Costa Rica wildlife conservation holiday

16 days working on wildlife conservation projects and exploring the Costa Rican rainforest.

With long sandy beaches, towering volcanoes and unspoilt tropical rainforest, Costa Rica is a naturalist's paradise - the habitat of some 800 species of bird and over 1,200 species of orchid. Basing ourselves at the research station in Tortuguero National Park, we will be living and working in the most remote region of Costa Rican rainforest. Assisting our project partners' research including turtles and jaguar, this is a fantastic opportunity to participate in wildlife research and conservation.

Poas Volcano & Guayabo Ruins
Arriving in San Jose, we visit the gigantic Poas volcano (2707m) - a towering crater, where fumeroles are surrounded by tropical forest and humming birds can be seen hovering among wild orchids. We'll visit the Indian ceremonial centre at Guayabo, Costa Rica's most important archaeological site before moving on to Turrialba where there's a chance to white-water raft (optional) before we make our way into the Tortuguero NP. Boarding our riverboat, we'll enter a network of jungle waterways, where brightly coloured parrots can be seen among thick creepers and vines. There is no road access in the region and so all transportation is via kayak, canoe and motor canoes, through canals and rivers, surrounded by tropical rainforest and its associated wildlife.

8 Days Conservation Work
The area of Tortuguero faces unique challenges and a clear change in indicator species has been noted over the past decade. All the work we participate in is part of long term initiatives as requested by the local partner organisations. After our training, we'll divide into smaller groups to assist the research team in its day-to-day activities. This could be anything from carrying out a morning turtle census, collecting data on nests and tracks on the beach or participating with the jaguar photo-trapping programme. Between July and October, thousands of Green turtles rest on Tortugero's beaches, whereas March to May is the turn of the Leatherback.