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ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrive & Relax
You'll get your first taste of Costa Rica as soon as you step off your plane at the Juan Santamaria International Airport. Nestled high in the Central Valley, the airport faces both the metropolitan city of San Jose and, in the distance, Costa Rica's lush volcanic mountain ranges. Your Access Trips guide will meet you at the airport and together you'll drive through rolling countryside to the foothills of Poas Volcano. After getting to know the other guests over a traditional casado dinner, you'll spend the night at a cozy, locally-owned hotel with lush tropical gardens, surrounded by coffee and sugar cane plantations.
Distance: No riding on this day.
Drive time from airport: 25 mins
Accommodation: Cozy hotel
Meals: On own
Day 2: Biking
Our Costa Rica mountain bike tour gets underway early this morning with a drive to the Continental Divide at 1800 mts of elevation. We begin biking with a downhill route through picturesque pastures, cloud forests, and sugar cane plantations. The 38 km ride, which is 90% downhill, includes many long descents and a few short climbs. We'll ride a mixture of double tracks, cattle farm roads, and a stretch of gravel road through highland forest. All the while your expert instructor will be providing you with tips, advice, and encouragement to help you maximize your mountain biking performance and enjoyment. Accommodations are at a peaceful riverside resort surrounded by lush tropical gardens with exotic fruits, flowers, birds, and butterflies.
Distance: 38 km/24 miles
Climbing: 165 meters
Descending: 1220 meters
Drive time: 50 minutes
Accommodation: Riverside resort
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3: Bike & Hot Springs
Today we'll ride on the lowlands with many short ups and downs and a few small river crossings. We go through forest, reforestation areas, villages, and small farms. This is a good day to learn proper shifting and the experience of carrying your bike over your shoulder as we'll cross several creeks and venture up a few steep paths. The ride takes us to the town of La Fortuna where we'll stop for lunch. After a relaxing stop, we'll continue biking on the paved road all the way to our hotel, which has stunning views of Arenal Volcano- the most active of Costa Rica's volcanoes and one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, you'll spend an unforgettable couple of hours relaxing your muscles in natural hot springs that are framed by lush ferns and dense jungle. The evening will draw to a close with a traditional dinner including homemade tortillas and a visit to a lookout point, where you'll hopefully glimpse the fuming glow of Arenal's hot lava if it's erupting. Tonight we'll stay in a relaxing mountain resort nestled in lush gardens, where every room offers amazing views of the volcano.
Distance: 42 km/26 miles
Climbing: 545 meters
Descending: 475 meters
Drive time: N/A
Accommodation: Mountain resort
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4: Bike the Shores of Arenal
Today we'll take a spectacular ride along deserted trails on the southern shore of majestic Lake Arenal. We'll start with an easy ride on a wide, hard-packed dirt/gravel road at the foot of Arenal Volcano National Park. After 17 kilometers of long flat stretches and a few short, easy climbs, we'll cross the Caño Negro river (there are no bridges in this remote part of the park so we'll need to wade). From here we'll ride 15-20 kilometers on an abandoned dirt road that's been taken over by vegetation. The terrain is undulating with only short climbs and the views of the lake are spectacular. Crossing 10 different creeks and negotiating several muddy spots, this ride will be a perfect opportunity to showcase your mountain biking skills! At the end of the ride we'll reach our first sign of civilization, a small restaurant where we'll enjoy a refreshing drink and some lunch. After lunch, we'll cross Arenal Lake by boat. The boat ride is slow and offers excellent birdwatching and gorgeous volcano views. We'll cruise right up to our accommodation, a lovely boutique rainforest lodge with stunning views of Arenal.
Distance: 37 km/23 miles
Climbing: 350 meters
Descending: 375 meters
Drive time: 10 minutes plus a 30 minute boat ride
Accommodation: Rainforest lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5: Bike to Cañas
As we descend from the rainforest into the low-lying dry forest of Guanacaste province, we'll experience a huge change in climate and scenery, riding from the lush, Costa Rican jungle to the drier farmland of the Pacific slope. Today we'll ride some technical downhill sections, followed by a rapid descent on dirt roads that offer plenty of curves. We'll end today's ride at a hotel on a working hacienda near Cañas. As you stroll the grounds of the hotel or relax by the pool you might see iguanas, deer, birds and butterflies.
Distance: 67 km/42 miles
Climbing: 780 meters
Descending: 1330 meters
Drive time: 45 minutes
Accommodation: Colonial style rooms in a working hacienda
Meals: Breakfast
Day 6: Bike & River Safari
The water from Lake Arenal is used to irrigate the farmland in Guanacaste through a vast network of canals and rivers. In this hot and dry land, the canals are shaded by lines of trees and patches of forest that give the landscape its unique look. Today is a fast ride through sugar cane plantations and rice fields, combined with patches of forest. We'll end our ride with a picnic lunch on the bank of the Bebedero River. After lunch, we'll board a boat for a spectacular river safari, where we may see water birds, monkeys, iguanas, and crocodiles. At the end of our river trip, we'll jump in the van and drive across the Nicoya Peninsula to the tiny town of Nosara and the undiscovered yet expansive beach, Playa Guiones. Accommodations for the next two nights are at a beautiful resort and spa nestled in the jungle just 1km from the beach.
Distance: 29 km/18 miles
Climbing: 0 meters
Descending: 21 meters
Drive time: 2.5 hours
Accommodation: Luxury resort hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7: Coastal Biking
We've saved one of the most beautiful rides for the end! This rugged, almost deserted stretch of Pacific coast represents wildlife uninterrupted. Most tourist maps have yet to chart the course you will bike and there are few hotels to impede the spectacular views. Our ride will start with a 7 km ride on small dirt roads that pass through small farms and dry forest. We continue along a deserted stretch of coastline passing tiny villages and simple houses until we get to the hard-packed sand of Samara Beach. Our ride ends at gorgeous, palm-lined Carrillo Beach, where we'll revel in the secluded beauty and enjoy a well deserved picnic lunch. The ride includes some fun downhill and some uphill stretches. You can choose to bike back to the hotel or hitch a ride in the van. After a full day of biking, we'll celebrate the end of our Costa Rica mountain bike tour with cold drinks and an optional seafood dinner.
Distance: 36 km/23 miles
Climbing: 275 meters
Descending: 275 meters
Drive time: N/A
Accommodation: Luxury resort hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8: Our Sky to Sea Trip Ends
Our Costa Rica mountain bike tour will conclude with a final breakfast on the coast. Afterward, we'll drive you to Liberia Airport to catch your flight home or you may take a 50 minute flight from Nosara airport to San Jose. Or ask us about our exciting surf extensions!
Drive time to Liberia Airport: 2 hours
Meals: Breakfast
Please note: This itinerary is designed to give you an idea of what to expect during our trip but it is not set in stone. What we actually do on a given day is flexible and is tailored to weather and swell conditions and the interests and abilities of the group.
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