Wellness and Nature Break in Costa Rica

Highlights

  • Soar above canyons on a zip line experience
  • Visit the second largest volcanic crater in the world
  • Immerse yourself in soothing warm thermal waters
From £1092 pp*
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What you'll do

Overview

Tour Summary: 

Day 1 & 2   Alajuela

Day 3 & 4  Bagaces

Day 5          Depart from Puntarenas

Your 5 day adventure to the less touristy areas of Costa Rica will give you a taste of the real country and its people. Experience amazing natural landscapes, tropical forests, volcanoes, rivers and the spectacular wildlife inhabiting them. Savour the natural beauty of Poas volcano and take a dip in the healing thermal springs of Rio Perdido. Get totally off the beaten path as you explore and enjoy the spectacular rivers and gorges of the landscape on a canyon zip line adventure. Sit back and relax on your river tube as you float and splash down river through the awe inspiring scenery, then rest and rejuvenate in your peaceful wellness retreat. Enjoy natural hot springs, massages, yoga and top class farm to table cuisine to indulge your mind and body.

*From price based on 4 people travelling

 

 

Arrival

Your driver will meet you at the exit of San Jose International Airport and drive you to your hotel.

The Xandari Resort and Spa is surrounded by lush gardens with terraces providing spectacular views of Costa Rica’s Central Valley, at 1200m above sea level.

The resort is a special retreat. A collection of 24 unique villas,  surrounded by 40 acres of natural vegetation, brought alive by vibrant original artwork, stunning architecture and attentive service.

Villas at Xandari have a garden, viewing terrace and an additional enclosed terrace. Guests can spend their time relaxing in the 38m sunset pool, the lap pools, visiting the farm animals or walking through the four km of private scenic trails and botanical gardens.

The dining experience is second to none with dishes made using fresh produce from the greenhouses and served either indoors or outdoors. The terrace restaurant features a variety of organic choices, from Costa Rican specialties to Mediterranean and Californian cuisines, its farm-to-table menu begins at breakfast and continues through lunch and dinner.

The Xandari Spa treatments are known to be some of the best in Costa Rica, using all natural ingredients. The palm-roofed jalapas each have  their own hot tub and massage table, enjoy a wealth of treatments here, from scrubs to massages, with a stunning view of the valley.  Yoga sessions are also available in the studio.

 

You will have the evening to relax before the start of your tour.

Accommodation: 

Xandari Resort and Spa

Meals: None

Poas Volcano and Coffee Tour

Today you will set off on your Costa Rican adventure. Making your way towards La Fortuna you will first stop at the Poás Volcano, an active volcano with the second largest crater in the world at over 1.5 km in diameter and 320m deep.

At a height of nearly 3000m the volcano offers some of the most spectacular views in all of Costa Rica, on a clear day. The clouds start to form in the morning and so you will get there early to have the best chance of a good view. With the ever-changing climatic conditions, of course, this cant be guaranteed. The walk to the crater is an easy 10 minute hike each way on good paths, and if the weather allows you will be rewarded by a spectacular view of the dazzling blue lake in its centre.

As you approach the crater the air becomes noticeably colder and thinner and the cloud forest landscape is apparent,  many trees found in the cloud forest appear severely disfigured and gnarled, impacted by the cold temperatures and wind and also by the volcanic activity. The cloud forest is home to hummingbirds, tanagers, flycatchers, toucanets, Costa Rica’s national bird the clay-coloured thrush, and the famous, resplendent quetzal.

Due to the potentially harmful gases and unpredictable volcanic activity the time at the viewing point is limited to 20 minutes.

Afterwards, you head to the Doka Coffee Estate one of the oldest coffee plantation in Costa Rica, and have an insider view of Costa Rica’s most famous produce coffee and sugar cane. You will have a tour of the plantation and learn about the history of the estate, its owners, the many varieties of plants and the traditional ways of  cultivation, learn how coffee beans are grown, harvested, and roasted to perfection, and then follow the journey of sugar cane at a working sugar mill. Finish the visit with a tour of the estate’s amazing gardens with hundreds of miniature bonsai trees, colourful orchids, and butterflies, local breakfast and of course a great cup of coffee.

 

Accommodation: 

Xandari Resort and Spa

Meals: Breakfast

Day at Rio Perdido

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and you will be collected for your drive to Bagaces, in the Guancaste  region. Your next stay will be at the Hotel Rio Perdido,  a sanctuary of well-being and the true embodiment of the Costa Rican phrase “Pura Vida”

The hotel  is set in the depths of Costa Rica’s Tropical Dry Forest, with canyons on either side  and volcanic ranges in the distance, it is a spectacular setting.

The accommodation is made up of 30 stand-alone bungalows surrounded by natural vegetation designed to be in perfect harmony with the surroundings  and decorated in fresh, bright colours. They each have a private balcony with a hammock, ideal for relaxing during the heat of the day.

The location provides an amazing opportunity to get out and experience the natural wonders of the landscape and the hotel provides a great range of activities during your stay. You can experience the forest from above as you zip-line in Rio Blanco Canyon, enjoy tubing the gentle rapids of the White Canyon, explore the area by bike or on foot along the network of tracks and hiking trails, taking in the spectacular mix of landscapes, dry dwarf forest, bridges, rocks, rivers and pastures and seemingly endless variety of exotic flora and fauna

Relax and enjoy swimming in the abundant, completely natural hot springs, along a mile of thermal gorge that cuts right through the spectacular, 600-acre reserve, or visit the on site spa for a therapeutic massage.

Wellness is the overall aim of this sanctuary and you are invited to take part in yoga, meditation or forest bathing sessions to harmonise body, mind and spirit.

The hotel has a truly authentic dining experience employing talented local chefs and using locally grown produce served in the atmospheric open air restaurant offering superb panoramic views of the forest.

Accommodation: 

Rio Perdido Hotel and Thermal River

 

Meals: Breakfast

Zip Line the Canyon and River Tubing

After breakfast, you will start your day of adventure!

You will start with an exciting canyon adventure through the inspiring Rio Blanco Canyon featuring 15 platforms, a pendulum cable, a 50-foot Tarzan swing, a 90-foot challenge bridge and five zip lines with lengths varying from 260 to over 800 feet making for an exciting and adrenaline fuelled adventure. Then you will come down to earth descending to the river valley where you will float and splash as you navigate small grade rapids on your river tube, through the stunning scenery.

Accommodation: 

Rio Perdido Hotel and Thermal River

Meals: Breakfast

Departure

Today, after breakfast you will check out of the hotel and be transferred to Puntarenas port to embark the ship to continue on your Latin American adventure, or to be transferred to the airport for your flight home.

 

 

 

Meals: Breakfast

What's included

Included

  • Transfers to and from the airport and between activities and hotels.
  • 2 nights at Xandari resort and Spa (BB)
  • 2 nights at Rio Perdido (BB)
  • Visit to Poas volcano
  • Visit to Doka Coffee plantation and tour
  • Rio Perdido Canyon Zip line adventure
  • Rio Perdido river tubing adventure
Your local host

Roberto

I was born and raised in Costa Rica and have lived here my entire life. And ever since I could, I’ve been travelling the world. Soon after I left school, I travelled around Costa Rica and discovered every single part of it! Although, we do have a fairly small country, there’s an insane amount to explore, and I’m still exploring it today, seeking out new hiking trails, new lagoons, different viewpoints, that take you to places you hadn’t even knew existed before, it really is fascinating.

My deep knowledge of countries extends far beyond just Costa Rica as well, I’ve been lucky enough to have a broad knowledge of most of the other Central American countries, as well as, a lot of the South American coun... Read All

I was born and raised in Costa Rica and have lived here my entire life. And ever since I could, I’ve been travelling the world. Soon after I left school, I travelled around Costa Rica and discovered every single part of it! Although, we do have a fairly small country, there’s an insane amount to explore, and I’m still exploring it today, seeking out new hiking trails, new lagoons, different viewpoints, that take you to places you hadn’t even knew existed before, it really is fascinating.

My deep knowledge of countries extends far beyond just Costa Rica as well, I’ve been lucky enough to have a broad knowledge of most of the other Central American countries, as well as, a lot of the South American countries, allowing me to extend tours over there as well.

You might be surprised to know that I started out in a completely different field altogether, I studied engineering at university and worked in this industry for a little while. But, a little while later, due that passion for discovery and exploring new places eating away at me, I started my immersive travel company with a friend (14 years ago to be exact) and began having way too much fun helping people discover my wonderful country and the countries around it, so as soon as the possibility came around I just grabbed it, decided to leave engineering behind and have worked in the industry ever since.

What inspired you to work in travel?

As I’ve mentioned, I do have a bit of an obsession when it comes to showing people the beauty of Costa Rica. But apart from this, I’ve always been very much pro environment and have a keen interest in conservation. One of the best things about travel is that it can have a large component of conservation, at some point before I started working in travel, I thought I would work within conservation. So travel is a great bridge between my passions of discovery and conservation. Because if tourism is done right can help change both people’s lives and the world, and that’s really powerful.

What makes your experiences special?

Firstly, supplier and destination selection is key for us when choosing our experiences. If you get these right, you have a pretty good shot of having a truly authentic experience. So, we choose destinations that are not the same as all the other tour companies out there, those that are emerging or have something special about them, that most people don’t know about. An example would be, Drake Bay in Costa Rica, there’s a few things that everybody does e.g. the Corcovado National Park, a must visit for this area. But the difference between us and the other companies is that we use the local companies, that employ real locals, so this gives smaller companies a chance to compete with the large companies. When we choose hotels, we choose those that are sustainable, away from the normal ones.

And we always ensure the places/people we work with are committed to sustainability, it’s our mission to spread the wealth of toursim, to make sure money just doesn’t go to all the large companies, we think it should be shared equally to everyone in the country. So our suppliers are always real local people, that truly love their country and are trying to make an honest living out of it.

 

Sustainability Efforts

What Sustainability Efforts are we Taking?

At Not in the Guidebooks we’re committed to empowering the local communities in Costa Rica. We work closely with the local people and their businesses to make sure that they receive a fair percentage of the money you spend on your holiday there. By partnering with local guides and suppliers, we’re able to create meaningful, authentic experiences that directly benefit the people who call this incredible country home.

Learn More

Location

Your adventure begins at San Jose airport where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your first hotel.

 

Alajuela – it is known for its rich history and laid-back charm. Visitors can look forward to exploring Parque Central, browsing the Central Market or visiting Santamaria Cultural and Historical Museum. You will also have an abundance of local restaurants to choose from to get the best authentic Costa Rican food.

Bagaces – Set in the province of Guanacast, Bagaces is best known as the home of the magnificent Llanos de Cortes Waterfall. The city boasts a rich history and spectacularly scenic natural landscapes.

 

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