Costa Rica | Language and Science Adventure

Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met and taken to the Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA). Receive a welcome orientation, and then meet the families with whom you'll be staying for the next three nights. Head to your family's home, settle into your room, and have dinner with your homestay family.

This morning after breakfast, go to the Costa Rican Language Academy. Begin the day with an introduction to the CRLA, then participate in a full day of Spanish language classes. This evening, take part in a cooking class.

After a final breakfast with your homestay family, transfer to the CRLA and meet your Costa Rican guide and driver and depart for Arenal. Stop in La Fortuna for lunch and then visit Ecotermales Hot Springs to relax in the thermal springs. Continue to Arenal Paraiso arriving in time for dinner.

After breakfast, take a guided hike in Arenal National Park. The park includes trails at the base of the volcano where you will learn about the geology, flora and fauna. After lunch, visit Arenal Vida Campesina to learn about agricultural practices in the region, like growing vegetables and dairy farming. While there, visit a sugar cane mill for a lesson in traditional methods of sugar cane processing. Before dinner, wake up your inner chef (and your appetite) by joining in a tortilla-making activity where you will learn how to make tortillas from scratch and cook them on a wood stove.

Depart for Sarapiqui and Selva Verde Lodge and Rainforest Reserve. Stop at a local school and receive a talk by a member of the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center (SCLC) to learn about the important role they play in the community. The SCLC is a not-for-profit organization founded to preserve the cultural integrity of the rural community of Chilamate and aid in sustainable community development projects. Most of these projects are funded by visitors to the area. After the talk, spend some time talking to and playing games with the school children. Continue to Selva Verde and arrive in time for lunch. This afternoon, set out for a nature hike through the reserve in search of new species. Your guide will discuss the complex details of the ecosystem and how life in the rainforest thrives. Before dinner this evening, enjoy a Latin dance class with community members.

Early this morning receive an introduction to the amazing tropical birds of Selva Verde during a short hike with your guide around the grounds of the lodge. The avifauna of Selva Verde is abundant, and feeding stations have been set up around the lodge to facilitate observation and identification of the many species that frequent the area. Return to the lodge for breakfast then Participate in a reforestation project to benefit the local community. In the afternoon, take an exhilarating whitewater rafting trip on the Río Sarapiquí. Following a thorough safety orientation and basic rafting lesson, enjoy the Class II and III rapids of the Rio Sarapiquí. Along the way there will be a break for swimming and fresh fruit. The trip end at Selva Verde where you get out of the raft and walk up to your room. Freshen up at the lodge then visit Best Chocolate to learn about the natural and cultural history of chocolate. See how cacao is grown and processed from the fruit, to the seeds, to the final product during this interactive presentation, complete with sampling of fresh made chocolate. Return to the lodge for dinner then enjoy a night hike in search of nocturnal species including bats, kinkajous and several species of frog.

Depart this morning for Guápiles. After breakfast buffet and then continue to Pavona, where you will board a boat for the transfer to Pachira Lodge in Tortuguero. Upon arrival at the lodge, have lunch and then visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) Visitor Center. After the visit, have free time in Tortuguero Village to meet with locals and soak in their culture before returning to Pachira Lodge.

This morning, board a boat and explore the canals of Tortuguero National Park. In the afternoon, take an interpretive hike on the lodge's trails. This evening set out on a night walk around the lodge grounds to see nocturnal creatures.

After breakfast, travel by boat back to the Pavona dock and then continue back to San Jose. This evening join your guide for a final briefing at 6 pm before enjoying a farewell dinner.

Transfer to the airport for your flight home.