Costa Rica Bucket List Retreat
December 8-14, 2024
January 19-25, 2025
Your Costa Rica Adventure Includes:
Luxury Villa Accommodations: 180 degree ocean views, private pool, tropical garden, and regular visits from toucans, monkeys, iguanas, and more!
Chef-Prepared Meals: All meals included, beginning with dinner on Day 1, and ending with breakfast on Day 7
Activities galore! Including: white water rafting, surfing lessons, guided nature walk at Manuel Antonio National Park, sunset catamaran dinner cruise, and kayak/SUP (stand-up paddle-board) through a mangrove forest
Additional Opt-in Activities: Including additional surfing, yoga, and relaxation massage
Private Roundtrip Convoy: Scenic private transfer from San Jose International Airport to Ojochal, Costa Rica
Group size: 9-12 adventurers, 1 guide
Physical Demands: Moderate
Price Range: $3500-$4200
Priceless: A curated experience designed to help you relax, relate, and release!
Check out some of our Instagram Stories for a taste of the experience!
Detailed Itinerary*
Day 1
Meet at 10:30am** at our rendezvous hotel near Costa Rica’s San Jose International Airport. Meet your fellow SheTravels guests and travel via private transport to our luxury retreat center in Ojochal, Costa Rica.
Upon arrival you’ll be met with a poolside reception and appetizers in order to fully relax into your surroundings for the week. Once settled in, we’ll sit down for our chef-prepared dinner and your SheTravels guide will fill you in on what to expect for the week. Your guide facilitates community building by leading conversation to help us get to know one another, and set intentions for your week in Costa Rica.
We won’t keep you too late, as Day 2 is an early morning and we hope you’ll get some rest for the adventures ahead!
Day 2
You’ll likely be awakened by the sounds of the Costa Rican jungle, and a chef-prepared breakfast will be waiting for you. After breakfast we’ll head 45 minutes north to Dominical to start our white water rafting adventure on the Sevegre River. Never been rafting before? That’s ok! We’re led by experienced guides who are part of the Costa Rican National Rafting Team - they prepare us with everything we need to know and closely monitor conditions, putting our safety first. Part-way down the river we’ll stop to explore a local waterfall and refuel with a Costa Rican snack. Back in Dominical we’ll have a “Typical” - a traditional Costa Rican lunch, and will have time to explore the small town and its beach before heading back to our villa in the afternoon.
In your free time you’ll be able to take advantage of the pool with a view, hiking trails around the villa, and the many quiet places to relax on the property. Dinner will be another sit-down chef-prepared offering.
Day 3
We spend most of Day 3 on dry land as we make our way up to Manuel Antonio National Park after breakfast. Manuel Antonio is one of the smallest, yet most-visited national parks in Costa Rica. It contains a combination of rain forest, beaches, coral reefs, and hundreds of species of plant and animal life. We’ll be guided on a private nature walk by a local biological expert who can point out all the amazing features of this slice of jungle heaven (sloths, monkeys, and frogs galore!).
After our relaxed guided nature walk we’ll visit the town of Manuel Antonio to have lunch with a view overlooking the park and ocean. After an opportunity to do some souvenir shopping, we’ll head back to our villa in time for some relaxation before dinner.
Day 4
After breakfast, Day 4 starts with surfing lessons on Dominical Beach. Our beginner surfing class is done in waist-deep water at most, so if swimming in the ocean makes you nervous at all, know we’ll be in shallow water where you can simply stand-up to find safety. We are also be supported by experienced surfing instructors who are very good at adapting their approach to meet the needs of the individuals they teach. There will be no more than 2 guests assigned to each instructor, so you’ll have hands-on support as you learn.
After surfing we’ll have time to hang out on Dominical beach before heading “home” to our villa for lunch and an afternoon of relaxation options. You can choose to hang by the pool, attend a yoga session, or sign up for a relaxation massage (massage fees are at your own expense).
Dinner this evening will be out on the town at a local Ojochal restaurant. Ojochal is known in the southern region of Costa Rica for its restaurants specializing in fine cuisine that fuses global flavors with Costa Rican traditional foods.
Day 5
We’re back on land again as we visit one of the most popular waterfalls in the area, Nauyaca Falls. There will be an option to either hike or ride down to this gorgeous cascading waterfall that boasts a combined 347 feet between two falls. Take a swim in the waterfall pools, or relax in the surrounding area and take in the jungle sounds and views. Either way the falls make for some great photo opportunities, and you’ll get to be immersed in a pretty remote jungle environment. We’ll pack our lunches and will eat on the banks of the river with the falls in full view.
In the afternoon you’ll have another opportunity to make some choices about either continuing to relax around the pool and villa grounds, or heading back up to Dominical for another surfing lesson.
Our chef-prepared dinner will be flexible this evening, offering you an opportunity to take it easy and eat when you’re hungry.
Day 6
Our final day of adventuring is a full one, starting with stand-up paddle boarding (or kayaking if you prefer) through a Mangrove forest in nearby Matapalo. Once again we’ll be supported by knowledgeable and experienced guides who help all skill levels learn to paddle board. They also have deep knowledge of the biodiversity in the area we paddle through. In addition to the unique experience of the Mangroves, we’ll park our boards near a secluded beach one can only reach via paddle board. It’s gorgeous and stretches for miles. It’s a wonderful place for photo ops, or to just sit in awe of what nature can be.
From there we’ll head north for our final excursion - our sunset catamaran tour. We’ll board our boat in nearby Quepos where we have lunch and visit Manuel Antonio again…this time from the water. We may spot dolphins and other marine life as we cruise the ocean. We’ll stop near the shore for a bit, offering an opportunity to swim and/or snorkel, before enjoying sunset on the ocean
Back at our villa for the final chef-prepared dinner, your guide will facilitate a closing circle activity offering time to reflect on your experience and what you’ll take home with you.
Day 7
Have a hearty breakfast and pack up some snacks along with your belongings. Private transport back to San Jose International Airport will be provided after we say our goodbyes (airport drop-off is at 1:00pm).
*All SheTravels itineraries are subject to change based on weather and safety conditions at the time of our adventures.
**Depending on where you are flying in from, you may need to fly into San Jose one day early. Upon registering, SheTravels will provide a list of recommended hotels in the area. You will be responsible for any accommodation needs on either end of the trip.
Physical Demands: MODERATE/HIGH
Your Costa Rica adventure will be jam-packed with activities with varying degrees of physical exertion required. For your safety and enjoyment we want to be up-front and realistic about the physical demands to make sure you’re prepared for a fun and rewarding experience.
Please take a close look at the detailed itinerary above to understand the activities included in the Costa Rica Bucket List Retreat. For this adventure you need to be free of neck or back injuries, comfortable walking 1-2 miles in a hot environment, and you will benefit from being comfortable in water environments. That said, water activities have an option (if not a requirement) to wear life jackets and other life-saving equipment, or they take place in shallow water (e.g. surfing). 100% of water activities are run through accredited and insured outfitters. In other words, you can safely participate in any of the activities regardless of your swimming ability. For perspective, it’s ok if any of the listed activities make your nervous - that’s very normal. We are sharing this information with you so you can make an informed decision about whether these physical demands risk putting you in severe pain or causing injury. If you have any questions about your ability to enjoy this experience, please reach out to us at info@shetravels.com. We are happy to talk with you about what to expect, and to give you our honest opinion about whether your comfort level in the water will impact your enjoyment of this adventure.
Please note: by registering and paying a deposit for an Adventure, you acknowledge and agree that you have received, read, and understood the SheTravels Participation Agreement and agree to abide by the SheTravels’ policies as they may be amended from time to time. As of this time, ALL PARTICIPANTS will be required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 at the time of travel (final shot administered at least 14 days prior to start of your adventure). Accepted vaccines are Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)