Overview & Highlights
A Costa Rica wildlife and relaxation holiday with a difference: get off the beaten track and explore less-visited, but equally beguiling spots with excellent small eco-lodges.
For decades Costa Rica has been a leading light in conservation, and as a result over a quarter of its territory is given over to well managed national parks and private nature reserves. Many of the parks are popular and much visited, with many facilities of all kinds for tourists, all of which provides for a very different experience from the remote wilderness adventure that many wildlife enthusiasts are hoping for.
So for this holiday we have selected a few of our favourite parks and reserves which, although situated in stunning locations, don’t have the infrastructure to receive hoards of visitors. Among them are Carara National Park and the rugged hills and beaches close to Ojochal. Accommodation is in delightful rustic eco-lodges, usually small and family-run, which offer the opportunity to understand how real life is lived in these bucolic areas. Again, we’ve picked out the best. At these lodges you’ll have the opportunity to participate in optional or included activities, anything from crocodile spotting to coffee tours.
Please note (Jan 2022): Not all lodges featured in this holiday are currently accepting guests. Your Travel Expert will be happy to suggest alternatives.
- Guided excursion in Carara National Park and Rio Tarcoles crocdile spotting
- Guided excursions and activities at Santa Juana Lodge
- Guided excursion to spot quetzals in San Gerardo de Dota forests
- Whale-watching at Uvita (depending on season)
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Charlotte Daubeney
Travel Expert
Outline itinerary
Day 1
Transfer from the airport to your countryside lodge.
Day 2
Guided discovery of the Carara National Park and crocodile spotting on Rio Tarcoles.
Day 3
Transfer to Santa Juana Lodge inland from the Pacific coast.
Day 4
Activities from the lodge.
Day 5
Transfer to Trogon Lodge close to San Gerado de Dota.
Day 6
Guided activities from the lodge.
Day 7
Transfer to Ojochal area.
Day 8
Activities from the lodge
Day 9
Travel north up the coast to Dominical and Playa Uvita.
Day 10
Free time on the beach or explore the area.
Day 11
Transfer to San José.
Day 12
Transfer to the airport for your international flight.
Things to do
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Accommodation
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Our Expert's Opinion

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