Costa Rica — Cloud Forest, Volcano & Coast

Day 1 — Arrive & up to Monteverde

You’re met at the airport with a private meet-and-greet and settled into your transfer up to Monteverde. As the road climbs into the Tilarán Mountains the air cools and the forest closes in — the first sign you’ve arrived somewhere special. You check in at Sibu Boutique Hotel, a tranquil retreat within walking distance of the town’s shops and cafés, its rooms carrying wood accents, warm lighting and private terraces that open to the gardens. The rest of the day is yours to ease into the mountain pace.

Day 2 — Canopy adventure & Santa Elena Reserve

The morning is a multi-activity adventure high above Monteverde’s famed cloud forest. It begins gently on an open-air aerial tram with panoramic views over the treetops, then lifts the pace: the Sky Trek zipline circuit — one of the most iconic in Costa Rica — a controlled freefall on the Vertigo drop platform, and finally the Sky Walk, a guided nature walk across suspension bridges that reveal the canopy from every level. In the afternoon you move to the quieter Santa Elena Reserve, a 310-hectare sanctuary on the misty Caribbean slope, where a bilingual naturalist leads you along trails teeming with orchids, epiphytes and lush vegetation — notably less crowded than the other forests, with distant glimpses of Arenal Volcano on clear days.

Day 3 — The Lake Arenal crossing

A private guided transfer takes you from Monteverde to Arenal by the celebrated jeep-boat-jeep route — down to the shore of Lake Arenal, across the water by boat with the volcano growing on the horizon, and up the far side to La Fortuna. It’s the most scenic way to make the journey and a small adventure in itself. You arrive at Hotel Arenal Manoa, surrounded by tropical gardens with panoramic views of the volcano, and settle into a Junior Suite with its own private terrace — the hotel’s naturally heated hot springs waiting whenever you want them.

Day 4 — Horseback to the waterfall & the hot springs

A memorable morning in the countryside: led by a bilingual guide, you ride gentle horses across pastures and forested trails with the volcano in view, reaching the La Fortuna Waterfall after about an hour in the saddle. A stairway leads down to the powerful cascade — a beautiful place to pause and take photographs before riding back. In the afternoon you unwind at Eco Termales, one of the area’s most tranquil hot springs, deliberately capacity-limited so the pools never feel crowded — thermal waters at a range of temperatures set among tropical gardens, with lunch or dinner included on site.

Day 5 — Down to the Pacific coast

A private transfer carries you from the volcano to the Pacific, trading rainforest highlands for coastal air. You arrive at Hotel San Bada, ideally located right at the entrance of Manuel Antonio National Park and just steps from the beach, with bright rooms overlooking either the gardens or the sparkling Pacific and a pool to cool off in. The afternoon is free to settle in, feel the change of pace, and perhaps take your first walk down to the sand.

Day 6 — Mangrove cruise & the National Park

Two of the coast’s best experiences in one day. The mangrove boat tour glides the natural canals of the central Pacific wetlands, your guide reading the greenery for birds, reptiles and monkeys — calm water, dense forest, and as rewarding for photography as for quiet watching. Then Manuel Antonio National Park itself: rainforest trails with a bilingual guide who spots the sloths, monkeys and birds you’d walk straight past, set against white-sand coves and the Pacific, with free time on the beach to swim or simply take it in.

Day 7 — Farewell to Costa Rica

A private transfer returns you to the airport in good time for your flight home — the cloud forest, the volcano and the coast all behind you in a single unhurried week.