Costa Rica: Conservation and Accessibility (custom dates)

Welcome to Costa Rica! Your journey begins with a flight into San Jose, the Capital City. There you will be met and assisted upon arrival and transferred to your hotel for a relaxing night.

The city of San José is the national capital and economic center of Costa Rica. It is currently undergoing a renaissance with pedestrian streets and modern high rise buildings, yet it still retains much of its past multicultural heritage in restored elegant old buildings, historic statues, and parks.

Dinner(*) on your own, and overnight at Villas San Ignacio or similar in Alajuela.

If your flight arrives early enough, you can also have a welcoming cultural encounter at the house of a local artisan of Cimarron and Mascarada which is a local Costa Rican tradition with a home made dinner prepared in a wood-fire kitchen.

Today, we spend a day at Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network in San Jose with our local ground partner, and Founder of this non-profit which creates accessible itineraries and has all the equipment and training for adapting tourism into an accessible destination for all. 

• Morning visit to DONATAPA offices for a presentation of how plastics are sorted into categories and then transformed into plastic wood. You will have the opportunity to help sort the plastics before proceeding to Naranjo for a one hour a workshop so they can see the transformation process. The workshop is located in Naranjo.
• Enjoy a welcoming cultural encounter at the house of a local artisan of Cimarron and Mascarada, a local Costa Rican tradition with a home made dinner prepared in a wood-fire kitchen. 

Overnight at Villas San Ignacio or similar in San Jose.  (B, D)

After breakfast, we will head to the  Tirimbina Rainforest Center, morning volunteering, lunch and Chocolate tour. 

After lunch, you will enjoy a Chocolate tour and learn about chocolate from its initial indigenous cultivation of the tangy-sweet cacao fruits and visit a plantation in the rainforest. The guided tour begins by walking on a suspension bridge above the Sarapiqui River into the forest where you may see a variety of wildlife en route to the plantation.  There you will see the artisanal process of making chocolate and even taste different types of locally-made chocolate.

In the evening, enjoy a night walk or bat program.  

Overnight at Selva Verde Lodge or similar (B)

Once we’ve all finished our breakfast, we will depart for the Arenal Volcano (approx.1.5 hour drive) which steams continuously above a verdant landscape of gently rolling farmlands, small town centers and vast forests in the park and adjacent mountains. This picturesque region offers natural beauty, amazing wildlife and plenty of outdoor activities for visitors to enjoy such as hiking the trails near its base and over lava flows, or taking in the wildlife that is now reclaiming their former territory.

Along the way, we will stop at Juanilama agro ecological community, which integrates the rural life style of Juanilama with several cultural, agricultural and nature related aspects.

On this sustainable farm, you will learn everything about agriculture, farm to table, cooking lesson and lunch. You will milk the cow and learn the art of cheese making, then after an afternoon coffee we will head to Arenal area.

Upon arrival at Arenal, enjoy an evening at the healing hot springs with dinner.

Overnight accomodations at Arenal Observatory Lodge or similar   (B,L,D)

After your morning breakfast, enjoy a day around Arenal Volcano with our friends at Rainforest Explorers, starting with a safari float, a waterfall visit and then a Costa Rican cooking and dance lesson.  

• On the Safari Float, your guide will take you down the river spotting flora and fauna, a great chance to see monkeys, lizards, birds, sloths, and a beautiful calm scenery while navigating on flat water.
• Later, you will hike down to La Fortuna Waterfall. Located in a small canyon surrounded by lush forest, the 200 foot-tall waterfall is accessible via a short, steep trail where we will take in the majestic sight of its pristine waters pouring down. In doing so, not only are guests treated to a beautiful sight, but their admission fees will benefit the local community who uses the money for important public projects.  
• Complete the day with lunch, and a Salsa class back in Fortuna and then some much-deserved downtime.  

Overnight accomodation at Arenal Observatory Lodge or similar  (B,L)

At your selected time your guide/driver will pick you up at the hotel for a private guided transfer to Playa Hermosa.

On the way, we will stop at Las Pumas Rescue Center.

We will stop for lunch and then continue the trip to our beach destination! (4 hour drive)

Overnight in Playa Hermosa at Playa Hermosa Bosque Del Mar or similar. (B)

Today, we continue with helping to contribute to conservation and accessible beach access at Playa Hermosa.  We will spend a few hours to help to clean plastics from the beach and sort them for donation to DONATAPA, to transform them into accessible solutions. 

Later in the day,  take a surf lessons or  simply relax along this vast beach and enjoy the extraordinary sunsets of Playa Hermosa or explore the surrounding villages and meet the people who live there.

Overnight accomodations at Bosque del Mar in Playa Hermosa, or similar.  (B, L)

Say farwell to Costa Rica for now and take a morning transfer to the Liberia International Airport to board your homeward flight. (B)

With the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), the health and safety of Global Family Travels’ travelers, community partners, colleagues and guides are of paramount importance to us. Our COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS document, found under Tasks section, outlines our commitment to mitigate and manage the risks associated with COVID-19 when you travel with us.  Please also refer to the tasks which has specific details for your activity and destination. 

Thank you for helping to keep yourself and fellow travelers and guides safe!

Much more than a traditional tour operator, Global Family Travels’ mission is to “Learn, Serve and Immerse” through community-based travel programs.  In partnership with non-profit organizations and schools, we offer family-friendly and sustainable travel experiences in support of education, gender equality, access to clean water, preservation of local cultures, conservation and economic growth, all of which foster cross-cultural understanding and global citizens.  

Our trips include a unique mix of cultural and educational activities, homestays and participation in local service projects aimed at improving the lives of people in the communities we visit.    
 
Expect to expand your family circle when you embark on a Global Family Travels trip!  Visit our website for more information: Global Family Travels

At Global Family Travels we believe that the most powerful way to learn is through firsthand experience. We let the country and its people be your teachers and supplement your experiences with reading lists, informal discussions, and a pre-trip orientation which includes information on the culture and history of your host country, helpful words and phrases, and cultural “do’s and don’ts”. 
 
Learning themes unique to this tour include:

• Costa Rican culture and history
• Ecotourism and conversation in Costa Rica’s National Parks and beaches
• Learn hands-on about how recycled plastics are being used to create accessible walkways on many of Costa Rica's beaches! 
• Sustainable tourism and its impact on the local economy
• Flora and fauna of the rainforest       

Discover first hand how Costa Rica’s conservation initiatives have protected and restored nature, and contribute to the accessibility actions of our tourism partner, Il Viaggio, with  has created accessible opportunities through DONATAPA and  the Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network.  Their projects have given both domestic and  international visitors with temporary or permanent disabilities the opportunity to of enjoy Costa Rica’s natural resources.

Community Service Opportunities include working with the following: 

Sarapiqui Learning Center  : The SCLC focuses its efforts in four areas — environmental education, community development, conservation, and tourism — in order to help form future environmental leaders, raise the organizational capacity of local communities, promote sustainable land use, and connect tourists to the local community. Their programs, which are run by international volunteers and community members, serve hundreds of local people and thousands of ecotourists each year. These programs include environmental education, rural tourism activities, English classes, community outreach, women’s groups, and scholarship funds for high school students. 

Juanilama agro ecological community integrates the rural life style of Juanilama with several cultural, agricultural and nature related aspects. The community offers guests the opportunity to experience the routine of an authentic rural community through different tours and activities that have been designed to show the legacy of our culture, traditions, respect for nature and the hard labor of the country. 

Sort plastics 

This tour emphasizes authentic cultural experiences to give you a true taste of Costa Rica. Guests will engage with Costan Rican conservationists, and families in various communities. You will also learn how to cook a proper Costa Rican meal and interact directly with the locals, learning about their traditions, and sharing from your world and theirs.  
 
 

DONATAPA was founded by our Costa Rican partner in March 2018, and is a project of the Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network. The organization works to create accessible model beaches through the recycling of plastic 2, 4 and 5, which are collected, recycled and processed to make plastic wood. This plastic wood  is used to manufacture innovative products such as retractable walkways, amphibian chairs, beach chairs, garbage cans, among others, reducing the negative impact of plastic on the environment.

Through this social and environmental project, DONATAPA promotes social equality, human rights, and safeguards natural environment. The organization also helps protect natural heritage, avoid waste production, and provides local and foreigner tourists with honest information, contribute to sustainable development and community well-being.

Visit these Facebook pages to learn more:

DONATAPA 

Costa Rican Accessible Tourism

Located in Sarapiqui, the Tirimbina Reserve is a non-profit, biological reserve operated as an education, research, and eco-tourism center working to protect the area’s exceptional biodiversity. Currently the reserve protects 345 hectares of tropical forest, only a third of which is used for ecotourism and environmental education, keeping most of the reserve intact. However, the 9 km trails enable visitors to journey through the diverse surroundings and experience the forest up close.