Costa Rica Nature

Day 1 - Country of origin - San Jose
Due to the time difference, you will arrive in the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, the same day after a long flight. You will be picked up at the airport and taken to the hotel in the city center.

Day 2 - San Jose – Parasaio
In the hustle and bustle of city traffic we drive out of San Jose to Cartago. Afterwards, this ride involves more than 30 km of climbing on small paved roads with many bends to the top of the Irazu Volcano, almost 3,500 meters high. This is the only place during this motorcycle trip where temperatures are lower (8-12 Celsius). The walk to the top of the volcano is approximately 1 1/2 hours return. Then we drive the same route back towards Paraiso to Cartago. It is then a 20-minute drive to Paraiso. We try to check into the hotel early in the afternoon. Optionally, you can drive around Lake Cachí this afternoon. That's about 1 hour's drive.



Day 3 - Parasaio – Tortuguero
We leave early, the first hour we drive on small country roads to Turrialba. From there we follow the old route to Siquirres passing the National Monument of Guyababo. The road becomes narrower, eventually we drive about 20 km on gravel roads. This is not very difficult. We have beautiful views of the mountains. Just before Siquirres we descend to the low-lying Caribbean. Arriving in Siquirres we drive towards the NR 32, a larger road to the north. After 45 minutes we turn right and take a smaller road to Cariari. It is then another 1 hour drive to La Pavona, which is the harbor where the small boats to Tortuguero depart. We park the motorcycles and have lunch. From here we take the 1.5 hour boat trip to Tortuguero.



Day 4 - Tortuguero – Accommodation
We take a trip through the rainforest by boat. We will mainly see many different large birds, but also crocodiles and monkeys. Led by a local guide we take a nice walk through the park.

Day 5 - Tortuguero - La Fortuna
In the early morning we sail back to Cariari and get back on the motorbike. We zigzag through small towns and plantations all day long on partly unpaved paths. At the end of the long day we drive into the volcano area of ​​Arenal. From La Fortuna you have a beautiful view of the volcano.



Day 6 - La Fortuna – Bijagua
Today a short drive. In this special area you can take a walk through the lush cloud forest. You can see the various stages of lava formation during a walk near the volcano. Because the volcano is still regularly active, we cannot climb to the top. You can also do a Canopy tour.

Day 7 - Bijagua – Samara
We drive along the south side of Laguna de Arenal on a challenging unpaved path towards the west. Depending on the water level, we will make deep or shallower fords several times. This is followed by a nice shortcut, again unpaved, which eventually takes us back to the asflat. We drive onto the Nicoya peninsula via Puente de la Amistad.

Day 8 - Samara - San Jose
From Samara it is about a 10 km drive, during this drive we have a beautiful view of the ocean up to Playa Carrillo. Then we go inland on a narrow road to Hojancha. Around 20 km we drive on an unpaved road. Just before Hojancha we are back on the highway. Then we cross the big bridge over the Nicoya River. Then we drive on a fairly wide 2-lane road. We stay on highway 1 (that is the famous “Interamericana”) for more than 1 1/2 hours before turning left to Puntarenas. For the last time we have a beautiful view of the Pacific coast and on the left we see the majestic Monteverde mountains. About 30 minutes after Puntarenas we drive to Jaco. Then we follow the Tarcoles river for more than 20 km. Here we can see huge crocodiles up close. After a short stop we drive back to San Jose.



Day 9 - San Jose – Departure
You have the last chance to do some local shopping or to really absorb the atmosphere of the country. On the day of departure, we are picked up at our hotel by a van. This takes us to San José international airport.

Day 10 - Country of origin - Amsterdam
Arrival home.