9-Nights Costa Rica Moderate Eco Adventure Family Party — CALL

The sophisticated capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, has been endowed with a vibrant street life as well as a refined cultural life. You'll see contemporary structures of glass and steel, as well as colonial, Victorian, and classical architecture, exotic birds, giant butterflies, and picturesque scenery. Costa Rica offers some of the world's most thrilling sights to those who seek a new adventure.

The small village of Tortuguero (translated as "Region of Turtles") lies on the northeastern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, approximately 50 miles north of the principal Port of Limon. The village is comprised of a variety of cultures: Hispanic, Miskito Indian (Nicaragua), and Afro-Caribbean. Both Spanish and Creole English are spoken. The region surrounding Tortuguero is called the Tortuguero Plain, which is a vast low lying area of little topographic relief still covered by a large expanse of tropical rainforest.

The Monteverde rainforest area, which comprises ten towns with 8,000 people, is situated on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 5,600 feet. A walk through a Costa Rica Monteverde cloud forest reveals a lush green garden of mosses, ferns, flowers and epiphytes growing thickly on every tree. Clouds drift in and settle among the slopes, giving the continuous moisture required for such exuberant plant growth. Dangling roots and vines sweep across the trails. The air is rich with the sounds of birds and the occasional scurrying of small mammals on the forest floor. In the distance a howler monkey roars.

Manuel Antonio National Park was established in 1972 by Costa Rica to preserve the biodiversity of one of the most beautiful areas in the world. Its stunning beauty and diverse wildlife is unequaled. Walk through rainforests to expansive, sandy beaches - then take a dive to coral reefs under the sea. The forest is home for sloths, iguanas, the rare adorable squirrel monkeys and millions of colorful little crabs. The trail around Punta Catedral affords some spectacular views. The southern facing beach, Playa Manuel Antonio, is a picturesque half mile long, white sand crescent with deep green foliage on one side and a private, secluded cove on the other. Standing with your feet dug into the sand watching waves crash against rocks on either side of the lagoon, it is easy to believe you are a thousand miles from anywhere.