Custom Adventure Tours (Grassroots)

  Costa Rica

• Central Pacific Coast: 
Puntarenas

Dates: All Year

Description: Our Volunteer Vacations combine, travel, ecotourism, and volunteerism in an effort to support the growth and development in the village of El Sur Costa Rica. Volunteers will start out exploring various destinations in Costa Rica, the Caribbean Coast, Arenal Volcano and hot springs, Monteverde Cloud Forest, the beautiful beaches of Tamarindo, Tortuguero (where sea turtles can be observed nesting), and many wildlife reserves and national parks. Canopy walks, nature hikes, white water rafting, snorkeling, and surfing are just a few of the exciting activities we have included in our trips.

Afterwards your group will arrive in El Sur where the village will welcome you as their guests for the week. You will share meals with families, teach English classes in the elementary school, and work towards the completion of a project that will push them closer towards self sustainability as they prepare and begin to open up the village to Ecotourism. There will also be plenty of time for rest, relaxation, and a wealth of cultural activities that the people have prepared.

This program brings out the true cultural exchange offered by the people of El Sur. The program includes all cultural and leisure activities offered in the Ecotourism package; however a special element of volunteerism is added. Please be advised that EcoSur is a grassroots organization, founded, managed, and operated exclusively by the people of El Sur, Costa Rica. You will be accompanied on your trips by local guides from the village of El Sur as well as an English speaking guide. This program is excellent for high school groups, college students, and families. Please contact us today for a sample itinerary or talk to us about designing your own custom trip. If you are interested in traveling without the volunteer experience, let us know and we can still arrange a custom adventure tour for you.

Why Choose EcoSur?

Unique Experience

EcoSur wants to offer a unique experience of travel and eco-tourism coupled with volunteerism to bring about cultural awareness, acceptance, immersion, and finally exchange. There is no other grassroots organization like ours here in Costa Rica that can offer this combination of volunteerism and eco-tourism. We hope you will recognize our effort to live up to the word eco-tourism as it applies to supporting and sustaining the lives of those who offer the land they live on for your enjoyment. We want you to have a great time during your stay with us and at same time recognize the significance of your contribution to our community.

Your Contribution

Volunteers and Eco Tourists provide the village of El Sur with a means of sustainable living. With your generous financial contribution, EcoSur is able to fund efforts to support individuals in the community with employment and direct assistance. Your contribution to the community also goes far beyond your program fee. In order to remain attractive for eco-tourists, there are many other projects that need completion in El Sur, some large others small, but all-important just the same. Whether volunteers are painting the school or constructing new bungalows to accommodate future tourists, every project benefits the overall appearance of the village, thus promoting their vision of sustainable living through eco-tourism. Finally, in order for the people to have success with tourism in the future, they will need to be able to master English as a second language. Your interaction and communication with them during your time here is vital to their education and their future in an industry that is placing greater demands for perfection in English each day.

Our Commitment

We the people of EcoSur are committed to providing you with a safe, secure, and worry free travel experience here in Costa Rica. We are committed to healthy living, preservation of the environment, and economical growth through responsible eco-tourism. We want you to live like we do for a week, share in our work, recreation, and education as we seek to share all that we have been blessed with here. We want you to feel like a part of the community and realize the significance of the contribution you have made to our little village. Finally, we want you to walk away from El Sur with memories and friendships to last a lifetime. We are committed to connecting the world under the umbrella of peace and harmony using nature, the environment, community, and culture as the catalysts.

Highlights: Travel throughout Costa Rica exploring wildlife, culture, and the meaning behind Pura Vida. Destinations include Arenal, Monteverde, Tortuguero, Puerto Limon, Cahuita, Tamarindo, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Osa Penninsula and our volunteer site in El Sur de Turrubares. Purchase your plane ticket and let us take care of all the rest, food, hotel, transport, guides and safety! We are not a travel agency, we are a grassroots organization and your contribution will go directly to aiding the village of El Sur and the community that resides there. Our trips are organized and run by the people of El Sur. We offer discounts for groups, as well as groups leaders!

Ask us about our opportunities for Alternative Spring Break, Missions Trips, Corporate Team Building, Family Vacations, and Guided Surf Tours. We are very flexible and can customize your volunteer vacation to your liking.

Cost in US$: from $1,000

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application