Costa Rica and Panama holiday
| country: | Costa Rica, Panama |
| departures: | Tailor made departures throughout the year. To see turtles the best time to go is Apr-Oct. |
| price: | From £995 - £1695 (9-16 days) excluding flights. Single supplements available, see below |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Costa Rica and Panama holiday
The Corcovado National Park has been described by National Geographic as ‘...the most biologically intense place on Earth’. It is sometimes referred to as the Amazon of Central America, which is accurate in that its forest and intensity of wildlife can compare with the best the Amazon can offer, but what this forgets is that this wilderness is bounded on one side by the Pacific.
Corcovado has almost 30 miles of protected coastline, along which you are sure to see wildlife.
Your Costa Rica and Panama holiday can be taken to coincide with the arrival of female Giant Leatherback Turtles.
9 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday: Pacific and Caribbean coastal rainforest wilderness
From £995 (9 days) excluding flights, single supplement £215
Our 9 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday begins at Corcovado National Park. Depending upon your luck, you may see tapir, dozens of coatis, crocodiles, bull sharks entering a tidal river, and more than 400 species of bird including Central America’s highest concentration of scarlet macaws. An hour’s walk inside the forest might reveal more than a dozen groups of all four species of Central America’s monkeys.
On the Caribbean coast you can explore a vast network of natural waterways within the Tortuguero National Park. Tortuguero means ‘place of turtles’ in Spanish which refers to the hundreds of turtles that visit its beaches each year to lay their eggs. April and May provide the best opportunities to see the Giant Leatherback Turtle, although you may also be lucky in March and June.
Between June and August, whilst hatchling leatherbacks are racing a gauntlet of predators as they try to reach the sea, green turtles are arriving on Tortuguero’s beaches. Among the predators of the adult turtles are jaguars which are sometimes spotted emerging from the forest on the beaches.
Our 9 day recommended Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary provides the opportunity to visit these two coastal wilderness locations and then add any number of tailor-made opportunities into your schedule. Call us to discuss what options might best suit your needs.
9 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary
16 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday: Pacific and Caribbean rainforests of Costa Rica and the Panama Canal
Mid Mar-Sep (turtle season) from £1695 (16 days) excluding flights, single supplement £520
Please note: Outside of Turtle Season (mid Mar-Sep) this is a 13 day tour ie. from £1460 excluding flights, single supplement £299
It is difficult to imagine a more intense experience of Central American wilderness, wildlife and conservation than this trip which combines Costa Rica and Panama.
This 16 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday begins at the Corcovado National Park, which provides access to the marine life havens of Caño Island Biological Reserve and Drake’s Bay. Here coatis, macaws, and tapir come out of the forest and onto the beaches, and turtles and even bull sharks come in from the sea and swim into one of the Corcovado’s tidal streams. Flocks of pelicans look like pterodactyls as they glide low overhead. This coastline feels truly primordial.
Our journey then takes you to the rainforests of the Tortuguero, ‘place of turtles’, which refers to the hundreds of turtles that visit its beaches each year to lay their eggs. Between March and June we have the opportunity to stay at a coastal rainforest reserve where you are able to take part in the anti-poaching patrols and tagging that takes place each night. As the night shift ends, Howler Monkeys beckon you to explore the reserve’s 2,000 acres of protected forest. Or if you prefer, you can gaze at the Caribbean from your balcony, or explore the network of lagoons. You will find it easy to see Howler and Capuchin Monkeys, poison dart frogs and many species of bird, including the Boat-Billed Heron.
Transfer to The Canopy Tower within the Sobrenia National Park. This is arguably the capital of birdwatching and a natural base from which to learn about the project to reintroduce the world’s largest raptor, the Harpy Eagle, into this part of the world. A visit to one of the world’s centres of excellence in rainforest research at the Smithsonian Institute’s Barro Colorado Island, rounds off what will be one of the most eye opening experiences you can hope to have with our 16 day recommended Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary.
16 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary (subject to tailor made adjustments)
The Corcovado National Park has been described by National Geographic as ‘...the most biologically intense place on Earth’. It is sometimes referred to as the Amazon of Central America, which is accurate in that its forest and intensity of wildlife can compare with the best the Amazon can offer, but what this forgets is that this wilderness is bounded on one side by the Pacific.
Corcovado has almost 30 miles of protected coastline, along which you are sure to see wildlife.
Your Costa Rica and Panama holiday can be taken to coincide with the arrival of female Giant Leatherback Turtles.
9 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday: Pacific and Caribbean coastal rainforest wilderness
From £995 (9 days) excluding flights, single supplement £215
Our 9 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday begins at Corcovado National Park. Depending upon your luck, you may see tapir, dozens of coatis, crocodiles, bull sharks entering a tidal river, and more than 400 species of bird including Central America’s highest concentration of scarlet macaws. An hour’s walk inside the forest might reveal more than a dozen groups of all four species of Central America’s monkeys.
On the Caribbean coast you can explore a vast network of natural waterways within the Tortuguero National Park. Tortuguero means ‘place of turtles’ in Spanish which refers to the hundreds of turtles that visit its beaches each year to lay their eggs. April and May provide the best opportunities to see the Giant Leatherback Turtle, although you may also be lucky in March and June.
Between June and August, whilst hatchling leatherbacks are racing a gauntlet of predators as they try to reach the sea, green turtles are arriving on Tortuguero’s beaches. Among the predators of the adult turtles are jaguars which are sometimes spotted emerging from the forest on the beaches.
Our 9 day recommended Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary provides the opportunity to visit these two coastal wilderness locations and then add any number of tailor-made opportunities into your schedule. Call us to discuss what options might best suit your needs.
9 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive San Jose, Costa Rica. Transfer to hotel. |
| Day 2-5: | Transfer from San Jose to a premium lodge in Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. Explore the Osa Peninsula with a visit to Caño Island Biological Reserve. Transfer to hotel in San Jose. |
| Day 6-8: | Through Reserva Nacional Brauillo Carillo, boat trip up the Tortuguero Canal. Explore Tortuguero National Park. Transfer back to San Jose. |
| Day 9: | Depart San Jose. |
16 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday: Pacific and Caribbean rainforests of Costa Rica and the Panama Canal
Mid Mar-Sep (turtle season) from £1695 (16 days) excluding flights, single supplement £520
Please note: Outside of Turtle Season (mid Mar-Sep) this is a 13 day tour ie. from £1460 excluding flights, single supplement £299
It is difficult to imagine a more intense experience of Central American wilderness, wildlife and conservation than this trip which combines Costa Rica and Panama. This 16 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday begins at the Corcovado National Park, which provides access to the marine life havens of Caño Island Biological Reserve and Drake’s Bay. Here coatis, macaws, and tapir come out of the forest and onto the beaches, and turtles and even bull sharks come in from the sea and swim into one of the Corcovado’s tidal streams. Flocks of pelicans look like pterodactyls as they glide low overhead. This coastline feels truly primordial.
Our journey then takes you to the rainforests of the Tortuguero, ‘place of turtles’, which refers to the hundreds of turtles that visit its beaches each year to lay their eggs. Between March and June we have the opportunity to stay at a coastal rainforest reserve where you are able to take part in the anti-poaching patrols and tagging that takes place each night. As the night shift ends, Howler Monkeys beckon you to explore the reserve’s 2,000 acres of protected forest. Or if you prefer, you can gaze at the Caribbean from your balcony, or explore the network of lagoons. You will find it easy to see Howler and Capuchin Monkeys, poison dart frogs and many species of bird, including the Boat-Billed Heron.
Transfer to The Canopy Tower within the Sobrenia National Park. This is arguably the capital of birdwatching and a natural base from which to learn about the project to reintroduce the world’s largest raptor, the Harpy Eagle, into this part of the world. A visit to one of the world’s centres of excellence in rainforest research at the Smithsonian Institute’s Barro Colorado Island, rounds off what will be one of the most eye opening experiences you can hope to have with our 16 day recommended Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary.
16 day Costa Rica and Panama holiday itinerary (subject to tailor made adjustments)
| Day 1: | Arrive San José, Costa Rica. Transfer to Grano de Oro Hotel (subject to availability). |
| Day 2: | Day to rest and acclimatize in San Jose. |
| Day 3-4: | You will be collected early from your hotel and transferred from San José overland through the Brauillo Carillo National Park to the Tortuguero Canal. Here you will meet a motor canoe from where you will be taken north to your jungle lodge in the Tortuguero National Park. Explore Tortuguero National Park. |
| Day 5-7: | Explore Tortuguero National Park and you will be transferred privately by motor canoe half way down the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica to the Pacuare Rainforest and Leatherback Turtle Reserve. Explore the rainforests, canals and coastline of la Reserva Pacuare including opportunities at night time to join researchers and volunteers patrolling the beaches for Giant leatherback Turtles. Accommodation at on-site hacienda. |
| Day 8: | Explore the Tortuguero National Park and you will be transferred further south along the Tortuguero Canal to a river dock east of Matina. Here you will be met by a private vehicle and driver / guide who will take you through coastal banana plantations before ascending into the Braulio Carillo National Park. After spending a few days in lowland rainforest on the coast, here you can enjoy a privately guided trek through cooler montane forest. Later you will be transferred back to your hotel in San Jose. |
| Day 9-12: | You will be collected from your hotel early and driven to the airport for your flight to the south west of Costa Rica. You will be met upon arrival and transferred overland and by boat to the Osa Peninsula. Explore the Corcovado National Park and the Caño Island Biological Reserve. You will be transferred overland and by water to Palmar Sur airport and flown back to San José. You will be met upon arrival and taken back to your hotel in San Jose. |
| Day 13: | (Costa Rica programme): You will be collected from your hotel and taken to the airport for your flight home (13 day Costa Rica programme) or for your onwards flight to Panama City. You will be met upon arrival in Panama City and driven west first to the Panama Canal, and then northwards along it into the Sobrenia National Park. |
| Day 13-16: | (Panama programme): You will be collected from your hotel and taken to the airport for your onwards flight to Panama City. You will be met upon arrival in Panama City and driven west first to the Panama Canal, and then northwards along it into the Sobrenia National Park. Guided visits to the Sobrenia National Park and the Smithsonian Institute's Research Station at Barro Colorado Island in the northern Panama Canal. Depending upon the time opf your flight, you may have time for some natural history watching above the canopy at the Canopy Tower, or in the forests of the Sobrenia N.P.. You will then be transferred to Panama City airport for your onwards flight. |
travellers' tales
The highlight was staying at Casa Corcovado on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica! The lodge was very remote, so we felt completely immersed in nature. A once in a lifetime experience; a perfect honeymoon! (more)
tailor made holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.how this holiday makes a difference
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Not only is this about the best wildlife experience we could find in Costa Rica and Panama, but a Costa Rica and Panama holiday provides a unique behind the scenes insight into some of the region’s leading conservation projects and contributes to them financially. Highlights of a Costa Rica and Panama holiday include:
 Opportunities to Volunteer There is the possibility to add an extension to this trip if you would like to become actively involved with Giant Leatherback Turtle conservation. We can arrange 2 – 10 week volunteer placements on a project we helped establish on the Caribbean Coast of Panama. Whereas we use some of the most comfortable ecolodges for the main trip, please note that volunteer accommodation and food is very much more basic. |
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