Costa Rica

7 Days in Costa Rica - Classic (Self-Drive)

Explore the Highlights of Costa Rica on this 7 day Self Drive tour

7 Days in Costa Rica - Classic (Self-Drive)

Explore the Highlights of Costa Rica on this 7 day Self Drive tour

Set off on this Epic 7 day trip through Costa Rica's must see locations. From jungle to beach you will get to explore the amazing wildlife rich park of Manuel Antonio National Park, before heading off to the cloud forest of Monteverde, ending in the adventure packed town of La Fortuna at the base of Arenal National Park.

*This package trip requires a minimum of 2 people.

*Can be customized upon request, to meet travelers needs

*6 Nights Hotel/Lodge 3 Star accommodation (upgrades on request)

*Meals = (B) Breakfast

Trip Extensions available on request.

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Trip Itinerary

Day 1: ARRIVAL SAN JOSE - Drive to MANUEL ANTONIO

Upon arrival connect your rental car at SJO airport, head towards a stunning beachside destination, descending to Manuel Antonio National Park. On arrival, take the rest of the day to enjoy the surrounding areas, hotel facilities or the spectacular beach.

Overnight in Manuel Antonio

Drive: 3 hours

Day 2: MANUEL ANTONIO

After indulging in a delicious breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel to transfer to the Manuel Antonio National Park. During today’s tour, your knowledgeable nature guide will walk you through the park and explain the mysteries of the rainforest. The trail is flat, picturesque and loops through the park, making your course about two miles long. Throughout your hike, your guide will stop and narrate the park’s natural history, which includes thorough descriptions of the plants and animals that can be observed along the way. The park is a great place to take pictures or just to admire the impressive views. One of the highlights of this tour is that Manuel Antonio is home to three of the four existing tropical primates living in Costa Rica. Halfway through the hike, enjoy a leisurely stop at the world-famous ‘Third Beach’. Take a rest on the soft sand or play in the waves. The stop will last around 20 minutes. Throughout the hike, it is common to see sloths, birds, and reptiles, as well as admire wild orchids, butterflies, and tropical vegetation. Your guides are equipped with Pentax and Swarovski monocular/telescopes, so you can observe the wildlife and take pictures from a different perspective. Once the tour is over, transportation is provided back to your hotel.

Enjoy the evening relaxing on the beach and grabbing a dinner in the small town.


Overnight in Manuel Antonio

Day 3: MANUEL ANTONIO - MONTEVERDE

This morning after breakfast, head towards the cloud forest. On arrival, take the rest of the day to enjoy the surrounding areas, hotel facilities or walk the town. 

Drive: (3.5 hours)

Overnight in Monteverde

Day 4: MONTEVERDE

Enjoy an early morning guided Sky Walk (a spectacular combination of hanging bridges and trails with heights that exceed treetops) tour, which includes a 3-hour hike along a network of trails and suspension bridges in the cloud forest of Monteverde. Be on the lookout for birds, monkeys, sloths, insects, and interesting plants of all shapes and sizes. The guided tour takes you through and above the rainforest. A series of eight suspension bridges, connected by trails for a total 3 km in length, provides a bird’s-eye view of the rainforest canopy!  

Afternoon

Don Juan Coffee Tour to understand Costa Rica´s coffee, chocolate and sugar cane production (with the emphasis on coffee!). The tour offers an interesting opportunity to learn about coffee and its production as well as to get close to the fascinating Costa Rican folklore.


Optional Night walk

Overnight: MONTEVERDE


Day 5: MONTEVERDE – ARENAL VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK

This morning after breakfast, head towards a stunning adventure destination of La Fortuna. On arrival, take the rest of the day to enjoy the surrounding areas, hotel facilities or the spectacular volcano views.

Drive: 3 Hours

Overnight in  La Fortuna


Day 6: ARENAL VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK

Enjoy an early breakfast and start your day of Adventure.

Canopy Tour (9am)

Sky Trek is a thrilling zip line circuit that’s located in the magical forests of Arenal. Your tour will start riding an open-air gondola from the ground to the highest point of the mountain where you’ll be dropped off at an observation area to admire fantastic views of the Arenal Volcano, Lake, and the surrounding forests. From this area, you will start riding down a unique zipline circuit that stretches across canyons, going from one mountain to another, and in between treetops. It truly is an exhilarating adventure of zip lining down the mountains.

At our Sky Trek in Arenal, you ride the tram up the mountain, and then get back to the base riding our thrilling ziplines, making it a perfect adventure activity with no walking segments – get off and jump on to the next cable. You’ll ride 7 cables that go up to 200m (656ft) in height and 750m (2460ft) in length where you will be astounded by its impressive heights, speeds that go up to 70km/h (43.5mph), views, and because you will be able to admire the surrounding mountains like in no other place.

Afternoon - Kayaking or horseback riding at Club Rio

Overnight in  La Fortuna

Day 7: ARENAL – DEPART SAN JOSE (160km – 3 hrs)

Drive:  3 hours to SJO airport

Additional Trip Info

  • Rental Car
  • Accommodations as listed in 3 Star Hotels
  • Guided tours as mentioned
  • Meals: Breakfast at most hotels
  • International Flights
  • Meals not detailed in the program
  • Gratuities
  • Services not specified in the program
  • Travel Insurance - We recommend  World Nomads, or Global Rescue

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