Family Adventures in Wonderland
A bicycle or multisport tour in Costa Rica is just the thing to get you through this winter.
With the fireworks still crackling in the summer twilight, it might seem downright perverse to speak of winter. But whether we speak of it or not, it will come again soon enough. So let’s take a moment to talk about a critical element of winter preparedness. No, I’m not referring to flushing your antifreeze or cleaning the filter in your furnace; I’m talking about a family winter escape plan involving someplace exotic, tropical and fun for the young and old alike: Costa Rica.
My own memories of Costa Rica’s delights are as diverse as the country itself. I found great food: the cornucopia of delicious exotic fruits like manzana de agua, guanabana, momonchinos and momones (not to mention more familiar exotics like pineapple, coconut, papaya, guava, mango, and avocado); fresh seafood; world-class coffee; and charming regional specialties like fried platanos (plantain) or pico de gallo (a delicious fresh salsa variant we happen to have a recipe for). There was fascinating wildlife ranging from tiny leafcutter ants and poison dart frogs, to flying fish, to capuchin monkeys and coatimundi. But most of all, Costa Rica brings to mind the wild variety of habitats, including highland cloud forest, grassland, rain forest, mangrove swamps and even coral reefs dancing with colorful reef fish beneath perfectly transparent waters of the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica, more than any other place I’ve seen, is abundant, riotous, exuberant life, whichever way you look; I have trouble keeping my enthusiasm within civilized levels whenever I’m asked about the country.
It makes a perfect family vacation for all generations. If you have the attention span for it, the birding is fabulous (toucans! quetzals! parakeets and even macaws!) and the flora are exquisite (epiphytes, strangler figs, bird-of-paradise). But you can also let your inner child (or your actual children) out to enjoy the world-class adventure sports (rafting! hiking! snorkeling! mountain biking! sea kayaking!) followed by a cool roadside refresca (a light fruit smoothie). Our tours in Costa Rica are crafted to satisfy a variety of appetites. We offer challenging cycling, if that’s what interests you (the Butterflies, Bicycles & Beaches tour) – but you could also enjoy a gentler vacation on our Coasting Costa Rica trip. And in between, there are the multisport trips: Arenal & the Northwest Coast with its beaches and rafting, or the Osa Peninsula multisport tour which features sea kayaking and coral reef snorkeling.
Perhaps best of all, Costa Rica is affordable. It’s closer than Europe or South America, which means cheaper airfare. And the Costa Rican currency (the Colon) is one of the few that has not climbed steeply against the US dollar, which makes these some of our most affordable tours. This combination of cheap airfare and reasonable tour prices means that you can take the whole family to Costa Rica this winter for about what it might take to get only two of you on tour in Europe this summer.
So don’t let this summer slip by without preparing your family for the winter beyond. Well before you arrive and long after you leave, the anticipation and memories of a Costa Rica winter getaway will have you smiling whatever winter brings.
Read more about the ABC & Oh!’s of Costa Rica here:
Or give us a call at 1-800-685-4565 today to reserve space for your family getaway!
