Tropical Birding Adventure
Sarapiqui – Cerro de la Muerte – Central Pacific Coast
10 Day / 9 Nights

Day 1
Upon your arrival in San Jose, Costa Rica, a representative of Costa Rica Sun Tours will meet you at the airport, present you with land portion vouchers and transfer you to your hotel

Day 1-2
1 nights accommodation in San Jose at Hotel Grano de Oro (standard room) or similar
Hotel Grano de Oro is a converted Victorian mansion and maintains the warmth and comfort of a private home while offering the amenities of a fine hotel. The restaurant at the hotel is one of San José's finest.  It is located on a quiet street close to the city center, near restaurants, theaters and shops

Day 2
Early morning pick-up at your hotel a scenic drive with a group and driver/guide through rolling green countryside to the top of Poás Volcano, entrance fees included.  Poás has a colorful crater, and is one of the widest and deepest in the world, that is accessible by road.  You may stand on the edge and look down into its cauldron. The second crater, Botos, is a crystal clear rain- fed lake surrounded by highland jungle and is reached by a walk of about ½ mile through a unique dwarf cloud forest.  After exploring the park continue on to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, entrance fees & lunch included.  At La Paz, you will have an opportunity to see magnificent waterfalls with viewing platforms.  After lunch on the terrace dinning room, depart for the lowland rainforest region of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui   (L)

Day 2-4
2 nights accommodation in La Virgen de Sarapiquí at Centro Neotrópico SarapiquíS (standard room) (B.D) or similar
Centro Neotrópico SarapiquíS is a lodge designed in pre-Columbian style with 24 rooms and a restaurant overlooking the Sarapiquí River and the Tirimbina rainforest. The Centro includes a museum of rainforest ecology and pre-Columbian culture, an archaeological park, a rainforest reserve and botanical garden.

Day 3
Morning drive to the 1560-hectare research station and biological reserve of the Organization for Tropical Studies (O.T.S.) at La Selva, entrance fees included.  In this reserve, more than 450 species of trees, 400 species of birds, 113 species of mammals, 81 species of reptiles, & 48 species of amphibians have been identified.  With your group, driver/guide and a local guide roam the 15-km of trails through primary and secondary forest, and its arboretum

Day 4
This moring depart Sarapiqui for your hotel in Cerro de la Muerte via Braulio Carrillo National Park   

Days 4 – 6
2 nights accommodations in Cerro de la Muerte at the Savegre Mountain Hotel (standard room) (2B.2D) or similar
The Savegre Mountain Hotel, is located in San Gerardo de Dota, a small community in the Talamanca mountains in the midst of a deep cloud forest filled with massive oaks and other native species.  The Don Efraín Chacón Family were the first to settle in this valley in 1954 and have taken advantage of the crisp weather to grow apples, plums, and peaches, which you sample in meals in the hotel restaurant.  Rainbow trout abound in the Savegre River which is great for fly fishing. Over 170 bird species have been observed in the area and its multiple hiking trails in the Cloud Forest. This is known as one of the best places in the country to observe quetzals, which live here year around The Hotel hosts the Quetzal Education Research Center Complex (QERC), a cooperative venture between the Chacón Family and Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma

Day 5
Full day of birding, where you can see such birds as the Timberline Wren, Volcano Junco, Wren thrush, Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher, and Flame Throated Warbler endemic to these high elevations at Savegre's mountain oak forests. This area of tropical alpine vegetation is home to the Resplendent Quetzal and Emerald Tucanet

Day 6
This morning depart Cerro de la Muerte heading south towards Dominical and on to your hotel on the Central Pacific Coast

Days 6 – 9
3 nights accommodations in Jaco at Club Del Mar (deluxe room) or similar
Club Del Mar Hotel is located on the Pacific coast, surrounded by mature gardens at the south end of Jaco Beach.  Located just steps from the surf is a tropical swimming pool with a social area that is surrounded by Costa Rican flora and fauna and a separate pool for children and grandchildren

Day 7
Full day of birding in the Carara National Park, entrance fees included.  The Carara is home to parrots, parakeets, toucan, trogons, three species of monkeys, and Scarlet Macaws, and contains flora and fauna from both the hot dry northwest, and the rainy region of the southwest

Day 8
Morning visit the Villa Lapas Sky Way, entrance fees included.  The Sky Way is located in a private reserve next to the Carara National Park with a combination of 2.5 km (approx. 1.5 miles) of natural trails and hanging bridges built within a rain forest of centenary trees.  This is a wonderful way to observe the many species of plants, birds and animals from ground level to the top canopy of the trees.  This afternoon experience the Tarcoles River Adventure, transportation, boat tour & local guide included.  Board a comfortable boat for the ride along the Tarcoles River.   Along the banks of the river you will have the opportunity to see one of the largest colonies of crocodiles in Costa Rica and a chance to see over 250 species of birds such as scarlet macaws, tanagers, trogons, orioles, ospreys, cormorants, pelicans and roseate spoonbills. After the tour return to your hotel

Day 9
Morning birding at La Ensenada - a dry tropical forest and wetlands area at the edge of the Golfo de Nicoya. Late afternoon return to your hotel near San José (L)

Days 9 – 10 
1 nights accommodation in Santo Domingo at Hotel Bougainvillea (standard room) or similar
The Hotel Bougainvillea is a family owned and operated inn with 80 tastefully decorated rooms set in 12 acres of beautiful gardens. The restaurant offers continental cuisine in a wonderful dining room.  Guests can stroll in the gardens, swim in the heated pool, enjoy a sauna or use the tennis courts

Day 10
Pick-up at your hotel for a departure transfer to the International Airport in San Jose to check in 3 hours before your scheduled flight time

* Meal Codes (B) = Breakfast (L) = Lunch (D) = Dinner