The Orange County Women's Chorus Costa Rica 2028

The itinerary is the starting point to your tour, but it’s not set in stone. Your group leader may make changes leading up to departure.

Day 1, Saturday June 24: San Jose

Depart LAX for your performance tour to Costa Rica. San José, Costa Rica's vibrant capital, serves as your gateway to a journey of music, culture, and connection. Nestled in the fertile Central Valley and ringed by volcanic peaks, the city pulses with the warmth of "pura vida" — the Costa Rican philosophy of living life fully and joyfully. There is no better spirit to carry into nine days of choral adventure. Upon arrival in San Jose, meet your Tour Manager and begin your sightseeing. Your first afternoon introduces you to the extraordinary natural drama of Costa Rica. The La Paz Waterfalls cascade through a lush cloud forest reserve, their roar a reminder of the elemental power of this small but astonishing country. Hummingbirds dart through the mist, and the sound of rushing water sets the tone for a journey that will engage all your senses. After settling into your hotel, gather your voices for a short evening rehearsal. It's the first time the full group sings together on Costa Rican soil — a moment to find your collective sound in a new place, and to feel the excitement of what lies ahead. Enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant after checking in at your hotel. (D)

Day 2, Sunday June 25: San Jose

Today you venture into Costa Rica's geographical and historical heart. Irazú Volcano, the highest in the country, towers over the Central Valley and on a clear day offers views of both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The colonial city of Cartago — once the nation's capital — and the serene Orosí Valley speak of deep roots and living tradition. The day culminates in one of the most meaningful musical moments of the entire tour. The dramatic lunar landscape of Irazú's crater contrasts with the lush green valley below. Cartago's Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles is a pilgrimage site of striking beauty, and the Orosí Valley — with its colonial church, coffee plantations, and river — is among the most picturesque corners of Central America. This afternoon brings the musical heart of Day 2: a collaborative warm-up concert with a Costa Rican choir. To sing alongside voices shaped by a different culture, a different language, and a different musical tradition — and to discover how much you share — is precisely the kind of experience that defines OCWC's belief in raising voices in song and solidarity. This is diversity lived, not just spoken. ¿¿ Afternoon Rehearsal With new musical energy from the joint session, your afternoon rehearsal becomes more than routine — it is a conversation between the music you carry from home and the sounds you have just encountered.

Day 3, Monday June 26: Monteverde

Today you leave the Central Valley and ascend into one of the world's most extraordinary ecosystems: the Cloud Forest of Monteverde. As the road climbs, the air cools and the mist gathers. Epiphytes drape every branch; the canopy hums with invisible life. Monteverde was founded by Quaker settlers in the 1950s and has grown into a model of ecological stewardship — a community that chose, collectively, to protect what it had. It is, in its own way, a community organized around shared purpose — a value OCWC knows well. The journey through the mountains is an experience in itself — a slow, winding ascent through coffee fields and misty ridgelines. Arrive in the afternoon and breathe in the cool, clean air of the cloud forest highlands. Suspended walkways carry you through the forest canopy at heights that reveal a world usually invisible from the ground. Resplendent quetzals, howler monkeys, and hundreds of orchid species inhabit this forest. Walk slowly, listen carefully — the Cloud Forest has its own music. (B,L,D)

Day 4, Tuesday June 27: Monteverde

Your second full day in Monteverde balances cultural discovery and artistic performance. Costa Rica's coffee is among the finest in the world, and this morning you'll learn why — tracing the bean from plant to cup in a landscape shaped by generations of careful cultivation. Then, in the afternoon, you take the stage for your second concert of the tour — performing for the very community that has chosen to live in harmony with this remarkable forest. Costa Rican coffee culture is inseparable from the country's identity. Your guided tour of a local coffee farm traces the full journey from cherry to roast, revealing the meticulous care that goes into every cup. The farmers who tend these fields carry a deep pride in their craft — one that OCWC singers, who know something about disciplined artistry, will recognize immediately. This afternoon you perform your second concert of the tour — a program offered to the community of Monteverde in the extraordinary natural setting of the Cloud Forest. To sing in a place of such beauty, for people who have dedicated their lives to its protection, is a rare gift. The OCWC's commitment to artistic excellence finds perfect expression here: voices raised not only in performance, but in gratitude. (B,L,D)

Day 5, Wednesday June 28: Manuel Antonio

Today you descend from the cool mist of Monteverde to the warm, golden light of Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The journey takes you through the country's agricultural heartland and along the banks of the Tárcoles River — home to one of the largest crocodile populations in Central America. By evening, the sound of Pacific waves replaces the whisper of the cloud forest, and a new landscape invites a new pace. The drive from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio is a study in Costa Rica's extraordinary geographic diversity — descending from highland mist through dry forest and coastal lowlands until the Pacific glitters into view. It's a journey worth savoring. A guided boat tour along the Tárcoles River offers close-up encounters with American crocodiles, egrets, roseate spoonbills, and an abundance of birdlife. Your naturalist guide provides the context that transforms wildlife viewing into genuine understanding of this complex ecosystem. (B,L,D)

Day 6, Thursday June 29: Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Costa Rica — and one of the most beloved. Here, primary rainforest tumbles directly onto white-sand beaches, and the wildlife is as accessible as it is astonishing. Squirrel monkeys scramble through the trees above your head; three-toed sloths hang in peaceful stillness; white-faced capuchins eye your bag with cheerful opportunism. It is, by any measure, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Your day in the park moves at whatever pace you choose — hiking the forest trails to secluded beaches, snorkeling in the clear Pacific waters, or simply sitting in the shade while the natural world goes about its business around you. The diversity of life here — hundreds of bird species, four species of monkey, sloths, iguanas — is a vivid reminder of what Costa Rica has worked hard to protect. (B,D) (B,D)

Day 7, Friday June 30: Manuel Antonio

The OCWC has been singing, traveling, and exploring with full engagement since Day 1. Today is your gift to yourselves: an unhurried day on the Pacific coast, to rest, play, and be present. The community that has traveled and performed together all week gathers one more time — this time aboard a catamaran, watching the sun melt into the Pacific horizon. Sleep in, swim in warm Pacific waters, explore the village of Manuel Antonio, or simply sit on the beach and listen to the waves. A chorus is strongest not only when it performs but when its members are rested, joyful, and deeply connected to one another. Today is for that. As the afternoon light turns golden, board a catamaran for a cruise along the Pacific coast. Dolphins sometimes race alongside; the coastline glows. With a drink in hand and your fellow singers beside you, watch the sun set over the Pacific — a moment of pure shared joy before the final act of the tour.

Day 8, Saturday July 1: San Jose

The tour's final full day brings you back to San José — and to the artistic crescendo of the entire journey. You have performed in a misty cloud forest and for a Costa Rican community; now you share the stage with a Costa Rican all-women's choir for a closing concert that embodies everything the OCWC stands for: musical sisterhood that transcends borders, voices raised together in solidarity and joy. The drive back to the capital is a chance to reflect on the landscapes, the sounds, and the people encountered along the way. Costa Rica has a way of making visitors feel they are leaving a part of themselves behind — and that they are carrying a part of it forward. Your final performance is the most powerful of the tour. Sharing the stage with a Costa Rican all-women's choir, you bring together everything that OCWC believes: that women's voices, raised in excellence and solidarity, can move people deeply and bridge the distances between us. This is not just a concert. It is a living statement of the OCWC's mission — performed on a stage ten thousand miles from home.

Day 9, Sunday July 2: Departure

After breakfast at your hotel and check out, transfer to the airport for your return flight to New York. (B)