9 Day Adventure Travel Itinerary in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is famous for its wild beauty—rainforests alive with birdsong, rivers threaded through wetlands, and volcanoes rising from fertile valleys. This 9-day itinerary from Exodus Adventure Travels reveals the country’s untouched reserves, while also introducing you to the people who live side-by-side with nature and whose culture is inspired by the earth surrounding them.

Signature Costa Rica | Where the Wild Answers is part of the new Exodus Signature Collection and features premium, immersive activities that pair expert guidance with rare access to communities, conservation projects, and ecosystems beyond the familiar highlights. Led by a handpicked Signature Guide, the route moves through wildlife-rich reserves and remote areas far off the beaten path, from cloud forests and working farms to the wetlands of Caño Negro.

Along the way, Signature Experiences bring Costa Rica’s story into focus: tracing sustainable coffee from bean to cup, sharing meals with local families, and gliding aboard a private boat through waterways alive with birds and caimans. Woven throughout are Signature Legacy moments—firsthand conservation and community initiatives that ensure this journey leaves a positive, lasting impact, deepening your understanding of Costa Rica’s enduring bond between people and nature.

Itinerary

PLAN YOUR TRIP

A parrot mid flight in the Costa Rican rainforest.

Trip Highlight:

Explore Caño Negro

On this Signature Experience, step aboard a private boat and glide along glittering, wildlife-filled waterways in Caño Negro, one of the most dynamic and biodiverse ecosystems in Costa Rica. Spot caimans, monkeys, and migratory birds and step ashore to meet island families for an intimate, immersive glimpse into local life and nature.

Trip Designer:

Exodus Adventure Travels

From a lantern-lit walk with monks in Japan’s sacred forests to sharing tea with village elders in Morocco’s Atlas peaks, Exodus Adventure Travels designs every Signature Collection journey to go further. Slower-paced and more immersive, itineraries feature rare access, private encounters, and insider moments that few travelers ever experience.

Person pouring freshly brewed coffee from a glass carafe into small ceramic cups during a coffee tasting, with jars of coffee beans and a pour-over kettle arranged on a wooden table. — An authentic coffee tasting in Costa Rica

Days 1 and 2: Welcome to Costa Rica and Artisanal Coffee Tasting

Arrive in Alajuela and start your journey in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, the country’s populous heart, where fertile hills wrap around ancient volcanoes. Take a complimentary transfer from the airport to Xandari Resort & Spa.

Early arrivals can stroll along shaded trails, cool off beside a hidden waterfall, or unwind at an open-air spa. As sunset approaches, meet for a private farm-to-table welcome dinner beneath the canopy, accompanied by birdsong.

On the following day, drive deeper into the highlands toward Bajos del Toro, a lesser-known cloud forest rich with waterfalls and misty peaks. Along the way, a stop for your first Signature Experience at Café Sombra Verde in Sarchí, during which you’ll take an intimate look at sustainability-minded coffee production paired with a tasting that traces Costa Rica’s coffee heritage. Arrive at El Silencio Lodge & Spa, a secluded mountain retreat set in a 500-acre nature reserve, before heading to dinner at a local restaurant.

A vibrant detail shot of hand-painted ox cart displayed in Sarchí, Costa Rica. — Costa Rican oxcart art

Day 3:Learn About Costa Rican Folk Art and Visit a Traditional Sugar Mill

Wake up at first light for an ornithologist-led walk along forest trails alive with hundreds of bird species. After a hearty breakfast, join master painter Ronald Jiménez—one of the last traditional oxcart artists from Sarchí—for a workshop and paint your own piece of Costa Rican folk art to take home.

A Signature Experience follows at Doña Olga’s family farm, where you’ll immerse yourself in rural life as you hand-feed dairy cows, see a working sugar mill, and sit down to a home-cooked lunch made from local ingredients. In the evening, try more Costa Rican specialties at a nearby restaurant.

A woman soaking in an outdoor tub while holding a glass of wine at Tocu Tent Camp. — Tocu Tent Camp

Day 4:Try Indigenous Costa Rican Cuisine and Meet Jaguar Conservationists

Continue to Caño Negro, a vibrant wetland landscape of winding rivers and mirror-like lagoons, where wildlife and water shape daily life. Settle into Tocu Tent Camp, a Signature Stay that pairs refined comfort with active conservation in one of Costa Rica’s most biodiverse regions.

A celebratory four-course lunch introduces the flavors of Caño Negro, drawing on the ancestral traditions of the Indigenous Maleku people. Then, join an expert-led discussion on jaguar conservation and a hands-on tree-planting ceremony supporting the property’s vital biological corridor.

As night falls, a guided forest walk reveals the subtle rhythms of nocturnal wildlife. Return to Tocu Tent Camp for a five-course tasting dinner inspired by local Costa Rican cuisine.

Day 5:Explore Caño Negro

Board a private boat that will carry you through Caño Negro’s glistening waterways. During this full-day Signature Experience, keep an eye out for the wetlands’ biodiverse wildlife, including colorful migratory birds, caimans, and monkeys.

Step ashore to meet the people who call Caño Negro home as you share lunch with Doña Rosi, visit Doña Carmen’s butterfly house, and learn to bake traditional corn biscuits over clay ovens. Back at camp, cook dinner alongside local chefs.

An aerial photograph of a woman floating in a natural pool in Costa Rica. — Soaking in thermal pools in Costa Rica

Day 6:Soak in Natural Geothermal Springs

Depart Caño Negro and head west through a patchwork of undulating hills, plains, and volcanic canyons, arriving at the secluded Río Perdido Hotel & Thermal River Resort in the heart of Guanacaste. Eat lunch while gazing at sweeping views over forest and river.

In the afternoon, take a guided nature walk to the Carbonatadas spring, long valued by locals for its mineral-rich waters. Take time for yourself to soak in the natural geothermal pools. As dusk settles, a dinner on the property is rooted in regional ingredients and traditional flavors, completing this restorative pause in the landscape.

A man ziplining above a canopy of trees in Costa Rica. — A zip line in a jungle of Costa Rica

Day 7: Choose from Zip Lining, Bird Watching, and More Adventures

Today is your Signature Day when Exodus Adventure Travels invites you to engage with Costa Rica’s wild landscapes in a way that suits your spirit. Thrill-seekers can zip line across the White River Canyon or undertake a demanding hike or mountain bike ride through volcanic terrain with dramatic vistas.

More relaxed options, such as river tubing or bird watching, are also available. Join your fellow travelers in Río Perdido’s open-air restaurant for dinner to reminisce about your day.

Llanos de Cortés Waterfall flows over a wide rock cliff into a calm pool, surrounded by lush green forest in Costa Rica. — Llanos de Cortés Waterfall

Days 8 and 9:Journey Through the Central Valley and Arrive in San José

Return to San José in the Central Valley, pausing along the way to admire Llanos de Cortés Waterfall, where mist and emerald light spill over a broad cascade, and stopping in Orotina for a family-hosted lunch and a taste of tropical fruits.

In the capital, settle into the elegant Grano de Oro Hotel and gather for a festive farewell dinner celebrating Costa Rican cuisine and shared memories. The next morning, take your complimentary departure transfer to the airport.