José - Arrive at San José’s Juan Santamaría International Airport, where you will be met by our representative at the ramp, helped through immigration and customs, and transferred to your hotel in San José. Overnight at hotel Don Carlos or similar.  (No meals) (TG)

Day 2: San José / Corcovado - After a welcome orientation breakfast with your guide, depart for the 30-minute to 1-hour transfer to the Pavas Airport for a 1-hour light charter flight (single engine Cessna 206) to Carate (1 mile southeast of Corcovado Lodge). Upon arrival at Carate, walk 30–45 minutes with a Corcovado guide to the Lodge (luggage will be transported by horse cart).   After lunch at the Corcovado Tent Camp, walk with your guide in the Lodge’s loop trail.  An enticing sampler of the different types of lowland tropical rain forest, the Loop Trail winds its way entirely through Corcovado Lodge property. Different parts are made of abandoned overgrown pasture, second growth forest, and lowland primary rain forest (virgin jungle, if you will). There are views of the Pacific Ocean through vegetation that has never felt a frost. Possible wildlife encounters include coatimundis (a relative of the raccoon), Tayras (a dark, bushy-tailed weasel), Amazon parrots, parrotlets, Poison dart frogs, Scarlet-rumped tanagers, several species of snakes, agoutis (which look like a large, long-legged guinea pig), and Hermit hummingbirds, to name a few. Because this piece of land adjoins the larger protected Corcovado National Park, occasionally you may encounter sign from some of the larger mammals: Tapir, Peccaries, or felines such as jaguar, ocelot, or cougar. You also may come face to face with the monkeys common to the Osa Península: Spider, White-face, and Howler monkeys.  Dinner and overnight Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp. (B,L,D) (SG)

Day 3: Corcovado - Today, in groups of up to 6 participants at a time you will visit the Tree Canopy Platform. The adventure begins with a one-hour guided hike through the Corcovado Lodge Private Nature Reserve to the Canopy Platform. The Platform is located in an emergent tree 115 feet above the forest floor. From the Platform, you have the opportunity to view the rain forest from a seldom-seen perspective. White hawks, Howler monkeys, Anole lizards and Pygmy squirrels may be sighted. Meals and overnight at Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp. (B,L,D) (PG)

Day 4: Corcovado - After breakfast start off on the 6-hour round trip hike through the park to Salsipuedes Bay. Corcovado National Park covers 136,347 acres and is considered to be the most biologically diverse rain forest in Central America. Walking northwest you pass through primary and secondary forests, a small stretch of mangrove and stretches of beach. This walk is renowned for sighting large flocks of Scarlet macaws of 20 or more individuals feeding in almond trees. While by no means probable, it is possible to see tapir at Salsipuedes. Many of our guests have had this thrilling reward for this strenuous hike. Overnight at Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp. (B,L,D)(CG)

Day 5: Corcovado / San José / Savegre - Walk 30–45 minutes to the Carate airstrip with a Corcovado Guide. for the 1–hour flight to San José. Upon arrival in San José, we will stop for lunch and then depart for the 3-hour drive to Savegre Mountain Lodge.   Upon arrival at the lodge you will have the rest of the afternoon free to take a horseback-riding trip, go trout fishing, or relax. (Afternoon tours are an additional cost.) Overnight Savegre Mountain Lodge. (B,L,D)

Day 6: Cerro de la Muerte - After an early breakfast, depart by bus for the Cerro de la Muerte Hike. With a local guide, you will walk down the mountain, first through sub-alpine meadows, then through the oak forests of the Savegre Valley. This is a 5 to 6 hour hike, which ends up at Savegre Mountain Lodge. Picnic lunch en route. Overnight Savegre Mountain Lodge. (B,L,D) (LG)

Day 7: Savegre / Pacuare - Early morning depart Savegre Mountain Lodge to SanChirí Restaurant, located in the town of Paraíso in the Cartago Province. Here your White Water Rafting Guides will be waiting to take you on the next leg of your adventure. After a quick change of luggage and breakfast, you will depart heading east to the entrance to Hacienda Tres Equis, which will take you to the put-in location on the Pacuare River.    After an orientation and safety talk, proceed down river. River time: approximately 1–1/2 hours. Dinner and overnight camping on the riverbank. (B,L,D)(RG)

Days 8: Pacuare - The most beautiful river canyon in the tropics, the Pacuare River cuts through one of those rare pockets of wilderness left on the planet.  Today you will wake to the sounds of the Pacuare river canyon, and the smells of your River Guides' cooking. After an early morning breakfast, you will go on a 2-hour guided hike . Upon your return to camp the rafts will be rigged and ready to continue your adventure down the Pacuare River to take-out. River time: approximately 4 hours. Mid-afternoon take-out. Return to San José for the Farewell Dinner (two hours driving time).   Overnight at hotel Don Carlos or similar. (B,L,D) (RG)

Day 9: Depart San José - Transfer to the International Airport approximately two hours before your flight’s scheduled departure time. (No meals) (TG)

TOUR PRICES INCLUDE:

Accommodations: As featured in the itinerary or similar (8 nights lodging)

Meals:21 meals, as indicated in the itinerary.

(B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)

Transfers: Included in Fixed Departure programs, on arrival and departure, when arriving and departing on the first and last scheduled days of the tour. For all other tours, transfers are included as indicated.

Porterage: The handling of two bags per person. Baggage and personal effects are at the owner's risk throughout the tour.

Taxes & Entrance Fees: Hotel taxes, entrance fees to National Parks, museums and places of interest in effect at the time of booking are included unless otherwise specified. Tax increases or new taxes charged for services that were not taxed in the past will be charged to the client.

Sightseeing: As specified in the itinerary.

 NOT INCLUDED IN TOUR PRICES:

Costs of obtaining passports, visas or tourist cards; excess baggage fees; personal expenses such as room service, beverages and laundry; gratuities to tour escort, guides or driver; personal communications charges; international airfare and airport departure taxes; tax increases or new taxes charged for services that were not taxed at the time the booking was made; excess mileage carried out at the request of the passenger; sightseeing or meals not specified in the itinerary; personal insurance coverage (strongly recommended).

Note regarding arrival and departure transfers: Transfers are available by previous arrangement through Costa Rica Expeditions for participants not arriving or departing on the stated arrival/ departure dates of the tour. The cost, per person, per transfer is: 1 person=$50 2 people=$25, 3 people=$20, 4 people=$15 and 5 or more=$12

When traveling in light charter aircraft due to weight limitations in the plane, participants will need to restrict what they are taking with them to 25 pounds per person including cameras, clothing, etc. Provisions will be made for extra items to catch up to them later in the trip. Airplanes fly as high as 10,000 ft and are not pressurized. Spillable liquids should be packed in plastic bags.  The 25lb weight limit for flights or boat trips within Costa Rica does not mean that you need to limit yourself to 25 lbs of baggage for your entire trip to Costa Rica.  While it always makes sense to travel light, you can bring more than 25 lbs of luggage.  We will store your excess luggage while you are on portions of the trip that involve flights or boat trips, and catch it up to you as soon as feasible after you have finished those sections.

Costa Rica Rivers and Rainforest

2005 Guaranteed Departure Dates

Peak Season -  Dec 24, Dec 31.

Low Season -  Nov 19.

Double occupancy, per person package prices: 

Peak Season $ 1,798     Low Season $ 1,598

Single Supplement year round $342.00
 

2006 Guaranteed Departure Dates

Peak Season - Apr 8, Dec 16, Dec 23.

Middle Season - Jan 14, Feb 11, Feb 18, Mar 11, Mar 25, Apr 15, Jul 1, Aug 12.

Low Season -  May 27, Jun 17, Nov 18.

Double occupancy, per person package prices: 

Peak - $1,838 - Middle - $1,738 - Low - $1,538

Single Supplement year round $342.00
 

PRICES
The above price is per person in US$, based on double occupancy and includes all taxes in effect at the time of booking.

Trips are guaranteed to depart with a minimum of 2 participants.
  
Single supplement will be added if single accommodations are requested or forced.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FIXED DEPARTURES PARTICIPANTS

1. Who Should Go • Fixed departures are open to everyone. Travelers should expect co-participants of all ages, nationalities, cultures and physical abilities. Also, additional guests may be added to any portion of any fixed departure itinerary. We are happy to accept children 12 and older.

2. Hotels & Lodges • For the Costa Rica River & Rain Forest program, we reserve the right to change hotels at the last minute.  Primarily the San Jose hotel, but possibly the Savegre Hotel. Our ability to guarantee departures with as few as 2 participants with the price structure currently in effect is in large part due to the fact that we are able to change hotels. We will do our best to keep you informed of which hotels we are planning to use for each departure. Travelers who find these conditions unacceptable should choose the Costa Rica Connoisseur or a custom individual itinerary in which hotels are guaranteed.

3. Itinerary Order • While the services provided remain the same, we reserve the right to change the order of the itinerary. Normally, we will advise participants of foreseen changes at the time of booking; however, occasionally changes are made at a later date. The same services are included regardless of the order of the itinerary.

4. Additional Nights • Additional nights (if applicable) in San José do include breakfast, but the last night of the program in San José does not include breakfast (the morning of departure).

5. Pack Carefully! • Hiking shoes are necessary. Some participants prefer tennis shoes; however, if you choose not to bring hiking shoes, bring two pair of tennis shoes so one can be drying if they get wet.   Binoculars (8 x 42 minimum recommended) add a whole new dimension to an adventure and are not easily available for rent in Costa Rica. Please also remember that it may be difficult or impossible to get items such as batteries or bulbs for flashlights and/or cameras-bring extras. It is also advisable to bring more film than you think you’ll need! Spillable liquids should be packed inside reclosable plastic bags as light charter planes are not pressurized.

6. When traveling in light charter aircraft due to weight limitations in the plane, participants will need to restrict what they are taking with them to 25 pounds per person including cameras, clothing, etc. Provisions will be made for extra items to catch up to them later in the trip. Airplanes fly as high as 10,000 ft and are not pressurized. Spillable liquids should be packed in plastic bags.  The 25lb weight limit for flights or boat trips within Costa Rica does not mean that you need to limit yourself to 25 lbs of baggage for your entire trip to Costa Rica.  While it always makes sense to travel light, you can bring more than 25 lbs of luggage.  We will store your excess luggage while you are on portions of the trip that involve flights or boat trips, and catch it up to you as soon as feasible after you have finished those sections.

7. More on Baggage Limit • The most frequent problem in achieving outstanding levels of satisfaction for participants on trips such as these has to do with the 25 lb. baggage weight limit for light charter aircraft and boats. It is important to understand that, for reasons of safety and cost, the baggage limit must be enforced on all light charter flights-regardless of whether or not they are full.

8. Safety • Costa Rica Expeditions is the largest user of light aircraft in Costa Rica, with the exception of the government. Over the past 18 years, we have accumulated tens of thousands of passenger hours in light aircraft.   There have been 2 accidents, neither of which resulted in fatalities. We enforce higher safety standards for the pilots and aircraft we use than the Costa Rican Civil Aviation Board.

9. Airport Transfers • International arrival and departure transfers are not included for those arriving or departing on dates other than the scheduled arrival/departure dates for the program.

10. Airport Departure Tax • Upon departure from Costa Rica, this $26.00 per person tax (as of June 2004) can be paid in colones, cash dollars or a combination of both. Travelers checks and credit cards are not accepted.

11. Service Guide & Group Size • Service Guides are bilingual guides who escort our guests on itineraries that do not include naturalist accompaniment. Often these are naturalists-in-training and have considerable knowledge of plants and animals. All have training in guiding techniques, a general knowledge about Costa Rica, and a sincere desire to share this knowledge. These guides are included to accompany the group for a portion of the itinerary and to help out with logistics. When there are eight participants or more on a trip, the same guide will accompany the group during the entire trip. If there are less than eight participants, the group will be on its own part of the time and may have different guides at the different sites.

12. Welcome Orientation Meal • Due to the fact that many participants arrive after dinner on Day 1, we provide a welcome orientation breakfast on Day 2 in lieu of a dinner on Day 1.

13. Driving Conditions • Although Costa Rica is a small country and the distances between sites are relatively short, due to the conditions of winding, bumpy roads clients should expect long travel times from one point to another.

14. For the two day Pacuare River trip, participants will need to pack three groups of “stuff”. The first set will be river gear which will be worn in the raft and will be wet the whole trip. The second set of “stuff” will be dry cloths to wear at camp as well as personal toiletries needed for the night at camp.  The third group of “stuff” will be left on the bus so that participants will have clean dry (warm) cloths at take out. Please ask participants to take with them on the river only those things that are truly needed. Each person will receive one dry bag to accommodate his/her belongings.

15. Important Note: When a single parent is traveling alone with one child he or she must pay the adult rate plus the single supplement. The child will pay the regular children’s rate. The reason that this is done this way is because lodging is not costed into the children’s rate.