General information about Costa Rica
Costa Rica is home to 1,5 million animal and plant species. 300.000 species of insects, over 900 species of birds, 240 species of mammals, 222 species of reptiles, 190 species of amphibians and 130 species of fish live in an area 300 km long and 120 km wide. In addition, 9000 species of vascular plants, 1200 species of orchids and 1200 species of hardwood trees grow here. Researchers discover numerous new species every year. 28% of Costa Rica's total area consists of national parks and nature reserves. The country borders the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic to the east and the Pacific to the west. This corresponds to a coastline length of 1200 km, and the water in the oceans is warm all year round. Signs on the beaches warn of dangerous rip currents.
Costa Rica is part of the1500 km long volcanic chain that stretches from Guatemala to Panama. Every 35 km there is a volcano, and Costa Rica has 200 of them. Only five volcanoes in Costa Rica are still active today: the Arenal, the Rincon de la Vieja, the Poás, the Turrialba and the Irazú.
The locals call themselves "Ticos". Since the country lives mainly from tourism, English is spoken everywhere. The official language is Spanish. A saying that is often heard in Costa Rica is "Pura Vida". This describes the lifestyle of the Ticos.
There are only two seasons in the country in Central America: The dry season lasts from December to April, and the rainy season goes from May to November. Because Costa Rica is very close to the equator, there are only very slight temperature differences during the year. Because of the proximity to the equator, it gets dark very quickly throughout the year. The sun sets around 5:20 p.m., although these times hardly vary.
Our itinerary through Costa Rica (Evaneos or Camino Travel)
Our destinations in Costa Rica at a glance
2 nights in San José
2 nights in Tortuguero
2 nights in La Fortuna
2 nights in Monteverde
2 nights at Manuel Antonio National Park
3 nights at Corcovado National Park
1 night in San José
Our itinerary in days
Our Costa Rica tour was organized by Evaneos* or the local provider Camino Travel. In the tailor-made, individual design, all of our wishes were fully taken into account by the agency.
Day 1:
- Journey from Munich to San José
- Overnight in San José
- Tour to Poás volcano
- La Paz waterfall gardens
- Doka Estate coffee farm
- Overnight in San José
- Transfer to Tortuguero National Park
- Passing the Braulio Carillo National Park
- then jungle boat trip in Tortuguero National Park
- Overnight stay in Aninga Hotel & Spa in Tortuguero (*Check24: Aninga Lodge)
Day 4:
- in the morning jungle hike through the Tortuguero National Park
- in the afternoon visit to Tortuguero village
- Overnight at Aninga Hotel & Spa in Tortuguero (Aninga Lodge)
- Transfer to La Fortuna to Arenal volcano
- Overnight stay in Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs in La Fortuna (*Expedia)
Day 6:
- in the morning Rainforest Chocolate Tour on a cocoa plantation
- then tour to Arenal waterfall
- afterwards Skywalk tour in Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park
- Overnight at Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs in La Fortuna
- Transfer to Monteverde in the Cloud forest
- Overnight in Monteverde
Day 8:
- Sky walk tour in Monteverde Cloud Forest
- Ride on the Sky Tram
- Overnight in Monteverde
- Transfer to the Pacific coast to Manuel Antonio National Park
- then visit to the national park
- Overnight in the Cabinas Espadilla in Quepos (Hotel Playa Espadilla)
Day 10:
- Relax in the hotel pool and on Playa Espadilla (the national park is always closed on Mondays)
- Overnight in the Cabinas Espadilla in Quepos (Hotel Playa Espadilla)
- Transfer to Sierpe by car
- then continue by boat to Drake bay and to Corcovado National Park
- later then night hike through the jungle
- Overnight stay in Hotel Pirate Cove on the Osa Peninsula (*Expedia)
Day 12:
- free day or Discovery tour on your own with a visit to the nearby Village and the beach (the hotel also offered diving and snorkeling tours that day)
- Overnight at Hotel Pirate Cove on the Osa Peninsula
Day 13:
- guided full day tour in Corcovado National Park
- Overnight at Hotel Pirate Cove on the Osa Peninsula
Day 14:
- Return flight from Drake to San Jose
- Exploring downtown San José
- Overnight in San José
Day 15:
- Return flight from San José to Munich
Important note: If we didn't like the hotels, we didn't mention them by name here.
Book a rental car with Check24* and compare the prices there if you would prefer to drive the route yourself.
routes
Find out more about Evaneos’ tailor-made individual trips.*
Our conclusion about the trip
Our educational trip is now over, but we would really recommend the tour to everyone and would do it again and again. Every puzzle piece of our trip was necessary to have a perfect puzzle at the end. In Tortuguero, for example, we saw the largest lizards and green macaws, at Manuel Antonio there were particularly many sloths, in Monteverde there was the quetzal, in Corcovado National Park we discovered the scarlet macaws and (unfortunately only) the footprints of a tapir.
Even though we spent two weeks in different forests, they were always completely different. We don't want to miss a single experience of it.
But also the different hotels made the trip perfect. In Tortuguero we had a cottage without windows and only with fly screens, so we were really in the middle of nature and heard all the animal sounds around the clock, including the howler monkeys in the morning 4:50. The complete contrast to this was then the honeymoon suite at the foot of the Arenal volcano with a view of the volcano and its own whirlpool. The "Pirate Cove Hotel" in Drake Bay, on the other hand, we reached only by boat; there was no jetty, but we had to take off our shoes after the boat transfer and jump into the water to get ashore - an absolute adventure!
Contrary to all the warnings about visiting Manuel Antonio at Easter, we found it very relaxing there from Easter Sunday to Tuesday. The park was not crowded in our opinion. The hotel "Playa Espadilla" near the park entrance was also empty at times. We spent many hours alone in and around the pool in complete peace.
Highly recommended is the shared transport, which always got us from A to B on time. The drivers were mostly extremely friendly. The domestic flight at the end back from Drake Bay to San José was also very pleasant, because we were spared the at least 6-hour car ride.
If we should return to the country one day, we definitely want to witness the turtles laying their eggs on the beach of Tortuguero as well as marvel at and photograph the red-eyed tree frog; unfortunately, neither was possible on our first trip.
Despite the communication and planning problems with our travel expert Ms. Thume before the trip, we had a wonderful, unforgettable time in Costa Rica. PURA VIDA!
Sources:
- personal experiences in April 2017
- our guides in all national parks (oral tradition)
- “Costa Rica - the complete guide” by James Kaiser, ISBN: 978-1940754000 (adapted from English)
Links:
Our travel agency: Evaneos/ Camino Travel*
Aninga Lodge Tortuguero (*Check24)
Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs (*Expedia)
Hotel Playa Espadilla, Manuel Antonio (*Expedia)
Car rental price comparison on Check24*
Note: This article was created voluntarily and there are no collaborations of any kind. This means we financed the entire trip 100% ourselves.
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