Costa Rican Adventure With White Water Rafting Adventure Extension

Jump into Caribbean jewel Tortuguero, whose national park is packed with wildlife and ecological habitats. Most known for its sea turtle nesting grounds, the park also counts manatees, ocelots, and giant iguanas and numerous other impressive creatures as inhabitants. In the adjacent logging town of Tortuguero, sandy trails link funky wooden houses.

Run by the American Caribbean Conservation Corps, this museum centers on the corps’ work with the park’s sea turtle population. Learn about the area’s ecology through life-sized exhibits and videos.

Get up close with some of Tortuguero’s coolest inhabitants. Make your way through the park’s narrow waterways, where the overhanging vegetation can bring 300 species of birds, 168 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 60 species of mammals right up under your nose.

From the highest point for miles around, you can survey the intensely varied landscapes of Tortuguero National Park.

Let the volcanoes take you away. At Arenal’s hot springs, bubbling lava fields heat the waters to make nature’s own jacuzzi. Take the chance to rest in the steamy water, or get more adventurous on waterslides, under waterfalls, or in the natural saunas.

Glide along the still waters reflecting the perfect cone of Arenal Volcano and the surrounding rolling hills. Lake Arenal, the country's largest, is also among its most scenic, and the area has become popular area to kayak, windsurf, sail, fish, and hike.

Because of its humidity and latitude, the entire city of Monteverde can disappear in a second under a massive cloud cover. Founded by Quakers in 1951, the city boasts the best in Costa Rican creatures. Observe a proud display of howler monkeys, revered quetzals and native frogs in the dense cover of the cloud forest.

Step back in time as you explore Monteverde on horseback, following time-worn trails through the mountains as you breathe in the mists of the rainforest.

Get your spider monkey fix as you climb into the clouds. The Santa Elena Reserve reaches high into the atmosphere, bringing the cloudy mists into its lush forests and letting you see all the way to the Arenal Volcano.

In 1987, a nine-year-old Swedish student asked what he could do to save the rainforests, and Children’s Eternal Cloud Forest was born. The Monteverde Conservation League oversees the planting of deforested land and virgin rainforest in the Children’s Forest and throughout the area, and now owns more than 22,000 hectares. Contribute your green thumb efforts to their conservation work.

Soar through the treetops for the unmatched close-up of the New World’s best wildlife refuge. Harness yourself to cables that run between platforms high in the trees, then step into thin air and zip from tree to tree. Experience a true bird-eye view from your new aerial perspective.

Fluttering wings of red and yellow hop from flower to flower in Monteverde’s impressive Butterfly Garden, founded by biologist Jim Wolfe and his wife Marta Iris Salazar. Get a broader look at Costa Rican flora and fauna at the Ecolodge, a University of Georgia satellite campus. The visitor-friendly farm offers hiking, horseback riding, bird-watching and night walks, and the residents are always happy to discuss their work in sustainable agriculture throughout the area.

The perfect way to experience Costa Rica at its best. After getting full safety and paddling instructions from your guide, head off into lush rainforest teeming with toucans, herons, and iguanas. Be on the lookout for basilisk lizards — these reptiles can scurry across the water on their hind legs, a feat that earned them the nickname “Jesus Christ lizards.” End your tour of Costa Rica’s most popular river with a traditional lunch prepared by your guide.