Raft the remote Pacuare River's foaming rapids, flanked by steep gorges, cascading waterfalls and lush rainforest
Hike trails around the unmistakable Arenal volcano, and spot wildlife in the incredible Monteverde cloudforest
Hop on board a catamaran to explore lush islands off the Pacific Coast, snorkelling the clear turquoise waters
Explore Manuel Antonio National Park and relax into beach vibes with sundowners, sunsets and sandy toes galore
Day 1
Your host will meet you at San Jose International Airport and whisk you downtown to your hotel. Get in the 'pura vida' groove as you spend the rest of the day at your leisure with bars, cafes and museum on your doorstep. Meet up with your guide and fellow adventurers in the evening for a welcome dinner and a chat through the adventures to come.
Day 2
Take a road trip from San José to the Caribbean coast and splash straight into the action, rafting the foaming rapids of the Pacuare River. One of Costa Rica's most impressive, remote and pristine waterways, it carves through virgin rainforest, creating steep foliage-draped gorges and shimmering waterfalls. Back on dry land, it's time to swap white water exhilaration for laid-back Caribbean vibes in the small beach town of Playa Cocles.
Day 3
Surf's up! Head to a nearby beach (which will be determined by the day's best swells) for a surf lesson. You'll be taken through the basics before hitting the waves and trying out your skills on the board. Later, grab a bike and pedal along the coast as much or little as you'd like: there are seven unique beaches stretching all the way to Puerto Viejo, or you can explore Cahuita National Park, with its winding forest paths and lush foliage (eyes peeled for sloths, monkeys and a cacophony of tropical birds).
Day 4
Leaving the Caribbean coast behind, today you'll head into the heart of Costa Rica. Lace up your boots and hike the Arenal 1968 trail and the El Silencio trail, which sit in the shadow of the active volcano's classic cone. Arenal 1968 is named after the volcano's eruption of that year, which saw three days of flowing lava, and provides an awesome and unobscured view of Arenal's west side. You'll hike through lush rainforest and moody lava fields to vistas of Lake Arenal and the extinct Cerro Chato volcano. Later, enjoy some downtime in the hotel's pools, or head out to explore nearby La Fortuna, which is famous for its natural hot springs and its waterfall - a 70 metre cascade into a turquoise pool.
Day 5
Explore the beautiful blue waters and spectacular waterfalls of Rio Celeste and hike through dense tropical rainforest on a trail within Tenorio Volcano National Park. Return to La Fortuna for a second night in your hotel.
Day 6
Take a stunningly scenic journey by bus and boat this morning to reach Monteverde, admiring the views as you cross Lake Arenal by boat. Grab some lunch in town before heading into the cloud forest on a nature walk, looking out for hummingbirds, quetzals and even lazy sloths among the mist later in the day. Enjoy some downtime and then head back into the forest after dark for a night walk to seek out the animals and insects that are largely hidden in the day but come to life in the nocturnal forest.
Day 7
Settle back into the van and watch the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica open up as you journey from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio, a laidback town within the famous national park of the same name. Make a stop in Quepos, a chilled town with a vibrant food and drink scene, before settling into your beach hotel and enjoying a sundowner over the Pacific Ocean.
Day 8
Head into Manuel Antonio National Park and explore this gem at your own pace. Jam-packed with wildlife such as sloths, tropical birds, reptiles and butterflies, it is also one of the few places you can spot a grey-crowned squirrel monkey in the wild. In the afternoon, you'll head to the peaceful Isla Damas, a pristine mangrove rich in biodiversity. Grab a paddle and gently kayak through the knotty, forested waterways, immersing yourself in this fascinating ecosystem, before you head to the hills for a cooling waterfall dip.
Day 9
Enjoy the low-key pace of life on the sparkling beach, or take a dip in the clear, palm-fringed waters of the Pacific. Come afternoon, you'll board a sailing boat at the nearby Marina Pez Vela in Quepos. Cruise along the coastline's lush emerald cliffs and and sail past tropical islands, keeping your eyes peeled for dolphins. Anchor will be dropped at Biesanz Bay, where you can snorkel to your heart's content amidst parrotfish, angelfish and starfish. Tuck into a delicious dinner onboard as the sun sinks in the tropical sky.
Day 10
After breakfast say your final goodbyes, and you'll be transferred to the airport in time for your flight home.
Catherine J. March 2024
Sally M. February 2024
Claire C. February 2024
“Fantastic trip, great bunch of people and I felt everything went very smoothly considering this was the first time that this particular trip had ran with much better adventures, credit to our guide Luz for her organization. Particular positives: white water rafting was amazing, the abundance of wildlife, and our local guide, Luz who was incredibly knowledgeable about Costa Rica and all of the wildlife that we saw and highly skilled at finding it!”
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Tips for the trip leader not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. We suggest the below as a guideline per person:
Up to £8 / $10 per day.
Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
The quality and safety of the tap water in Costa Rica varies depending on your location and whether it is pumped through the mains, a water tank or from a well. Water from the tap will be fine to drink across the majority of the itinerary, with the exception of Puerto Viejo, as the town is not connected to the national water piping system. Clean drinking water will be provided throughout. Please pack your own reusable bottle, it will be well used.
Your excess baggage can be securely stored at the hotel in San José. If you wish to store excess luggage in San José at the start of the trip, please submit a request to your host prior to travel.
The bicycles provided to beach hop along the Caribbean Coast are XDS Big Rider beach cruisers. These bicycles are one-size-fits-all and ideal for level terrain. They have a single speed, balloon tires, a comfy saddle and a wide, sweeping handlebar. Please note, cycle helmet is not included.
The kayaks used to paddle the Pacific Coast mangroves will be Marca Malibu, single, sit-on-top kayaks. Sit-on-top kayaks are very stable and easy to paddle for everyone, including new paddlers through to experienced paddlers. Sit-on-top kayaks can be used on the sea, estuaries, rivers, lakes and canals.
Marca Malibu single person kayaks are made of a single layer of polyethylene, 2.8m length, sit-on-top and with a maximum weight limit of 147kgs.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).
If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.
For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.
We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.
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All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
Costa Rica's tropical location means it's generally hot and humid. The rainy season is a great time to visit, with heavy showers mostly limited to a few hours, before the sun comes out again and the rainforest is at its most lush.
The Caribbean Coast is warm and humid with an equal chance of sun, rain or cloud year-round. Daytime temperatures are generally between 25°C / 77°F and 34 °C/ 93°F, and go down to a minimum of 21°C / 70°F at night.
The central region is drier between November and April, with the rainy season between May to October and peak rainfall between August and October. Daytime temperatures generally are between 18°C / 64°F and 24°C / 75°F, and down to a minimum of 12°C / 54°F at night.
The Pacific Coast is drier and hotter between December and March. Daytime temperatures generally are between 28°C / 82°F and 37°C / 99°F, and down to a minimum of 23°C / 73°F at night.
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre program, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 195kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
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