Natural highlights tour of Costa Rica
Highlights
San Jose | Tortuguero National Park | Sea Turtle Museum | Arenal Volcano | La Fortuna | Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge | Los Chiles village | Tilaran Mountain Range | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve |Description of Natural highlights tour of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is brimming over with natural highlights and this nine day circular tour from San Jose promises some of the best locations to find out more including Tortuguero National Park, Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the magnificent Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.From innumerate indigenous flora and fauna, including more than 850 different species of bird, to walking trails through cloud forests and river boat rides and the Caribbean coastline, this nine day small group tour highlights why Costa Rica is currently the world’s hottest destination for nature loving travellers.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
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Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
Accommodation and Meals:We spend one week in a combination of hotels and eco-lodges around Costa Rica. We use fairly small, family run and locally staffed establishments which ensures that we are benefiting local communities. Our local operator is a leading member of the Rainforest Alliance and has been awarded a "4 Leaf" award from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute for their sustainable tourism practice & dedication to improving standards. An example of eco-friendly accommodation on this trip is the Monteverde Country Lodge, a rustic wooden property set in tropical gardens that has an eco-guest programme and has programmes in place to help protect the fragile eco-system.
Activity:
Being a wildlife based tour, we are very conscious of our effects on the environment and how we can reduce negative impact and aid conservation. On this trip we visit national and private parks, including Tortuguero National Park, Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge and Monteverde Cloud Forest. Entrance fees directly support conservation efforts in the areas we visit. The guides that we use are careful to ensure that park guidelines are followed and have extensive knowledge of Costa Rica’s fauna and flora to educate and inform.
UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.
Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.
The Impacts of this Trip
Local Craft and Culture:
Although this is a largely nature based trip, we incorporate as much benefit to local people as possible. One of the ways to support local people and boost the economy is to buy crafts in some of the remote regions that we visit, such as Tortuguero. Having the opportunity to purchase locally made handicrafts encourages cultural exchange and provides a significant form of alternative income. Guides are careful to explain that any souvenirs on sale over the duration of the trip which are made from animal parts, shells or local hardwoods should not be purchased.
Charity:
Last January we contributed school supplies though the Costa Rican Association of Tour Operators (ACOT). We organised the donation of school packages to children and teenagers in indigenous communities (Dueri, Cerro Alto, Tolok Saku, Jamaikiri, Tsinikicha, Mata de Limón, San Miguel, Gandoca and Yorkin).
Accommodation and Meals:We spend one week in a combination of hotels and eco-lodges around Costa Rica. We use fairly small, family run and locally staffed establishments which ensures that we are benefiting local communities. Our local operator is a leading member of the Rainforest Alliance and has been awarded a "4 Leaf" award from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute for their sustainable tourism practice & dedication to improving standards. An example of eco-friendly accommodation on this trip is the Monteverde Country Lodge, a rustic wooden property set in tropical gardens that has an eco-guest programme and has programmes in place to help protect the fragile eco-system.
Activity:
Being a wildlife based tour, we are very conscious of our effects on the environment and how we can reduce negative impact and aid conservation. On this trip we visit national and private parks, including Tortuguero National Park, Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge and Monteverde Cloud Forest. Entrance fees directly support conservation efforts in the areas we visit. The guides that we use are careful to ensure that park guidelines are followed and have extensive knowledge of Costa Rica’s fauna and flora to educate and inform.
UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.
Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.
The Impacts of this Trip
Local Craft and Culture:
Although this is a largely nature based trip, we incorporate as much benefit to local people as possible. One of the ways to support local people and boost the economy is to buy crafts in some of the remote regions that we visit, such as Tortuguero. Having the opportunity to purchase locally made handicrafts encourages cultural exchange and provides a significant form of alternative income. Guides are careful to explain that any souvenirs on sale over the duration of the trip which are made from animal parts, shells or local hardwoods should not be purchased.
Charity:
Last January we contributed school supplies though the Costa Rican Association of Tour Operators (ACOT). We organised the donation of school packages to children and teenagers in indigenous communities (Dueri, Cerro Alto, Tolok Saku, Jamaikiri, Tsinikicha, Mata de Limón, San Miguel, Gandoca and Yorkin).
1 Reviews of Natural highlights tour of Costa Rica
Reviewed on 01 Dec 2017 by Penny Calder
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing wildlife in its natural habitat including spider, howler and capuchin monkeys, two and three toed sloths, basilisk lizards running on water, boa constrictors, tarantulas, toucans, hummingbirds and quetzals to name a few.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
I benefitted from packing a mosquito net for the first two nights accommodation.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. Couldn't have been better.
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