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Photo: Joaquin Garcias Family Fun in Paradise; Costa Rica June 19-June 28, 2009 Highlights: See abundant wildlife with your family - white faced monkeys, crocodiles, macaws, iguanas and more Whitewater raft, ride on horseback, hike, and swim Take a canopy tour, visit a butterfly garden, frog garden, and a bat zoo Includes: All accommodations, on-trip transportation, meals, and gratuities All entrance fees, canopy tour/zipline, whitewater rafting, and horseback riding On-trip naturalist Trip Number: 09840A Price:    $2,255 Deposit: $200 Capacity: 17 Leader: Angela White Itinerary | Accommodations/Food | Equipment | References | Staff   The Trip Photo: Angela White Pura vida and welcome to the exotic, family-friendly destination of Costa Rica! This trip, designed to appeal to all ages, combines the fun of water and land activities with environmental awareness. As we observe diverse animals, birds, and plants in their native habitats, we will give you the opportunity to spend quality time with your family in a beautiful, pristine environment. We will visit (and play in) several national parks, seeing the success this country has had both in preserving its wild lands and educating visitors about Costa Rica’s natural history and the interdependence of its diverse ecosystems. Our first stop is the rural village of Monteverde, high in the Tilaran mountains north of San Jose. Here is the famous Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Reserva Bosque Nuboso) and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest (Bosque Eterno de los Ninos). Then we travel to the village of La Fortuna to see Mount Arenal, an active volcano and hike in Mt. Arenal National Park. Our final destination is the coastal town of Nocera on the Guanacaste coast, where we will stay near the beach and play in the waves. We’ll plan activities for every day, but there will be free time for special “family moments” and for the children to play and hang out together. On our travels, we hope to see many species of plants and animals -- monkeys, agoutis, coatis, iguanas, and crocodiles to name but a few. You may recognize the white-faced monkeys playing in the trees and some of the orchids and heleconium growing nearby. You will certainly hear the roar of the howler monkeys deep in the forest, and wonder at the enormous blue Morpho butterflies lazily drifting in the air. Scarlet macaws and toucans are common and will fly overhead. If we are lucky, we’ll see lizards that run on water, anteaters that climb trees, and sloths that hang from the branches. And that’s just the beginning! An English-speaking naturalist will be with us at all times to explain what we see and help us understand the relationships and interdependence of the different species. The guide specializes in working with school children and has games and activities to share. We will try and learn a little Spanish, too! We will be traveling between locations on a comfortable bus, stopping frequently on our “travel” days. Our accommodations will be in simple but comfortable lodges with plenty of swimming opportunities and healthy, fresh local cuisine and kid-friendly snacks. Itinerary Back to top Photo: Angela White Day 1: Arrive at San Jose’s international airport. We’ll meet you there and take you to our nearby hotel to relax and swim in the pool. You’ll get to meet everyone at the welcome dinner and orientation that evening. Day 2: Off we go in the bus, traveling from San Jose to Monteverde. As we wend our way up the mountain road, we will see the scenery change as the temperature cools and the mist rolls over us. Coffee is grown and harvested on the mountain slopes and maybe we’ll stop and sample some. We’ll hike in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve this afternoon and visit a ranario in the evening to learn about and observe tropical amphibians. Day 3: Today we will spend the day at a nature park where you can experience the thrill of ziplining through the forest canopy. For those of us who are prefer a calmer way of travel, there is an extensive forest canopy walk where we can observe birds, animals, and buttterflies at our leisure. We will visit the butterfly conservatory to see the most beautiful butterfly species you can imagine. We’ll walk through a conservatory, surrounded by the fluttering of hundreds of brightly colored wings and watch the butterflies feed on fruits and flowers. Then on to the hummingbird garden and the herpetarium, to examine reptiles native to Costa Rica. Some of these reptiles are VERY large! Photo: Angela White Day 4: An exciting day! We are going horseback riding from Monteverde to the San Luis waterfall, one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful cascada, and swim in the pool. Tonight we will take a night hike to find all those creatures who come out to hunt after dark. Day 5: This morning we bid Monteverde farewell and set off for La Fortuna, by Mount Arenal. But first, we will visit the “Bat Jungle,” a new exhibit about bats and their ecology. Dr. Laval, a famous tropical bat specialist, will be our guide. When we reach Arenal after lunch, we'll hike on the lava flow from the volcano and tonight, hope to see the glowing boulders exploding from the top if the night sky is clear. Day 6: A day of whitewater rafting. We will drive to our drop-off point on the Sarapiqui River and “shoot the rapids” for a couple of hours before returning to our lodge. We hope to see some wildlife on the river banks too. On the way back, we’ll stop and relax in some hot springs. Day 7: Back in the bus and off to the coast of the Nicoya peninsula. We will stop in the town of Nicoya to have lunch and look around before heading for the beach. We should arrive in time for you to swim and enjoy the beautiful beach near Nocera. Day 8: A fabulous day in paradise. This is free time for you and the family to relax, play, swim, and explore . We have left this time for you to do as you choose. We will be happy to arrange activities such as surfing lessons, but these are not included in the trip price. Photo: Angela White Day 9: This morning we leave the beach and set off for San Jose. We will stop at Zoo Ave in La Garita, Alajuela, on our way. Zoo Ave has a multitude of macaws, raptors, owls and other birds, plus iguanas, monkeys, a crocodile and deer. All the animals here have been either rescued, rehabilitated, or confiscated, and are unable to survive in the wild. We return to our hotel near the airport and have a farewell dinner together. Day 10: We say our goodbyes and depart for the airport. All excursions are subject to the weather as we want to keep you safe and happy! Rain occurs in any season in the tropics and we are traveling in the “shoulder” season, weatherwise, so we can expect some rain. This should not affect our fun at all! Getting There You will fly in and out of San Jose International airport and we will pick you up there when your flight arrives. Accommodations and Food Back to top Our lodges are not luxury accommodations, but are charming and comfortable. We will be in double rooms, so siblings can share a room, or triple if a child prefers to share with parents. Costa Rican food is simple and prepared using fresh, local ingredients, especially tropical fruits. Transportation is in a comfortable, private bus. On days when we are moving to a different location, we will stop on the way for an activity or sightseeing. Our guide will help entertain the children on the bus. Maybe we will all be fluent Spanish speakers by our last day! Trip Difficulty: This trip is suitable for all generations but the minimum age is nine. You should all be in good health, exercise regularly, and have patience and a good sense of humor. Travel in Latin America is not as predictable as at home. References Back to top We will send you a pre-trip package with maps, a suggested reading list, informational material on lodging and the areas that we are staying in, wildlife identification charts, and a packing list. Conservation We will see the wonderful conservation success of the Monteverde area and the development of the educational facilities. Hopefully, we will meet some local experts who have spearheaded various conservation projects and visit the privately funded environmental centers there. Trip Price Back to top This trip requires a $200 per-person deposit. An additional payment of $300 per person is due six months prior to trip departure. International trip prices are subject to change and are based on double-occupancy or group accommodations as described above. Single rooms may not be available or may cost more than the listed price. If you have any questions regarding double occupancy, please contact the trip leader. See the How to Apply for an Outing section for more details on registering for this trip and details about our Reservation and Cancellation Policy. The payment of a deposit does not confirm you as a member on the trip. Participants must be approved by the trip leader. After signing up for this trip, you will be sent a confirmation packet containing approval materials (Participant Approval Questionnaire, Medical Form, Liability Release Form). Each applicant (including those on the waitlist) must fill out these forms and promptly mail them to the trip leader. The leader will review the approval materials and notify you of your acceptance in a timely manner. The Sierra Club accurately and fairly budgets and prices our trips. However, unforeseen costs such as devaluation of the dollar compared to other currencies and fuel surcharges assessed by our international providers may necessitate adjustment in trip price. We will make every effort to mitigate and absorb these fees. If a price increase is necessary, however, you will have 14 days after announcement to cancel without penalty. Staff Back to top Angela, a retired high school science teacher, lives in Truckee, just North of Lake Tahoe, with Les, her significant other and their two dogs. She has led, assisted or cooked on Sierra Club service, lodge, backpack, Hawaii and International trips. Her son lives in Costa Rica so she has visited paradise many times! Angela is excited to share this beautiful country with you. 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