Earn High school credit!!!Middle and high school students traveling on an international Explorica tour departing in 2017 or later can earn free high school credit for their trip. To participate, students simply choose a subject from our custom-designed options, then work at their own pace to complete online classes within three months of their tour. Students must be in grades 6-12 at the time of travel, and can earn .5 elective credits. For more information or to enroll, email [email protected].
Tour ItineraryDay 1 Hola San José Meet your tour director and check into hotel Day 2 San José--Arenal Travel to Arenal via Poás Volcano Poás Volcano Details: Poás Volcano Sulfurously glowing, the Poás Volcano has been gurgling and burbling since its last major eruption in the 1950s. From the viewing terrace, visitors can look down over 1,000 feet into the world's largest active crater. Day 3 Arenal landmarks Lake Arenal kayaking tour Hanging Bridges Excursion Hot springs visit Details: Lake Arenal kayaking tour 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. Details: Hot springs visit Let the volcanoes take you away. At Arenal’s hot springs, bubbling lava fields heat the waters to make nature’s own jacuzzi. Day 4 Arenal--Monteverde Travel to Monteverde Local school visit Canopy tour Details: Travel to Monteverde 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. Details: Local school visit Take the opportunity to enrich a Costa Rican school with gifts of notebooks, pens, erasers -- all basic supplies that few students here can afford. Learn how rural communities are working to give their children educational opportunities in extremely difficult conditions, often with dozens of students in all different grades taught in a single classroom. We will stop to pick up supplies before visiting, but feel free to bring donations of school supplies like chalk or paper from home, too. (If schools are not in session, you'll be able to give gifts of t-shirts, socks, and other clothing to local children.) Details: Canopy tour 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. Day 5 Monteverde landmarks Santa Elena Biological Reserve visit Plant your own tree Horseback ride Details: Santa Elena Biological Reserve visit 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. Details: Plant your own tree 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. Details: Horseback ride 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. Day 6 Monteverde--Coastal Puntarenas Travel to Coastal Puntarenas Free time at the beach Day 7 Manuel Antonio excursion Manuel Antonio National Park guided visit Details: Manuel Antonio National Park guided visit Take a tour of this national park with your Tour Director who is certified as a professional, local guide. Manuel Antonio includes 12 islands and is known for its white sands and array of wild life. You will share the park and its four beaches with sea turtles, parrots, three-toed sloths, tapirs, howler monkeys and iguanas. A word to the wise—be careful of the sneaky white face monkeys. They know how to unzip backpacks. The park boasts an estuary, mangroves, a lagoon and paths, one which leads to an observation tower for a 360° view. Day 8 Coastal Puntarenas--San José Travel to San José via Sarchí Sarchí craft village visit Optional folklore evening $35 Details: Travel to San José via Sarchí On the way to San José, travel to Sarchí, a highly artistic city known for its painted designs and brilliantly colored wheels of local ox carts. Details: Sarchí craft village visit Costa Rica's premiere crafts village provides the perfect opportunity for souvenir shopping. Sarchí became famous in the mid-1800s for its elaborate hand-painted oxcarts, and now its artisans create clothing, shoes, chess sets, and other items all decorated in the traditional manner. Day 9 End tour FAQ about the trip*If the group size is larger does the price go down?
*Is there an option to make our group completely private? I made the group private. We will not be traveling or staying with any other groups. There is an additional fee for this which can be anywhere from $162/person to $64/person depending on the group size. If the group is 35 people or more there is no additional fee. You can see the exact details on those prices if you visit the tour center and click on the private group fee tab. http://www.explorica.com/Stidman-2357 *What is the transportation/hotel stay like? Explorica only flies with major airlines and we will all be seated on the same plane unless some families decide to customize parts of their trip (see below). In between cities we will be on an explorica bus, with an explorica bus driver, and the explorica tour guide and will only be traveling with our private group. You can view some samples of hotels that groups have stayed in while in Costa Rica. We may or may not be in these exact hotels but it gives a really good idea of the types of places they partner with. You can check those out in the link below. http://www.explorica.com/get-ready/hotel-quality-and-student-rooming/hotel-samples.aspx *What are the meals like? *Can we opt out of the meal plan or any of the activities? The meals are at previously decided restaurants. We will go to a restaurant as a group and decide what we want to eat. The tour guides are really good about calling ahead to prepare the restaurant for any specific dietary needs. Some complaints have been that even though the food in Costa Rica is delicious, there isn't as much variety as there is here in America. You can opt out of meals or activities as you wish but there won't be any refunds issued. If a family decides to go eat on their own for the night they will be responsible for the their own meal. Same goes for activities. If a few parents decide to skip the canopy tour they are more than welcome to do their own thing during that time. *What about customizing the trip? If you want to add the white water rafting to your trip, If you want to come a few days before the rest of the trip, If you want to send your kid home with me and the rest of the group and stay a few days longer with your friends or your husband all of those scenarios are possible. When you enroll there will be a customization tab that you can go through and make those arrangements. There is a fee for staying ahead/staying behind. You can price that when you enroll. There is also an option to do a land package. That means you pay for and arrange your own airfare and meet up with the group for the rest of the package, food, hotel, excursions, etc. When you enroll there are options to do a land package. A land package is where you take care of your own airfare and meet up with the rest of the group *Can I send my child without me? *Can I bring my husband or siblings? You can bring your whole family. The more the merrier. It's a great way to have a safe and action filled trip. If you plan on sending your child keep in mind that this trip is not affiliated with the school and that Jonesboro Public Schools are in no way responsible for your child. That responsibility would fall on a designated parent of your child's friend that would be worked out among those two parents. I will be an official chaperon and there are a few other teachers at the school coming along as unofficial chaperons. Extra eyes to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for. What about fundraising? Some students may want to participate in a group that does fundraising together and the money raised can be split up between them. Some may want to do fundraising individually. There are a lot of options and resources around for fundraising. We can hold a meeting for brainstorming ideas. As people start to enroll and we get a more definite number we can start forming a group for fundraising. Are there weight limits/height limits for the activities? All of the companies that explorica deals with are highly professional companies and are top rated, especially where safety is concerned. For the canopy tours if there is even a chance that someone might not be heavy enough there is a special weight that can be attached to the zipline for extra momentum. Passports/Visas A passport is required for adults and children to travel to Costa Rica. A visa is not. There is a departure tax when you are at the airport going home. That is $50 per person. |
Tour FeesTotal Fee:* $2,426.00
Tour Quote Breakdown Tour Fee*$2,389.00 Private Group Fee$137.00 ** Stidman100-100.00 Total Fee*$2,426.00 OR 7 monthly payments of$339.43 After initial payment of$50.00 * Last day for this Tour Fee is Aug 31, 2018. ** Only valid with voucher code Stidman100 Additional Adult Fees The following additional fees apply only to full-paying participants 23 and older and are not included in the total price listed above. Adult Supplement$125.00 Twin Room Upgrade$360.00 Additional Adult Fee$485.00 TOUR FEE INCLUDES:
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Spanish Weekly
Costa rica 2019