DESTINATIONS ESCORTED TOURS |COSTA RICA


CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Capuchin monkeys; Tortuguero National Park; the group poses for a photo; Mi Cafecito Coffee Tour PICTURES: Shutterstock/ Harry Collins Photography; Beverley Watts


experts MEET THE Diego, left, and Mateo ts


Just You holiday director


Mateo Maravic, 39, finds a solo tour is bubblier than standard trips. “The bus is definitely louder, because everyone’s


enjoying being with like-minded people,” he says.


Tour guide Diego Castagne, 65, says the first question


travellers usually ask is when they will see a sloth. He says:


San José from Gatwick and spend a night in the city before driving east to Puerto Viejo de Limon. In the beachside Cahuita


National Park, lush rainforest meets the Caribbean Sea. Here, troops of capuchin monkeys leap from tree to tree. We keep hearing the phrase ‘pura vida’ – ‘pure life’ in Spanish – which captures the laid-back culture in Costa Rica. The next day, we meet people


from the Indigenous Bribri community, whose ancestors resisted the arrival of the Spanish in 1502, preserving their own language and customs. The Watsi community in Talamanca prepare a delicious lunch of chicken, rice and beans for us, served in a plantain leaf, before we learn about the importance of cacao in this area. The mood-enhancing joys of chocolate have been known here for centuries.


Each evening, our party meets for drinks in the hotel bar before dinner, and there’s a very sociable atmosphere. The national Guaro Sour cocktail offers plenty of refreshment – it’s made with


40 8 JANUARY 2026 Our bungalow


rooms have no glass in the windows, only insect screens – you can hear every tiny rustle


sugarcane spirit and lime juice, but the tropical fruit mocktails on offer are equally quaffable. At dawn, we’re awoken by


an incredible noise: a roar that’s almost as loud as a jet engine. Puzzled, we discover it’s the territorial call of a howler monkey, amplified to 140 decibels by a resonance chamber in its throat. That’s one mighty alarm clock.


NATURE’S CALL The lodges around Tortuguero National Park are inaccessible by road, so we continue our journey north by boat on the Río Suerte and its adjoining canals. In this ecological haven, our


bungalow rooms have no glass in the windows, only insect screens. You can hear every tiny rustle. July to October is peak


turtle-nesting time and the Sea Turtle Conservancy helps visitors respect the endangered green sea turtles that lay eggs along this 21-mile black-sand beach. On two guided waterway tours, we see zebu cattle wading nonchalantly through the shallows, kingfishers diving and a bare-throated tiger heron cooling itself down. Sloths slumber on high boughs, caimans skulk and jaguars wait in the shadows. Heading west, we stop off for the Mi Cafecito Coffee Tour to find out about the country’s high-quality coffee production. Costa Rica has ideal coffee-growing conditions, with rich volcanic soil and a consistent warm climate (temperatures range from 21C-27C year-round).


SURPRISE SIGHTING Then it’s on to Muelle de San Carlos where, after the pre-breakfast bird display, some of our party


²


“The best thing in Costa Rica is, of course, nature, but the people are wonderful too.


This is a very friendly country.” WHY GO SOLO?


Single traveller Helen Taylor, 65, from Kent first heard about Just You through her travel


agent and has been on 15 tours, confident in the support that she’s received.


Eileen Sharpe, 69, from Sussex is married but her husband is unable to travel. Costa


Rica was her second Just You trip and she appreciates the expertise of the guides.


Dave Hull, 73, from Macclesfield sadly lost his wife recently and this was his first


solo trip. He found out about Just You from his Hays Travel agent and liked the idea of having a guaranteed room of his own.


travelweekly.co.uk


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