Best of Central America

Arrival
Upon arrival at San Jose airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your accommodation in the Coffee Zone.

Arenal Volcano
In the morning we will make our way to the Arenal Volcano, enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and crops of pineapple, bananas and sugar cane. Set on the northern plains of Costa Rica, Arenal Volcano sits on the shore of Lake Arenal. Separating two mountain ranges of Guanacaste and Tilarán, the lake was created by a hydroelectric dam. The volcano, once quite active, has been dormant since the beginning of 2011 but still is a dramatic backdrop to the town of La Fortuna. During the day, its reflection on Lake Arenal is truly enchanting.

Breakfast included.

Arenal Volcano and Hot Springs
This morning is at your leisure. This beautiful and diverse region holds an abundance of incredible experiences for all to enjoy, from adrenalin adventure activities to more relaxed, leisurely walks and hot springs.

In the afternoon you will enjoy a visit to the Arenal Volcano, where you will observe the natural beauty of flowers, lush vegetation, howler monkeys and exotic birds as you walk along the beautiful trails. Later, you will have the chance to unwind in the natural hot springs with views of the majestic Arenal Volcano. This experience finishes with a delicious meal before we transfer you back to your hotel.

Breakfast and Dinner included.

Monteverde Cloud Forest
Morning departure from Arenal Volcano to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. The first part of the trip is adorned with the beautiful scenery of the Arenal Lake which we cross by boat before driving through the beautiful scenery of the Tilarán Mountain Range and arriving in Monteverde.

We arrive to our hotel in the late afternoon, with the evening spent at your leisure.

Breakfast included.

Day at Leisure
Today is at your leisure to further explore the beautiful Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Breakfast included.

Monteverde to Penas Blancas
Our representative will transfer you to Penas Blancas border.

Ometepe Island
Our representative will transfer you from Penas Blancas border to San Jorge. Upon arrival, board your ferry to Ometepe Island where your local driver will greet you to the island and transfer you to your hotel.

Breakfast included.

Ometepe Island Tour
After breakfast you local guide will pick you up from your hotel to begin your tour of Ometepe Island. The tour will take you to places like El Ceibo, the best archaeological and numismatic museum in Nicaragua. You will then visit the Green Puddles lagoon, a natural pool of clear water supplied by a river that originates from Conception Volcano. The next stop on the tour will be to the Petroglyphs at Finca el Porvenir. These ancient stones, found on the lower slopes of Madera's volcano on Ometepe, still bear the ornate carvings of the first indigenous settlers of Nicaragua. From here you will be able to take in some great views that Volcano Conception and Volcano Madera have to offer. Departing here you will head to the shores of Santo Domingo beach where you will enjoy a delicious lunch and then transfer back to your hotel.

Breakfast included.

Granada City
After breakfast, you will board the ferry back to the mainland. Upon arrival, meet with our driver, who will then transfer you to Granada, the jewel of Nicaragua cities.

The vibrant and colourful city of Granada is known to be the oldest colonial settlement in the Americas, a tourist-friendly colonial jewel, now painstakingly restored with an exciting background history, wonderful colonial and neo-classical architecture, beautiful cobbled streets and a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere. Time at leisure in the city!

Breakfast included.

Lake Nicaragua Tour
Following breakfast our driver and guide will pick you up for another great adventure on Lake Nicaragua. Here you will see the most beautiful islands and their rich flora and fauna. The islands were formed thousands of years ago after an eruption of nearby Mombacho volcano (now extinct). They are now covered with lush, tropical vegetation, some of them are inhabited by natives, others have vacation houses built on them, and others are still deserted. You will be able to observe some of the many species of tropical birds that live in the islands. The inhabitants (“Isleños) live peacefully in simple yet decent conditions and dedicate themselves to fishing and small agriculture, and now to tourism too. Arrive to a private ecological island, enjoy lunch there and spend some time at leisure - it is a true paradise located amidst nature, in front of the Mombacho volcano. Transfer back to the marina in a motor boat. You will be back in Granada around 4.30pm.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

City Tour
Today you will enjoy a Granada City Tour. This wonderful outdoor experience begins when you are picked up at your hotel in a traditional Horsedrawn Carriage. You will start with a visit to La Casa de los Tres Mundos art gallery a cultural academy, then the convent of San Francisco church, built in 1529 decorated with elegant paintings and pre- Columbian statues from Zapatera Island. Then you will visit Iglesia La Merced taking stars up the tower from where you will have great views of the city. After Iglesia La Merced you will go to the Old Train Station that has just been restored located in front of Sandino Park. The last place you will visit is La Polvora, a fort where the Spanish stored dynamite and weapons in the 17th and 18th century to repel the attacks of English and French pirates.

Later, you will leave Granada and will be transferred to the Masaya Areas. Transportation, bilingual guide (English-Spanish), lunch & entrances fees are included.

Your tour will take you to Catarina, a small and characteristic village of Nicaragua where people work seedling nurseries, make handcraft and raise horses. Placed on top of the extict volcano 520 meters above sea level this presents a very agreeable climate. The temperature veries from 22 and 27 C° (72 & 77 F°) from here you can have a magnificent view of Apoyo lagoon, Mombacho volcano, Granada and Lake Nicaragua. Lunch included in a beautiful typical restaurant amidst nature.

After Catarina you will visit the ancient highland villages of "La Meseta" to visits the Mesa artisans workshops of San Juan de Oriente. This precious town has colonial period houses, churches and a hardworking native population. Then visit the finest Handicraft Market in Masaya where you will enjoy the creativity and a variety of Nicaraguan art at bargain prices.

Our day tour ends with a visit in the late evening to the First National Park created in Nicaragua in 1979, one of Nicaragua's most interesting and beautiful natural phenomena. It comprises an area of 54 km2 with more than 20 km of scenic roads and trails, leading to and around the one impressive volcano and five formidable craters; one of them currently displays gaseous activity and incandescent lava lake in its interior. As you approach it, you see an eerie, orange glow and swirling steam. Standing at the wall, you are able to peer into the crater and see the lava lake churning and splashing - an incredible thing to experience first-hand! A NATGEO team recently finished exploring the volcano. Eventually transfer back to Granada.

Please note that due safety restrictions, visitors are only allowed to stay 15 minutes near the crater.

Breakfast included.

Depart
Today you will be met by our representative at your hotel and transferred to the airport.

Antigua
On arrival at Guatemala City airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Antigua 45 kms away.

Once the third largest city in all of Spanish America, Antigua served as Guatemala's capital city for more than two hundred years until it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1773. Antigua today is a peaceful, partially restored colonial city that is a pleasure to explore.

Breakfast included.

City Tour
Volcan Fuego rises to the roof of the world above the streets of Antigua. Once the capital of Guatemala and all Central America, Antigua resembles a living ruin. Mammoth churches and palaces tell the story of Antigua's past glory, and restored facades speak of a bright future for this wonderful city. This morning we'll tour the city and admire Antigua's gilded cathedrals. The afternoon is yours to rent mountain bikes to explore the countryside, visit a coffee finca or macadamia nut plantation, or simply people watch in the main plaza.

Tour departs: approximately 9:00am.

Breakfast included.

Lake Atitlán
We'll travel into the heart of the Guatemalan Highlands to Lake Atitlán, located in the western highlands of Guatemala and often called one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Located at over 1500 metres above sea level, the lake reaches depths of 324 metres and is surrounded by three majestic volcanoes - Tolimán, Atitlán and San Pedro. We'll spend a night in beautiful Panajachel, considered the jewel of the highlands and inhabited by the Cachikel people for over eight hundred years. As we wander around Panajachel and its surrounding villages, you will observe the daily lives of these people and the skill of the women weavers.

Breakfast included.

Santiago Atitlan
Today you'll take a small passenger boat across the azure-coloured waters of the lake to the charming village of Santiago Atitlán. Get ready for spectacular views of the surrounding volcanoes and insight into a thriving Mayan community. Villagers in Santiago Atitlán still adhere to the traditional lifestyle of the Tz'utuhil Maya and on our walk we'll see many people cloaked in brightly-coloured, hand-woven clothing. Art galleries filled with oil paintings line Santiago's main street, depicting busy market scenes and typical life in the highlands. We may also visit Maximòn and leave an offering to this curious and revered deity before returning back across the lake to Panajachel.

Tour departs: approximately 9:00am.

Breakfast included.

Chichicastenango Markets – Antigua
A visit to Guatemala would not be complete without the chance to visit the famous market of Chichicastenango. This beautiful town, surrounded by valleys and shadowed by mountains, has many shamanistic and ceremonial overtones. Its large market brings villagers from throughout the region who often arrive the night before and sleep on blankets in the market square. Rising early, they set out their colourful fruits, vegetables and handicrafts. The market disperses in the early afternoon, so we will then travel back to Antigua where we'll spend the night.

Tour departs: approximately 8:00am.

*Take note that market days are Thursdays and Sundays, however we can rearrange this itinerary to make sure you’re there on the correct day.

Breakfast included.

Depart
Pick up is at 3:30am and a boxed lunch is included. Our representative will meet you at your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.

Arrival at Flores and Tikal Ruins Tour
An early morning flight takes you to Flores in the tropical lowlands of the Petén Jungle and the home of the ancient Maya. After meeting up with your guide, you'll continue on to the ruins of Tikal where you will enjoy a guided tour of the Tikal site, where you'll encounter towering pyramids rising above the thick jungle canopy and learn how the city thrived as an important religious, scientific, and political centre for fifteen hundred years. Today, the pristine forest engulfing the ruined city is home to howler and spider monkeys, white-lipped peccary, brocket deer, coatimundis, toucans, scarlet macaws, parrots, ocelots and the seldom seen jaguar. Afterwards you will enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch, visit the local museum. In the afternoon transfer to your hotel.

Lunch included.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Transfer to Border
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel very early in the morning and transfer you from Tikal to Bethel, you will have a boat trip to Corozal and then our Mexico supplier will pick you up.

Guatemala Border to Palenque via Yaxchilan
Upon arrival at the Guatemala/Mexico border, our Mexican representative will meet you as you continue your travels to Mexico and to the archaeological site of Yaxchilan, spectacular for its jungle atmosphere. You will then travel to Escudo Jaguar where you will have lunch (not included) before continuing on to Palenque where the evening is spent at your leisure.

Breakfast included.

Ruins Tour
Today we will visit the archaeological site of Palenque, a World Heritage Site, located 7km outside of the town of Palenque overlooking the swampy plains that stretch northward all the way to the Gulf coast. Palenque flourished between AD600 and 800, when its influence extended throughout the basin of the Usumacinta River. The site, surrounded by rainforest where toucans and howler monkeys live, is made up of some five hundred buildings spread over 15 sq km, of which only a few have been excavated. We will explore the magnificent ruins, including the Temple of the Inscriptions – the tallest and stateliest of Palenque's buildings, the Temple of the Sun – crowned with a prominent roof comb, The Palace – with its maze of corridors and rooms, and many other beautiful buildings

Breakfast included.

Depart
At the appropriate time today you will be picked up from your hotel in Palenque and transferred to Villahermosa airport.

Arrive in Merida
On arrival at Merida airport you will be met by a representative and transferred to your centrally located hotel.

Afternoon at leisure to explore the city. Built more than 450 years ago on the site of T'ho, an ancient Mayan city, Merida is the social and economic centre, as well as the capital, of the state of Yucatan. Merida's downtown area features a large, tree-shaded central square and the city's main boulevard, Paseo Montejo, is home to impressive European-style mansions. Though a bustling city of about 700,000, Merida retains its colonial charm and has a laid back tempo that delights visitors. If you have extra time, we recommend adding a few additional days to visit the surrounding area which includes pink flamingo sanctuaries and crystal-clear cenotes (sinkholes) that are easily accessible from Merida.

Breakfast included.

Uxmal & Kabah Tour
We will visit the archaeological site of Uxmal, a World Heritage Site, located 80km south of Merida. Its architecture is characterised by low horizontal palaces set around courtyards, decorated with a profusion of symbolic motifs and sculptures depicting the long-nosed rain god Chaac. We will explore the magnificent buildings, including the Nunnery, the House of Turtles, and the House of the Magician, which dominates the site. We'll continue on to Kabah, with its amazing Palace of the Masks, covered in nearly three hundred masks of Chaac before returning to Merida.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Chichen Itza - Tulum
Today will be one of the highlights of your Mexican adventure as you enjoy a visit to the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, located 120km east of Merida. One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza is the best restored of Yucatan's Mayan sites. While here we will explore the magnificent ruins set in a dense jungle, including:
- Pyramid of Kukulcan, its height and striking geometric design the most prominent of this site.
- The Great Ball Court, the largest and most impressive in Mesoamerica.
- The Sacred Cenote, a natural well used for human sacrifice.

We'll also see many other beautiful temples. From Chichen Itza we'll head to the white sandy beaches of Tulum.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Day at Leisure
Today is at your leisure to enjoy the magnificent beaches and crystal clear waters of the Riviera Maya. Apart from its excellent beaches Tulum possesses some impressive cenotes (underwater sinkholes) which offer fantastic snorkelling opportunities and you should also consider a side trip to its breathtaking Mayan ruins.

Breakfast included.

Depart
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.

Breakfast included.