Geography Trip to Costa Rica

A geography school trip to Costa Rica offers your students the opportunity to explore one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world!

Here you’ll find cloud forests, volcanoes, mangroves and tropical beaches. On a school trip to Costa Rica will let your students get up close to the local wildlife, experience geothermal activity in the most enjoyable way, hike over lava flows and end your trip in surfers’ (and turtles’) paradise – the Pacific Ocean!

To make this even more special, Costa Rica is at the forefront of sustainable tourism, so you can also enjoy a guilt-free geography school trip with minimal impact on this beautiful destination.

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1

Morning

Board your flight to San José

Afternoon

Meet guide on arrival and transfer to hotel

Evening

Enjoy a welcome dinner at your hotel

Day 2

Morning

Transfer to La Fortuna in the foothills of Arenal Volcano

Afternoon

Guided hike on the volcano lava trails and visit to Los Patos Lagoon

Evening

Visit Baldi Hot Springs to see the geothermal activity, folllowed by dinner

Day 3

Morning

Visit to a rural school with an artistic performance from the students Board a tractor pulled wagon to visit La Casona, country home to former Costa Rican President Rafael Iglesias

Afternoon

Enjoy a tortilla lunch served on a banana leaf and visit the sugar cane bill

Evening

Evening meal

Day 4

Morning

Take a nature boat tour at Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and the Río Frio - keep your eyes peeled for monkeys, sloths, birds and reptiles

Afternoon

Lunch included during the boat tour before returning to your hotel for an afternoon at leisure

Evening

Evening meal

Day 5

Morning

Travel to Monteverde Cloud Forest

Afternoon

Enjoy exploring the beautiful Cloud Forest with over 2,500 varieties of plants

Evening

Evening meal

Day 6

Morning

Visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest reserve, famous for its biodiversity, conservation, contributions and scientific research

Afternoon

Travel to the Pacific Coast area and Tamarindo Beach, famous for sea turtles and surfing

Evening

Evening meal at the hotel

Day 7

Morning

Morning free to enjoy the hotel facilities or book an activity such as kayaking or surf lessons

Afternoon

Spend the afternoon at the beach

Evening

Evening meal at the hotel

Day 8

Morning

Depart from hotel in San José

Evening

Overnight return flight

Day 9

Morning

Arrive in the UK

7 nights' half-board accommodation
Air-conditioned coach
Airport taxes and passenger duty at current rates
ATOL protected return flights from the UK
Detailed information pack
Free staff place ratio 1:10
Itinerary planning service
Local English-speaking guide during the tour
Vamoos travel app - giving you access to all your trip documents on your phone or tablet
VAT at current rates to tour operators

Curriculum

A Level

Earth structure and plate tectonics
Tectonic disaster trends since 1960
Active volcanoes - eruptive activity and land formation
Human responses to natural hazards
Managing tectonic hazards - predictions and forecasting
Characteristics of a distinct ecosystem
Biodiversity: flora and fauna
Impacts of climate change on biomes
Economical and social threats to ecosystems
Sustainable management of resources
The water cycle
Fieldwork

GCSE

Characteristics of plate boundaries
Effects of tectonic hazards
Management of hazards
Geomorphic processes, erosion and deposition
Characteristics of ecosystems
Biodiversity: flora and fauna adaptations
Balance and interrelationships of biomes
Impact of climate on ecosystems
Global threats to ecosystems
Water and carbon cycles
Tropical rainforests
Fieldwork

Key Stage 3

Geological timescales and plate tectonics
Rocks, weathering and soils
Weather and climate

Accommodation

Arenal Country Inn

The Arenal Country Inn invites guests to stay in individual cabins set within lush tropical gardens. All have private terraces with wonderful views of the Arenal volcano. Each cabin is equipped with a private bathroom with hot shower, air conditioning and mini fridge. In the beautiful gardens is an inviting pool where you can enjoy a refreshing dip whilst listening to the sounds of the birds including toucans and parrots. You may even spot a monkey or a sloth lurking in the grounds!

Monteverde Country Lodge

The Monteverde Country Lodge provides guests with a comfortable and relaxing stay in its traditional rustic style accommodation. Set in beautiful gardens, the lodge is focused on its sustainability and minimising its impact on the natural world around the lodge. The lodge's classic rooms are equipped with modern amenities such as cable TV, a telephone, safe, insulating curtains, hot water shower and a very cosy atmosphere.

Occidental Tamarindo

This all inclusive resort is located just 1 mile from Tamarindo City and has beautiful views of the beach and sunset. The hotel offers many services, food and entertainment options. Set in tropical gardens you will find giant chess, archery, tennis courts and a pool. You can also relax on the white sand beach and watch the surfers enjoy the perfect conditions.

Palm Real

A modern hotel located close to the city centre offering guests a relaxing stay. The guest rooms feature wooden floors, aTV. iPod docks. a safe, minibar and coffee makers. The rooms have private, well equipped bathrooms with hairdryer and slippers provided for your comfort.

Tour highlights

Hike The Arenal Volcano Trails

There’s no better way to get up close and personal with the Arenal volcano than to walk along its lava trails! Your group will hike along trails on hills formed by lava during the volcano’s 1968 eruption. Not only will you learn more about the volcano and its eruptions, you’ll also see some of the incredible wildlife that inhabits the area. Arenal is Costa Rica’s most famous volcano and, until recently, its most active. It now plays an important role in power generation for the country, with geothermal, hydroelectric and wind power all generated here.

Did you know?

Arenal is considered a relatively young volcano, as it’s thought to be less than 7,500 years old, and it was also one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world until 2010, when it became dormant.

Bathe in the Baldi Hot Springs

Relax and unwind here at the largest hot springs resort in the world, where there are 25 pools of thermal water rich in minerals and healing properties! Take a dip in one of the hot pools which is said to help eliminate germs and viruses. But remember, your core temperature will rise after nearly 20 minutes in the hot pools, so make sure you cool down regularly with dips in the cold pools, which are usually very close by. Not everyone enjoys quiet relaxation so, for those who like a little more action, there are some extreme water slides to enjoy too!

Did you know?

Although you’ll enjoy spectacular views of the Arenal Volcano, the hot springs are outside the volcano’s risk zone, so you really can relax and enjoy your surroundings!

Visit Monteverde Cloud Forest

There’s a huge variety of flora and fauna to be found in Monteverde Cloud Forest, where moisture from the low-hanging clouds that sit permanently on the treetops trickles down the trees to sustain life. Monteverde’s Cloud Forest alone makes the trip to Costa Rica worth it – your students will have an unforgettable experience of one of planet Earth’s most precious natural habitats. Climate change could seriously affect Monteverde’s Cloud Forest – as temperatures rise, the low-level cloud coverage that produces the life-giving moisture could be reduced, changing the forest’s hydrological cycle drastically, perhaps even drying it up altogether.

Did you know?

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is famous for its incredible biodiversity and is home to over 2,500 plant species, 100 mammalian species, 400 species of bird and 120 species of reptilians and amphibians, as well as thousands of species of insects. It’s also home to the largest number of orchid species in any one place.

Educational Activities

Arenal Volcano Hiking Trails

During this unforgettable experience you will enjoy hiking on the lava trails of the Arenal Volcano.

Baldi Hot Springs

Baldi Hot Springs is located in La Fortuna de San Carlos at the base of the imposing Arenal Volcano.

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

CañoNegro lies in the north of the country, lying very close to the border of Nicaragua.

La Casona del Rio

Casona Río Fortuna is therenowned Costa Rican historical and elegant turn-of-the-century country home of the former Costa Rican president, Rafael

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Set atop the spine of Costa Rica's continental divide, Monteverde is a high altitude (1,440 m) region in the north

Supporting you every step of the way

Creating your perfect trip

Your quote will be put together by an experienced Tour Adviser who’ll be an expert in the subject area and will know the destination really well too. They’ll work with you to create a trip to suit your group’s needs and meet your learning objectives.

Launching your trip to parents and students

The next step is to get your trip approved and then get students signed up to it. Our ‘Trip Launch Pack’ will help you with this step. This is full of resources (all free to download) designed to make your life easier at this crucial point in the trip planning process.

After you’ve booked

Once you’ve booked, your dedicated Itinerary Coordinator will start work on the finer details. They’ll make sure your itinerary makes the most of your time and they’ll take on most of the admin tasks for your trip (freeing you up to do what you do best – teach).

Support while you’re away

From lost property to properly lost, we’ll always be on the end of the phone while you’re out on the trip. You’ll get a final info pack before you go, as well as access to all your trip documents via the Vamoos app.

After your trip

We’ll ask you for feedback, so we can improve our service. Let’s start planning your next trip too, so parents have plenty of time to pay (and so it’s less stressful for you). And don’t forget to head to our resources hub to continue the learning back in the classroom.