DAY BY DAY ITINERARY:

LETTER CODES: (B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner.

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1. WELCOME TO COSTA RICA. Arrival to the International Airport Juan Santamaría. Transfer to Hotel Sleep Inn or similar and check in.

Optional and depending on arrival time: City Tour: Visiting: San Jose, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Principal buildings as National Museum, National Teather, Congress, Yellow House, Plaza de la Cultura, Gold Museum, etc. Residential areas and principal Malls. Evening, stop at El Pueblo, one of the most famous entertainment centers of San Jose. Dinner on your own.
 
Day 2. POAS VOLCANO, LA PAZ WATERFALLS & ARENAL VOLCANO (B, L, D). Breakfast at the hotel and departure to the tour to Poas Volcano & La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Enjoy the contrasts of urban and rural areas, as we drive to the Poas Volcano National Park and continue up the mountains toward San Pedro de Poas. The good climate and fertile soils make this area very productive. Dairy farming, coffee, sugar cane, vegetables, all can be seen during this tour. Poas Volcano National Park is considered the largest geyser in the world, due to its explosive, geyser-like eruptions, which it frequently displays at irregular intervals. This park offers more than just the spectacular volcanic activity. The visitor will be struck by the intense green colours of the foliage and the great variety of wild flowers. The most conspicuous plant in the park is the poor man's umbrella, whose leaves grow up to 2 meters in diameter.
On a clear day you will see the lagoon at the bottom of the crater, whose muddy waters changes colours depending on the volcanic activity. After enjoying the attractions of this park, we will take the road to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This complex is an excellent educational center where you will learn about butterflies, Orchids, frogs, snakes and hummingbirds. Five magnificent waterfalls with nine observation platforms allow the visitors a close up view of the falls and the spectacular La Paz River.
Waterfall Gardens is proud to have the largest Butterfly Observatory in the world. The enclosed structure allows butterflies to soar freely while guests walk amid the natural habitat. An on site laboratory is a breeding ground for the eleven fluttering species. In the Hummingbird garden, our feathered friends will delight and fascinate you with their antics as they play and fight with each other at amazing speeds. These normally skittish creatures have become so tame; they will feed within a few feet of you. After exploring Waterfall Gardens, you will enjoy a delicious buffet style lunch at the terrace dinning room. After lunch, drive to Arenal Volcano and check in at Hotel Volcano Lodge or similar.

Day 3. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY: BE SCIENTISTS FOR A DAY. (B, L, D). After breakfast, visit to the Costa Rican Technology Institute, a public university where the students will have the opportunity to participate of several scientific projects developed in this campus. During this day, the students will be able to: Visit a primary rainforest, learn about the life cycling of frogs and toads, visit a White Tail Deer Farm and interact with the animals, visit a crocodiles farm and feed and meter the baby crocodiles, study the anatomical differences between caimans and crocodiles and visit a butterfly garden where the students will be able to collect the cocoons and transfer them into the farm. Lunch at the Campus with the regular students. After all the activities, return to the hotel and free time at leisure.

Day 4. RINCON DE LA VIEJA VOLCANO & GUACHIPELIN LODGE. (B, L, D). Breakfast at the hotel and departure to our next destination in the province of Guanacaste. Overnight at Hacienda Lodge Guachipelin and free time for relax and explore the area on your own. Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin is a truly ecotourism lodge for adventure travel and nature lovers. The hotel is surrounded by lush gardens with native trees, exotic flowers and many types of birds, and it has views to both the Rincon de la Vieja volcano and the Pacific ocean. Near the reception area, you will find our corrals, where real cowboys and ranch hands begin working in the early hours each day. Also there are many adventure activities that await the adventurer that comes to Costa Rica to do different things like horseback riding, canopy tour, tubing tour on the Rio Negro, and trekking among many other attractions.

Day 5. RINCON DE LA VIEJA VOLCANO & GUACHIPELIN LODGE TOURS. (B, L, D). During this day the students will be able to enjoy two different tours. Morning: Rio Negro Tubing Adventure: After a 45 minute horseback ride through the dry forest, we get to the changing rooms, where we can get ready to go tubing. After a short walk, we get to the base of La Victoria Waterfall, to receive a short safety briefing. Then each one gets his own personal round raft, to get his adrenalin pumping as he rides the white water rapids in the Rio Negro, for an hour and a half. Then we go to the changing rooms and get the horses to go back to the lodge. Afternoon: The Canyon Canopy Tour: Tour is a must do. We say this is the best canopy tour in Costa Rica, because we pack together in it, many more things than just the zip lines. Imagine yourself doing Rappeling, Rock Climbing, Canopy, Tarzan Swings, Via Ferrata, Hanging Bridges, all set in the majestic canyon made by the erosion of the Blanco River during millions of years.

Day 6. RINCON DE LA VIEJA VOLCANO & MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST (B, L, D) During the morning, visit to Rincon de la Vieja National Park. A unique place in Costa Rica. On the trail you can observe steam vents, boiling mud and water, an unmistakable smell and a very diverse vegetation. After lunch, departure to Monteverde. Upon arrival, check in at Hotel Belmar or similar. Evening, Night Walk Tour: For those who wish to discover the night-time wonders of the forest, Hidden Valley offers a fascinating guided night walk. Led by bilingual, professionally trained naturalist guides, the tour begins at 5:30 pm, daily. After enjoying the beautiful sunset, visitors will first observe diurnal species, especially birds, as they prepare themselves to settle for the night. As darkness falls, they will witness the forest begin to awaken once again, as the nocturnal creatures start to emerge. The guide will explain many of the unique sights and unusual sounds while pointing out an array of insects, reptiles, birds, bats and mammals that inhabit the forest at night.

Among the creatures that visitors are likely to spot are snakes, spiders, especially tarantulas, sleeping blue crowned mot-mots, tiny tree frogs, Coatimundis, Agoutis, bats, and if you're really lucky, maybe even a sleepy sloth, a wide-eyed Kinkajou, or an Armadillo. Of course there are no guarantees, so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

Day 7. MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST TOUR. (B, L, D). After breakfast, tour to El Trapiche (Sugar Mill Tour). El Trapiche Tour is a Costa Rican Family project that offers visitors a two hour long guided tour. 

We begin with a walk on our farm where our guests will learn about the production of sugarcane, coffee, and the traditional ways of cultivating bananas, arracache (a local legume), avocado, macadamia nuts as well as other products.  Also one can observe our Tilapia fish project and a small-forested area where it is possible to see various flora and fauna of the Monteverde zone.

During the tour of the farm, our visitors will have the opportunity to collect coffee, transport it to the grinding machines and see how the delicious Monteverde coffee is made.  Also on our farm there are oxen with a traditional cart waiting to transport visitors to the sugarcane mill where we will demonstrate the process of making brown sugar and all the other types of products made from sugarcane.  One can also enjoy a representation of the extraction of guaro, a Costa Rican alcohol made from sugarcane.  To end this eventful tour our guests can enjoy “picadillo de arracache”, a traditional vegetable hash, accompanied by a cup of coffee or lemonade. After lunch, return to San Jose City and check in at Hotel Sleep Inn or similar. Farewell dinner.

Day 8. TRANSFER OUT (B). Transfer to the International Airport according with your scheduled flight and good bye.

NOTE: Rates based on Triple & Quad occupancy for the students and double rooms for the teachers. No single rooms available unless a single supplement is paid.

CHAPERONES:  One free ticket for every 15 students.                

MINIMUM: 15 students.

INCLUDE: 7 nights lodging in high quality Hotels, all land transportation within Costa Rica, all airport/ hotel transfers on scheduled arrival/ departures dates only, specified meals, specified tours, private transportation and naturalist tour guide.

NOT INCLUDED: International air fare, airport departure taxes, meals not specified in the itinerary, alcoholic beverages, personal equipment, extras in hotels (laundry, phone calls, room service), gratuities, or costs associated with changes in your itinerary for reasons beyond our control.

DEPARTURE DATES: All our options are available all year around and we just need your travel dates in order to check the hotel's availability and arrange it.

HOW BIG ARE THE GROUPS: Our vacations are operated in an independent basis and you will not travel as part of a group unless you are part of a group. However, during the transfers and Daily Tours you will travel with other tourist we might have for that particular activity or service.

HOW TO RESERVE THIS PACKAGE: Please send an email to info@greenwaytours.com with as much as information you can about your desired vacation, number of participants, arrival dates, name of the package you are interested on and any other special requirements. Once you receive our confirmation form, a 20% deposit is due. Full payment due 60 days prior to departure.

CAN I CUSTOMIZE A PACKAGE: Yes, you can use our packages as a base and make any change on it. We are very flexible. If these packages do not fit on your desired vacation, just send an email to us and we can prepare a new option for you.

AIRFARE IS NOT INCLUDED: All our options includes the Land Portion only. Airfare must be on your own and indicate your arrival and departure dates to us in order to arrange the hotel's bookings.

HOTEL CATEGORIES: All the hotels used by Greenway Tours had been selected considering the best standards of quality and service. Our Hotels are between 3 and 5 stars. All inspected by our company's owners and managers in order to guarantee an excellent service. At least 50% of our lodging contractors had been certified as Green Companies by the Costa Rican Tourist Board ( Certification in Sustainable Tourism CST ).

AIRPORT TRANSFERS: All our packages includes Airport - Hotel - Airport Transfers with a professional bilingual tour guide upon your flight arrival.

VOUCHERS & WECOME KIT: During the transfer service to your hotel, our tour guide will provide general information about your tour and give you a welcome kit with all the vouchers and documents you will need for your trip.