Tiskita Jungle Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Monteverde Cloudforest
10 days / 9 nights
From $2,350 per person, double occupancy for 2009

Day 1: San Jose Arrival
Airport reception and transfer to your San Jose hotel. Overnight accommodations at the centrally-located Hotel Don Carlos (or similar), breakfast included.

Day 2: San Jose - Tiskita Jungle Lodge
You will be picked up at your hotel and transferred to the airport. At the lodge's discretion you will fly domestic or charter planes to Puerto Jimenez or Golfito, then a single engine charter plane to the remote, private airstrip on the beach at Tiskita Jungle Lodge. Tiskita is a 800-acre private rain forest reserve in the remote region of Golfito on Costa Rica's southern Pacific coast. Enjoy a guided tour of the Tiskita's rain forests and trails. Explore fresh water jungle pools and beautiful, isolated beaches. The bird watching is fabulous with over 285 species identified in the area until now. Tiskita is also an experimental exotic tropical fruit farm. Overnight at Tiskita Lodge. (B, L, D)

Day 3: Tiskita
Keep on touring the rainforest and area trails, swim in the ocean or fresh water jungle pools, visit the nearby village, or simply relax in your hammock. Overnight in Tiskita Lodge. (B, L, D)

Day 4: Tiskita
Another day to enjoy Tiskita or to take an optional trip to Corcovado National Park. This has been called the "most biologically intense place on earth" by National Geographic. This park is home to many large mammals such as jaguars, tapirs, ocelots, collared and white lipped peccaries and giant anteaters. Chances of viewing these large mammals is limited but at least you will have the thrill of seeing recent signs of them and knowing you are in the habitats of these majestic creatures. Conditions are hot and humid. This tour is not recommended for everyone. Overnight at Tiskita Lodge. (B, L, D)

Day 5: Tiskita - San Jose - Arenal
You will fly back to San Jose in the morning. Upon arrival, depart with your guide and driver for a scenic drive to Arenal Volcano, stop en route at the Rainforest Aerial Tram where you may chose to ride on the 90-minute tram ride through the Canopy or for the more adventurous do the Canopy zip line tour. Continue to Arenal. The Arenal Observatory Lodge, which is only 1.6 miles south of the volcano, gives visitors an impressive view of this rumbling and erupting giant with spectacular displays of vapor and lava. This is the only lodge located inside the national park, which encompasses thousands of acres of pristine rainforest and teems with tropical birds and wildlife. Dinner and overnight at the Arenal Observatory Lodge. (B, L, D)

Day 6: Arenal
This morning you will hike with your guide further exploring the area near Arenal Volcano on a trail where you will have the opportunity to see a variety of wildlife. While viewing the volcano from a safe vantage point, your guide will reveal this volcano's fascinating history and explain the various types of the volcano's current activity. For lunch you will visit a local farm or local family where you will be served a typical Costa Rican dish. In the afternoon visit the Arenal Hanging Bridges, entrance fees included. The Hanging Bridges are a complex of 6 hanging suspension bridges rising above the jungle canopy, and almost 2 miles of brick & concrete trails through the lush Rain Forest. The bridges provide an excellent vantage point to observe the flora and fauna from the ground level to the top of the trees. Walk the trails where you will learn about the complexity and beauty of the Rain Forest. Dinner and overnight at Arenal Observatory Lodge. (B,L,D)

Day 7: Arenal - Monteverde
This morning enjoy a hike with your guide inside the Arenal National Park through rainforest where monkeys, toucans and parrots are frequently seen. Continue over a cold blocky lava flow from Arenal Volcano that formed in 1992 and provides panoramic vistas of the volcano, forests, mountains and Arenal Lake. Depart for an approximate 2-hour overland transfer to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, one of the most diverse and richest tropical cloud forests in the New World. It is best known as home to the Resplendent Quetzal but has hundreds of other birds, mammals and plant species. Overnight in Monteverde at Hotel Fonda Vela (or similar), daily breakfast and dinner included - 2 nights. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is the richest and most complex tropical cloud forest in the New World, and home to the beautiful Resplendent Quetzal. There are at least 400 other bird species, including the three-wattled bellbird, not easily seen but frequently heard, over 100 species of mammals and an estimated 2500 species of plants. For the most part you will experience a misty forest with dense vegetation and majestic trees. Here you will find many wild relatives of familiar tropical houseplants including philodendrons, ficus trees, bromeliads and ferns. Orchids abound with over 300 species occurring here, however many are tiny and inconspicuous while others thrive among the lush vegetation of the canopy 125 feet above the forest floor. This diversity of flora and fauna throughout the eight distinct ecological communities at Monteverde makes it a paradise for the nature lover. The reserve encompasses approximately 10,200 hectares and one can enjoy an extremely rich variety of species with relatively little walking on well-maintained trails. The Monteverde Cloud Forest is one of the most beautiful forests in Costa Rica and is a naturalist's dream come true. In addition to the Reserve itself, the nearby communities host visitors in the true Tico style with the famous Monteverde Cheese Factory, the women's cooperative where local women hand paint and embroider clothing with ecological themes, the Hummingbird Gallery where outside hummingbirds fearlessly feed at feeders within inches of visitors and their cameras, and inside beautiful photographs of nature by world famous photographers Michael and Patricia Fogden are displayed and sold, and the Butterfly Garden which features many species of tropical butterflies native to Costa Rica. (B,L,D)

Day 8: Monteverde
In the morning visit a private Reserve to explore a set of natural trails and canopy walkways amidst the Cloud Forest. The treetop walkways are suitable for people of all ages and physical condition, duration of the tour is usually between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. You will enjoy lunch in the Monteverde area at a local restaurant before the afternoon hike through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. View the misty forest with its dense vegetation and majestic trees. (B,L,D)

Day 9: Monteverde - San Jose
Depart for San Jose, late afternoon arrival. Overnight at a selected San Jose hotel, breakfast included. (B)

Day 10: Int'l departure
You will be picked up at your hotel and transferred to the international airport. Pay Costa Rica's departure tax (Currently $26, cash only) and check in to depart. (B)