This wildlife-focused itinerary takes you on a journey through some of Costa Rica’s most biodiverse and stunning regions, where you’ll have the chance to encounter an incredible array of animals, flora and fauna. You can either self-drive or take private transfers – the choice is yours.
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Itinerary
1 Night – San José
3 Nights – San Gerado de dota
4 Nights – Domincal/Uvita
2 Nights – Sierpe
3 Nights – Drake Bay / Corcovado
1 Night – San José
✈️ San José (1 Night) Your journey begins in San José, Costa Rica’s bustling capital. Although the city itself isn’t known for wildlife, it serves as the gateway to the country’s wonders. So take the opportunity to recover from your flight, explore the bustling streets, wander around the Central Market with its eclectic mix of stalls, and relax before heading to your next destination.
🚗 San José to San Gerardo de Dota (3 Nights): Heading south from San José, you’ll arrive in the serene San Gerardo de Dota, in the Talamanca Mountains. The area is famous for its cool climate, lush cloud forests, and incredible birdwatching opportunities. The elusive quetzal is the main attraction here, especially early in the morning when they are most active. Beyond quetzals, you can also spot toucans, parrots, and hummingbirds as you walk along the scenic trails. The region is part of the Los Quetzales National Park, a paradise for nature lovers with waterfalls, dense forests, and a variety of other wildlife including ocelots and monkeys.
🚗 San Gerardo de Dota to Dominical/Uvita (4 Nights): Continuing your journey to the southern Pacific coast, the town of Dominical and nearby Uvita offer a perfect blend of beach and rainforest. Dominical is known for its laid-back atmosphere and is surrounded by rich wildlife. Walk through the jungles and spot howler monkeys, capuchins, and sloths. Uvita, home to Ballena Marine National Park, is particularly famous for its seasonal whale watching. From December to April, humpback whales migrate to these waters, and during the right time of year, you can also see dolphins and other marine life. The park’s iconic whale’s tail formation (a natural formation of rocks and sand that separate the ocean at low tide) is a stunning sight. Plus, the surrounding beaches are perfect for relaxing and spotting wildlife such as white-faced monkeys and tropical birds. Heading through the jungle trails you’ll catch glimpses of scarlet macaws, toucans, and other fascinating bird species.
🚗 Dominical/Uvita to Sierpe (2 Nights): From Dominical, you’ll take a short drive to the village of Sierpe, located near the Terraba Sierpe Wetlands, one of Costa Rica’s most biodiverse regions. Sierpe is the gateway to the vast mangrove forest, which is best explored by boat or kayak. The mangroves are teeming with wildlife, including crocodiles, monkeys, and a wide variety of birds such as kingfishers, herons, and the rare roseate spoonbill. The surrounding wetlands are also a sanctuary for exotic species, where you might spot reptiles and amphibians.
✈️ Sierpe to Drake Bay/Corcovado (3 Nights): After Sierpe, you’ll take a short flight to the remote and tranquil Drake Bay, nestled on the Osa Peninsula. Known for its pristine beaches and surrounding lush rainforest, it offers the perfect base to explore Corcovado National Park, one of the world’s most biodiverse places. The dense jungles, mangroves, and wild beaches are home to rare and endangered species such as jaguars, tapirs, scarlet macaws, and the elusive puma. Monkeys and sloths are also frequent visitors, too. The park is best explored on guided tours, where you’ll immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of this natural habitat with the advantage of an expert guide. You can also take a boat trip to witness the rich marine life, including possible sightings of humpback whales, dolphins, and sea turtles.
✈️ Drake Bay/Corcovado to San José (1 Night) For the last night of your trip, you’ll return to San José and have a final chance to explore the city. The choice is yours as to whether you choose to discover some of the cultural highlights such as the Teatro Nacional, Gold Museum and Jade Museum, or head to the trendy Barrio Escalante to enjoy a meal and experience the city’s blossoming foodie scene.
✈️ San José to UK Time to bid farewell to Costa Rica’s incredible natural wonders and all the fascinating sights and species you’ll have encountered along the way.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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Mark
I have just booked three destination Greek holiday through E shores( Rachael) and can’t fault their approach and helpfulness . I amended my plans half way through but by the end we had successfully booked the three hotels I requested and organised ferry transfers . My input was minimal and all the work was carried out by Rachael Very satisfied with everything from start to finish Mark
Posted 2 days ago -
Rashid
Excellent service from Emily, she handled my enquiry from start to finish. Once i had made payment, she still kept in touch which shows great customer service.
Posted 2 days ago -
Judith
I have used this form a couple of times and they are excellent. Helpful staff and cost effective prices. Recommended
Posted 4 days ago -
Jeanette
Fantastic service once again from Dave Felton and the team at e-shores. All flights, transfers and hotels booked. Looking forward to Bali and Lombok Excellent knowledge, advice and customer care from the team, I would definitely recommend booking any holiday with e-shores✈️😎🌴
Posted 6 days ago -
Sandra
Fantastic service, another trip organised through eShores. Nothing was too much trouble.
Posted 6 days ago -
Lance
as always Eshores come up trumps, fantastic customer service with fantastic prices. Matthew our travel guru always sorts our trips,nothing is too much trouble .I have used E-Shores for 6 of our long haul trips ,manages to sort all connections,hotels and car hire to a sensible budget and always communicates . 5 star plus,give them a try you will not be dissapointed.
Posted 6 days ago -
NicholasDavid
Just booked our 3rd holiday with e-shores, yet again a full professional service and insight to the destinations we wanted to visit- no pressurised selling, and if we kept wanting our itinerary changed - Nick Chadwick didn’t mind at all. Easy to deal nothing to much trouble, also arrange everything to the last detail, no way would we contemplate a holiday to Chile, Argentina and Dominion Republic without eShores - thank u
Posted 1 week ago -
Wendy
We have recently been on an amazing 3 week holiday to Kuala Lumpur, Borneo and Singapore arranged by Hannah at eshores. Everything went smoothly and we had the perfect holiday. We loved our multi centre trip so much we have booked with Hannah to go to South America. Again the service and support is great and so easy to make tweaks to our itinerary. Looking forward to what I'm sure will be another great holiday. I would definitely recommend eshores.
Posted 1 week ago -
Deborah
We just booked our first trip with Nick from eshores and will be heading to Vietnam next April. Nick was very patient and professional. He listened to what we wanted and made changes to package where requested. Nick was very knowledgeable and made the process very easy.
Posted 1 week ago -
SusanMary
During the booking process, Dave has been brilliant, always very quick to respond and answered all of my very many questions. Our travel is not till next year but, if our tour goes as well as our experience to date, it will be fantastic.
Posted 1 week ago
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