Original
Wildlife
Classic Costa Rica
15 days • 4.9
5
Excellent
755 reviews
15 days
Start
San Jose, Costa Rica
Finish
San Jose, Costa Rica
Trip Code
QVSR
Min Age
15
Trip Size
1 - 16
Physical Rating
Meals
5 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner
Transport
Private vehicle, Public Transportation, Boat
Accommodation
Hotel (12 nights), Lodge (2 nights), Homestay (1 night)
From £1,527(15 days)
Trip Informations
Why you’ll love this trip
Swap the concrete jungle for real jungle on this journey into the rainforests, waterways, hot springs and the palm-lined beaches of Costa Rica.
Spot long-nosed tapirs, white-faced capuchin monkeys, ocelots and three-toed sloths on this wildlife adventure – Costa Rica is home to many exotic animals, and this trip puts you in the perfect position to see them all.
Go deeper than the average tourist with a homestay in a quiet agricultural community – the perfect opportunity to experience local life and practice your Spanish. You’ll even have an informal cooking lesson with the locals to make dinner!
Refresh yourself after jungle hikes, spotting wildlife in the rejuvenating hot springs of volcanic La Fortuna.
Visit the indigenous Maleku community to share a traditional meal and learn about their way of life – this small tribe has big ambitions for regenerating local forests and natural habitats.
Is this trip right for you?
Many of the activities (both included and optional) on this trip take place in the great outdoors. This means you'll need to be prepared to deal with insects and occasionally rustic conditions. It's all part of immersing yourself in this natural paradise.
Costa Rica is generally hot year-round, and from May to October can be pretty wet too. At nighttime and in locations at higher elevations it can get chilly. Protect yourself from the sun, bring light clothing you can layer and a waterproof jacket, and stay hydrated. Please carefully consider which time of the year you'll feel most comfortable travelling.
There are many opportunities to get active on this adventure. Some of the optional activities require a moderate level of fitness and sturdy walking shoes. If you'd prefer to take it easy, however, there are plenty of other things you can do instead.
The homestay is a wonderful opportunity to witness everyday local life. A hearty homecooked dinner and breakfast will be served during your stay, which can be a lot more basic than what you're used to.
With so much to see and do, Costa Rica can sometimes be expensive. Expect to pay more than you would in other Central American countries for a lot of things.
Itinerary
Dive into diverse Costa Rica, from the towering jungle to the palm-lined coast
Discover incredible, lush Costa Rica and understand why this part of the world is called the ‘rich coast’. This 15-day adventure, beginning and ending in lively San Jose, is a journey through the jungles, farmlands, beaches and cities of a pure Central American location. Stay with a local family in Santa Rosa de Pocosol and help your hosts prep a traditional meal. Soak in springs that get their heat from an active volcano in La Fortuna and take on a huge array of nature-based optional activities in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Spot three-toed sloths in the thickets of the Manuel Antonio National Park, then relax beneath swaying palms on the nearby beaches.
Inclusions
Meals
5 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner
Transport
Private vehicle, Public Transportation, Boat
Accommodation
Hotel (12 nights), Lodge (2 nights), Homestay (1 night)
Included activities
Tortuguero - Boat ride to Tortuguero
Tortuguero - National Park Entrance
Santa Rosa de Pocosol - Home-cooked Meal
Santa Rosa de Pocosol - Homestay experience
Leader-led Informal Spanish Lesson
Guatuso - Maleku Community Experience
Monteverde - Cloud Forest Entrance
Manuel Antonio - Homecooked lunch
Manuel Antonio National Park - (Entrance fee)
Manuel Antonio National Park - Tour with a Naturalist Guide
Optional activities
San Jose - Pre-Colombian Gold Museum (Entrance fee) - USD17
San Jose - Jade Archaeological Museum (Entrance fee) - USD16
San Jose - National Museum (entrance fee) (Closed Sunday & Monday) - USD11
Tortuguero - Sunrise canoe trip around canals - USD45
Tortuguero - Turtle Watching Night Tour - USD45
Santa Rosa de Pocosol - Soap-making workshop (cash only) (requires a minimum of 3 travellers to operate) - USD20
Santa Rosa de Pocosol - Waterfall hike (Cash Only) - USD10
Rio Celeste - River Tubing Adventure (cash only) - USD55
Rio Celeste - National Park Guided Trail Walk (cash only) - USD70
La Fortuna - Arenal 1968 Volcano View and Lava Trails (Entrance fee) - USD25
La Fortuna - La Fortuna Waterfall (Entrance only) - USD25
La Fortuna - Paradise Hot Springs (entrance fee) - USD47
Monteverde - Cloud Forest Night Walk - USD45
Monteverde - Butterfly Garden and Insects Farm (entrance fee) - USD22
Monteverde - Coffee & Chocolate tour - USD47
Monteverde - Suspension bridges tour - USD55
Monteverde - Canopy Zip Lining (Entrance, Equipment & Transport) - USD101
Manuel Antonio – Cruise (Inc transport, guide, lunch and drinks onboard) - USD95
Manuel Antonio - Mangrove Kayak Activity (with lunch) - USD75
Manuel Antonio National Park (Entrance fee) - USD18
Dates and availability
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Important notes
1. Full passport details are required at the time of booking in order to purchase entrance tickets to Manuel Antonio National Park. Delays to provide this information may result in changes to your itinerary and we will not be able to guarantee entry. Details provided must be accurate as per your passport bio page.
2. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm on Day 1. There are no activities planned for the final day so you may depart at any time.
3. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights on your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
4. Please be careful when booking flights to/from San Jose; make sure you fly into/out of Juan Santamaria International Airport [SJO]. Please do not book flights to/from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport [SJC] as this is located in California, United States.
Reviews (720)
5 stars
641
4 stars
67
3 stars
8
2 stars
3
1 star
1
Louise
May 13, 2025
Classic Costa Rica was an amazing experience. Our tour leader Kenneth was wonderful as were my fellow travellers. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience of Atlantic and pacific oceans, rain and cloud forests. You truly cover a lot in the 2 weeks! A must for nature lovers!
Victoria
May 11, 2025
This trip was great for all ages (19-87 in our group). Safe and comfortable, plus amazing wildlife.
Christine
May 10, 2025
Our trip was amazing - would highly recommend to anyone travelling to Costa Rica
Paula
May 08, 2025
I would recommend intrepid tours for visiting a new country. The guide makes all the difference and ours, Allan, was amazing.
Ian
May 01, 2025
Another outstanding Intrepid group trip with a superb Tour Leader in Marvin Araya. Everything exceeded our expectations. We loved the open and friendly Cost Rican people and embraced the Pura Vida philosophy and relaxed atmosphere. Wish we were back there already!!
Ed
May 01, 2025
Our Costa Rica trip was amazing. Our tour guide Emil was brilliant, he was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and friendly, which really helped everyone gel as a group. I genuinely enjoyed every minute of the trip and would definitely use Intrepid again in the future.
Isabel
Apr 30, 2025
Honestly, you won’t regret it. Book the trip and it’ll change your life.
Fatema
Apr 27, 2025
This was an amazing and varied trip with so many highlights. Our guide Emil was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We were so lucky to see so much wildlife up close (with his scope) As expected from the trip notes, Costa Rica is an expensive and many of the activities are optional extras. I did have concerns that this would result in a disjointed group but was pleasantly mistaken. We got thoroughly drenched early in our trip- Be prepared for rain and bring spare clothes and footwear. If you want to see wildlife, Costa Rica is a must!
Natalie
Apr 26, 2025
Emil is an outstanding guide, that injects energy and passion into the tour and really made the trip what it was. We saw wonderful wildlife and he has vast knowledge, and delivers in a super engaging charismatic way. Travellers would be lucky to have him as a guide.
Christine
Apr 26, 2025
The Classic Costa Rica 14 day trip is a trip of a lifetime - you will not be dissappointed if you book this trip. The itinery is packed but also has plenty of rest days included so you can do as much or as little of the optional activities as you want. If you carefully budget things in advance, it's not necessarily the case that this will become an expensive trip overall as there are a number of meals/activities not included within the base price but then options presented by your group leader enable you to decide whether you wish to participate in those additional activities or not and there are cheaper options for meals as well. If you did not do all the alternative activities on offer but just did the base tour of included activities you would still feel that you have had a wonderful holiday experience - so book it as this tour is well worth it.
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