• Ascent: Non Riding Day

Following touch down at San José Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), you will be greeted by your Skedaddle tour leader. After a short transfer (30 mins approx.) to the capital of Costa Rica, San José, we soon reach our hotel. Once checked in our bikes will need to be built ready for our transfer tomorrow. The rest of the afternoon/evening is set aside for relaxation and we will head out into the city for our first evening meal together. During the meal, there will be plenty of time to chat about the days to come.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 250 Metres Approx.

After an early breakfast we’ll load up the bikes onto the bus and head out of San José. It won’t be long until we’re bidding farewell to San José’s busy city streets in favour of the lush green landscape of the country’s Caribbean quarters. It usually takes approx 4 hours to reach Cahuita but it is an interesting drive as it crosses the Continental Divide for the first time of our tour, passing through small towns and lots of countryside. On arrival we will eat lunch and, after checking in at the hotel, the rest of the afternoon is left free to either relax and enjoy the area or to join the party for a warm-up ride. The ride today is all about acclimatisation and will be gentle and mainly flat.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,500 Metres Approx.

Now the fun really begins! Our ride today is in 2 stages, the first of which follows the coastal road from Puerto Viejo to Limón. The going is relatively easy this morning and it’s a perfect and gentle intro to our trip across the country. Upon reaching Limón we will load the bikes onto the vehicle, bid farewell to the Caribbean Sea and transfer to Siquirres. This is a short transfer and is necessary to avoid riding on a very busy stretch of road.

After lunch it’s back on the bikes, with the road from Siquirres rising almost immediately and, climbing for approximately 20km, steeply in places, this second half of the day is a total contrast to this morning. After reaching the summit, the road rolls onwards through coffee and sugar cane plantations and takes us along the ridge that divides Rio Reventazon and Rio Pacuare. Upon reaching our hillside accommodation we can relax in rustic style and admire the views of the Turrialba Volcano. The bustling little town of Turrialba lies in the valley below us and, only a few km dash downhill, is well worth a visit – remember though that you will have to climb back up!

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,650 Metres Approx.

A swift descent from our lodge down towards Turrialba town marks the beginning of a very beautiful day. Within just less than three kilometres after leaving the hotel we turn off the main road in favour of a lovely rolling route that leads us into a gentle landscape and through a series of typical rural villages.

We make the most of this gentle start because the second half of the morning has a few surprises in store as the road starts to turn steadily upwards! The main challenge of the day confronts us at the 30km mark where the gradient increases suddenly and dramatically to carry us high up onto the southern wall of the beautiful Rio Reventazon valley. The climb is steep, but typically Costa Rican in that it is thankfully short, and it isn’t long until we‘re cruising down the other side towards the gorgeous Cachi Lake where we can stop to sample locally-produced coffee in a traditional Tico cafe overlooking the lake.

We press on along the picturesque lakeside road and through the coffee plantations until we reach the Spanish Colonial town of Orosi where we’ll stop to enjoy a picnic lunch. Orosi will be our home for the evening and we can choose between ending our ride after lunch to relax in the pretty little town or, alternatively, pushing on for another 30kms to complete a loop around the stunningly beautiful Orosi valley.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,500 Metres Approx.

Loading the bikes onto the vehicle after breakfast our day begins with a transfer from Orosi in order to avoid riding through the urban sprawl of Costa Rica’s capital. Reaching Santa Ana, a few km west of San José, we’ll mount up and begin our ride. It won’t be long before we‘re climbing and we‘re heading firstly for Santiago de Puriscal and then onwards to Barbacoas which marks the end of most of the day’s climbing. We’ll descend carefully over the other side as the road falls away through a lush green mountain landscape. The gradient soon becomes more gentle and things flatten out as we approach the small town of San Pablo de Turrubares. The final stage of the day on minor country lanes delivers us to a small village a few km short or Orotina.

Oritina is nicknamed ‘The Fruit Town’ and is renowned throughout the country for its amazing variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. We’ll relax in a rural cafe with a refreshing drink while the bikes are loaded onto the vehicle again for a final short transfer to Atenas where we spend the evening. Listen out for locals telling you that the town has ‘El Mejor Clima del Mundo’ something of enormous pride, not to mention the reason for high property prices, since National Geographic Magazine reported it as having one the most desirable climates on earth.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,100 Metres Approx.

Today is one of the shortest days of our tour and presents us with an excellent opportunity to relax into the riding and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Atenas is situated amongst some of the country’s steepest and most challenging terrain, so in order to make the most of our time on the bikes we begin the day with another short transfer to the town of San Ramon. From here the ride starts with a few short but rather cheeky climbs. An enjoyable descent through a beautiful scenic countryside follows before the final rolling stage from Tigre takes us to La Fortuna, one of Costa Rica’s most popular destinations; a pleasant and relaxing little town nestled beneath the famously active Volcan Arenal. The relatively short day and gentle terrain should see us arriving in La Fortuna in plenty of time to kick back and enjoy the town’s relaxed vibe.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 500 Metres Approx.

No packing required this morning and, since we’re staying In La Fortuna again this evening, the ride today is entirely optional and it’s a great opportunity for anyone wishing to take a day off the bike and get involved in some alternative activities.

Those wishing to ride are of course in for a treat as our scenic loop allows us to fully explore the roads surrounding La Fortuna. At just over half way, we’ll take a short detour to an area renowned for iguana sightings – there are never any guarantees with wild animals but this is one of the best places in the country to see these magnificent and endangered creatures and we are likely to see them here at close proximity.

We’ll get back to La Fortuna in time for lunch with the rest of the afternoon left free to enjoy the town.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,550 Metres Approx.

Today is likely to be one of the most memorable rides of your holiday. A 16km climb takes us out of town in the direction of Laguna de Arenal and leads us once again into close proximity with the famous volcano. The undulating road follows the northern shore of the lake and on a clear day the lake and the volcano create a perfect backdrop to one of Costa Rica’s most pleasant road cycling routes. Upon reaching the highest point of the day we’ll take in one last look at the stunning vista, bid farewell to Arenal and begin our 25km descent into Cañas, crossing the Continental Divide in the process. We‘re now well and truly on the Pacific side of the country and this is usually quite obvious by changes in both the climate and vegetation.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,100 Metres Approx.

In order to avoid riding on the Pan American Highway we will make a very short transfer, from our hotel, to the town of Liberia where we offload the bikes to begin our ride.

Today we‘re heading for the shores of the Pacific Ocean on what will be one of the longest rides of our tour. Initially, and hopefully aided by prevailing winds, we head west along a predominantly flat road through a region that is typically warm and dry. A change of direction at approximately 50kms leads us deep into the heart of the Nicoya Peninsular and directly to Nicoya, the bustling small-town capital of the region where we will stop for lunch. It is here where you will find the highest concentration of ultra-centenaries!

The scenery and the terrain change quite dramatically after lunch and the later stages of the afternoon are punctuated by a rollercoaster of short, sharp climbs, the last of which delivers us to one final descent from where we drop straight down onto the beautiful palm-fringed beaches of Samara and Carrillo where we will spend the next 2 evenings.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 520 Metres Approx.

The tranquillity and relaxed atmosphere of Samara are seductive, and it is understandably tempting and entirely acceptable to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the golden sands. Cycling today is still an option though for those who still haven’t had enough(!) and there is plenty of challenging riding to be had in the hills that lie beyond the coast. The coastal strip is beautiful and is home to an abundance of wildlife, including the ubiquitous howler monkey and exotic birds such as macaws and other parrots. We’ll return to the beach in good time to enjoy a drink or two in what is one of the best places in the country to watch the sun go down.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: Non Riding Day

The morning is free for relaxation, exploration and perhaps one final dip in the ocean. After soaking up the sun and the atmosphere we’ll transfer to San Jose, stopping off along the way for lunch in a typical restaurant and arriving in the capital in the late afternoon/early evening.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 1,600 Metres Approx.

Before embarking on our final ride, we have to transfer out of the city to the suburb of San Isidro, a few kms away from the city of Cartago which used to be the country’s capital before the seat of power was moved to San José.

On paper todays stage might look like a half day but there is plenty here to keep us occupied and the fun starts almost as soon as we settle into the saddle with what will be our longest and highest ascent of the entire journey. This beautiful initial climb rises steadily for 19kms and tops out at just shy of 2,000m where, even on the clearest of days, it can be surprisingly cool.

After enjoying a coffee at the summit, we embark on a similarly lengthy descent into one of the country’s primary coffee-growing regions and some of the prettiest scenery imaginable. We end our time on the bikes with a final challenging climb to the village of Tarbaca where we’ll finish off with a late lunch in a wonderful barbecue restaurant perched high in the hills that overlook San José and the Central Valley.

During lunch the Skedaddle Team will load up the bikes in preparation for the short transfer across the city back to our hotel where we will spend our final evening.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: Non Riding Day

Today we will transfer to San Jose airport for flights home (transfer time 30 mins approx.).