Destinations: Tamarindo, Osa Peninsula

Duration: 9 days

*Price Range: $$$

*Rates inclusive of full vacation experience – hotels, tours, domestic transfers, and tax (excluding international airfare).  Actual price based on length of travel, number of travelers/rooms, seasonal rates (high, low, peak), number of tour activities, and mode of domestic transportation.

$$$: At or under $1,200 per person

$$$: $1,200 – $1,800 per person

$$$: $1,800+ per person

1. Day 1

   Fly into Liberia International Airport (LIR).  Outside the airport you’ll find your private driver holding a sign with your name on it. He/she will help you with your luggage and take you to the popular Tamarindo beach town.  Your hotel, Capitan Suizo, is a beachfront, tropical oasis located on the outskirts of town creating a tranquil environment for guests with easy access to all the restaurants and beach bars in the middle of Tamarindo.  After you’ve checked into your room, jump into the idyllic pool or stroll up and down Playa Langosta to watch a spectacular sunset.

2. Day 2

   In the morning enjoy an expansive breakfast buffet in Capitan Suizo’s open-air restaurant in front of the beach.  Stroll down to the beach with a boogie board or surfboard in hand to play in the year-around waves.  Around midday aboard a catamaran sunset cruise that will take you to nearby snorkel spots.  You’ll have lunch and drinks aboard the catamaran and enjoy a sunset show as you head back to shore.  Tonight, head into town to try one of many local restaurants for dinner.  Return to Capitan Suizo earlier in the evening in preparation for your first day of diving tomorrow.

3. Day 3

   Today you’ll dive the popular Catalina Islands (Islas Las Catalinas), a group of 20 islands created by volcanic rock formations.  These islands are located between 3 and 24 km from shore and offer a number of dive sites for beginner, intermediate, and advanced divers.  Underwater arches and caves are home to vibrant coral as well as white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, devil rays, giant manta rays, octopus, moray eels, seahorses, turtles, lemon-coloured barberfish, king angelfish, and bright-striped Cortez angelfish.  Keep a watchful eye out for humpback and pilot whales in January, February and March and again in June and July during migration. Some of the more popular dive sites at Las Catalinas include Big Cupcake, Little Cupcake, Catalina Classic, Catalina North, Elephant Rock, Two Hats (wall dive) and Dirty Rock.  After two dives in the morning, return to Capitan Suizo for lunch and then take a nap on the beach swinging from a hammock under palm trees.

4. Day 4

   Return to Catalina Islands and explore two new dive sites today.  For experienced divers looking for an adrenaline rush between May and November, head to the Bat Islands (Islas Murcielago) to dive The Big Scare site.  Here, you’ll have the rare opportunity to get up close with bull sharks that reach two to three meters in length! Other marine life you’re likely to encounter at the Bat Islands include white hammerhead sharks, tip sharks, tiger sharks, marlin, sail fish, and schools of manta rays.

5. Day 5

   Take a domestic flight from the north Pacific Coast of Guanacaste down to the south Pacific Coast of the wild Osa Peninsula!  A short boat ride from the airstrip to the shallow shores in front of Copa de Arbol will present opportunities to see dolphins, turtles, and whales (seasonal).  Copa de Arbol sits on 70-acres of rainforest between Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.  Just 10 nautical miles from Copa de Arbol is Caño Island Biological Reserve, a marine reserve with pristine waters hosting an abundance of marine life.  While staying in this off-the-beaten-path region of Costa Rica, you’ll have all the finer comforts of a luxury hotel with an infinity pool, heated jacuzzi, A/C, and gourmet dining.

6. Day 6

   Enjoy your first full day of diving Caño Island Biological Reserve where it’s common to see more reef fish species along with giant pacific manta rays, devil rays, stingrays, spotted eagle rays, green sea turtles, moorish idols, trumpet fish, scorpion fish, spiny lobster, octopus, barracuda, jacks, grunts, various types of eels, whales (humpback, pilot false killer whales, and whale shark), five species of dolphin, and sharks.

7. Day 7

   Return to Caño Island Biological Reserve and dive two new sites.  Popular dive sites include The Devil’s Rock, Shark Cave, The Arch, The Shipwreck, The Coral Gardens, Paradise, and Marenco Rock.

8. Day 8

   Explore the mainland today on a guided nature hike through Corcovado National Park.  With over 100,000 acres of tropical rainforest, this extremely biodiverse region houses thousands of species of insects, nearly 400 species of birds (including a concentrated macaw population), and over 100 species of amphibians and reptiles.  Some of the more commonly seen wildlife include four species of monkey, sloths, four species of sea turtles, butterflies, crocodiles and frogs.  Other, more elusive wildlife sometimes seen include jaguars, tapirs, and anteaters.  After a full day of rainforest hiking and visiting hidden waterfalls, enjoy a celebratory cocktail in the jacuzzi to conclude a successful Costa Rica diving vacation!

9. Day 9

   Take a domestic flight back to San Jose for your international flight home.