10 Beautiful Days in Costa Rica!
An Unforgettable Tour for Families or Individuals!
March 5-14, 2023
Call AOI at 970-523-9943 today to express interest so we can keep you posted or to register!
This tour is not your ordinary “tourist” tour. It is with a smaller group, more personal, and Creation based! Yes, you will see many popular sights that nobody would want to miss. Much more than that, you will go to places that will make you say:
“This is why I came to Costa Rica!”
You will see what most visitors would want to see AND be taken off the beaten track to experience more of the real Costa Rica.
See volcanoes, beautiful rainforests, and birds that many bird watchers long to see. Marvel at tropical mammals, fish, reptiles, and amazing butterflies such as the Blue Morpho that defy evolutionary explanations and point to God’s amazing wisdom!
We have chosen sights for you to explore even though they cost AOI more than the typical tourist haunts.
- Enjoy a safe aerial tram over rainforests (and/or try a more adventurous multi-course zip line!);
- Take a boat trip to explore some fabulous mangrove swamps to the open ocean and coastal destinations;
- Explore the underwater world as you snorkel at the famous Caño Island;
- See fabulous waterfalls;
- Relax at picture-perfect postcard beaches;
- Visit and/or hike in the fabulous Corcovado National Park which is really off the beaten track and on the bucket list of many international travelers.
An experienced bilingual naturalist will accompany us on the whole trip to supply us with fascinating information and point out what most of us would miss without that expertise. Likely animal sightings include reptiles (crocodiles, iguanas, sea turtles), mammals (several species of monkeys, coatimundis, sloths, tapirs, peccary, jaguar (? – at least in captivity), and amphibians (amazing variety of beautiful frogs).
Cost: $2690 per person (Double Occupancy). Children in same room: Substantially less.
Call 970-523-9943 to Register or Fill out and Return the Registration Form.
What is included?
- ALL meals!
- Quality hotels!
- Transportation in the country and airport/hotel transfers.
- Entrance fees to National Parks, boat transportation, tram costs (zipline extra), and all other sights.
- Tour coordinator and an experienced bilingual naturalist guide.
- A Native Costa Rican tour coordinator to keep things running smoothly.
- Creation teaching with veteran Creation speakers.
- Tips (These can mount up to a great expense, but we have them covered.)
What is not covered?
- Air travel to/from San Jose, Costa Rica.
- Snacks, alcoholic beverages, personal items, etc.
- Camera and plenty of memory cards and batteries.
Daily Itinerary
Below is a detailed itinerary for the tour. Scroll through and click on the arrows for each day’s schedule. *Subject to change, if necessary.*
March 5 - Day 1 – Arrive in San Jose
Lodging: City Express Hotel (2 nights)
Day 2 – Lapaz (Peace) Waterfall and Gardens
Breakfast at hotel. Board the bus to visit Peace Waterfall and Gardens. See lush green farmland and countryside on the way. At Peace Waterfall gardens, you will not only enjoy a series of waterfalls, but many other options including its famous gardens with a multitude of beautiful and exotic flowers, hummingbirds galore, amazingly beautiful frogs, and live animal displays including the jaguar. Your lunch is a delicious buffet in the Gardens. Don’t miss seeing the evolution-defying Blue Morpho at their world-class butterfly garden. Back at the hotel, dinner and a creation program/debriefing culminate this packed first day. By this time, you may already wish you had brought extra camera memory cards!
Lodging: City Express Hotel
Day 3 – Quetzal Paradise Area
After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and head south through amazing scenery. Enjoy a Costa Rican lunch in route to our next hotel. If desired, participate in a nature hike on a reserve led by your expert naturalist guide and soak in the beauty of your surroundings.
Lodging: Sueños del Bosque
Sueños del Bosque
Day 4 – Bird Watching, Wilson Botanical Gardens, and Coffee Plantation Tour
The early bird sees the most birds! So, go on an early bird watch with your guide to see some of the many birds Costa Rica is famous for. After returning to the hotel for breakfast, prepare to enjoy great scenery and sites as we head through the Coto Brus Valley with lunch along the way. We are headed to the Wilson Botanical Gardens via a tour of a coffee plantation! At the Botanical Gardens, you have an opportunity to do a nocturnal tour or an early bird avian expedition.
Lodging: Wilson Botanical Gardens
Wilson Botanical Gardens
Guest suites at Wilson Botanical Gardens
Day 5 – Botanical Gardens, Stone Spheres, and Mangrove Swamps
You won’t forget this day! Tour the gardens in the morning, and head to the Sierpe-Corcovado area. Watch for giant Stone Spheres sculpted by the ancient natives of Costa Rica – an archaeological marvel. Soon afterwards, we leave behind our bus and proceed by boat down the Sierpe River to Drake Bay. Our boatsman takes us through amazing mangrove swamps along the river route to the sea. You will arrive at our hotel on Drake Bay along the Pacific Ocean where we will spend 2 nights. The beauty here will be permanently etched on your memory cells.
Lodging: Casa Gitana
Casa Gitana
Day 6 – Guided Tour of Corcovado National Park and Snorkeling at Caño Island
You think the days before were unforgettable? You are now in an area that is on the bucket list of many international travelers. Our boatsman takes us down the coast to a beach where you disembark for a fascinating tour of Corcovado National Park. Located in the remote Osa Peninsula, Corcovado is considered by many to be the most bio-diverse place on Earth boasting more biodiversity than the entire United States! It is home to over 400 bird species, 140 mammals, and a whopping 500 tree species. Corcovado National Park also lays claim to being the most unspoiled costal rain forest in Central America. Look for gorgeous scarlet, orange, blue, and yellow Macaws – fabulous birds to see here and for the next several days. After lunch, we reboard our boat to the Isla Del Caño Biological Preserve located on a small island about 12 miles off the coast where you can enjoy snorkeling (equipment provided). This site is home to tropical fish, eels, rays, playful dolphins, and even an occasional sea turtle or whale. This is an underwater paradise to enjoy God’s awesome Creation!
Lodging: Casa Gitana
Casa Gitana
Day 7 – To Jacó Beach on the Central Pacific Coast
After breakfast, we board our river boat for more mangrove swamps and monkey viewing as we head for the bus. We tour along a gorgeous coast past beautiful postcard perfect scenery and beaches toward Jacó and beautiful Punta Leona, where you will check into your hotel, relax at the beach, view a fossil site, and take in the sunset over the ocean. Then return to the hotel for a delicious buffet dinner and a creation program.
Lodging: Punta Leona Hotel (2 Nights)
Punta Leona Hotel
Day 8 – Aerial Tram Tour (Pacific/Jacó) and then Beach it!
This aerial tram tour is for anyone. An optional multiple course zip line is available for the more adventurous. Experience the forest canopy from above and have breath-taking views. Your lunch will be at the Tram restaurant. Afterwards enjoy an afternoon relaxing at the beach before seeing an amazing sunset, followed by a dinner/ program.
Lodging: Punta Leona Hotel
Punta Leona Hotel
Day 9 – Crocodiles, Shopping, and a Special Costa Rica Event
Depart Punta Leona for San Jose via the popular Tárcoles River bridge which is a famous site for viewing crocodiles! Shoppers will enjoy our lunch spot adjacent to an amazingly large gift shop which will package and ship items to the U. S. We will arrive at the hotel and go out for an exciting evening of food and Costa Rican style entertainment.
Lodging : City Express
City Express
Day 10 – ¡Adiós! (Sadly)
Transportation is included from your hotel to the airport. Head home with unforgettable memories or extend your stay to see more of beautiful Costa Rica.
Talk to us if you are interested in the possibility of joining Dave and Mary Jo Nutting’s Creation outreach ministry after the tour or to participate in a service project.
After the Tour…
Talk to us if you are interested in the possibility of joining Dave and Mary Jo Nutting’s Creation outreach ministry after the tour or to participate in a service project.
Price
Children (3-17): $1990 (in same room as parents) These prices include ALL meals and hotels (3-Star or better), transportation in the country including airport/hotel transfers, boat transportation, tram costs, and entrance fees to National Parks and all other sights. It also includes an experienced and professional bilingual Naturalist Guide and a Native Costa Rican tour coordinator who will accompany us to keep things running smoothly, as well as veteran Creation speakers and guides, Dave & Mary Jo Nutting. All tips are included. (These can be a great expense for tourists, but we have chosen to cover them.) *Note: The sites, activities, and the hotels that have been reserved for this tour are rated as 3-Star or better — all with very good ratings. We reserve the right to substitute a hotel or add additional housing of as close to comparable value as possible if the need arises due to booking issues or for other reasons which are deemed best by the tour coordinators. Download the Creation Vacation Registration Form and call the AOI Office at (970) 523-9943.
Payment Schedule
For a printable version of this information, see the 2023 Discover Creation Costa Rica Adventure PDF. *Note that this is last year’s info and some details have changed and may still change.
The above PDF printout of this document would be a great way to present this trip as a gift to a loved one this Christmas! AOI can furnish you with a Gift Certificate if desired!
