Depart Home for San Jose, Costa Rica
Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica
Orientation Walking Tour - The group will become oriented with their neighborhood, the public transportation systems, nearby pharmacies, markets, ATMs, etc. Additionally, an in-depth safety briefing will be provided for what to do in case of an emergency.
Welcome Dinner - The group will be taken for an authentic Costa Rican dinner with a wide variety of menu options to cater all diets.
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Travel to Cahuita (approx. 3 hours)
Lunch (included)
Check-In & Orientation Walking Tour
Dinner (included)
Nocturnal Wildlife Hike - This is a great way to discover a big variety of nocturnal animals that live in the coastal tropical rainforest. Night is the time when this area really wakes up. The darkness gives a very different feel to the hike, and the reflection of the eyes makes it easier to spot animals.
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Cahuita National Park Wildlife Tour - Local Flora & Fauna.The park was originally designated as Cahuita National Monument in 1970, and re-designated as a national park in 1978.
Lunch (included)
Bribri Educational Day - Traditional Meals, Medicinal Plants, Chocolate Making, Traditions
Bribri Waterfalls - This stunning waterfall has a natural pool at the bottom, perfect for swimming.
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Travel to Manzanillo (approx. 40 mins)
Lunch (included)
Naturalist Tour of Manzanillo and Gandoca National Park - The Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge protects almost 70% of the southern Caribbean coast and includes some of the area’s most beautiful beaches. The refuge officially begins at the Cocles River (one mile south of Puerto Viejo) and extends 19 miles south to the Sixaola River at the Panamanian border. The refuge protects beautiful beaches, coral reefs, lowland tropical forests and several of the country’s most endangered habitats including the only jolillo palm swamp in Costa Rica.
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Transfer to Field Station (approx. 2 hours) - Imagine a place hidden in a dense jungle forest along the Caribbean Sea, a quasi-island surrounded by ocean and canals. You can only get there by boat. A place without electricity, where howler monkeys, egrets, herons and kingfishers announce your arrival. No crowds, no traffic and no luxury. All left behind for the unique chance to experience the wilderness, to be part of something great, to observe, learn and perhaps teach someone
Lunch and Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Boat Tour - Spotting of different types of biodiversity at the station, from crocodiles, iguanas, herons, kingfishers and more.
Lunch (included)
Data Collection of Local Flora and Fauna
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Mammal Identification Workshop with a Focus on Wild Cats - of which we will delve into some of the behaviors, diets and sampling. We will collect camera traps and then, with the expert from the Panthera organization, we can start identifying individuals. We hope to observe on camera jaguars or other animals.
Lunch (included)
Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Travel to Tirimbina Biological Station Tropical Wet Forest (approx.2h30)
Lunch (included)
Walk with the Gto explore the Tropical Forest to Spot Wildlife - Some of the knowledge learned in the field class will be applied. We will learn about leaf-cutter ants, monkeys and anything else we find along the way.
Discussion on the Impact of Human Involvement on the Structure and Function of Tropical Ecosystems
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Lecture about Bats in Costa Rica - We will learn, explore and research about this amazing nocturnal mammals.
Lunch (included)
Lecture - Elaboration of a Short Research Project on Bats in Costa Rica (60 minutes).
There are two options: 1- Students create their own research project, 2- Students assist me with my own research project.
Workshop - Capture & Handling (our expert only), data gathering and analysis.
Two options: 1-Students create their own research project and I assist them to gather their own data, I guide data analysis and a short presentation of their results, 2-Students assist me with my own research project) (4 hours with field work)
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Travel to La Fortuna (approx.2h)
Arenal Volcano National Park Wildlife Tour – The location of Costa Rica's most active Volcano. Arenal National Park contains a bizarre landscape of solidified lava flows, lush natural forest and tropical flora and fauna which includes howler monkeys, toucans and over 350 species of birds.
Lunch (included)
La Fortuna Waterfall - A short hike through the lush rainforest will take you right to the plummeting falls, where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Naturalist Tour Tenorio Volcano National Park Located in the Guanacaste volcanic mountain range, this park is home to a rainforest that protects regionally important wildlife species. We will visit a turquoise waterfall, which is formed by the joining of two rivers that have different PH, making the particles larger and forming the aluminosilicates that reflect the turquoise color.
Lunch (included)
Swim in Turquoise Water
Free Time
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Travel to Monteverde (approx. 3h)
Lunch (included)
Orientation Walk & Free Time to Explore the Town
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Wildlife Tour - The ‘Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve of the Tropical Science Center’ is the first private area for the conservation of wildlife founded in Costa Rica in October of 1972.
Lunch (included)
Ziplining - Enjoy a unique perspective of the forest as you fly over Costa Rica's beautiful landscape.
It doesn't get much better than these views! While the nine standard zipper lines are sure to amaze, the real thrill comes from the two superman zipper lines, including the longest zipper line in Costa Rica!
Dinner (included)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Travel to Carara National Park (approx. 2 hours)
Lunch (included)
Carara National Park Wildlife Tour - The park is known as a bird paradise, but you can spot here many other species of animals. The park is rich with fauna and flora, like insects, spiders, monkeys, huge trees, and this destination Is the favorite of wildlife enthusiasts and bird watchers.
Dinner (included)
Continue to Manuel Antonio (approx. 1h30)
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Manuel Antonio National Park Wildlife Tour - It contains three beautiful beaches, casual forest trails, and a dense rainforest teaming with animal life. In 2011, it was named by Forbes as one of the world’s most beautiful parks.
Lunch (included)
Transfer to San Jose (approx. 2h30)
Souvenir Market
Dinner (included)
Farewell Dinner & Program Closing
Breakfast & Day Briefing
Airport Transfer
Depart San Jose, Costa Rica for Home