Once you land in San José, your guide will meet you at the airport and drive you to your overnight accommodation in San José. Relax and prepare for the next week of adventure!

Accommodation: Hotel in San José

Our challenge starts on the Pacific Coast. We leave San José by bus—our last motorized vehicle for the next 10 days—and head to the fishing village of Quepos, next to Manuel Antonio National Park. There’s time to relax on the beach or visit the national park, famous for its abundant wildlife. Before dinner, we’ll check and set up our bikes, as we have an early start the following morning. The official trip briefing takes place after dinner this evening.

Accommodation: Hotel in Quepos
Meals: Breakfast and dinner

The adventure begins… We wake early and enjoy a light buffet of fresh fruit and coffee before setting off by bike to climb the steep mountains of the sparsely populated Pacific Coast. The views from above reward the hard work. In the small town of Esquipulas, we enjoy a hearty breakfast, rest, and prepare our day packs for the next leg of the journey. Trading wheels for hiking boots, we continue on foot into the cool mountains of central Costa Rica, camping overnight in the Naranjillo Valley.

Accommodation: Camp in Naranjillo
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hiking: 9 mi (14 km)
Biking: 12 mi (19 km)

Our day begins with a trek toward the central part of the country, tackling the infamous “Cemetery Hill.” As we hike through coffee plantations, we catch our final views of the Pacific. From there, we head to the pueblo of San Lorenzo and switch to mountain bikes, riding on to the quaint village of Santa María. Here, we refuel with typical Costa Rican fare and settle in for the night in comfortable local cabins.

Accommodation: Cabins in Santa Maria
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hiking: 8 mi (13 km)
Biking: 9 mi (14 km)

Today we tackle the hardest and steepest climb of the adventure. Before breakfast, we take on a 14-kilometer uphill mountain bike ascent to the Continental Divide, reaching 2,330 meters, the highest point of the journey. And as the saying goes, what goes up must come down—so the rest of the day delivers mountain biking at its best, with mostly downhill riding on dirt roads and flowing singletrack. We finish the afternoon in the beautiful Orosi Valley, where rolling pastures and dark green coffee forests blanket the landscape, and settle in for the night in the town of Orosi.

Accommodation: Hotel in Orosi
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Biking: 30 mi (49 km)

After breakfast, we mountain bike along a river toward the Tapantí National Wildlife Refuge, an area of rugged terrain blanketed in dense primary rainforest. Leaving our bikes behind, we continue on foot, trekking into the mountains among towering trees draped in ferns, bromeliads, mosses, and other epiphytes—classic cloud forest ecology. By the end of the day, we reach flatter ground and set up camp near the small settlement of Humo, surrounded by the sounds of the forest.

Accommodation: Camp in Humo
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hiking: 10.5 mi (17 km)
Biking: 6 miles (9 km)

After breakfast, we continue mountain biking to the whitewater rafting put-in at La Cruz, the upper gateway to the raging Pacuare River. After lunch, we load into the rafts and paddle through pristine rainforest, dramatic canyon walls, and past thundering waterfalls. By afternoon, we arrive at our comfortable riverside camp, El Nido del Tigre, nestled between the sounds of the rainforest and the steady hum of the river. There’s time to explore this lush setting—spotting toucans, sloths, and maybe even a boa constrictor—or simply relax in a hammock by the river.

Accommodation: Camp in El Nido del Tigre
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Rafting: 6 mi (10 km)
Biking: 27 mi (43 km)

How you spend your day today is up to you. You’re going to be stationed on the banks of the Pacuare River, so there are multiple options here: hiking the hills, swimming in the Pacuare, or exploring primary forest, waterfalls, and swimming holes. You can also have a look at the giant ginger plants, named the same as the camp—El Nido del Tigre. Spend another night at this remote camp, which will give you a sense of isolation as not many people are here.

Accommodation: Camp in El Nido del Tigre
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Today the Pacuare carries us through virgin rainforest, cascading waterfalls, and dramatic river-carved canyons. We navigate exhilarating rapids, and in calmer sections, peer deep into the rainforest lining the riverbanks. Along the way, we take time to hike to spectacular waterfalls and enjoy lunch on the shore. By late afternoon, we take out at the edge of the banana plantations at Finca Pacuarito, where we settle in for the night after an unforgettable day on the river.

Accommodation: Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Rafting: 12 mi (20 km)

The sweet taste of success… This morning, we hop on our bikes for a short ride through banana plantations to the town of Freeman, where we begin the final leg of the journey by kayak. We follow the Pacuare as it leaves the rapids behind and drifts into the Caribbean lowlands, where plantations gradually replace rainforest. As the river slows, we paddle the final stretch to its mouth, reaching the Caribbean Sea and celebrating our coast-to-coast crossing with a splash of bubbly in the surf. After time to relax on the beach, we transfer by boat to Moin and continue by vehicle to the coast. (B, L)

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Kayaking: 7 mi (12 km)
Biking: 16 mi (26 km)

This morning relax around the hotel or on the beach. After lunch, we’ll head back to San José, which is around 4 hours away. Along the way, we’ll pass a myriad of spectacular landscapes: high cloud forest, misty mountains, deep, steep, river-carved canyons, and Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Accommodation: Hotel in San José
Meals: Breakfast

After your final breakfast in Costa Rica, your guide will come pick you up at your hotel for your homebound flight. If you’d like to stay longer and explore the wonders of Costa Rica, just ask your guides for some recommendations!

Meals: Breakfast