Wings Over the Wild: Costa Rica’s Volcanoes, Rainforests & Coastlines

Return UK flights with baggage, 9 nights’ accommodation, 10 curated tours and experiences, all transfers, professional English-speaking guides, selected meals, and more.

This flight-inclusive Costa Rica journey is designed to showcase the country’s most iconic landscapes in one seamless experience. From vibrant cities and fertile coffee lands to misty cloud forests and volcanic lowlands, the itinerary blends nature, culture, and comfort. Carefully paced and expertly guided, it offers a deep connection to Costa Rica’s biodiversity while ensuring a relaxed and enriching travel experience from start to finish.

Travellers will explore rainforests alive with wildlife, dramatic volcano scenery, winding jungle canals, and pristine Pacific beaches, all while enjoying comfortable accommodations and smooth transfers throughout. With return UK flights, baggage, selected meals, and 10 guided experiences included, this package delivers outstanding value and peace of mind, making it an ideal choice for first-time visitors and nature lovers alike.

Arrive in Costa Rica and transfer to your hotel in San José. Settle in and enjoy your first evening at leisure in the capital.

San Jose

San José is a lively, slightly chaotic, and deeply human capital city that often surprises visitors who expect only beaches and rainforests, offering instead a dense mix of history, everyday Tico life, and urban energy set in a green Central Valley bowl. It’s a place where colorful buses roar past neoclassical landmarks like the National Theatre, where the smell of fresh coffee and gallo pinto drifts out of sodas and bakeries in the early morning, and where street vendors, office workers, students, and artists all share the same sidewalks.

San José doesn’t try to charm you in obvious ways; its beauty is subtle and lived-in, found in hidden courtyards, lively markets like Mercado Central, leafy neighborhoods such as Barrio Amón, and museums that quietly tell the story of Costa Rica’s peaceful democracy and rich cultural roots. The city serves as the country’s beating heart, messy, practical, creative, and warm, acting as both a gateway to volcanoes and jungles beyond and a destination in its own right for those willing to slow down, look closer, and experience Costa Rica as locals do.

Discover Costa Rica’s culture and landscapes with visits to a coffee plantation, a volcano in the Central Mountain Range, and lush waterfall gardens before returning to San José.

Travel through rainforest-covered mountains to the Caribbean lowlands and continue by boat into Tortuguero’s wildlife-rich canal system.

Tortuguero

Tortuguero National Park is one of Costa Rica’s most unique and wildlife-rich destinations, a remote maze of jungle canals, rivers, and dense rainforest accessible only by boat or small aircraft. Often called the “Amazon of Costa Rica,” Tortuguero is renowned for its extraordinary biodiversity, where visitors can spot howler monkeys, sloths, caimans, river turtles, colorful birds, and countless other species thriving in their natural habitat.

The slow-paced boat journeys through narrow waterways offer an intimate way to experience the rainforest, with nature unfolding quietly at every bend. Beyond the wildlife, the small Caribbean village of Tortuguero adds cultural character, reflecting a relaxed coastal lifestyle shaped by water, conservation, and tradition. This untouched, immersive environment makes Tortuguero a true highlight for nature lovers seeking an authentic and unforgettable Costa Rican experience.

Enjoy an early morning wildlife experience before continuing to the Arenal region, famous for its volcano, rainforest, and natural hot springs.

Arenal Volcano National Park

Arenal Volcano National Park is one of Costa Rica’s most iconic natural landscapes, dominated by the near-perfect cone of Arenal Volcano rising dramatically above rainforests, old lava fields, and misty foothills. The park feels alive at every turn, where dense jungle hums with birds and insects, howler monkeys call from the canopy, and trails wind past hardened rivers of black lava that tell the story of the volcano’s powerful eruptions in recent history.

Although Arenal is currently resting, its presence is still commanding, creating a sense of quiet tension and awe as clouds drift across its summit and sudden rain showers cool the air. Visitors come not only for the volcano itself but for the immersive experience, walking suspension bridges, spotting toucans and sloths, soaking in nearby hot springs warmed by geothermal heat, and watching the landscape shift from rainforest green to stark volcanic rock.

Arenal Volcano National Park captures the essence of Costa Rica’s wild beauty, blending raw geological power with lush biodiversity in a way that feels both humbling and unforgettable.

Explore the vibrant rainforest near Tenorio Volcano and visit the spectacular blue waters of Río Celeste on a guided hike.

Travel by a scenic taxi–boat–taxi journey across Lake Arenal and into the cool, misty cloud forests of Monteverde.

Monteverde

Monteverde is a magical highland region famed for its cool climate, drifting mist, and richly diverse cloud forest ecosystems unlike anywhere else in Costa Rica. Suspended between earth and sky, the forest is alive with moss-draped trees, orchids, ferns, and an astonishing variety of birdlife, including the elusive resplendent quetzal.

Elevated walkways and hanging bridges allow visitors to explore the canopy from new perspectives, while adrenaline-filled zip lines glide above the treetops for an unforgettable sense of scale. Monteverde’s peaceful, rural atmosphere and strong conservation ethic create a deeply immersive experience, offering a striking contrast to the country’s lowland rainforests and coastal regions and making it a must-visit destination for nature lovers and explorers alike.

Journey toward the Pacific coast with a wildlife-focused river boat tour en route before arriving near Manuel Antonio.

Explore one of Costa Rica’s most famous national parks, combining rainforest trails, abundant wildlife, and beautiful white-sand beaches.

Manuel Antonio National Park

Manuel Antonio National Park is a compact yet spectacular blend of rainforest, white-sand beaches, and vibrant wildlife that perfectly captures Costa Rica’s postcard-worthy magic. The park’s lush trails wind through dense coastal jungle where sloths nap in the treetops, squirrel monkeys leap between branches, and iguanas sprawl lazily in the sun, all just minutes from turquoise coves with calm, swimmable waters.

What makes Manuel Antonio especially striking is the constant interplay between jungle and sea, one moment you’re shaded by towering palms and strangler figs, the next you’re stepping onto a crescent-shaped beach framed by emerald hills and offshore islands. Despite being one of the country’s most visited parks, it still feels intimate and immersive, offering moments of quiet wonder early in the morning or along less-traveled paths.

Manuel Antonio is not just about scenery but about sensation, the warmth of the sand, the sounds of waves and wildlife, and the feeling that nature here is close, accessible, and joyfully alive.

Enjoy a free day to relax on the beach or choose from optional activities in the surrounding area.

Transfer back to San José for your onward international flight home.

Origin Trip Start Date Trip End Date Price
London 12/02/26 Thursday 21/02/26 Saturday £3749 View
London 14/02/26 Saturday 23/02/26 Monday £3749 View
London 17/02/26 Tuesday 26/02/26 Thursday £3749 View
London 19/02/26 Thursday 28/02/26 Saturday £3749 View
London 21/02/26 Saturday 02/03/26 Monday £3749 View
London 24/02/26 Tuesday 05/03/26 Thursday £3749 View
London 26/02/26 Thursday 07/03/26 Saturday £3749 View
London 28/02/26 Saturday 09/03/26 Monday £3749 View
London 03/03/26 Tuesday 12/03/26 Thursday £3749 View
London 05/03/26 Thursday 14/03/26 Saturday £3749 View