Costa Rica Rainforest Adventure for Families
Destination
Costa Rica
Duration
7 Days
Activity Level
Gentle
Comfort Level
Delightful
A few years ago Journeys inaugurated this new concept in family travel: a week-long adventure program, with a range of hands-on activities and excursions suitable for ages 4-84, based in a gorgeous and comfortable setting. The response has been enthusiastic. Enjoy the ease of an all-inclusive holiday, the fun of a family summer camp, and the amenities and privacy of three-star accommodations in a lush and intimate environment around the Sarapiqui River, just a beautiful two-hour drive north of Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose. All of us at Journeys are excited to offer travel to Costa Rica more easily and more affordably than ever before, with the same energy, professionalism, and personal attention that has built our reputation since 1978.
Costa Rica Rainforest Adventure for Families is based at Ara Ambigua Lodge. The grounds are charming, and comfortable guest rooms have air conditioning and ceiling fans as well as private tile bathrooms and private porches. The lodge is known for its good sustainable practices. Red ginger plants and banana trees bloom right outside the doorways; gardens full of colorful frogs, butterflies, and tropical birds are just footsteps away; beautiful lakes have trails around, with an open-air dining room where you can enjoy the most exquisite national and international foods and swimming pools nestled in the trees.
An array of activities—all fascinating, but none required—will begin before breakfast and last well into the evening. Search for bugs and animals at Pierella Ecological Garden and La Selva Biological Station, both of which are world-class nature preserves; and enjoy the lodge’s own activities and grounds. The rainforest ecosystem is a nature enthusiast’s delight, and lovers of crafts, soccer, swimming, cooking, Spanish language, singing, and dancing will all have opportunities to engage their passions. The more adventurous travelers can choose to go whitewater rafting and ziplining over the rainforest canopy. This itinerary is a sample of how the days may play out; however, this model allows flexibility to do whichever activities are most appealing to you.
Come learn and laugh together!
Great For
- Multi-Generational Families
- Flexibility & Ease
- Tropical Immersion
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive San Jose
Bienvenidos, welcome!
Arrive on flights into San Jose’s international airport. A driver will greet you on arrival and bring you from the airport to first-night accommodations at a comfortable hotel outside San Jose. Program activities begin the next morning. Meanwhile, settle in, rest up, and enjoy the beautiful, extensive gardens.
Lodging
Hotel Bougainvillea
Day 2 Poas Volcano / arrive Ara Ambigua
Meet your fellow participants, and get acquainted during the morning’s drive through multiple climate zones and the corresponding diversity of scenery. Costa Rica is home to several spectacular volcanoes, and Poas is one of the most accessible. On the way to your lodge, you will stop to learn about the tectonic landscape. If you are lucky, when you stand at the volcano’s lip, you’ll have a cloud-free view across the mile-wide crater.
Then, continue on to the lodge, your base camp for the week’s adventures. A group orientation will introduce the lay of the land and the activities that will be available throughout the week.
After a traditional Costa Rican dinner cooked with ingredients grown locally, you can choose how to spend your evening. Late-night options throughout the trip include a “critters of the night” hike, starlit swim, and singing, dancing, and language activities.
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging
Ara Ambigua Lodge
Day 3 La Selva Biological Station
After breakfast, venture to La Selva Biological Station, a world-class preserve run by the Organization for Tropical Studies. Part of central Costa Rica’s continuous greenbelt of connected parks, this is the best spot in the region to spot a wealth of bird, mammal, insect, and reptile species. Learn about the scientific endeavors of student groups who travel here to conduct research.
In the afternoon, set out on a scouting walk around the hotel grounds or enjoy some time relaxing around the pool.
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging
Ara Ambigua Lodge
Day 4 River Safari and Leaf Cutter Ants tour
This morning early risers will have the opportunity to take a pre-breakfast bird walk with your guide.
After breakfast, a riverboat safari will help young spotters with their checklists. Many birds and monkeys live on the edges of the forest that are exposed to the water, and if you’re lucky (and quiet), you can find large reptiles.Throughout the week, young trip participants can check off their nature finds and activities to become camper-naturalists.
In the afternoon, enjoy a Leaf Cutter Ants tour; We aim to show you during this visit that the leaf cutter ants are actually a fascinating organization of the high subterranean social level, directed by a queen and with an advanced agricultural system based on a mutual relationship (symbiosis) between the fungus and the ant. Leaf-cutter ants have powerful jaws which vibrate a thousand times a second to slice off pieces of leaf. Size for size, their bodies are amazingly powerful, able to carry pieces of leaf that weigh at least 20 times their own body weight – that’s the same as a human carrying a one-ton load. Like bees, their colonies contain different sorts of workers. Soldier leaf-cutters have huge jaws, strong enough to cut through leather, and gardener leaf-cutters work beneath the ground and process the pieces of the leaf that the harvesters bring back. The nest also contains a single queen and she lays all the eggs needed to keep the colony supplied with new workers.
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging
Ara Ambigua Lodge
Day 5 Pierella Ecological Garden Tour
After breakfast, we depart for Pierella Ecological Gardens. Costa Rica is known for its biological diversity, this country is one of the most biologically wealthiest countries in the world!! With only 0.3% of the world’s land mass and 5% of the world’s species, Costa Rica is known as one of the best destinations for ecotourism. The area where the garden is located called Sarapiqui and this area is very rich in biodiversity, there are 3000 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, more than 40 species of amphibians, more than 80 species of reptiles, and more than 100 species of mammals!!
This area is ideal for nature enthusiasts, bird watcher, photographer, and who love adventure!!
The afternoon is free to enjoy some time around the pool or perhaps pick up another activity as recommended by your guide.
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging
Ara Ambigua Lodge
Day 6 Choose Your Own Adventure!
Some campers may choose to partake of adventure activities, such as whitewater rafting, rainforest canopy ziplines, or horseback riding (additional fees will apply). For those who prefer a morning around the lodge, you can enjoy a massage, try to spot additional creatures from your naturalist checklist, or laze by the poolside.
End your week with a delicious dinner!
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging
Ara Ambigua Lodge
Day 7 Goodbye / Onward
The time has come to say goodbye.
Meals
Breakfast
Dates & Price
Dates
Custom & private on your dates. Contact an Adventure Specialist to create your dream trip! Schedule a call or tell us more about your dream trip!
Best Time of Year to Visit
A few years ago Journeys inaugurated this new concept in family travel: a week-long adventure program, with a range of hands-on activities and excursions suitable for ages 4-84, based in a gorgeous and comfortable setting. The response has been enthusiastic. Enjoy the ease of an all-inclusive holiday, the fun of a family summer camp, and the amenities and privacy of three-star accommodations in a lush and intimate environment around the Sarapiqui River, just a beautiful two-hour drive north of Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose. All of us at Journeys are excited to offer travel to Costa Rica more easily and more affordably than ever before, with the same energy, professionalism, and personal attention that has built our reputation since 1978.
Costa Rica Rainforest Adventure for Families is based at Ara Ambigua Lodge. The grounds are charming, and comfortable guest rooms have air conditioning and ceiling fans as well as private tile bathrooms and private porches. The lodge is known for its good sustainable practices. Red ginger plants and banana trees bloom right outside the doorways; gardens full of colorful frogs, butterflies, and tropical birds are just footsteps away; beautiful lakes have trails around, with an open-air dining room where you can enjoy the most exquisite national and international foods and swimming pools nestled in the trees.
An array of activities—all fascinating, but none required—will begin before breakfast and last well into the evening. Search for bugs and animals at Pierella Ecological Garden and La Selva Biological Station, both of which are world-class nature preserves; and enjoy the lodge’s own activities and grounds. The rainforest ecosystem is a nature enthusiast’s delight, and lovers of crafts, soccer, swimming, cooking, Spanish language, singing, and dancing will all have opportunities to engage their passions. The more adventurous travelers can choose to go whitewater rafting and ziplining over the rainforest canopy. This itinerary is a sample of how the days may play out; however, this model allows flexibility to do whichever activities are most appealing to you.
Come learn and laugh together!
Need to Know
Please note that this trip operates under different payment and cancellation policies than those described in our complete Terms & Conditions as noted on our website and elsewhere. Please review the complete Terms & Conditions prior to submitting a deposit.
Expenses covered
Normally, our stated land costs include the cost of all guides, leaders, permits obtained after arrival, lodging accommodations, food and entry fees as specified, and all surface transportation associated with the planned itinerary. We do our best to avoid increasing prices after receipt of your deposit, but, rarely, factors beyond our control might require us to change our prices without prior notice, even after you have signed up.
Expenses not covered
Costs not included in the price may include: meals not indicated as included in itineraries; meals prior to arrival in starting cities; transfers, if not arriving or departing on the scheduled group flights; soft drinks, bottled water, and alcoholic beverages; medical expenses, costs of hospitalization, or evacuation from remote areas; laundry; airport departure taxes not included on your airline ticket; accommodations en route to starting cities; visas; airfares; gratuities; and insurance.
Deposit and payment schedule
$1,200 per family deposit. A second deposit of $1,500 per room is due four months prior to departure. Final payment for land arrangements is due 60 days prior to departure. Airlines require full payment when tickets are issued. The deposit may be made by Visa, MasterCard or check, and the Reservation Form may be submitted via our website. Full payment schedule and cancellation penalties are described in our complete Terms and Conditions on our website. Please request these if you do not have them before advancing a deposit.
Airfare
We can help you secure air travel arrangements to correspond with land travel booked through Journeys International. We work with an airfare consolidator to assist in booking the flights that suit your needs. If you decide to make your own flight arrangements, you must provide Journeys International with a complete copy of your itinerary showing departure and arrival flights and times. You should plan to arrange your own air travel if you are using mileage credit or originating outside North America, but please be in touch with our office before you finalize ticketing so that we can help you to coordinate the correct arrival and departure dates and times.
Insurance
When you make your reservation, we strongly recommend the purchase of comprehensive travel insurance in case of emergency situations. Please contact us for a recommended policy.
Itinerary Change Fee
There will be a $40 fee for changes once an itinerary has been confirmed and approved. Additional cancellation penalties or change fees may apply as per our terms and conditions. The passenger is responsible for such fees.
Duration 7 Days
The number of days, or duration, in a destination corresponds with the itinerary as published. This is the time period covered by the land cost.
Group Size 5
The stated range indicates minimum required for guaranteed departure and maximum accepted on the scheduled dates. Exceptions can often be made for private departures.
Comfort Level
Delightful
Five nights at a cozy family-owned country inn; one hotel night near San Jose
Activity Level
Gentle
Activity Level
Match the trip’s intensity to your ability and motivation.
Gentle
Easy walking, with opportunities for low-key physical activity.
Active
Energetic exploration with optional day hikes, leisurely cycling, or light canoeing.
Vigorous
Day-long active excursions and options for demanding activity in varied environments.
Challenging
Strenuous hiking or other intense activity that may be at high altitude or over rough terrain.
Demanding
Multi-day trekking and other activities requiring endurance or strength. Steep trails. No technical expertise necessary.
Comfort Level
Choose accommodations and amenities that fit your personal style
Simple
Our most natural accommodations. Bath facilities often shared, sometimes rustic.
Delightful
Comfortable and especially personal. Small to mid-sized lodges, typically with private bath.
Superior
Lodges and hotels with additional amenities, refined artistry, or extra-special settings.
Deluxe
Exclusive or luxury lodges, hotels, or safari camps with fine dining options.
Uncommon
The most indulgent accommodations arranged specially for private trips.