Tauck Tours : Costa Rica Adventure 2009

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Costa Rica Adventure 2009

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Tour Code:CO2009
Length: 8 Days
Tour Quality: Deluxe
Tour Type: Escorted Tour

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Dates & Prices

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*PLEASE NOTE: Internal Flights are not included in the price.

Start Date	End Date	Brochure Land & Air	Brochure Land Only	Our Price (Land & Air)	Our Price (Land Only)	Quote
Mon, Dec 14, 2009	Mon, Dec 21, 2009	Call Us	$2,791	Call Us	Call Us	Quote
Sat, Dec 26, 2009	Sat, Jan 02, 2010	Call Us	$2,691	Call Us	Call Us	Quote

*PLEASE NOTE: This vacation includes an internal air component which will not be discounted from the listed price above

*PLEASE NOTE: Internal Flights are not included in the price.

Questions? call 1-800-935-2620

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Itinerary

Tour Highlights

Countries Visited: Costa Rica

City Highlights: Arenal, Monteverde, San Jose, Tilajari, Tortuguero

Tour Itinerary

Glimpse the grandeur of nature in this dramatic landscape of active volcanoes, misty cloud forests, the powerful Pacific Ocean, and the mysterious jungle. Visits to a butterfly sanctuary, a tropical agricultural college and a jungle cruise provide up-close views of nature. Costa Rica travel invites active participation in order to get the most out of the adventure, including exciting 'sky walks' on suspension bridges high above ground in the cloud forest canopy. This tour also features stays at acclaimed eco-resorts, a river float trip, a lake cruise in the shadow of a volcano, visits to conservation and nature centers, and a look at local farm life. Sightseeing excursions with expert naturalists offer insights into the region's unique ecosystems, as well as native birds and wildlife, are highlights of your Costa Rica travel experience.

1. Arrive San Jose
Tour begins: Real InterContinental Costa Rica at 6:00 PM.
Welcome to Costa Rica, home to beautiful cloud forests, lush rainforests, and tropical jungles. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel, surrounded by tropical gardens within a fashionable San Jose suburb. Join us this evening for a welcome reception and dinner. Meals D

2. Monteverde Cloud Forest
Travel to Monteverde today. Discover the unique ecology of the region with an expert naturalist, as you walk across suspension bridges crisscrossing the forested canyons of the tree canopies, rich with birdlife and wildlife. Stay in a jungle lodge in the middle of the cloud forest, much cooler than the hot, humid lowland forests, and home to colorful toucans, agouti, and monkeys. Meals BLD

3. Monteverde Butterfly Garden
Learn all about butterflies from the unique, sound-producing Calico to the beautiful Blue Morpho at the Monteverde Butterfly Garden, dedicated to educating visitors about the vast array of butterflies and insects native to Costa Rica. Situated between the town of Santa Elena and the Monteverde Reserve, and home to more than 50 native butterfly species, the garden features a biodiversity center, a medicinal plant garden, and four climate-controlled butterfly gardens, each representing a different Costa Rican habitat. Meet naturalists who provide you with detailed information on the complex life cycles of these beautiful insects. Meals BLD

4. Arenal Volcano / Hot Springs
A drive past some of Costa Rica's abundant coffee plantations and cattle farms takes you to Arenal National Park, a 30,000-acre park that preserves eight out of Costa Rica's 12 biological zones and is home to Arenal Volcano. One of the world's most active volcanoes, cone-shaped Arenal has been continuously erupting since waking from a long slumber in 1968. Plumes of smoke - and sometimes flowing lava - can be seen spewing from its top. Take a short cruise across majestic Lake Arenal today, and enjoy a therapeutic soak in private volcanically-heated hot springs before continuing on to your rainforest resort for a two-night stay. Meals BLD

5. Penas Blancas River Float Trip
Head into the jungle today for a gentle float trip down the scenic, wildlife-rich Penas Blancas River; your bilingual guide will help you spot giant iguanas, sloths, crocodiles, monkeys, and other wildlife on the shore. Stop along the way to visit the home of a local farmer and his extended family. Return to your resort, nestled along the banks of the San Carlos River in the heart of Costa Rica's most noted ecosystem, for an afternoon spent as you please. Tilajari Resort offers a wide variety of adventures celebrating its array of natural treasures, as well as activities such as tennis and horseback riding, and botanical and butterfly gardens to explore. Meals BLD

6. E.A.R.T.H. / Journey to Tortuguero
Depart for the Caribbean coastline of Costa Rica; visit E.A.R.T.H., a private agricultural university specializing in the tropics, where you'll learn about the educational programs designed to seek a balance between agricultural production and environmental protection. After enjoying lunch at E.A.R.T.H., depart Costa Rica's dense interior rainforests and continue on to Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast. A cruise through jungle-lined canals brings you to your riverfront lodge within Tortuguero National Park, which in the summer is one of the world's largest and most important nesting sites for green sea turtles. Accessible only by boat, Tortuga Lodge is surrounded by landscaped grounds and orchid-filled gardens; keep an eye out for turtles, caimans, otters and crocodiles in the river, or sloths, spider monkeys and toucans in the trees. Gardens of blooming flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds by day, and by night the songs of howler monkeys are heard. Meals BLD

7. Tortuguero National Park
One of the most varied of Costa Rica's national parks, Tortuguero has 11 ecological habitats ranging from high rainforest to herbaceous marshes. Spend the day exploring the park on private morning and afternoon cruises through the region's waterways accompanied by a naturalist guide, who shares insights of the diverse sights you may see in the water and along the shore. Visit the town of Tortuguero for a glimpse of daily life and learn more about the region's endangered sea turtles at the Caribbean Conservation Learning Center. Join us tonight for a farewell dinner. Meals BLD

8. Journey Home
Fly to San Jose this morning on a private charter flight. Tour ends: San Jose Santa Maria Int'l Airport at 10:00 AM. Allow a minimum of 21/2 hours for flight check-in. Note: Some flight schedules may require additional nights in San Jose; hotel accommodations and airport transfers can be arranged - ask at time of booking. Meals B

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What's Included

Ecotourism experiences at 3 renowned Costa Rican national parks and reserves - Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Arenal and Tortuguero National Parks; spot tropical wildlife from spider monkeys to sea turtles

A \'sky walk\' in a cloud forest canopy, a guided river float trip, a lake cruise past a volcano, a jungle canal cruise, a soak in private volcanic hot springs and more

Visits to E.A.R.T.H. University, Monteverde Butterfly Garden and the Caribbean Conservation Learning Center, where you\'ll meet naturalists and conservationists

A look at daily life at the home of a local farmer and in the village of Tortuguero

2-night stays at 3 acclaimed \'eco-resorts\' in the heart of Costa Rica\'s rainforests - Tortuga Lodge, Monteverde Lodge and Tilajari Resort

All meals - 20 (7 breakfasts, 6 lunches,7 dinners)

Airport transfers, service charges, taxes and porterage

International Airfare is additional. Call for special rates on international air for travel originating in the United States (subject to availability). Please ask when booking about additional hotel nights before your tour begins.

Note: Costa Rica departure tax is not included.

Inclusive Prices
Tour prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All hotel and lodge accommodations, entertainment, special dinners, land transportation, sightseeing, luggage handling, the charter flight from Tortuguero to San Jose, and the services of the guides, drivers and the Tauck Director are included. A representative of Tauck will meet you at Juan Santamaria International Airport and provide you with transportation to the Real InterContinental Hotel in San Jose, provided we have your updated flight information at least two weeks prior to the tour departure date. On the last day of the tour, you will fly via charter from Tortuguero to Juan Santamaria International Airport in the morning and transfer directly to the International Terminal for check-in for your flight home.

Hotel and Lodge Accommodations - Price includes all hotel and lodge accommodations with private baths. The Tauck standard is to provide the best available accommodations without sacrificing value. Although the quality may differ slightly from place to place, this standard remains uncompromised. Two-bedded rooms are reserved in most hotels. Triples are two-bedded rooms plus a rollaway cot where available and are not recommended for comfort.

Meals - Most meals are included as specified in the itinerary.

Tauck Director - Each \'Costa Rica Adventure\' is conducted by a Tauck Director who remains with the group throughout the tour. Your Tauck Director is a professional, fully trained employee of Tauck.

Gratuities Included - All appropriate gratuities for restaurant and hotel staffs, and local guides and drivers are included.

No Options Sold - Your Tauck Director will assist you with information on free-time activities based on honest opinion and guidance, but will not sell you anything. This means better value and a more relaxed, pleasant experience for you.

Not Included
Airfare to the tour departure point and from the tour ending point is not included. Airfare may be purchased for travel originating in the United States.

ON TOUR AIR NOT INCLUDED

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Accommodations

ESCAZU - Real InterContinental Costa Rica
MONTEVERDE - Monteverde Lodge
MUELLE - Tilajari Resort
TORTUGUERO - Tortuga Lodge

Questions? call 1-800-935-2620

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Note: All prices, itineraries, accommodations and dates are subject to change without notice and at any time by the tour operators. Availability is limited and must be reconfirmed at time of booking. Please call us toll free at 1-800-935-2620 to confirm availability and current pricing on all our discounted specials. The prices on this website are not guaranteed until a deposit has been made. We are not responsible for errors, omissions, or changes in these prices until a booking has been confirmed by one of our agents. Some land prices may include an internal air component and discounts will not be offered on the internal air component. Discounts will not be offered on packages with a land price of less than $500.

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