Costa Rica Experience - Sept to Nov

Day 1

One of our in-country Real Gappers will collect you from the airport and take you to your hostel accommodation in Alajuela. If your flight arrives before 6pm you're in luck- we host an awesome welcome dinner in a great local restaurant on your first night where you'll get the chance to tickle your tastebuds with your first taste of life in Costa Rica. Depending on your arrival time there may also be some free time before the meal for you to kick back and relax.

Day 2

Rise and shine! It’s going to be an early start today as we begin with your orientation sesh- between 8.00am and 8:30am a Real Gapper will come to the hostel to collect you, and walk you through the town of Alajuela to the Real Gap offices, where you'll be given breakfast. The orientation session generally runs from 8.30am until approx 10.30am with a 15 minute break, so you'll get to learn loads about the area and ask any questions you may have. After the orientation you'll transfer to the location of your first volunteer placement at the Turtle Conservation Project– Junquillal! A packed lunch will be provided.

Days 3-6

Today you'll begin an awesome  volunteer placement on the beautiful Pacific Coast at the Sea Turtle Conservation Camp. You will spend five nights at the project in the volunteer house. Duties at the project are completely varied depending on what needs doing at the time, but you could be patroling the beach, helping to clear the area, or releasing baby turtles into the sea!

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are provided throughout your time at the Turtle Conservation Project.

Day 7

After breakfast we'll say goodbye to the project and head up to Playa Grande beach by public transport. We'll then get a boat across the river and walk up the beach to our hostel!

No meals are included.

Day 8

Surfs up, we're going to hit the beach today! We’ll start off with the basics (ie- learning to stand on the board from the safety of the beach, etc... you get the drill), and then it’ll be time to hit the waves with your English speaking professional surf instructor for a 2 hour long lesson! Lessons will be taken in groups according to group size.

No meals are included.

Day 9

Fancy a chill out sesh? Sunbathing? Exploring? Today's a free day so you can enjoy the beach to your heart's content, or you could venture out to the nearby Tamarindo to have a look around.

No meals are included.

Day 10

Today we'll travel by public transport up into the mountains, to the little village of Bijagua in the northern part of Costa Rica. We’ll be staying in an Eco Lodge nestled in its own private rainforest!

Dinner included.

Day 11

After a hearty local breakfast, we'll venture into the forest to see the tree canopy from above! This part of the forest boasts three hanging bridges to walk across – so it's an awesome way to see all of the wildlife that Costa Rica has to offer!

Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 12

An early start today as we'll have breakfast at the lodge, then head back into the town of Bijagua to pick up our steeds! We’ll spend two hours on horseback riding through the lush jungle and through rivers until we reach Volcan Tenorio National Park. Here we dismount, and continue on foot up through the trails of the park, until we reach the majestic Rio Celeste (also known as the 'blue lagoon') with a waterfall and the viewpoint. The hike will take approximately three hours and at the end of it a traditional lunch awaits us in a local “soda” (small Costa Rican diner serving local specialities).

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Day 13

After breakfast we'll continue our travels by public transport to the epic Volcano Arenal – a must see on any trip to Costa Rica! The Arenal volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the Americas. We'll stay in a family run hotel, with an amazing view of the perfect conical volcano outside! You’ll have free time to explore the charming town of La Fortuna, with plenty of souvenir shops, cafès and internet cafes - or you may like to treat yourself to a massage after yesterdays hike!

Lunch and dinner not included

Day 14

We venture a bit closer to the Arenal Volcano today; we drive to the other side of the Volcano where we enter Volcan Arenal National Park. After a short hike through the dry tropical forest we reach the old lava flows from the huge eruption in 1968. Later on, we move to a safe observation to watch the volcano; if we’re lucky we may feel the ground tremble and see the night sky lit up with explosions of ash and lava in a natural display of fireworks.

Then it’s time to relax as we finish off the day at Baldi Hot Springs – natural thermal pools at the bottom of the smouldering volcano! There are 23 different pools of varying temperatures along with water slides, saunas, wet bars and botanical gardens all for you to explore and enjoy! If you’re lucky you may be able to see the lava flowing from the continuously erupting crater in the distance.
No meals included

Day 15

Today we hot the White water – for an adrenaline pumping rafting trip!

Our rafting guides will pick us up at the hostel, and take us to where our tour begins. After a safety briefing, we start this adrenaline packed tour down class 3 - 4 rapids. The tour takes approximately 3 hours and we will be met at the end by our transport which will take us back to San Ramon, and to our homestay accommodation ready to start work tomorrow! You will have dinner at your homestay accommodation -  a chance for you to get to know your host families!
Fruit and Drinks included.

Days 16 - 20

Today we'll start work on the second volunteer project in San Ramon where you will be helping to build new homes for local people.

Your work schedule and construction site will be discussed with you once you arrive in Costa Rica; transport to and from your building site is included during your days of project work.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided on days 16, 17, 18 and 19, a packed lunch will be provided for you to take to the building site with you.

On day 20 we will be spending the day on a zip wire tour through the forests, which is approx an hour from San Ramon in the mountains. In total there are nine platform cables, a tarzan swing and three extra long cables- and it's all so much fun!

Day 21

We say goodbye to San Ramon today, and head back into the buzzin' capital city of Costa Rica, San Jose. Our accommodation is in a lively Hostel located in Barrio Amon in the centre of the city. We will take a walking tour around the capital, taking in the sights such as the National Theatre, Plaza de Cultura, the central market and the artisan fair.

Breakfast included

Day 22

We travel towards the Caribbean by public transport which will take us down the Caribbean coast to Puerto Viejo. Here we will stay in a beach house and the rest of the day will be free time for you to sit back and relax!

No meals are included.

Day 23

Today we'll say goodbye to Costa Rica for a few days, as we'll be off to explore Panama!

We take the two hour journey down to the border with Panama by public transport. After completing all the necessary immigration requirements, we are in a new country! (Immigration costs are not included)

Once in Panama we travel by minibus down to the docks where we hop on the water taxi over to the beautiful islands of Bocas del Toro. From the border crossing, the journey is approximately 1.5 hours.

Our accommodation will be in a quiet hostel with an amazing decking area over the ocean, which is located on the main island of Isla Colon.

No meals included.

Day 24

It’s a full day today as we head out on the boat! First stop is dolphin bay, where you'll hopefully get the chance to see these awesome mammals jump up by the boat. Next we'll head off to Coral Cay to snorkel around the beautiful reef – if you’re lucky you may see moray eels, lobsters, rays and possibly a turtle or two!

After snorkelling the tour stops for a lunch break (lunch not included) before continuing onto Bastimentos island, and the private Red Frog Beach.

Our last stop is another snorkel experience on a high drop off with a possibility that you may see sea horses, barracudas, crabs, and maybe even a nurse shark!

The tour will last for approximately 6 hours.

No meals included

Day 25

Today we will jump onto our kayaks, and head out on an adventure through the mangroves. The trip will last approx 4 hours, and be split into two groups depending on the number of people on your Costa Rica Experience!

No meals included.

Day 26

We’ll be taking a trip today to Starfish beach, locally known as Playa Estrella, which gets its name from the thousands of starfish that live in the area. Once we arrive you’ll have free time for the rest of the day to relax on the beach. If the weather isn´t great we will visit the small town of Bocas del Drago – where Christopher Colombus first stepped onto these islands!

No meals included

Day 27

It’s our last day in Panama!

Today we head off to the remote Zapatillas Islands, a pristine marine national park which is approximately a 2 hour boat ride from Bocas del Toro. Here you’ll have the chance to be Robinson Crusoe, as you spend the day on these twin uninhabited islands.

No meals included

Day 28

Today we take the water taxi back across to the mainland, followed by a minibus to the town of Changuinola where we take the direct bus back into Costa Rica and onto San Jose. We still have to pass through immigration, so remember to keep those passports handy!

We should arrive back in San Jose in the afternoon where we will hop on another bus back to the hostel in Alajuela, where we started this fantastic adventure all that time ago.

A farewell dinner will be arranged for the evening where you can share your stories with your fellow travelling companions.

Dinner included

Day 29

After what we trust has been a thoroughly enjoyable adventure it is time to bid farewell to Costa Rica and Panama. No activities are arranged for today but a transfer back to San Jose International Airport will be arranged for you, depending on the time of your flight.

Please note: Itineraries and activities are subject to change