Premium Ecolodges of Costa Rica

Absolutely. We can tailor your vacation in any number of ways. If you have specific activities or wildlife events you want to see then we can rearrange the trip to include those. If you want to combine with neighbouring Nicaragua, we can do that.

Costa Rica manages to pack an unbelievable amount of weather into a small area. That's why most people are confused as to when to plan their visit.

Essentially, the country has a tall spine of mountains running down the middle so there is near total separation of the Caribbean from the Pacific sides. When it's good weather on the Caribbean side, it's less good on the Pacific, and vice versa. Any trip to the country is really a balancing act between the two sides, with the weighting adjusted depending on the time of year. We avoid any/all travel from late September through to late November. Things on the Pacific side are too wet and wild to enable safe travel.

Other than that, you can travel from December all the way through to mid-September.

Christmas and New Year are peak season for travellers, getting quieter again in January to pick up in February and March, usually through to Easter time. After that point, things are fairly steady. It should be said that the types of places we visit do not tend to get busy. However, the places we stay are small so it doesn't take much to fill them up.

This is somewhat dependent upon when you want to travel but for this trip, there are several key properties which make it highly vulnerable - most obviously on the Osa Peninsula so six to 12 months is normal.

There are private transfers throughout so the price for a single traveller can be high as you have all the fixed costs. However, once at the lodges the excursions are usually in small groups so it is a great trip to have group activities but also your own time to yourself.

Absolutely, this would be a great trip for a group of friends travelling together.

This vacation is primarily conceived of as a journey for lovers of wildlife and the great outdoors who don't want to compromise on their home comforts either. It is about being in the great outdoors, exploring new landscapes and ecosystems and seeing the incredible range of birds, plants and animals which surround you. That does mean that you will be out and about in these different places but the degree of activity tends towards relaxed nature walks.

The exception is the rafting down the Pacuare River, arriving at a gorgeous jungle lodge as a reward. Rafting the Pacuare is a fantastic way to see the rainforest with howler monkeys and toucan overhead and thick vegetation reaching over from each side of you. Depending on the time of year the water levels will mean that the rafting is either a fun and constantly bumpy grade III ride or it will be an adrenaline-fuelled grade IV adventure. As long as you can swim, the trip is safe for anyone - the river teams are great at their job.

This trip has a mix of private road transfers and three short internal flights.

Over the course of this trip, you stay in a series of first-class lodges and small hotels.

In Costa Rica, we choose our accommodation very carefully. Premium lodges and hotels, in particular, can quickly become faceless - places where 'luxury' rules the roost to the detriment of personality. On this vacation you stay in a selection of the very finest lodges and hotels, finest in the sense that they are very, very comfortable. They are also in the right places, peacefully and splendidly engaged with their surroundings. Service and hosting are excellent.

Highlights include a luxury inn on a coffee estate, a premium birdwatching lodge and one of Costa Rica's great rainforest retreats.

Yes. There's no way to keep them out, and no point trying. When walking in forests, you should always wear closed toe shoes and long trousers tucked into socks. At dawn and dusk, make sure you have repellent on and wear clothing as close to colours of the forest floor as possible. There are also snakes. No point pretending there aren't, however, they are terrified of of humans so you are not likely to see any unless you go in search of them. Avoid the temptation of rummaging around blindly in piles of leaves and you'll be fine.

Less so than is the case on trips where you have your own car and explore more independently. Saying that, the places you are staying are still small scale and staffed by Costa Ricans who are proud to introduce to their country so you will certainly get a great flavour of the country.

We take a 15% deposit to secure your vacation, with the remainder due eight weeks before your departure.

Your money is 100% protected through our ATOL licence if your trip includes a flight booked through us, or through our ABTOT bond if it does not. Either way, this protection provides a cast-iron financial guarantee and helps you book with complete peace of mind. Because the contract between us exists here in the UK, you get this protection regardless of where you live.