Costa Rica: Conservation, Community & Adventure
San José • Sarapiquí • Caribbean Coast | 8–10 Day Featured Program
Explore one of the world’s most biodiverse countries while discovering how conservation, community, agriculture, and tourism intersect in everyday life.
Students journey from San José into the rainforests of Sarapiquí and onward to the Caribbean Coast, learning alongside environmental organizations, farmers, local families, and community members.
Through conservation projects, sustainable agriculture, cultural exchange, wildlife experiences, and outdoor adventure, students explore an important question: How can communities thrive while protecting the environments around them? The source itinerary intentionally combines environmental stewardship, Indigenous heritage, community-based agriculture, service learning, and wildlife conservation.
Experience Costa Rica Beyond the Rainforest
What Students Explore
CONSERVATION & BIODIVERSITY | Experience rainforest and coastal ecosystems while learning how communities work to protect wildlife and natural resources.
SUSTAINABILITY & FOOD SYSTEMS | Explore sustainable agriculture, local food production, and the connections between environmental health and economic livelihoods.
COMMUNITY & CULTURE | Learn alongside local families, farmers, artists, and community members about daily life and cultural traditions.
SERVICE & ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP | Contribute to locally identified conservation and community projects while exploring what responsible service looks like.
ADVENTURE & PERSONAL GROWTH | Build confidence through ziplining, hiking, wildlife exploration, and navigating unfamiliar environments together.
8–10 Day Itinerary
A Program, Built to Be Customized
This itinerary combines Costa Rica’s extraordinary biodiversity and adventure with deeper learning about the people and communities working to protect it.
Your school can customize the program around conservation, environmental science, sustainability, Spanish language, leadership, service learning, or other academic themes.
Activities listed below are examples and subject to availability and confirmation.
Day 1 | Welcome to Costa Rica
Arrive in San José and meet your EdOdyssey Program Leader before settling into the experience ahead.
Gather for a welcome dinner and orientation introducing Costa Rica, cultural expectations, environmental themes, and the principles of thoughtful community engagement that will guide the program.
Sample Experiences:
Arrival • San José • Program orientation • Costa Rican culture • Welcome dinner
Day 2 | Markets to Treetops
Begin at a bustling local farmers market, where students work in small groups to explore unfamiliar foods, interact with vendors, and learn about Costa Rican ingredients and everyday life.
Then head into the forest for a zipline adventure, experiencing Costa Rica’s landscapes from an entirely different perspective.
Sample Experiences:
Farmers market • Cultural scavenger hunt • Local foods • Ziplining • Outdoor adventure
Day 3 | Conservation & Indigenous Traditions
Work alongside a youth-led environmental organization on a hands-on conservation project and learn about environmental challenges facing local communities.
Later, participate in a workshop with Indigenous artists exploring Chorotega, Bribri, Brunca, Maleku, Brörán, Huetar, and Cabécar traditions and the ways culture, artistic expression, and relationships with the natural environment are passed between generations.
Sample Experiences:
Environmental service • Youth leadership • Indigenous arts • Cultural traditions • Conservation • Group reflection
Day 4 | Into the Rainforest
Travel into Sarapiquí and visit a sustainable farm, learning directly from a cooperative member about agriculture, food production, and community-based approaches to sustainability.
Spend the afternoon with a local family preparing tortillas and learning about coffee or agua dulce before settling into a rainforest lodge. After dark, head outside for an optional guided night walk to discover how the rainforest changes after sunset.
Sample Experiences:
Sustainable farm • Cooperative agriculture • Local family experience • Tortilla making • Rainforest lodge • Night walk
Day 5 | Community in Action
Spend the morning working alongside community members on a project based on locally identified needs, such as reforestation, school improvements, or community infrastructure.
After lunch, trade work gloves for hiking shoes and head to a local waterfall for an afternoon of exploration and swimming.
Reflect on the difference between arriving with assumptions about what a community needs and listening first, then contributing alongside local people.
Sample Experiences:
Community service • Reforestation • Local partnerships • Waterfall hike • Swimming • Reflection
Day 6 | Rainforest to Caribbean Coast
Travel from Sarapiquí to Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast, watching the landscapes and communities change along the way.
After settling in, learn about threats facing sea turtles and the local conservation efforts working to protect them. Depending on season and availability, participate in an evening turtle patrol supporting monitoring and protection of nesting areas.
Sample Experiences:
Caribbean Coast • Sea turtle conservation • Wildlife monitoring • Night patrol • Coastal ecosystems
Day 7 | Caribbean Culture & Conservation
Experience Costa Rica’s Caribbean region through its beaches, biodiversity, food, and cultural traditions.
Participate in a coastal conservation activity such as a beach cleanup, explore the surrounding ecosystem, and learn how tourism, conservation, and local livelihoods are connected.
Finish with a hands-on cooking or cultural experience highlighting the region’s distinct Afro-Caribbean influences.
Sample Experiences:
Beach conservation • Caribbean culture • Coastal ecosystems • Local cuisine • Cultural exchange
Day 8 | Taking Pura Vida Home
Return toward San José and bring together the different perspectives students encountered across the program.
Reflect on conservation, sustainability, community, and responsible travel while considering what lessons from Costa Rica students can apply to environmental challenges in their own communities.
Gather for a final dinner and celebration of the experience.
Sample Experiences:
Return to San José • Sustainability reflection • Student discussion • Farewell dinner
Days 9–10 | Extend Your Experience
Longer programs can add experiences that deepen the program’s academic or adventure focus.
Options might include additional wildlife research, Spanish language and cultural exchange, rainforest ecology, nature safari float, additional service learning, or deeper exploration of Costa Rica’s coastal and rural communities.
Sample Experiences:
Spanish language • Wildlife research • Rafting • Rainforest ecology • Additional service • Cultural exchange
Make this program your own
Start Here. Then Shape Around Your Course.
This itinerary is a starting point. Depending on your goals, we can place greater emphasis on areas such as:
Conservation & Environmental Science
Rainforests • Biodiversity • Sea turtles • Wildlife monitoring • Ecosystems
Sustainability & Food Systems
Sustainable agriculture • Cooperatives • Local food • Conservation • Responsible tourism
Community & Leadership
Community projects • Youth leadership • Service learning • Local partnerships • Cultural exchange
Culture & Global Studies
Indigenous traditions • Afro-Caribbean culture • Spanish language • Food • Everyday life
Adventure & Personal Growth
Ziplining • Hiking • Waterfalls • Wildlife exploration • Outdoor challenges
We can also adjust the program length, locations, site visits, cultural activities, reflection, community engagement, accommodations, meals, and level of EdOdyssey Program Leader support.
Could this work for your students?
Use this itinerary as your starting point or tell us what you'd change. We'll work with you to align the experience with your students, academic objectives, preferred dates, group size, and budget.
Have a different academic focus in mind?