Back to Top Hotels

Airline Info

Airfare is not included or sold by Caravan Tours. Here are lists of airlines that service this tour:

Back to Top Local Weather

Clothing Tips

This is a casual tour. Casual wear is suggested for sightseeing and daytime travelling. Dress code for evenings is casual. Suit jackets for men and dresses for women are never required on the Caravan’s Costa Rica tour. It is recommended to wear drip-dry clothing (such as that offered by Columbia, ExOfficio and Travelsmith) in the rainforest. Shirts with long sleeves and long pants are recommended for rain forest and cloud forest hikes. Pants that zip at the knee to convert into shorts are very comfortable in the rainforest.  See Travel Planner: General Clothing Tips

Back to Top Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the tour price?

Virtually everything! Hotels, all meals, all of the activities described in the itinerary pages, airport transfers, gratuities to hotel porters, restaurant staff and local guides. Caravan’s professional Tour Directors conduct every land tour from start to finish. They are fluent in English, experienced and fun, ensuring a worry free vacation.

What is not included in the tour price?

Prices do not include air travel, country entry or departure fees, airport porters, visas, phone calls, valet, laundry, all items of a personal nature, extra food and beverages not on the regular menu, and tips to the Caravan Tour Director and Driver. General fees and taxes are additional and listed separately beneath each tour’s price.

Can your tours be enjoyed by all age groups?

Usually, you find a mix of different age adult travelers on a Caravan Tour. Most tours will be joined by adults of all ages. Children age five (5) and over are welcome, and children usually join tours offered during Christmas holidays, summer vacation and spring break vacation.

How long will each day be?

A well paced and unhurried itinerary is our goal, after all, you are on vacation! Touring days begin and end at reasonable hours and include frequent stops. While the occasional early morning departure is necessary, we do our best to ensure a leisurely vacation and you will arrive at your hotels between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day.

How large will my group be?

Group sizes will vary depending on the reserved rooms at the hotels and lodges and the capacity of the boats and motorcoaches used. Usually, group sizes range from 30 to 44 passengers.

Are meals included?

All meals are included on your Costa Rica tour. Included meals for each tour are listed at the end of each day. Meals are shown by B (breakfast), L (lunch) and D (dinner). Full, buffet, or deluxe continental breakfasts are included everywhere. Bottled water is provided free on the motorcoach and purified water is provided at the meals. Alcoholic beverages are not included unless specified.

Back to Top Customer Reviews of our Costa Rica Natural Paradise tour

“I took the tour to see the nature and beauty of Costa Rica. It was beyond my expectations. Several friends had recommended this Caravan tour to me and now I am ready to recommend your company to others.”

“I was in awe. I was in Costa Rica on vacation. Couldn’t have asked for a better ride. I just wish I could drive a bus like our driver. A first class guy. My first Caravan trip and I would recommend you guys to anyone.”

“The sights were absolutely fabulous! We visited both coasts and many places in between ... all the places we were interested in seeing. This was an exceptional tour at an exceptional price. The guides were very eco-minded. We received a good education from them and their passion for preserving their environment was contagious. We totally get it. Your Costa Rican tour was awesome.”

“The superior lodging and food made our concerns seem silly. We found all the hotels clean and modern and we were exceptionally pleased with the luxury, botanicals and unique character of the J.W. Marriott. We always try to support local artists when we travel, so we were delighted to visit Sarchi with its oxcart factory and its shop with an extensive selection of goods made in Costa Rica. We enjoyed the spectacular and clean pools at Baldi Hot Springs, cruising the Rio Frio; the focus on flora and fauna attracted us to this trip in the first place.”

“The sightseeing and activities, these were all that were promised and more! We would never have seen and done everything on our own! Very satisfied with this Caravan tour. Will definitely use your tour company again and have and will recommend it to friends. Pura Vida.”

“I have never done a bus tour before. This was handled exceptionally from start to finish. We were taken care of the minute we stepped off the plane until we reboarded. I can’t say enough great things about our director. Upbeat, informative, honest and shared so much about Costa Rica. All accommodations and meals were great. My husband concurs.”

“I definitely want you to know our feeling about this tour considering it is one of if not the best tours we have ever taken. Every hotel was very good with outstanding locations - of course the Marriott was over the top. The efficiency that Caravan developed in hotel check-in was easy and fast. The sightseeing was outstanding for sure. We had been to Costa Rica previously and this was by far superior by the extensive destinations geographically seeing most of the country that tourists would be interested in. This coupled with the extremely skilled guide made it superior to what we had seen before. He was so very knowledgeable concerning every possible thing we were witnessing and much more. In addition, he has an extremely entertaining wit. We both had a wonderful time and were amazed at all we got for the $’s. ”

“Simply the best driving skill that I have ever seen from someone driving a vehicle as large as our bus. Just an all-around excellent driver and he deserves the highest praise...the hotels were clean and pleasant, a couple quite beautiful. Overall as a group they deserve an ‘A’ rating. Sightseeing was pleasingly fresh for me. There was something different which is what I was looking for from this trip. It was a learning experience as well as entertaining.”

“You have put together an outstanding package at a very reasonable price. Costa Rica is a great vacation destination!”

“This is an amazing tour especially for the price. I did not expect luxury hotels on this trip! Everyone in our group was constantly commenting on how Caravan could make any money off of this based on the amazing hotels, guides, local tours, meals. Etc. The best possible introduction to Costa Rica at an amazing price. I have traveled the world both independently and with groups for over 40 years - ours was the best director I’ve ever traveled with.”

“As a travel agent, I would recommend clients to Costa Rica with Caravan. This was an excellent tour, especially since everything was included. We saw and did a great deal in a short period of time.”

“This was our 5th trip with Caravan and counting. Once again, the hotels chosen by Caravan were wonderful, each one with its specialty. Caravan has a knack for choosing sights and activities. Something for everyone. Have many times told others about your company.”

“Caravan tours are not only an amazing value, they are an incredible trip. All tours, parks, etc. were included and made for a carefree vacation. The hotels, the meals, the bus, the tour guide and driver, and the activities that are included are wonderful. We had several single travelers that felt very much included and we all ended up saying ‘goodbye’ as one big group of many members of a special family for a week. I belong to a few travel groups, and I live in a large travel community - I’m already spreading the word about Caravan.”

“The meals were fabulous and the final ‘sit down’ was especially nice. The sights were very good, enjoyed the coffee plantation and the cart factory. Had not traveled with Caravan before, but will recommend it to my friends.”

“Caravan Tours, well done! It was spectacular. The J.W. Marriott and the Intercontinental were just superb. And by the time I left i had a wonderful sense of the country of Costa Rica. We saw so much wildlife and beauty, and our director was an expert of wildlife and history of Costa Rica, a beautiful country. We have been on many other tours and this was the best trip we have ever taken. Every detail from the moment we arrived until we were taken back to the airport was very well planned. I give Caravan an A+. We will see you all again on another adventure, thank you so much!”

“The meals were very good and well presented. I enjoyed the lunch stop locations too. Our tour director made this trip very comfortable and fun. This was my first Caravan tour. I would book another one in the future.”

“The hotels were all great in their own way. The meals were very good, tasty, plentiful and fairly well-balanced. The tour director was unbelievably great, an encyclopedia of information convey tours in an entertaining, caring and interesting manner. You have set very high standards with your tour and guides.”

“It is almost impossible to visit a country in one week, but Caravan is doing a wonderful job in Costa Rica. Food was incredible, very fresh, great variety and plentiful. Love all activities. Got to see all birds and animals including the elusive sloth. We had a smooth ride, everything was just wonderful.”

“The hotels were all nice and a nice variety of different types or styles of doing things. The sightseeing and activities were wonderful. Loved the whole experience of everything offered. A wonderful experience and great value, I will be using you again and will recommend to others.”

“The meals were delicious! It was very easy to keep my vegetarian diet with this tour. Your tour director was WONDERFUL! Never let go of her, she was knowledgeable about everything any of us wanted to know. She was so personable and always happy too. Costa Rica is BEAUTIFUL!”

“Our tour director was always accessible and approachable to the group. All in all, this tour was excellent, well planned and varied! I enjoyed it and recommend Caravan to everyone. Next trip, I plan to use Caravan due to the quality and knowing you take care and time to arrange good tours whenever they are offered. Thank you!”

“This was the best vacation I had. It is the only way to see Costa Rica.”

“We had the perfect tour director, very knowledgeable of Costa Rican history, local cultures, and coconuts. Caravan, you should be proud! Besides the fact that you guys do a great job staging all of the sights, wildlife and timing (it was all fake right?!), it was obvious to us that the guides, the hotel staffs, the tour director, the restaurant personnel, etc. All seemed to rise to the occasion for a Caravan tour. You guys are doing something right. Keep it up!”

“The local guides were good at the rain forest and wildlife park, especially seeing Blondie, the orange colored Howler. The trip was well conducted and we saw a lot of Costa Rica.”

“I very much appreciate the professional manner that we were treated. I am a travel agent, and working in this industry can sometimes be a thankless job, therefore when I am treated with respect, I try to acknowledge. We are truly grateful to Caravan and our tour director for being so accommodating. I can guarantee you that I will be selling Caravan tours enthusiastically in the future! Our tour director’s knowledge and passion for his country is so evident by the way he describes customs, culture, education, wildlife among many other things. All of the sightseeing, I loved every minute of it, great activities and some free time.”

Back to Top About Caravan Tours

Caravan’s Proud History

Caravan Tours began selling fully escorted tours in 1952. We have been under the same management and ownership ever since. In 1965, Roger Mudd hosted a two hour CBS TV special on Caravan Tours. This TV production took about one month to make and was so successful it inspired the 1968 romantic comedy movie “If it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium.” In the early 50’s the Mayor of Dublin presented Caravan with the Key to Dublin for bringing the first American tour to the city after WWII. Since then Caravan has been recognized as a pioneer in travel.

Great Value, Book Early

Caravan’s strong buying power gives you great vacations at prices much lower than you can find anywhere. Last year many of our tours sold out quickly. Book early for the date you prefer and the best air fare.

Trade Association Memberships

Caravan Tours is a member of ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents), NTA (National Tour Association), CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), and an allied member of ACTA (Alliance of Canadian Travel Agencies).

How does Caravan Tours sell these tours for such a low cost?

Caravan delivers volume to our suppliers, who in turn reward us with their very best prices, we in turn pass these savings on to you, and you reward us by buying our tours. As volume continues to rise, we then receive even better prices from our suppliers, and we pass even greater savings on to you. This year our tours are better than ever.

How satisfied are Caravan clients?

The short answer is “very.” Our surveys are uniformly very positive. However we continually strive to improve our tours, (they are often updated several times in the course of one year), we study all client surveys and suggestions for improvement very carefully.

Pitch-Free Travel

Caravan includes all activities listed in the tour itinerary page. Caravan does not sell any optional activities which can add hundreds of dollars to your tour price. Your free time is scheduled in great settings where there is no need to buy additional expensive activities.