Costa Rica Family Adventure

Your guide will be waiting outside the arrivals terminal with a sign with your names on it. After leaving the airport, we begin the journey to our headquarters in Turrialba, about a two hour drive through orchards, small towns and beautiful coffee fields. We will have you staying in a lovely boutique hotel with a swimming pool, nestled amongst sugar plantations and surrounded by exotic tropical birds. (Dinner)

Overnight in Villa Florencia, Turrialba

DAY 2: Whitewater Rafting, Part I & Zip-Line Canopy Tour

After enjoying a great breakfast, you are outfitted for the awesome overnight rafting trip on the world famous Lower Pacuare River. Enjoy 8 miles of challenging whitewater, and participate in river side stops to hike up to secluded pools below tributary waterfalls. The rafting is a fun class II/III section of whitewater on a beautiful pristine river. Throughout the river trip there will be many opportunities for swimming or relaxing next to the river. After some great hikes and wonderful rapids, you will arrive at the remote eco-lodge.  The Pacuare Eco Lodge is equipped with a full kitchen, showers, bathrooms, fully enclosed cabinas, and the best vantage point of the beautiful river and jungle. After settling in at the camp, you will experience an adrenaline packed afternoon in a rain forest canopy tour. Your group will harness up to experience the excitement of crossing the jungle canopy on zip lines before taking on the adrenaline inducing, and for some terrifying Tarzan Swing! (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Overnight Pacuare Eco Lodge

DAY 3: Hike to the Indigenous Villages

Hike to indigenous villages and hidden waterfalls. Spend the day hiking through primary and secondary rainforest and visiting indigenous people in their jungle homes. On the way back down to the lodge you can stop off for a refreshing swim in a hidden waterfall, the true gems of the forest. The rest of the afternoon is available to relax in hammocks, spot birds and wildlife, or swim in waterfalls. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Overnight Pacuare Eco Lodge

DAY 4: Whitewater Rafting, Part II

Those who enjoy the early morning will especially like a morning hike through the dense rain forest surrounding the lodge. After a hearty breakfast surrounded by tropical birds it’s time to get serious about whitewater fun. Our rafting trip continues down the most challenging section of the Pacuare as class IV drops seem to be around every corner. The spectacular river canyon and virgin rainforest create vertical walls of green, broken by waterfalls and hanging vines. This stretch of the Lower Pacuare River has been voted one of the top 10 commercially rafted rivers in the world by National Geographic and will have you floating past primary rainforest, stunning waterfalls, steep canyons and fun class III and IV rapids. You will enjoy a sumptuous river picnic along the way before reaching the “take out” point in the Caribbean lowlands. From the river you will enjoy a private shuttle to Cahuita. Spend the night at the Sloth Sanctuary surrounded by the sounds of monkeys and wake up to the beautiful faces of the sloths. (Breakfast, lunch, Dinner)

Overnight Sloth Sanctuary

DAY 5: Sloth Sanctuary & Snorkeling

In the morning take a relaxing, informative boat ride in a very large, stable canoe through exuberant riverine vegetation. See numerous river birds along the way and perhaps the resident nutrias (Costa Rican River Otters). The next part of the tour is the “standard” Buttercup Tour where you meet up with one of the sloth experts. Enjoy a delightful introduction to the wonderful world of the sloth. Learn in-depth about these enigmatic animals through a short video and a talk about the history and importance of the sloth! Next go for a private, behind-the-scenes visit to the Slothpital / clinic. A personal guide takes you to meet the very special, permanent resident sloths and hear their stories. Visit the tiniest residents; the ‘incubator babies’ – in the private nursery for special photos. Experience the really sweet, warm and fuzzy feeling you get from these precious babies! Enjoy a visit to a sloth sanctuary to see the rehabilitation program at work and to learn about these unique creatures. You will get to pet the sloths, cuddle a baby one and maybe help feed them, as well as learn about their habitat and environment. The sanctuary strives to promote and foster initiatives that heighten people’s awareness of sloths and to provide educational information on the importance of the species and their Costa Rican environment.

After lunch you will board a boat and head out on the Caribbean Sea for a snorkeling trip. You will stop at two places on the reef to see different types of fish and if you are lucky you may even see a sea turtle or a ray. From the boat you will be dropped off at the far end of the national park and will hike back along the trails with your guide, keeping a good look out for monkeys, sloths and other exotic creatures. Late in the day travel a short distance south to your hotel near Puerto Viejo. Cariblue Hotel, located in the caribbean of Costa Rica, offers you luxurious hardwood bungalows nestled in exotic tropical gardens between the pristine white sand beach of Playa Cocles and lush natural jungle. (Breakfast, Lunch)

Overnight Cariblue Lodge

DAY 6: Beach Time

This day is yours entirely to enjoy. Spend the day doing another adventure activity (you can book one though the hotel), chilling at the pool, or lazing on the beach. There are excellent opportunities for surfing or horse riding tours. You choose how busy you would like to be. (Breakfast)

Overnight Cariblue Hotel

DAY 7: Bribri Indigenous Tour

The Bribri Indigenous Tour is an excellent way to spend the day experiencing the richness of the pre-Columbian culture of Costa Rica. You will have a cultural, anthropological and natural immersion in the Watsi Bribri Community in the foothills of the Talamanca Mountains. After a morning pick up at your hotel the tour begins with a hike in the rainforest which will lead you to a waterfall. You will see the tropical flora and have the opportunity to see red frogs and maybe other inhabitants while you relax and enjoy a refreshing swim in the natural pool. Then, you will visit a medicinal plants garden to learn about the indigenous natural treatments and healing powers of the plants, trees, roots, leaves, barks, etc. You will be hosted by the medicine man or medicine lady. Last but not least, you will meet a traditional Bribri family of five generations to learn about their way of life, their heritage and resources for farming, cooking, healing, building and hunting, using organic materials found in the surrounding forest. After crossing a hanging bridge and walking through a cacao plantation, you will reach the house of the family. You will engage in the ancestral organic chocolate process using pre-Colombian tools and passed down from generation to generation. You will also be able to taste about 5 different chocolate flavors. Later you will have the chance to participate in a hunting demonstration with typical bow and arrows with a Bribri local. A typical Bribri lunch served in a banana leaf and shared with the family will complete this indigenous experience. Later in the day head back to your hotel, walk along the beach, do some last minute souvenir shopping or relax by the pool. (Breakfast, Lunch)

Overnight Cariblue Hotel

DAY 8: Depart San Jose

Enjoy your last morning in the hot tropical sun before taking your private transfer to the San Jose airport to join your international flight home. (Breakfast)

Costa Rica Rios does its very best to adhere to the specific itinerary listed above, but activities and locations may be subject to change due to a number of reasons beyond our control (i.e. weather, water levels and safety conditions).