- Embark on a boat tour of the tranquil Tortuguero waterways
- Eat lunch at an organic farm and visit a pineapple plantation
- Soar above the cloud forest on a zip-lining excursion
- Discover Rincon de la Vieja with its bubbling mud pools and hot springs
- Relax on the Pacific Coast with three nights in a hotel overlooking the beach

Costa Rica Adventure
- Home
- Central America
- Costa Rica
- Culture
- Natural Wonders
- Costa Rica Adventure
Reviews
Add your own reviewExperiencing Pura Vida adventure in Costa Rica
Just back from this brilliant holiday – we’ve had an exceptional time exploring Costa Rica’s flora and fauna with plenty of adventure and activities to keep us entertained over the two week holiday. Our group spotted at least 125 different species of birds, animals and other creatures, from colourful butterflies and birds of every shape and size to adorable sloths, from poisonous frogs to killer tarantulas and scorpions, from humpback whales to dolphins and flying fish. Our tour of Costa Rica took in wet, dry and damp rain forests, incredible scenery, amazing sights and sounds, very rainy rain, beautiful hot sunshine, captivating night tours including a magical, breath-taking experience watching baby turtles hatching and making their first journey out to sea, wildlife walks and hikes, plus fabulous food from pineapple plantations and organic farms. Other activities included flying through the rain forest by zip line, tubing down rapids and horse riding through a wildlife rich ranch, basking in volcanic thermal springs under the stars. We added in a couple of optional adventures: surf lessons at the beach and a coffee, chocolate and sugar cane tour at the base of the Arenal volcano. Our excellent tour leader, Mayer Jimenez brought expert wildlife and bird knowledge to the holiday, a huge bonus for our group. This holiday comes highly recommended.
Most Inspirational Moment
Standing on a beach at night in the pitch dark, watching tiny baby turtles no bigger than a satsuma emerge from their sandy nest and making their way down the beach towards the sea.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader, Mayer was exceptional. His extensive knowledge of flora, fauna and birdlife really made our trip even better as we spotted more than 125 different species.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Rain forests are damp! Don't unpack anything you don't need: keep as much stuff as possible zipped up in your waterproof duffle bag or suitcase, including all clothes you aren't currently wearing. Quick-dry clothing is a great idea. And if you don't want to put on a soggy swimsuit, bring at least 3 sets with you, and watershoes if you plan on going tubing.
Incredible
What a superb and wonderful 2 weeks. So much to see and be amazed by, something new every day and so many wonderful birds and animals to try and photograph. Good accommodation and we were never hungry. Costa Rica is a very forward thinking and developed country and they are rightly very caring of their wildlife and forests. We had a wonderful guide (Carlos) and driver (Mau) and they helped us see everything that we would have completely missed without their help. It was all so wonderful that it is hard to pick out highlights but loved the day out looking for dolphins, the boat trips at Tortuguero (and Tortuguero itself) and the zip lines.
Most Inspirational Moment
Not possible to pick out a moment - the first two days were so brilliant that we would have been happy if that had been our entire holiday
Thoughts on Group Leader
Carlos was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, organised, thoughtful.......just made our trip brilliant
Advice for Potential Travellers
take a mini umbrella, buy a telephoto lens, do your washing in a service laundrette in La Fortuna, be quiet on walks so you can hear everything, do everything offered - do the zip line, ride the horses, swim in the waterfalls.. . Prepare to really appreciate what is happening to the rainforests and the animals that rely on them
Suggestions
Book and go - don't think about it.
Life-changing!
I had not been on holiday for over a decade before I embarked on this trip, so suffice to say I had high expectations! Costa Rica had been on my list ever since a colleague visited the country two years ago, and it was well worth the wait. We were fortunate enough to only have eight travellers, which meant that our guide, Jonathan, had ample time to answer all of our questions.
If you are looking for a holiday which will give you eight hours of sleep a night then this trip is not for you. We were up for breakfast before 8am every day and despite there being several optional extra activities listed on the trip notes, we didn’t have time to do any of them as we were constantly on the go! I felt as though I was away for six months or more, and I enjoyed moving to a new area of the country every few days. Each hotel we stayed at had a different style suited to the area of the country we were in – rainforest lodge, spa resort, mountain hotel, ranch, beach hotel. The food was wonderful – all breakfasts are included and on the days when our lunch and/or dinner weren’t included, we never felt hungry.
Most Inspirational Moment
I thoroughly enjoyed our turtle nesting tour in Samara and after three hours of walking up and down the same stretch of beach, we finally witnessed a female Lora turtle making her way up the beach, dig her nest, lay her eggs, cover them up again and return to the ocean.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jonathan, our tour guide, was absolutely brilliant. He even managed to squeeze in a few extra activities which weren't on our itinerary such as a visit to a fruit market with a tasting session, a stop in Nicoya town en route to Samara, a trip to the man who produces "the best coffee in Costa Rica" and also a slight detour to another of his friends who has their own pottery business. He knew the calls, English and Latin names of every bird we saw, gave a debrief at the end of each day, made sure we knew the plans for tomorrow, took us to local restaurants for the not-included meals and consistently went above and beyond for us. He made an incredible trip into an unforgettable one.
Advice for Potential Travellers
This trip is currently (Dec 2019) tagged as a culture trip, but in reality it is definitely a wildlife adventure. Some days we saw in excess of 30 different types of birds and reptiles, and were very lucky to find sloths, howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys, spiders, frogs, snakes, toucans, macaws, crocodiles, turtles, caimen, lizards and iguanas every single day. The trip notes state that the average lunch is around $15 and $35 for a dinner - in practise we found that we paid nowhere near this much. Hotel meals are expensive, but local restaurants often charge half the price for a more authentically Costa Rican meal.
Suggestions
If I could give this trip 10 stars, I would, and I will be booking all my future adventure holidays with Exodus :)
Start
Finish
Availability
Adult Price From
Optional Single Supplement
Thursday Thursday
11 Jan 2024 11 Jan 2024
Thursday Friday
25 Jan 2024 26 Jan 2024
Availability Guaranteed (On Request) Only 1 space left!
Adult Price From USD 5,100
Optional Single Supplement Single Rooms sold out
Availability
This departure is guaranteed to go ahead but there are only 1 space left. Do not delay your booking!
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
25 Jan 2024 25 Jan 2024
Thursday Friday
08 Feb 2024 09 Feb 2024
Availability Sold Out
Adult Price From USD 5,100
Optional Single Supplement Single Rooms sold out
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Availability
This departure is guaranteed to go ahead and is now fully booked, although we may have people holding spaces without payment. Please contact our Sales team for further information.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
08 Feb 2024 08 Feb 2024
Thursday Friday
22 Feb 2024 23 Feb 2024
Availability Guaranteed (Limited) Only 4 spaces left!
Adult Price From USD 5,400
Optional Single Supplement Single Rooms sold out
Guaranteed flights from London Heathrow available for this departure.
Guaranteed flights from London Heathrow available for this departure.
Availability
This departure is available for new bookings and has reached the minimum number of passengers required to go ahead. Please click Continue to proceed with booking or contact our Sales team for assistance.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
22 Feb 2024 22 Feb 2024
Thursday Friday
07 Mar 2024 08 Mar 2024
Availability Available
Adult Price From Usually USD 5,398Now USD 5,175Saving USD 223 Usually USD 7,648Now Saving USD 223
Optional Single Supplement Single Rooms sold out
Limited seats on guaranteed flights from London Gatwick available for this departure.
Limited seats on guaranteed flights from London Gatwick available for this departure.
Availability
This departure is available for new bookings, and will be guaranteed to go ahead once it reaches minimum numbers. Please click Continue to proceed with booking or contact our Sales team for assistance.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
07 Mar 2024 07 Mar 2024
Thursday Friday
21 Mar 2024 22 Mar 2024
Availability Sold Out
Adult Price From USD 5,250
Optional Single Supplement Single Rooms sold out
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Availability
This departure is guaranteed to go ahead and is now fully booked, although we may have people holding spaces without payment. Please contact our Sales team for further information.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
11 Apr 2024 11 Apr 2024
Thursday Friday
25 Apr 2024 26 Apr 2024
Availability Guaranteed (Available)
Adult Price From USD 5,250 Book with 25% deposit
Optional Single Supplement +USD 1,245
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Availability
This departure is available for new bookings and has reached the minimum number of passengers required to go ahead. Please click Continue to proceed with booking or contact our Sales team for assistance.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
07 Nov 2024 07 Nov 2024
Thursday Friday
21 Nov 2024 22 Nov 2024
Availability Available
Adult Price From USD 5,250 Book with 25% deposit
Optional Single Supplement +USD 1,245
Availability
This departure is available for new bookings, and will be guaranteed to go ahead once it reaches minimum numbers. Please click Continue to proceed with booking or contact our Sales team for assistance.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
14 Nov 2024 14 Nov 2024
Thursday Friday
28 Nov 2024 29 Nov 2024
Availability Guaranteed (Available)
Adult Price From USD 5,250 Book with 25% deposit
Optional Single Supplement +USD 1,245
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Glenda Araya -Exodus Tour Leader of the year 2020-22
Availability
This departure is available for new bookings and has reached the minimum number of passengers required to go ahead. Please click Continue to proceed with booking or contact our Sales team for assistance.
View Trip NotesThursday Thursday
21 Nov 2024 21 Nov 2024
Thursday Friday
05 Dec 2024 06 Dec 2024
Availability Available
Adult Price From USD 5,250 Book with 25% deposit
Optional Single Supplement +USD 1,245
Availability
This departure is available for new bookings, and will be guaranteed to go ahead once it reaches minimum numbers. Please click Continue to proceed with booking or contact our Sales team for assistance.
View Trip NotesWould you like to include flights with your booking?
- ATOL protected
- Competitive flight prices
- Full refunds in the event of FCDO cancellations or major disruption at your UK departure airport
- Specialist support to rearrange flights and transfers
- Regional flights available from many UK airports
You may also like
The Adventure Begins Here
Get regular inspiration straight to your inbox from Exodus' experts.