Destination of the Month: Costa Rica

Why Costa Rica?

April 22nd 2010 marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! To celebrate the occasion, we’re naming Costa Rica our Destination of the Month.
As a country that has dedicated over a quarter of its land to national park and biological preserve, it should come as no surprise that the UN World Tourism Organization considers Costa Rica to be the role model for sustainable tourism in Latin America.

BikeHike Costa Rica Trips

Coast to Coast Adventure (15 days)

Activities: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Whitewater Rating
Trip Rating: Challenging

Ultimate Adventure Medley (10 days)
Activities: Hiking, Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Whitewater Rafting, Zip-lining
Trip Rating: Moderate

Turtles and Trails (9 days)
Activities: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Whitewater Rafting, Zip-lining, Volunteering
Trip Rating: Moderate

Women Only – Adventure for the Soul (9 days)Activities: Hiking, Horseback Riding, Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Whitewater Rafting, Yoga, Zip-lining
Trip Rating: Moderate

A Costa Rican Adventure (8 days)
Activities: Hiking, Horseback Riding, Whitewater Rafting
Trip Rating: Easy

Family Adventure Playground (9 days)
Activities: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Whitewater Rafting, Zip-lining
Trip Rating: Easy

Highlights of Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano is one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. Its red molten lava makes for a spectacular view on a clear night, especially when soaking in a nearby hot spring after a day of hiking along the beautiful trails surrounding the area.

Pacuare River
Rafting along the Pacuare River is an activity you don’t want to miss in Costa Rica! Its 108 km length is divided into approximately 16 sections, and has a range of rapids from Class II to V. This is one of the most thrilling rafting adventures you’ll ever experience.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
It’s not called a cloud forest for nothing; the name originates from the fact that this rain forest sits high above the clouds. Monteverde Cloud Forest is home to approximately 100 species of mammals, 490 species of butterflies, 400 species of birds, 120 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 2,500 species of plants. You won’t know what to look at first while hiking or zip-lining through this jungle of life.

Costa Rican Beaches
Costa Rica boasts a coastline stretching over 1,800 km making it one of the best places to visit if you love (really) long walks on the beach. You won’t be the only one enjoying the coastal views though, as some of these beaches are frequented by leatherback and green sea turtles making their annual migration to lay their eggs.

Interesting Factoids

• In Spanish, “Costa Rica” literally means “rich coast.”
• At 7am every morning, every Costa Rican radio station will play the national anthem.
• In case you ever get lost, note that almost all Catholic churches in the country face West.
• Costa Rica has one of the highest life expectancies in the world (77 years).
• A soda isn’t a fizzy beverage in Costa Rica, it’s a small informal restaurant that serves simple traditional dishes.
• There are approximately 52 species of hummingbirds in the country, most of which live in the rain forests.
• In 2009, Costa Rica was ranked first on the Happy Planet Index – an index measuring life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita.
• Over 25% of the country is dedicated as national park and biological preserve.
• In the Western Hemisphere, Costa Rica is the only country without an army or military of any kind.

News: Travel with Trish

In a world where more and more customer service lines are operated by automated pre-recorded responses, it’s hard to fathom the idea that the owner and founder of a well-established travel company would take the time to personally take your phone call and guide you on your escape from the rat race. But, that’s exactly what Trish Sare, Owner and Founder of BikeHike Adventures Inc. is doing!

In April of this year, Trish will be guiding two of BikeHike's most popular Central American adventures:

Rumble in the Jungle – Panama (10 days) April 15 - 24, 2010
This is the ultimate adventure for the adrenaline junkie. In 10 days, you’ll traverse the country from Pacific to Atlantic on your own sweat and steam. You’ll bike along twisted trails in deep fertile valleys, hike and zip-line through lush rainforests teeming with exotic wildlife, bounce down thumping rapids on a frothy world class river, snorkel in translucent seas filled with tropical marine life, and sea kayak amongst twisted mangroves and coral reefs.

Turtles and Trails – Costa Rica (9 days) April 24 - May 2, 2010
This trip is an even combination of adventure, ecotourism and voluntourism. The 9 day adventure begins with whitewater rafting down the Pacuare River, biking, hiking, zip-lining and relaxation in the steamy hot springs of the Arenal Volcano region. After heading East to the Caribbean, you’ll be assisting researchers patrolling the beaches where Leatherback and Green sea turtles lay their eggs. Only 1 in 1000 hatchlings survive to adulthood, so your work patrolling, gathering and relocating these eggs has huge implications for the survival of these species. You’ll come home feeling energized and full of great karma!

If you're thinking about joining Trish on an adventure, call (1 888 805 0061 toll free in North America) or e-mail us (info@bikehike.com) asap! Whenever Trish guides a trip, it sells out *fast*.

Anny Chih

Top 3 Warm and Romantic Destinations

With Valentines on February 14th and US Presidents Day holiday on the 15th, this is the perfect time to go on that romantic getaway. Here are our top three recommended destinations for that special trip for two:

Belize
The Belize Blast is one of our best selling trips during the winter holidays, and for good reason. The temperature is perfect this time of year, and our 9-day trek includes an even balance of exhilaration and relaxation with rappels down 300ft sinkholes, to snorkeling and manatee watching along the warm and sunny beaches of Ambergris Caye island.
This trip begins on the first Saturday of every month, but we can start a new trip just for you with as few as two people.
Read more about Belize, our Feature Destination of the Month.

Costa Rica
With four Costa Rica multi-sport adventures ranging from easy to challenging, this is one destination that has something for everyone!

Easy
Adventure Playground: Make Costa Rica your playground with 9-days of whitewater rafting, zip lining and sun tanning on the pristine beaches of Manual Antonio National Park. You’ll be reminded of what life was like before work existed.

Easy / Moderate
Costa Rican Adventure: This is one of our more customizable trips where animal lovers rejoice with dolphin watching, horseback riding and canopy tours in addition to whitewater rafting, hiking, and soaking in the calming hot springs of Tabacon.

Moderate
Turtles and Trails: If want to do more for the animals than watch them, this is the trip for you. Combining biking, hiking and white water rafting with voluntourism through the conservation of leatherback and green sea turtles, this adventure will have you coming home with a happy conscience.

Ultimate Adventure Medley: Take an extreme 10-day holiday you won’t forget on this adventure that combines relaxing in a hot spring, whitewater rafting in class 3-4 swells, sea kayaking through gurgling ocean turf, and biking down abandoned whitesand beaches. Come back with more stories than you can remember!

Challenging
Coast to Coast adventure: On this 15-day adrenaline rush, you’ll start on one end of Costa Rica and end up on the other solely by your own muscle-power. This is one of the most challenging and most rewarding expeditions we offer. Free bragging rights included.

Thailand
You’ll find yourself knee-deep in culture on both BikeHike Thailand adventures, Adventure Siam and Adventure with a Heart. Get closer to your special someone by volunteering together at a rural Thai school on Adventure with a Heart, or bond over a mutual appreciation of cultural exploration on the Adventure Siam.