Splendid Costa Rica Vacation for Seniors: Live the Pura Vida

Small cabin with Volcano Arenal in the background in Costa Rica

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.

Countries Visited

Costa Rica

Places Visited

San Jose, Arenal, Monteverde, Playa Samara

Suggested Duration

10 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

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:

Accommodation
Transfer
Day 2

San Jose – Cultural Wonders in the Old Capital

Day 3

Arenal – Beneath the Volcano

Day 4

Arenal – Lounging in Hot Spring

Day 5

Arenal – An Organic Coffee Plantation

Day 6

Monteverde – Intimate Wildlife Sightings

Day 7

Playa Samara – Lounge On the Coast

Day 8

Playa Samara – Day Trip to Chora Island

Day 9

Playa Samara – Private Catamaran Tour

Day 10

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.

4.8

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 209 reviews

Costa Rica Luxury Vacation Review: San Jose, Manuel Antonio National Park, La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano, Nine-Day Trip

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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Costa Rica Travel Review: Monte Verde, La Fortuna, San Jose, Manuel Antonio, Tortuguero National Park, Arenal Volcano, Ziplinging

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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Costa Rica Vacation Review: Luxury Family Trip, Arenal Volcano, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, Sloth Walking Tour, Canyoneering
Costa Rica is the place to go now!  Just returned from a first-time visit to this great destination.  The key measurement for our family is: will we go back again?...and the answer is a resounding yes.We stayed for eight days.  This is a good time frame, but a couple of extra days would have been good to add.  We flew into San Jose and was greeted by our travel planner and his wonderful wife, then introduced to a long-time company driver who drove us the 3 hours to Arenal Volcano area.  Didn't seem that long, especially since we stopped for lunch along the way.Our stay at the hotel in Arenal was the best hotel that we have been to in Central/South America.  The view of the volcano in the morning was picturesque (search up Arenal Volcano pics, and that is literally what you saw when you woke up).  The hot springs-fed pools were a welcome relaxation each evening.  We did several activities in the area and these were the best of our Costa Rica visit...see details below. After three nights in Arenal, we headed across the lake to meet our ride to Monteverde.  More of a local road trip through the hills.  Adding the lake portion not only broke up the drive, but it also saved a little time overall.  Monteverde has a cooler climate, so bring a light jacket or sweater.  A nice place to visit if you have a couple of free days, otherwise I would say spend the time in Arenal and/or Manuel Antonio.Another couple of hour drive to Manuel Antonio.  Did stop for zip lining at Los Suenos.  Another recommended item to break-up the drive.  Manuel Antonio was smaller and more quaint of a beach town than I expected.  The larger town is Quepos, about  5-6 miles away.  Here is another part where I wish we had a extra day to hang out at the beach and explore the local shops and establishments.Overall, the people of Costa Rica were friendly and welcoming.  Felt safer than any US city.  Never had a problem communicating...most locals spoke pretty good English.  Food was fine, but nothing especially memorable...in fact, the best food was the local casado (look up on youtube).  Can say that everything tasted fresh...from farm to table.Most important tip/recommendation: Go Now!  The crowds were non-existent since post-pandemic travel is just now starting to gear up.  Highly recommend you get to Costa Rica before it gets re-discovered.  It's such a great place that I am convinced it will soon be the go-to Latin American destination.Finally, use this travel company.  Since it was our first time and didn't know the lay of the land, our travel planner was very helpful during the course of our several Zoom calls and answered all of our questions.  The itinerary went smoothly and really appreciated another planner checking in with us along the way, just wanting to make sure we were taken great care of...which we were. Can't wait to get back again to Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Luxury Vacation Review: Monteverde, Tortuguero, Flora & Fauna, Wildlife, the People
We had a great trip and really enjoyed our time in Costa Rica. Everyone was kind and helpful. The guides were without exception terrific -- always well-informed and engaging. The drivers were courteous and helpful. The food was almost uniformly of high quality and tasty. The hotels and lodges were, while of differing quality, always clean and comfortable. The adults only hotel at the Arenal volcano was absolutely gorgeous, both grounds and villas. It has to be one of the loveliest places we've ever stayed. We also very much enjoyed the Lodge in Tortuguero and the luxury hotel in Monteverde. The food in the restaurants at all three places was very good, fairly priced (for hotel restaurants), and the service was great.The place we stayed in San Jose the night we arrived and the night before we departed was very nice as wellnear Jaco was OK, but of much lower quality than other places we stayed.  Its decor is pretty dated and our suite was so poorly lit that it was difficult to read at night.  The people at the front desk weren't very service oriented and the service in the restaurant was so so. So we would put it at the bottom of the list of places we stayed -- fantastic views, but not the kind of investment in customer care as the other places we stayed.Our travel planner, of this travel company was wonderful to work with. We were particular grateful for her accessibility and quick responses to questions and a few itinerary changes that we made during the trip itself. We wish you every success! 

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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Luxury Couple's Costa Rica Trip Review: Jungle Walk, Hanging Bridges, Horseback Riding, Jungle Float Trip, White Water Rafting
This tour company was tremendous. My wife and I were very pleased with their service, the accomodations theyselected and the tours they organized. Their transfer drivers were always on time for pick -up, were very friendly andknowledgeable of the local sites, customs and history. The transfers between hotels were easy and pleasant. The hotel accomodations were great particularly the Arenal resort which we thought was a "Garden of Eden"  with spectacular grounds. I also must mention the "above and beyond" service we received at the hotel in Monteverde. On the second day of our trip - which was a Sunday - my wife  developed a tooth problem. When I mentioned this to the front desk, he called a local dentist with an office nearby and arranged to have the dentist meet us at his office which we did at 7:30 PM.The dentist who was extremely pleasant, examined my wife, perscribed antibiotics and pain killers and the drove us to thelocal pharmacy so that we could get the prescription filled before the 8 PM closing time. Unbelievable!! This experience gave us a very positive impression of the Costa Rican people for the rest of our trip.Muchas gratias to the trip planners at the tour company. We had a great trip with memories that we will treasure for a lifetime. 

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Costa Rica Luxury Tour Review: Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, Wildlife, Nature, Thermal Springs, 10-Night Travel
We had an amazing vacation in Costa Rica! This is an excellent travel company. They listened to our interests and helped us decide the best itinerary and activities. All of the drivers and guides were friendly and professional. The hotels were incredible—highly recommend the hotels in Arenal, Monteverde and the hotel near Manuel Antonio Park. 

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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