Pura Vida - Costa Rica

Pura Vida literally means "pure life."  It is Costa Rica's unofficial motto, reflecting on a philosophy of happiness, simple living and a positive outlook.  It is also used as a greeting or thank you or farewell or everything's good.  It's what Costa Ricans mean by a relaxed simple life and appreciating everything positive in life.

So many of my friends have been to Costa Rica.  Many Americans love Costa Rica for exactly the above reasons.  Many have moved and live here because it is such a simple and relaxing lifestyle.  I finally told myself that I have to come and see this country, after I saw some airline flights on sale.  I have been eyeing this company, Caravan Tours, for a long time.  They have been in business since the 1950s' and offers many tours to different places for a very reasonable price.  About three years ago I booked tour with them to Eastern Canada but less than 2 weeks before the tour, I caught COVID.  Sadly, I had to cancel the tour although I got most of my money back.

Caravan runs this tour almost every day and it's always sold out in advance.  I finally just went ahead and picked a date in January 2026 and put a deposit down.  So, here I am, writing this blog in San Jose, Costa Rica (CR), on the eve the start of the tour.

Eight-day tour of Costa Rica

The tour says it's an eight-day tour but it's really only six days because the first and last days are travel days.  The price for two people traveling together is $1,195 each.  For someone traveling solo, you add another $300 to the price.  Below is a summary of the itinerary, courtesy of ChatGPT, which summarized the detailed itinerary.

Itinerary Overview

• Day 1: Arrival in San José Travelers arrive at Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) and transfer to their hotel in San José. A welcome briefing and dinner are scheduled for the evening.

• Day 2: Sarchi and Coffee Plantation The day begins with a sightseeing drive in San José, followed by a visit to a family coffee farm and a wildlife rescue center. The artisan village of Sarchi is explored, where traditional handicrafts are available for purchase.

• Day 3: Sloth Park and Hot Springs After visiting Zarcero and its topiary gardens, travelers head to Sloth Park to observe sloths in their natural habitat. The day concludes with a visit to volcanic hot springs.

• Day 4: Hanging Bridges and Nicoya Peninsula A guided hike through Hanging Bridges Park offers views of the rainforest. The journey continues through the cloud forest to the Nicoya Peninsula, where travelers will stay at a beach resort.

• Day 5: Scarlet Macaws and Wildlife Hike A visit to a scarlet macaw sanctuary is followed by a wildlife observation hike. The afternoon is free for resort activities.

• Day 6: Leisure Day at Playa Tambor Travelers enjoy a full day at leisure on Playa Tambor, known for its beautiful beach and sunsets.

• Day 7: Gulf of Nicoya and Tarcoles River Cruise The day includes a ferry ride across the Gulf of Nicoya and a wildlife cruise on the Tarcoles River, where various bird species and crocodiles can be observed. The tour concludes with a farewell dinner in San José.

• Day 8: Departure The tour ends with breakfast and scheduled transfers to the airport for departure.

It is a very busy schedule and covers a big part of CR.  However, it's not an activity-heavy schedule because many friends who have been here did things like zip-lining, hiking, surfing, etc.  It's a good overview schedule and if you like certain things or area, you might come back and spending more time here.  Most of Caravan clients are older.  So it will be a leisure pace enjoying the sights and culture and learning about CR's forests and wildlife.

Although we start and end in San Jose, we are not spending much time here, other than driving through the city.  As it's typical for me, I like to come a day or two earlier so that I can walk around the city on my own.  We'll be staying at the Barcelo Hotel in San Jose so I booked an extra two days before the start of the tour.  Including breakfast it came to about $75 a night.  On its website it looks like a nice hotel.  It has many properties in Central America.  During the last part of the tour we'll be staying 3 nights at the Barcelo Hotel in Tambor.