Costa Rica active: raft the Pacuare, hike Arenal, kayak and bike

1. Day 1: Arrive in San José

   Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) to your hotel in San José

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in San José
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), about 20 km west of the city centre, in time for the evening briefing: plan to land by about 3 pm (the latest workable arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary). A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the half-hour drive into San José, the capital, which sits in the Central Valley at about 1,150 m, so evenings are mild. If you arrive early, the Museo Nacional is a short walk from many central hotels, in the old Bellavista barracks. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group to talk through the week: what to wear on the river, how the bike ride works, and the easy and active choice on each day. Then we walk to dinner together at a local restaurant. Tomorrow is the earliest start of the trip, so it is not a late night.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Rafting the Pacuare River

   San José to the Pacuare River put-in, by raft to the Siquirres take-out, then to Sarapiquí

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sarapiquí
   Day 2 details

   Pick-up is about 6:30 am, the earliest start of the trip, because the rafting outfitters run the river in the morning; the only other early gates, 7 am at Monteverde and Manuel Antonio, are set by the parks' opening times. We drive about two hours east past Cartago and Turrialba to the put-in, with breakfast at the outfitter's base on the way. After a safety briefing and paddle practice, you raft the lower Pacuare, about 28 km of class III and IV rapids through a deep, forested gorge with waterfalls running down its walls. Each raft has its own certified river guide, and no experience is needed. Lunch is on the riverbank halfway down. You come off the water near Siquirres in the early afternoon, change into dry clothes, and our own vehicle takes us about an hour and a half north through banana country to Sarapiquí. We reach the riverside lodge at about 5 pm, with the evening free; we never go back through San José.

   Included

   • Full-day Pacuare River rafting with a certified river guide in each raft (class III to IV)
   • Breakfast at the outfitter's base and lunch on the riverbank
   • Drive from the take-out to Sarapiquí in our own vehicle

   Easier option: Skip the river: our guide and driver take you to Guayabo National Monument near Turrialba, Costa Rica's most important archaeological site, arriving for its 8 am opening (opening days are confirmed at booking), then meet the group at the take-out.

   Free time: Evening free at the lodge from about 5 pm

   Activity: About 3.5 to 4 hours on the water. Wear quick-drying clothes and strap-on shoes; you will get wet. Outfitters set a minimum age (often 12) and ask about health conditions.

3. Day 3: Over to Arenal and the 1968 lava flows

   Sarapiquí to La Fortuna, then the Arenal 1968 trails

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in La Fortuna
   Day 3 details

   Wake early if you like for a bird walk in the lodge grounds with a local guide; the lowland forest of Sarapiquí is good for toucans, parrots and herons at first light. After breakfast we drive about two hours west across the northern plains to La Fortuna, the town below Arenal Volcano, where we stay three nights. Lunch is your choice in town. In the afternoon we walk the Arenal 1968 trails, on the private reserve west of the volcano, crossing the lava flows of the eruption that began in July 1968, when Arenal woke after centuries of quiet and buried the villages of Tabacón and Pueblo Nuevo. It stayed active until 2010 and now rests. The trails end at a viewpoint over the lake and the cone, about 1,630 m high, which often clears in the late afternoon. The evening is free: most people go to the hot springs.

   Included

   • Early bird walk in Sarapiquí with a local guide
   • Drive from Sarapiquí to La Fortuna
   • Arenal 1968 lava trails with your guide, entry included

   Optional experiences

   • Hot springs in La Fortuna in the evening

   Easier option: Walk only the first loop of the 1968 trails to the lava flow viewpoint and wait for the group at the visitor centre.

   Free time: Evening free in La Fortuna

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot on gravel and lava rock with short climbs.

   

4. Day 4: Kayak Lake Arenal, then ride the farm roads

   La Fortuna to Lake Arenal, then by bike back towards La Fortuna

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in La Fortuna
   Day 4 details

   Lake Arenal is usually calm early and windy by the afternoon, so we are on the water at about 7:30 am. A local outfitter launches sit-on-top kayaks near the dam end of the lake, the largest in Costa Rica, and on a clear morning the volcano stands straight across the water. After about two hours of paddling we swap to bikes for a guided ride of about 25 km on quiet rural roads between the lake and La Fortuna, past cattle farms, small villages and patches of forest, with our van following behind for water, snacks and anyone who wants a rest. The roads roll rather than climb hard, and the guide sets the pace for the group. We stop for a sit-down lunch at a soda, a small family restaurant, on the way back into town. The afternoon is free: the hot springs, a nap or a coffee tour.

   Included

   • Guided kayak on Lake Arenal, about 2 hours
   • Guided bike ride of about 25 km with a support van, bike and helmet included
   • Sit-down lunch at a local soda

   Optional experiences

   • Hot springs in the evening

   Easier option: Ride an e-bike, or ride the first half and then join the van; the kayak can be shared in a double.

   More active option: A longer loop of about 40 km with more climbing, with the van as backup.

   Free time: Afternoon free in La Fortuna

   Activity: About 2 hours of paddling and 2 to 3 hours on the bike. No experience needed for either.

5. Day 5: Cerro Chato and La Fortuna Waterfall

   La Fortuna to Cerro Chato, then La Fortuna Waterfall

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in La Fortuna
   Day 5 details

   Cerro Chato is the older, dormant cone on Arenal's flank, and a lagoon now fills its crater. Its public trails were closed in 2017, so we hike it only on a legal guided route through private land that we confirm before your departure; if none is open, the morning is the Arenal hanging bridges or the Arenal Observatory trails instead. On the hike we start at about 7:30 am, before the heat, on a steep forest trail of roots and mud to the crater rim and down to the water, about three to four hours there and back, with views back to Arenal near the top when the cloud allows. After a sit-down lunch we go to La Fortuna Waterfall, which drops about 70 m into a pool below the forest, about 500 steps down from the entrance. When the water level allows and park staff open it, you can swim in the river below the falls. If you skip the hike, you walk the hanging bridges and meet the group for lunch. The late afternoon and evening are free.

   Included

   • Guided hike up Cerro Chato to its crater lagoon (or the Arenal hanging bridges or Observatory trails if no legal route is open)
   • Sit-down lunch
   • La Fortuna Waterfall, entry included, with a swim when the park allows it

   Optional experiences

   • Canyoning (waterfall rappelling) with a local outfitter in the afternoon instead of the waterfall

   Easier option: Walk the Arenal hanging bridges in the morning instead of Cerro Chato, then the waterfall viewpoint at the top of the steps.

   More active option: Cerro Chato is the active option; strong hikers can add the river trail below the waterfall.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: The hardest walk of the trip: steep, muddy trail with roots, about 3 to 4 hours return, then about 500 steps at the waterfall. If no legal guided route up Cerro Chato is open, the morning runs the Arenal hanging bridges or the Arenal Observatory trails. Swimming below the falls depends on the water level.

   

6. Day 6: Across the lake to Monteverde

   La Fortuna to the Lake Arenal dam, by boat to Río Chiquito, then up to Monteverde

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Monteverde
   Day 6 details

   A slower morning, then we drive half an hour to the dam at the east end of Lake Arenal and cross by boat, about 25 minutes, with the volcano behind us on a clear day. Our driver takes the luggage round the lake by road, so you travel light. On the far shore a van takes us up through pasture and wind-bent forest to Monteverde, in the Tilarán mountains at about 1,400 m, so it is noticeably cooler. We arrive for a late lunch of your choice in Santa Elena, the village at the centre of the area, and our hotel is within walking distance of it. The afternoon is free to rest after three busy days. At dusk a local naturalist guide takes us on a night walk in the forest with torches, looking for sleeping birds, tarantulas, stick insects, tree frogs and, with luck, a sloth or a kinkajou.

   Included

   • Boat across Lake Arenal
   • Transfer up to Monteverde
   • Guided night walk in the cloud forest with a local naturalist

   Free time: Afternoon free in Santa Elena

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot after dark on easy trails; bring a warm layer.

7. Day 7: Monteverde cloud forest and the zip line

   Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, then a canopy tour

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Monteverde
   Day 7 details

   The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve opens at 7 am, and the first hour is the quietest and the best for birds, so we are at the gate when it opens. A local naturalist guide with a spotting scope walks us for about three hours under trees hung with moss, ferns and orchids, listening for three-wattled bellbirds and looking for the resplendent quetzal, which is easiest to see from about January to June. Mist comes and goes most mornings, and that is the point: it waters the whole forest. After a sit-down lunch in Santa Elena, the afternoon is a zip line canopy tour over and through the forest, with the outfitter's safety briefing first. If zip lines are not for you, walk a hanging bridges trail instead and see the canopy at your own pace. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve at opening with a local naturalist guide, entry included
   • Sit-down lunch in Santa Elena
   • Zip line canopy tour

   Optional experiences

   • Coffee and chocolate farm tour in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Walk a hanging bridges trail instead of the zip line.

   More active option: Stay on in the reserve after the guided walk and hike out to La Ventana, the viewpoint on the continental divide.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot on well-made but often wet trails. Bring a rain jacket even in the dry season.

   

8. Day 8: Down to the Pacific and the Damas mangroves

   Monteverde to Tárcoles, then down the coast to Manuel Antonio

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Manuel Antonio
   Day 8 details

   We leave Monteverde at about 8 am for the longest drive of the trip, about 190 km and 4 to 4.5 hours of driving with the mountain descent, broken by a stop and lunch so no stretch is more than about two and a half hours. First we wind down out of the mountains to the coast highway and stop at the bridge over the Tárcoles River, where large American crocodiles bask on the sandbanks below. Then we follow the Pacific south, with a sit-down lunch on the way, and reach Manuel Antonio in the early afternoon. Later, when the tide is right, we paddle kayaks through the mangrove channels of the Damas Island estuary near Quepos with a local guide, on flat, sheltered water, looking for herons, kingfishers, crabs and sometimes white-faced capuchin monkeys in the branches. In the evening the group sits down to a farewell dinner, with the sunset over the Pacific if the sky is clear.

   Included

   • Stop at the Tárcoles River bridge for the crocodiles
   • Sit-down lunch on the way
   • Guided mangrove kayak in the Damas Island estuary
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Share a double kayak with a guide, or skip the paddle for the pool and beach.

   More active option: A stand-up paddleboard in the estuary instead of the kayak.

   Activity: About 2 hours of easy paddling on calm water; the start time depends on the tide.

   

9. Day 9: Manuel Antonio at opening, then home

   Manuel Antonio National Park, then to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   Manuel Antonio National Park is small and popular, with a daily cap on visitors, and sells tickets online only, so we buy them ahead and go in at 7 am, when it opens, the air is cooler and the animals are most active. A naturalist guide with a scope helps you find two- and three-toed sloths, white-faced capuchins, iguanas and sometimes the small squirrel monkeys of this coast. The trails are flat and easy and lead to white-sand beaches where you can swim before we leave. We are out by about 10 am for the drive of about three and a half hours back up the coast and over the mountains to Juan Santamaría International Airport, with a lunch stop on the way (lunch at your own cost). The park closes on Tuesdays, so we set departures to avoid a Tuesday day 9; where that cannot be done, the visit moves to the day 8 afternoon. Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm. Your guide sees you to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye.

   Included

   • Manuel Antonio National Park at opening with a naturalist guide, entry included
   • Drop-off at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)

   Easier option: Stay on the main trail and beach with the guide; the walking is flat throughout.

   More active option: Walk the loop trail to the Punta Catedral viewpoint before the swim.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm. For an earlier flight we go straight to the airport after breakfast.

Wildlife and weather: December to April is drier, with the best trail and river conditions; from May to November most afternoons bring rain, the Pacuare runs higher and Cerro Chato gets very muddy, so we keep the active plans to the mornings.

• San José1 night
• Sarapiquí1 night
• La Fortuna3 nights
• Monteverde2 nights
• Manuel Antonio1 night