Splendid Costa Rica Vacation for Seniors: Live the Pura Vida

What to expect on this itinerary
Imbued with Pura Vida, this ten-day Costa Rica tour will immerse you in the cloud forest, beach bliss, and thrilling landscapes. This laid-back collection of Costa Rica’s best private tours for seniors leads you from cultural San Jose to coastal Samara. You will travel at your pace through Costa Rica’s ultimate highlights on a customizable tour that balances outdoor thrill and relaxation.
Customizable Itinerary
San Jose – The Land of Pura Vida
Costa Rica always provides a leisurely introduction, even in its capital city of San Jose. You will touch down and soon be immersed in a city of colonial townhouses and infectious energy. Residents stroll around the plazas, and chatter emanates from small cafe terraces. A local guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation, which will be a converted heritage building in the city’s heart. You will enjoy a short city orientation with your guide before having your choice of local restaurants for dinner.
What's Included:
San Jose – Cultural Wonders in the Old Capital
Arenal – Beneath the Volcano
Arenal – Lounging in Hot Spring
Arenal – An Organic Coffee Plantation
Monteverde – Intimate Wildlife Sightings
Playa Samara – Lounge On the Coast
Playa Samara – Day Trip to Chora Island
Playa Samara – Private Catamaran Tour
San Jose – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Immerse yourself in the cloud forest with a day of intimate wildlife viewing in Monteverde
- Lounge around beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches with three days in Playa Samara
- Get up-close and personal with different monkeys during relaxing safari walks in Costa Rica’s extravagant forests
- Choose your level of adventure with three days in Arenal beneath the majestic frame of the country’s iconic volcano
- Spend a leisurely day on Chora Island beneath the shadows of soaring palms
- Get to know Costa Rica’s history with an intimate day in and around San Jose, Costa Rica’s enchanting capital city
- Discover the coffee process from bean to cup on a private tour through an organic plantation in the hills beneath volcanoes
- Savor a leisurely day with waterfalls and hummingbirds near Arenal, which will prove to be a perfect introduction to Costa Rican nature
- Admire dolphins and possibly whales as part of a private catamaran tour on the Pacific
- Lounge around Arenal’s iconic hot springs and feel the energy of Costa Rica’s Pura Vida lifestyle
Starting Price
$2,400 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.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 209 reviews
I cannot say enough good things about the team at Zicasso’s travel partner. It's not just that they arranged an amazing Costa Rican adventure for me and my family, but it's the service they provided that really made everything so seamless.
The amazing service began during the planning stages, when the team worked with us to build a travel itinerary that fit our timing and budget (not easy, given it was the Christmas holiday season and we got a late start in planning). Based on our interests, they provided a menu of options in each region of the country. When we had questions about excursions, they were quick to respond and happy to provide recommendations based on their intimate knowledge of the activities and providers. In the week leading up to the trip, they provided a detailed itinerary, as well as instructions on what to expect when we landed in San Jose.
The incredible service continued once we were on the ground in Costa Rica. Our travel agent and his daughter met us at the airport with a welcome gift of local chocolates. He introduced our driver and went over the itinerary with us. We exchanged WhatsApp information and he encouraged me to text/call at any time with any questions, issues, or feedback.
From the airport, we made our way to Manuel Antonio, with a stop for lunch and fresh fruit. We checked into the hotel and a lovely room with panoramic views of the ocean and a magnificent sunset. It was my birthday, and the travel team arranged for a lovely fresh fruit tray to be sent to the room, as well as restaurant reservations that evening.
After three days in Manuel Antonio, we were driven to La Fortuna/Arenal (a long drive) and checked into a large resort with excellent facilities and incredibly responsive service (we called to ask for a roll-away bed, and within two minutes three people showed up with the bed and sheets). While we were in Arenal, we messaged the travel team with questions about potential changes to the itinerary (including changing the time of a couple of activities, as well as adding an activity), and they responded within minutes, making all the changes!
After three days in La Fortuna/Arenal, we headed to Monteverde for a couple of days at a resort, a lovely property in a great location. We enjoyed a couple of days in Monteverde before heading back to San Jose for our flight back to the States. On the drive back, our travel agent called to thank us for entrusting our trip to them, but I had to stop him, as it was really us who needed to thank him for making the trip so enjoyable (and so seamless)!
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Our travel agency organized the perfect tour of Costa Rica. Our small group of 4 were treated as VIPs from the moment we arrived at San Jose airport, until the day we flew home. We even received a "welcome to Costa Rica" call and special "goodbye" call from our agency. Every transfer and guided tour was on time and the drivers were good. There were no worries or concerns, each day was perfectly organized and each hotel was informed of our itinerary. Our travel agency provided us with a free cell phone for local calls as well as walkie-talkies to stay in touch with each other. This added an even higher level of security to our trip.
We wanted to experience an environmental tour that would introduce us to the rain forest, the flora, fauna, birds, reptiles & animals of Costa Rica. We were amazed by the scenery and the knowledge of our guides on each of our tours. Costa Rica is truly magical. All of the hotels were interesting and clean, the staff friendly and efficient. We stayed in bungalows & cabins in the heart of the rain forest! The food was very good and served in more than ample quantities. Our last few days were spent at the Belmar Hotel in Monteverde and the luxury of that small inn and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, were a great way to end our stay.
Our only disappointment was that our internal flight with Nature Air from Tortuguero National Park turned out to have a connection at San Jose airport with a 3.5 hour wait for the second flight to Arenal. We were expecting a direct flight, and more time to explore the village of La Fortuna.
We would definitely recommend this travel company and will use Zicasso Handcrafted Travel to help us book holidays in the future.
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I should add that Costa Rica is beautiful. Its a lovely country with astounding wildlife and plants, and warm, friendly people.
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