Las Selvas de Costa Rica

  • 8 Days
  • Explorer Value Trip
  • STEM-Based Tour

We're always ready to personalize
a tour to your unique needs

Las Selvas de Costa Rica Get Started

Map & Route

Depart

San Jose

1 1 Night

Monteverde

2 2 Nights

San Carlos

1 1 Night

Sarapiqui

2 2 Nights

San Jose

1 1 Night
Return
map Las Selvas de Costa Rica

What's Included

Our itineraries reflect 40 years of experience in crafting exceptional educational tours. That means we know exactly how to make the best of your time abroad—incredible destinations, immersive activities, centrally located hotels, and smart, well-traveled tour managers who ensure your educational goals are met. Here are some of the exceptional features of this tour.

ACIS Guarantees

We have high standards, which is why we take care to include these features in every tour.

Round-Trip Flights

Leave the airlines to us.

3-Star Hotels

After a busy day, comfort is key.

Centrally Located Hotels

Save the commuting time, beat the morning crowds and keep right on exploring after dark when your hotel is in the heart of the city.

Daily Breakfast and Dinner (unless otherwise noted)

Delicious, authentic, multi-course dinners at local restaurants with meal times tailored to maximize your experience.

24-Hour Tour Manager

Part guide, part educator, part engineer, part mind-reader, part magician—ACIS Tour Managers are your travel partner.

Start Exploring

Never wait hours at the airport to share a transfer with other later groups.

Service Guarantee

We're so sure you're going to love your tour, we guarantee it!

Global Network

24/7 on the ground support whenever and wherever you need it.

All Local Transportation

Urban transportation is on us, allowing you to explore each destination with ease.

Exceptional Experiences

Our tours are designed to help you and your students be in the moment and experience everything the world has to offer.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Canopy Tour

Monteverde Cloud Forest Canopy Tour

Founded in the 1970s to protect the region's biodiversity, the high-altitude Monteverde Cloud Forest is home to more than 400 species of birds, 100 species of mammals and 2,500 species of plants within a reserve comprising 6 distinct ecological zones. Gain a bird's-eye perspective on this important wildlife refuge as you zip-line through the canopy.

Learn More

Founded in the 1970s to protect the region's biodiversity, the high-altitude Monteverde Cloud Forest is home to more than 400 species of birds, 100 species of mammals and 2,500 species of plants within a reserve comprising 6 distinct ecological zones. Gain a bird's-eye perspective on this important wildlife refuge as you zip-line through the canopy.

Visit with Local Students in San Carlos

Visit with Local Students in San Carlos

Visit with the local students at a San Carlos school. As you participate in a joint activity, sharing stories and laughs, you'll gain an understanding of their daily lives and studies and have the opportunity to contrast what you learn and experience with your own lifestyle and educational system at home.

Learn More

Visit with the local students at a San Carlos school. As you participate in a joint activity, sharing stories and laughs, you'll gain an understanding of their daily lives and studies and have the opportunity to contrast what you learn and experience with your own lifestyle and educational system at home.

Arenal Volcano Private Reserve Hike

Arenal Volcano Private Reserve Hike

The geologic and biologic diversity of the region's volcanic ecosystem come alive under your feet as you explore the closest private reserve to Arenal Volcano with a local guide. As you hike past, learn about the flora and fauna that flourish beneath the cone of this active volcano and gaze up the slope for views of the lava flow that still oozes from its conical peak.

Learn More

The geologic and biologic diversity of the region's volcanic ecosystem come alive under your feet as you explore the closest private reserve to Arenal Volcano with a local guide. As you hike past, learn about the flora and fauna that flourish beneath the cone of this active volcano and gaze up the slope for views of the lava flow that still oozes from its conical peak.

Community and Reforestation Service Project

Community and Reforestation Service Project

Your service project's focus on both community development and ecological issues means your student volunteers will get the most out of their experience—including the chance to form friendships with other students. Begin with community-minded projects such as painting or grounds upkeep at local schools, followed by contributions to the local ecosystem and agriculture during reforestation work on area farms.

Learn More

Your service project's focus on both community development and ecological issues means your student volunteers will get the most out of their experience—including the chance to form friendships with other students. Begin with community-minded projects such as painting or grounds upkeep at local schools, followed by contributions to the local ecosystem and agriculture during reforestation work on area farms.

Costa Rican Cooking Lesson

Costa Rican Cooking Lesson

Explore the secrets of flavorful Costa Rican cuisine during your cooking lesson. After an introduction to traditional Costa Rican food and techniques, join the chef in the kitchen where you will help prepare the ingredients for your meal, assist the chef with cooking and learn to properly garnish each dish. Then enjoy the fruits of your labor! You'll leave with recipes that you can put to use impressing friends and family back home.

Learn More

Explore the secrets of flavorful Costa Rican cuisine during your cooking lesson. After an introduction to traditional Costa Rican food and techniques, join the chef in the kitchen where you will help prepare the ingredients for your meal, assist the chef with cooking and learn to properly garnish each dish. Then enjoy the fruits of your labor! You'll leave with recipes that you can put to use impressing friends and family back home.

Doka Estate Coffee Tour

Doka Estate Coffee Tour

Hot Springs

Hot Springs

Braulio Carrillo National Park and Aerial Tram

Braulio Carrillo National Park and Aerial Tram

Video

Costa Rica

Featured in this video

Itinerary

This itinerary is the starting point for your tour, but it’s not set in stone. If there are days you would like to change, or specific places you’d like to go, we can work with you to create a personalized program that fits the needs of you and your students.

Day 1: San Jose

Depart from the USA. Arrive in the Costa Rican capital of San José, meet your ACIS Tour Manager, and begin to discover the country's famous Tico hospitality.

Day 2: Monteverde

The day begins with a tour of Doka Estate, a working, sustainable coffee plantation and roastery. Here you’ll learn about the life cycle of growing gourmet coffee beans and participate in a “cupping,” or coffee-tasting, session. Then it’s on to Sarchí, a small artisan town renowned for its brilliantly colored arts and crafts, particularly its ox-carts. Your journey then continues on to Monteverde, where you’ll begin to explore this lush rainforest region, recognized for its diverse flora and fauna.

Day 3: Monteverde

Today explore the important and fascinating Santa Elena Cloud Forest. Originally settled in the 1950s by a group of Quakers from Alabama, Monteverde Cloud Forest is home to more than 400 species of birds, 100 species of mammals and 2,500 species of plants including the jaguar, ocelot, Baird’s tapir, three-wattled bellbird, bare-necked umbrellabird, and the famously elusive resplendent quetzal. Get ready for a different perspective on the forest, as this afternoon you will swing far above the forest floor on the world famous Monteverde Canopy Tour. You will have views from a series of platforms and thrilling zip-lines that carry you above and through the canopy. Later perhaps stroll the small town center of Monteverde, chock full of restaurants and shops, or stop to savor a taste of the national dish, gallo pinto, a mix of fried rice and black beans.

Day 4: San Carlos

The morning starts with a journey to the San Carlos region, gateway to the world-famous, 5,357-foot-high Arenal Volcano. After arriving, you'll visit with students at a local school—a great opportunity to practice your Spanish skills as well as compare notes on typical school days, customs and lifestyles. Later, don your bathing suit and take an invigorating dip in one of the hot springs, for which the area is famous, at the base of the volcano.

Day 5: Sarapiqui

Lace up your sneakers this morning for a fascinating hike through the Arenal Volcano’s closest private reserve, which features a geographically diverse landscape that veers from lava fields to thick forests. Then say adios to San Carlos and head for Sarapiquí, a beautiful region that's gaining a reputation for top-notch adventure tourism.

Day 6: Sarapiqui

Come together this morning to help the community during a reforestation service project on a nearby farm. Learn about local agriculture as you plant indigenous trees needed to sustain the region's ecosystem. In the afternoon, burnish your ethnic-culinary credentials with a Costa Rican cooking lesson, where you'll learn how to make a regional dish using traditional techniques and locally grown ingredients. Bonus: You also get to snack on the results!

Day 7: San Jose

Depart for the cloud forest in Braulio Carrillo National Park, a nature lover’s paradise named for the country’s third president, Dr. Braulio Carillo. Keep your camera handy as you sit back and relax during a breathtaking ride on the park’s Aerial Tram. Keep an eye out for toucans, quetzals and hummingbirds, not to mention the white-faced capuchin monkeys and other wildlife. Continue back to San José for the evening.

Day 8: Departure

Depart for the USA.

Optional Extras

Ultimate-Plus Protection Plan

Most Enhanced health coverage, program interruption, baggage delay/loss and travel delay protection while on tour. Plus, enhanced medical/job loss cancellation refund policy

Rate $400

Add to Tour

Ultimate Protection Plan

Enhanced health coverage, program interruption, baggage delay/loss and travel delay protection while on tour. Plus, enhanced medical/job loss cancellation refund policy

Rate $280

Add to Tour

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