This journey from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica takes you to some of Central America's best wildlife and marine life viewing opportunities. It also provides an intense experience of rainforest, cloud forest, marine turtle and primate research and conservation.

For wildlife and marine life, the Corcovado National Park in the Osa Peninsula is a must for any visit to Costa Rica. The area has been described by National Geographic magazine as '..the most wildlife intense place on earth', both because of its primeval forest and abundant offshore life. The western side of the Corcovado provides more than 30 miles of beach where the rainforest meets the Pacific Ocean. Populations of howler, capuchin, spider and squirrel monkeys are so healthy along the coast that they live in closer proximity than you are ever likely to find elsewhere.

Offshore, humpback whales from both the northern and southern hemispheres migrate. 17 kilometres from the coast of the northern Corcovado is the Caño Island Biological Reserve. Aside from Cocos Island way out in the Pacific, this is where you will find the country's best marine life, both on the surface and beneath it. Dolphins are a feature of most visits to the island. Olive Ridley turtles and manta rays are also often seen at the surface and below. The coral reefs and steep drop-offs provide excellent snorkelling if you wish, with some huge shoals of fish and pelagic visitors such as sharks and barracudas. We can pre-arrange diving for certified divers.

The wildlife and marine life highlight for us on the Caribbean coast is an 'on location' experience at an Endangered Wildlife Trust and Rainforest Concern project conservation project site. It was initially established to protect one of Central America's most important nesting grounds for the giant Leatherback Turtles. It also protects a growing area of rainforest, the future protection of which your visit with us helps to protect.

Giant Leatherbacks are the largest of the marine turtles, with the biggest measured specimen some 2.4 metres in length.  Between mid March and early June, hundreds of leatherbacks come to the Pacuare Reserve to lay their eggs. Whilst they can move around freely in water, their quest to lay eggs is a monumental struggle. A pregnant female must first locate a beach and then drag her huge body five or more metres out of the sea using fins designed for water. These same fins then need to dig a metre deep hole in which she lays her eggs before covering them back over with sand. You can't help but feel the strain of her quest and gain a sense of her vulnerability out of the water.

Fortunately, nesting leatherbacks are protected by law in Costa Rica and projects like those you will visit on this extension help to protect leatherback eggs from poachers and dogs. You will be asked to take great care in watching this process. Once a female has begun this process it is unlikely she will stop, but it is important to avoid upsetting her with torches or camera flashes.

The Pacuare project was established to protect 6 kilometres of some of the most important leatherback nesting sites in Central America. Green turtles also arrive in large numbers here, but the Tortuguero National Park is best known for Green Turtles - the largest green turtle nesting site in the Western Hemisphere in fact. They start to arrive in July, which is about halfway into the period when leatherback hatchlings climb their way up through the sand and run the gauntlet of predators into the sea. Green turtle egg laying usually runs until October and hatchlings can be seen taking to the sea as late as November.

Both Pacuare and the Tortuguero National Park are fantastic locations for spotting lowland rainforest wildlife and birdlife. Jaguars sometimes appear on the beaches in Tortuguero and puma tracks are often found at Pacuare, as well as peccary and more than 265 species of bird. Howler monkeys and white fronted capuchins can be seen every day.

In travelling between the Pacifc and Caribbean you will experience the stunning cloud forest scenery of the Braulio Carillo National Park. You will also pass the La Selva Research Station where you can, if you wish, stop to take a look around. If you choose to take a short local tour here, or private birdwatching, you will be able to learn about one of the longest established research projects in Costa Rica and observe some of the incredible 448 species of birds found here.

Like any of our Costa Rica experiences, this one can be tailor to meet your timings, preferences and special interests. We can easily add in or swap locations to incorporate more relaxation, adventure, a higher standard of ecolodge where available or allow for a more intensive look at certain birdlife, wildlife or marine life. Other locations you may be interested to consider might include:

- the Manuel Antonio National Park on the Central Pacific coast
- Arenal Volcano and its cloud forest and mountain scenery
- for additional marine life: the Gulf of Papagoyo, the Bat Islands & Catalina Islands