Cost Rica Cruise

Come Cruise / Explore beautiful, exotic Costa Rica!    December 4 to 11, 2004

Live aboard the Cruise West Company’s small ship The Pacific Explorer. (These small ships are always the height of informality). Costa Rica is a peaceful, pastoral nation which has set aside a quarter of its territory in nature preserves. It offers a breathtaking array of landscapes, from cloud forests in the volcanic highlands to pristine jungle-clad coast. Costa Rica has become a magnet for the environmentally conscious traveler. We will discover isolated beaches. You can paddle up a stream in a kayak, swim in a river, enjoy snorkeling, or simply relax in the sun.

Cost: start at $2099, plus airfare.
Air Costs:
From NYC or Chicago - $1045,
from LA, $1155

Catagory A cabins: $2099

Catagory AA cabins: 2599

Catagory AAA cabins: 2949

Extra Savings

Above prices are brochure prices. For traveling with RVT Inc. discount $500 in catagory a, discount $600 in catagory aa, and discount $700 in catagory aaa.

Then: early bird additional discount of $150 if you enroll by June 1.

Take off an additional $50 if you pay in full by June 1

Enrollment is by credit card: $500 deposit per person.

Call now to enroll: 800-836-2128

Nearly every day, Zodiacs zooom to an idyllic beach where there are no footprints but your own. When you're ready to return, the Zodiac functions as your own private water taxi back to the ship.

Your Daily Itinerary on the Costa Rica Cruise:
Day 1 Arrive San Jose
Transfer from aiport to the Pacific Explorer at 2:00 pm. After a warm welcome on board step out on deck as the ship ventures out to sea. Dinner (and all of your subsequent meals, are serve on board).
Day 2 Curu Wildlife
Refuge and Tortuga Island. In this private wildlife sanctuary you will seek wildlife in five distinct habitats, from mangrove lagoons to hill forest. Three miles of shoreline are dotted with tiny coves and white-sand beaches, home to fiery-red land crabs, olive ridley sea turtles and white faced capuchin, howler and spider monkeys.
Two miles offshore, Tortuga is a picture-perfect tropical isle. White-sand beaches fringed with swaying coconut palms and turquoise water teeming with tropical fish. Snorkeling, swimming and sea kayaking whet your appetite for a beach barbecue.
Day 3 Corcovado Conservation Area
This is a 100,000 acre sanctuary of biological diversity characterized by an abundance of endangered wildlife, including all four species of monkeys and six species of wild cats found in the country. Giant trees draped with vines and lianas and supported by massive buttress roots tower over the forest floor. Nearly 300 specis of birds live here.
Zodiacs carry you ashore for an early morning bird-watching walk. The scarlet macaws are the most spectacular as they announce their arrival with high-pitched squawks. You may have an opportunity to paddle up a stream, swim in a river, enjoy snorkeling or swimming, or simply to relax in the sun.

Day 4 Isla De Coiba, Panama
Some of the richest waters and spectacular tiny islets of Central America's Pacific coast may be found here in Panama's largest island and one of its newest parks. The waters are ideal for snorkeling and expert staff will give lessons and help you discover the stunning diversity of the most extensive coral reef in the region.
Day 5 Golfo Dulce
On a remote shore of the “Sweet Gulf” you will explore a mangrove forest by Zodiac or Kayak. You will step ashore at Casa Orquideas botanical garden, a 90 acre treasure whose abundance of ornamental tropical flora attracts a multitude of birds and butterflies.
Day 6 Drake Bay & Cano Island.
Named for Sir Francis Drake who sailed here in 1579, Drake Bay is remote from the modern world. You may motor up the Agujitas River to swim in cool waters while looking up at the forest canopy where monkeys, ospreys, parrots and macaws are often spotted.
This afternoon continue to Cano Island, ten miles offshore. This protected Pacific island is a treasurehouse of briliant marine life and mysterious pre-Columbian artifacts. The coral reef snorkeling here is spectacular.
Day 7 Manuel Antonio National Park
The most popular national park in Costa Rica is one of the highlights of your cruise. You may spot iguanas, white-faced capuchin monkeys and the lazy three-toed sloth. After lunch on the Sun Deck prepare for an afternoon of water sports and leisure time on the beach.
Day 8 Disembark, transfer
In the early afternoon you will be brought back to the San Jose Airport for your return flight home.