Whale Watching Costa Rica Tours, Dolphins, and Turtles
8 Days and 7 Nights
Get ready to enjoy the Costa Rica whale watching season with this coast-to-coast trip. Journey through and discover the Caribbean coast, the highlands of Costa Rica, and the Pacific coast. The best time for whale watching in Costa Rica is from July to October. This is also the best time to see turtles.
With a focus on turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks, and birding, this itinerary allows you to observe different habitats for wildlife. We’ve also added a touch of local culture and community interaction to the mix. You’ll be able to taste the unique flavors of our local cuisine from the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
If you are a first-time traveler to Costa Rica, there is no question that you’ll be planning your next whale watching adventure in Costa Rica before it’s over! There are so many ways to discover and enjoy wildlife watching and relaxing in other areas of this little tropical treasure.
Our Costa Rica whale watching tour is available only during the turtle and whales season from July to October.
Whale Watching Tour Highlights
- Green sea turtles nesting at Tortuguero beaches
- Experience the unique Caribbean culture of Costa Rica
- Home lunch in the high mountains with locally made wine
- Whales and Dolphins tour in Marino Ballena Park
- Small groups
- CRST has the best guides!
Whale Watching in Costa Rica Tour Itinerary
SAN JOSÉ
Welcome to Costa Rica!
Upon your arrival in San Jose and after passing through Immigration, you will be met by a member of the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) who will give you a sticker with your name and Costa Rica Sun Tours logo. This will allow our representative to identify you after you exit the airport building. After clearing immigration and customs, exit the airport terminal and look for a Costa Rica Sun Tours representative who will be waiting for you holding a sign with Costa Rica Sun Tours logo and your name on it. He/she will greet you and present you with land portion vouchers and transfer you to your hotel in San Jose.
Early this evening, join your guide for an orientation briefing where you will have the opportunity to get an overview of the following days activities, ask questions to prepare for the trip.
EXPERT TIPS
- Before leaving home make sure you packed your passports, medicines, medical prescriptions and anything you will need during your trip.
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
SJO Airport Pick Up
INCLUDED
- Private arrival transfer San Jose Intl. Airport.
- Orientation briefing 06:00pm.
- One night lodging at the Park Inn by Radisson in San José, breakfast and taxes included.
EXCLUDED
- International airline tickets and entree fees to Costa Rica.
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
TORTUGUERO
Early this morning you will be met by your local guide who will take you on shared land transfer to La Pavona Dock in Guapiles. Here you will board a boat to Tortuguero where your beautiful hotel is located, surrounded by the forest and next to the sea (not recommended for swimming due to very strong currents).
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica’s “little Amazon”, is located on the Caribbean coast. This remote area is accessible only by plane or by boat; nevertheless your lodging will still be first class. Wildlife-rich Tortuguero will allow you the chance to see a large diversity of bird species, monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, and iguanas as you tour the navigable rainforest canals by boat. The tropical beaches around Tortuguero are key nesting sites for green sea turtles during July to September.
After lunch, join your local guide to explore the picturesque little village of Tortuguero. It’s one and only street is comprised of a few stores and small restaurants “sodas”.
During dinner your guide will brief you on timing and needs for the night walk to look for turtles nesting on the beach. A thrill of an experience!
EXPERT TIPS
- Don’t forget to check your room before leaving the hotel to not leave any belongings behind in closets, drawers, etc.
- Bring: comfortable clothing, mosquito repellent, hat, sunglasses, sun block and camera.
TORTUGUERO TOWN VISIT
TORTUGUERO NIGHT TURTLE SEARCH
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
- Tortuguero Town Visit
- Tortuguero Night Turtle Search
INCLUDED
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Shared land and boat transfer San Jose – Tortuguero.
- Local bilingual guides.
- Entrance fee to Tortuguero National Park.
- Two nights lodging at Hotel Mawamba Lodge, taxes included.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
TORTUGUERO
After a hearty breakfast, set off for another day in paradise. Today you will continue exploring the different beauties of Tortuguero,
Start the adventure with your guide to explore the beautiful gardens surrounding your hotel, he will be on the look for beautiful birds like the Collared Aracari, the Common Black Hawk, the Long-tailed Hermit, and Slaty-tailed Trogon. Explore the top of the trees to look for large iguanas or calm sloths sleeping in high canopy branches. Find butterflies of many colors like the blue morpho or the postman butterfly. And if you venture to the beach you may see tracks of the nesting turtles of the last night event!
In the afternoon we have arranged a two-hour boat tour gliding through the lush canals of the national park – a great opportunity to sit back and explore and enjoy different sections of the park (this boat ride is a shared experience). Look for tropical wildlife in these unique wetland and rainforest habitats! You expect to find 3 species of monkeys, caimans and crocodiles, Jesus Christ Lizards and large iguanas in the canopy of the rainforest, and many birds such as sungrebes, anhingas, herons and egrets, ibis, spoonbills and kingfishers. Also you have great chances to see famous and emblematic birds of Tortuguero such as the Black Mandibled Toucan, the Great Green Macaw, the Great Curasow, the American Pygmy Kingfisher and the Laughing Falcon.
EXPERT TIPS
- Bring: comfortable clothing, closed shoes (sneakers or walking shoes), mosquito repellent, hat, sunglasses, sun block and camera.
MAWAMBA PARK TOUR
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
- Mawamba Park Tour
- Tortuguero Canals
INCLUDED
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Entrance fees to Tortuguero National Park.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
CERRO LAS VUELTAS RESERVE
Following another fresh and filling tico breakfast, you bod farewell to your hosts and board a boat transfer to La Pavona dock where your private bilingual Host-Driver will meet you and take you to your next destination in the highlands, Cerro de la Muerte. Begin your tour of Costa Rica’s high mountains traveling along the famous Panamerican Highway, well known for its outstanding scenery and for excellent high elevation bird watching. Most notable is that this region is very likely the best place in the world for observing resplendent quetzals-birds so spectacularly beautiful they were considered divine entities by the ancient Aztecs and Mayans. Today you will go from sea level up to more than 8000 feet!
Our private bilingual host drivers are selected for driving skills, knowledge of the country and orientation towards customer service. He/she is responsible for staying with the vehicle while you are at restaurants, enjoying hikes and other tours so that all personal belongings left in the vehicle are safe. This service offers you more flexibility in travel time as you can request stops to photograph gorgeous scenery, view wildlife, visit nice local restaurants, meet local people, or take coffee breaks and stretch when you need it.
Upon arrival, you’ll be welcomed by birdsong and enjoy the fresh air of the highlands! Many native fruiting trees and blooming hedges are like the “fast food” restaurants for famous birds of these highlands like the Emerald Toucanet, Volcano Hummingbird, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Magnificent Hummingbird, Flame-colored Tanager, Spangled-cheeked Tanager, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Yellow-thighed Finch, Slaty Flowerpiercer, and Golden-browed Chlorophonia.
At night take a walk to listen for owls or if you’re lucky you may even find the little know Cacomistle foraging in the canopy of the oak trees!
EXPERT TIPS
Don’t forget to check your room before leaving the hotel to not leave any belongings behind in closets, drawers, etc.
INCLUDED
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Four days of private bilingual Host-Driver services on an AC vehicle.
- One night lodging Hotel Paraiso del Quetzal, taxes included.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
DOMINICAL WHALE WATCHING
Today at Paraíso del Quetzal tour you will look for a variety of high elevation birds in oak forests and visit private hot spots in search of the legendary Resplendent Quetzal, an unmistakable member of the trogon family with long, iridescent slender tail that goes far beyond the body.
After a nice warm local lunch, you will descend to the tropical rainforests and beaches of Dominical-Uvita region.
This evening after dinner you will learn from your guide about your next day adventures in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica!
The Southern Pacific Coast in Costa Rica’s southwest corner stretches from Dominical to the Osa Peninsula at its southern end. The rugged coastline in the Dominical-Uvita area is famed among surfers seeking great waves, warm water and long uncrowded beaches. During whale watching season in Costa Rica, area tours can be arranged for watching migrating whales and dolphins. The 100,000 acre wilderness park of Corcovado offers ancient forests, scarlet macaws, all four of the nation’s monkey species (the only park that does so), plenty of other wildlife and the slight possibility of encountering a jaguar-or more likely jaguar tracks crossing a trail. Although this region is remote and the rainforests pristine, attractive area nature lodges make one’s visit comfortable.
EXPERT TIPS
- Don’t forget to check your room before leaving the hotel to not leave any belongings behind in closets, drawers, etc.
- Bring: comfortable clothing, closed shoes (sneakers or walking shoes), mosquito repellent, hat, sunglasses, sun block and camera.
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
INCLUDED
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Paraiso del Quetzal Tour
- Two nights lodging at Cristal Ballena Hotel, taxes included.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary
DOMINICAL WHALE WATCHING TOUR
After breakfast, you will drive 40 minutes to Sierpe town for the Mangrove Boat Tour. In this half day guided tour you will explore the beautiful maze of canals, rivers mouths and estuaries that flood the largest untouched mangroves in all of Costa Rica and Central America. There is a wide variety of opportunities to see tropical wildlife and photograph the riparian scenery in primary mangroves.
After learning from you guide about this unique ecosystem, its importance and benefits, in this journey, with luck you will be able to observe some 40 different types of birds, mangrove boa snakes, cat’s eyes and corals, squirrel monkeys or white face monkeys, caimans, crocodiles, and Jesus Christ lizards, among other species.
Large troops , up to 40 individuals, of squirrel monkeys can be found along the river edge foraging for fruits or little animals.
Later after lunch you will have time to see the famous stone carved spheres of the Osa Peninsula. These impressive stone spheres were declared by the UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage.
EXPERT TIPS
- Bring: comfortable clothing, wet shoes or sneakers , mosquito repellent, hat, sunglasses, sun block and camera.
SIERPE MANGROVE BOAT TOUR
FINCA 6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Finca 6 is the second archaeological site open to the public in Costa Rica, along with Guayabo. It’s one of few cases with conserved residential constructions having associated stone spheres. Some of the spheres present are in situ, meaning they have never been removed since their discovery.
It’s located in the community of Finca 6-11, in Palmar Sur of Osa, Puntarenas, on the Diquís delta. Lands extend over a vast plain formed by the confluence of rivers Sierpe and Grande de Térraba
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
- Sierpe Mangrove Boat Tour
- Finca 6 Archaeological Site
INCLUDED
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Boat, captain and entrance fee.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
SAN JOSÉ
Today after you have enjoyed breakfast , your local captain will take you to explore the sea looking for the famous humpback whales, as well as different kind of birds and sea life like bottle-nose dolphins, sharks, starfish, false orca, Olive Ridley and hawksbill sea turtles and more! Ballena National Marine Park protects more than 5000 hectares of ocean and 171 hectares of coastline.
Costa Rican waters are famous for the humpback whales that migrate to the region from late July to September (heading north from Antarctica) and from late December to early April (heading south from Alaska), each year.
Besides the whales and beauty of the Islands and shorelines of the park, there is also another highlight to explore! When the tide is low, don’t forget to explore the Punta Uvita Tombola, known as “The whale tail”, a rocky and sand formation that appears about 1 kilometer from the shore only in low tide.
After this tour your host-driver will take you to back to San Jose where you will spend your last night in Costa Rica.
EXPERT TIPS
- Don’t forget to check your room before leaving the hotel to not leave any belongings behind in closets, drawers, etc.
- Bring: comfortable clothing, hat, sunglasses, sun block and camera.
MARINO BALLENA NATIONAL PARK WHALES & DOLPHINS TOUR
Whale & Dolphin Tour is an approximately 4-hour tour which combines whale and dolphin watching, snorkelling, and a visit to natural caves to make this tour an unforgettable experience.
The Marino Ballena National Park is home to a biologically diverse marine life including humpback whales, as well as bottlenose, spotted, and common dolphins. Following this unforgettable experience, visitors can snorkel Isla Ballena and explore the surrounding marine life. Following this, the tour goes to the caves of Playa Ventanas where visitors can visit these natural sea caves. Included are a bilingual guide, bottled water, a box with tropical fruit, entrance fee to Ballena National Park, and snorkelling equipment.
ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
Marino Ballena National Park Whales & Dolphins Tour
INCLUDED
- Breakfast and lunch.
- Boat, captain and entrance fee.
- One night lodging Crowne Plaza Corobici Hotel, taxes included.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
END OF ITINERARY
Well it is time to say adios to Costa Rica , we will provide you with a private land transfer from your hotel to San José Intl. Airport, approximately 20 minutes drive.
Airlines recommend to check in 3 hours before your flight departure.
EXPERT TIPS
- Don’t forget to check your room before leaving the hotel to not leave any belongings behind in closets, drawers, etc.
INCLUDED
- Breakfast
- Private land transfer from your hotel in San José to San José International Airport.
EXCLUDED
- Incidentals like: laundry, phone calls, alcoholic drinks, spa services, tours, meals not specified on the itinerary.
