Complete Cultural Experience of Costa Rica Tour

Sarchi traditional house, Costa Rica

What to expect on this itinerary

Costa Rica evokes a patchwork of cultures and styles, and that is celebrated on this custom-tailored 8-day excursion through Costa Rica. Costa Rica’s history is a melting pot of indigenous Indians, rampaging pirates, pre-Columbian civilizations and colonial change. eet two indigenous Indian communities, follow the storyline through plantations and cloud forests, and experience many facets of Costa Rica’s rich culture. Over these eight days, you will discover how culture is not always clear cut.

Countries Visited

Costa Rica

Places Visited

San Jose, La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio National Park

Suggested Duration

8 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

San Jose – Architectural Highlights

Upon your arrival, you will be greeted at the airport and escorted to your charming accommodation in the heart of old San Jose. After checking into your hotel, you will have the afternoon to explore some of the city’s iconic neighborhoods. Mercado Central is a perfect cultural introduction. While in the area, your guide will lead you to Catedral Metropolitana, which is a grand church that showcases the congruence of Orthodox, Baroque, and Neoclassical styles. From here, you will explore Barrio Amon, which is the area of mansions where your hotel is located. For dinner, you will be transferred to a hilltop restaurant that serves fusion food and has live music.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Tour
Dinner
Day 2

San Jose – Through Changing Civilizations

Day 3

La Fortuna – Lounging in Hot Springs

Day 4

La Fortuna – A Tribal Indian Community

Day 5

Manuel Antonio National Park – Flying to a Rainforest Park

Day 6

Manuel Antonio National Park – Searching for Wildlife

Day 7

Manuel Antonio National Park – Pirates to Plantations

Day 8

Manuel Antonio National Park – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Connect with an indigenous Indian culture during a day with a tribal community near La Fortuna
  • Explore Costa Rica’s colonial past before following the storyline back to pre-Columbian times in San Jose
  • Immerse yourself with the indigenous Boruca people and learn about a recent history that includes pirates and plantations
  • Discover Costa Rica’s natural history, including monkeys and birdlife in Manuel Antonio National Park
  • Indulge in a tour of a coffee plantation, where you can witness Costa Rica’s evolving coffee culture
  • Bask in therapeutic hot springs and on a Pacific, white sand beach
  • Delight in the complete range of Costa Rican landscapes from a revered volcano to cloud forests and coastline
  • Sample a variety of traditional cuisines in authentic settings and compare these to upcoming fusion styles

Detailed Description

Costa Rican culture often is forgotten in a clamber to experience the country’s natural history. With so many volcanos and capuchin monkeys, it can be easy to forget the culture. However, this country possesses one of the most diverse histories in the Americas. Fortunately, much of that history can still be experienced today. Indigenous Indian communities maintain strongholds in wilderness areas, and colonial legacies paint a picture of past centuries. You can follow the tales of pirates and coffee plantations in addition to pre-Columbian prestige and traditional tribal dance. Moreover, you can do it all in just eight days with this exciting journey.

You will begin in San Jose, which is a capital city that reflects more than a millennium of history. A local guide will lead you around historical neighborhoods and churches, where the architecture combines neoclassical, Baroque, and indigenous ideas. Fusion cuisine complements the cultural highlights, and you will listen to live folk music as part of a tour through Costa Rica’s changing civilizations. You will also visit a coffee plantation en route to La Fortuna, where you will experience a relatively modern side to the country with the nearby Arenal Volcano evoking the unmistakable presence of Mother Nature.

The Maleku tribe continues to practice traditional culture and craftsmanship, including farming cacao and observing antique huacas or tombs. With a day in a Maleku village, you will witness how an Indian community lives in the modern-day, notably the cultural aspects of life that have been preserved in the face of recent change. Part of your tour will include a dance presentation and lunch, where you can experience how the Maleku language is being kept alive. Natural hot springs will also be a highlight during your two nights in La Fortuna and will provide an opportunity to rest your legs and reflect on the cultural encounters.

The rest of your private tour will be spent in Manuel Antonio National Park, which is a rainforest landscape that is perched over white Pacific beaches. Wildlife is a famous highlight here, and you will spend some time exploring the natural history, notably the monkeys and birdlife. There is also a rich human history here as well. This coastline attracted pirates and was the first area to be overrun by colonialists and their plantations. Indigenous Boruca communities lived through all this and continue to survive today. They will be your narrators during a cultural tour on day seven, and like with every day in Manuel Antonio, local encounters will provide you with a lazy hour on the beach before sunset.

Starting Price

$1,900 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.

4.9

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 195 reviews

Costa Rica Anniversary Trip Review: La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Hot Springs, Ziplining, 6-Night Tour

Our trip was very enjoyable. The resorts that were selected were top-notch in all aspects – nice rooms, great restaurants, and very nice locations. The tours we went on were very nice. Our favorite tour was the hanging bridge tour in La Fortuna. The hot springs at the La Fortuna resort were amazing. Our only criticism was the travel day between the resort in La Fortuna and the resort in Manuel Antonio. We were picked up at 8am and didn’t arrive until 4.15pm. We did zipline on the way, but the eight-hour travel day was very long. We would have preferred to travel straight from one resort to the other as quickly as possible, with no stops.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. Zicasso's travel agency did a great job of planning our itinerary and was very accessible during our trip. We loved Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Travel Review: La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, 8-Night Trip

We recently traveled to Costa Rica with two other couples, and using Zicasso's travel agency was one of the best decisions we made. From the very beginning, our agents were incredible. They helped us plan every detail of our trip and guided us every step of the way, even once we had arrived in Costa Rica.

They carefully listened to our preferences (even after we changed hotels and itineraries multiple times) and created an unforgettable itinerary that included stays in La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio. Every hotel, tour, and transfer was thoughtfully arranged. One day, we chose to skip our planned excursion so we could enjoy more time at our beautiful hotel and they had it canceled with no hassle at all.

What really set them apart was their exceptional personal touch. They greeted us at the airport in person, checked in with us regularly during the trip, and made sure we had everything we needed. Their attention to detail and commitment to making sure we had the best experience was truly impressive.

If you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica, I can’t recommend this agency highly enough. Professional, responsive, and genuinely caring, they made our vacation seamless and special from start to finish.

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Costa Rica Travel Review: Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, Beaches, Wildlife, 1 Week

The hotels were wonderful and the staff were uniformly helpful. The areas we visited were great, especially Manuel Antonio. It was easy to contact Zicasso’s travel company via WhatsApp. Costa Rica is a magical country and this travel company is great.

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Costa Rica Trip Review: Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, Hiking, Hot Springs, Private Tours, 12-Day Vacation

Mike and I wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for our unforgettable two-week adventure in Costa Rica. The trip was amazing and exceeded our expectations. We were spoiled by the private transfers and private tours. All of the tour guides were professional and very informative. We enjoyed all of the selected hotels, with the lodge in Monteverde being our favorite. The hotel had a great happy hour with a variety of drinks and was within walking distance of Santa Elena. We liked having daily breakfast included and loved all of the fresh fruits, especially the cantaloupe and watermelon.

We appreciated your attention to detail and expert recommendations for the variety of tours and guides. We enjoyed the float trips and had a wonderful tour of the mangroves in Manuel Antonio. Our time in Monteverde included a rainy day hiking the hanging bridges and ziplining for the first time. I am glad we added the vanilla tour to our agenda in Manuel Antonio.   

Thank you so much for making this trip special and stress-free. Please let your staff know that we appreciated all of their hard work. The WhatsApp gateway was great once we figured out how to use the app. It allowed us to communicate with the team to update us on schedule changes or other information. We will definitely recommend your services to our family and friends, and ook forward to visiting Costa Rica in the future.


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Costa Rica Family Travel Review: Manuel Antonio, Private Catamaran Tour, ATV Ride, Rainforest, Wildlife, Beach, 1-Week Trip

Costa Rica was an interesting country and Manuel Antonio had a lot to offer. We booked late (August) for a vacation for 11 (including our five grandchildren aged 11 to 16). Zicasso's travel agent came through with many connections for housing and activities. She was quick to respond to questions and always very pleasant. You could tell she loved Costa Rica and knew the country. She was detailed, until she wasn't. We were disappointed that the final schedule had many pick-up errors, as well as miscommunications. It felt as though she had passed the work off to someone else. 

Although it had been mentioned in previous reviews that a sloth lived in the tree above our pool at our villa, we never saw one. Everyone did enjoy interacting with the friendly monkeys and birds. Instead of swimming, the patio became a gathering spot for the forest animals. 

The consensus was that our private catamaran tour was our favorite, even though it rained during most of our trip. The crew was very hospitable, always on the lookout for our safety, and professional. They prepped food as we watched and it was extremely delicious! Our grandkids loved swimming off the boat, jumping into the water, and sitting on the netting as we sailed. 

We also enjoyed the private ATV tour (in spite of smelly, wet helmets). The staff, snack, and lunch were excellent, and the excursion was exciting. The staff were attentive to our safety. Unfortunately, two ATVs "died" during our trip. 

Our final outing was a rainforest waterfall excursion. We feel this was a "last-minute" fill-in for our scheduled tour. We were picked up in a vehicle that was too small for our group and we scrunched 13 people into a van that seated 11. The tour guide was pleasant and guided us to various waterfall sights, but there was little talk or explanation during the trip. The fresh pineapple was delicious and the favorite stop was at Window Beach, where everyone enjoyed jumping the warm waves of the Pacific. Communication was lacking as we never knew how long we had at each stop. The food back at the business was just okay. 

The villa was very nice and had some beautiful features. It was nice to have private bathrooms in the bedrooms, but we should have been alerted that we needed to bring our own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. We've never traveled anywhere that required us to do so and purchasing six of each at any of their stores was extremely pricey. It could have easily been handled with a "heads-up" mention. Also, the foosball table handle was broken, as was the dishwasher. It took a day for us to get enough towels for our needs since housekeeping didn't leave enough out. We lost time communicating with our host due to internet connections.

Manuel Antonio is an expensive town. There were many nice restaurants and one-of-a-kind, "homemade" shops, and the locals were very welcoming and accommodating. 

Hilly, windy, narrow roads made it nearly impossible to get around without a car. So, as a result, parking was difficult as well.

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Costa Rica Family Vacation Review: La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Wildlife, Cooking Class, 7 Night-Trip
"I absolutely loved our visit to Costa Rica and our Zicasso travel team made sure we had everything we needed for a wonderful time."

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

28,000+ Verified Traveler Reviews