Environmental Costa Rica Service Trip For Teens

Hands on wildlife rehabilitation and environmental community service!

This service program brings you into a wildlife refuge, where you volunteer directly with local animals. You’ll also journey into the stunning Monteverde Cloud Forest and assist in an environmental research project on the biodiversity of Costa Rica’s ecosystem. After an overnight white-water rafting trip, you get to work on conservation and sea turtle projects on Costa Rican beaches! It’s an unbeatable wildlife teen service program!

ITINERARY

DAYS 1-2: SAN JOSE ORIENTATION & OVERNIGHT RAFTING ADVENTURE
Our trip begins in a San Jose Central Valley area Bed and Breakfast where students get to know one another and establish both personal and group goals. Activities include team building exercises, basic language activities, and a scavenger hunt! 

DAYS 3-4: OVERNIGHT RAFTING ADVENTURE
It’s time to embark on a thrilling overnight rafting adventure on the Pacuare River, one of the world’s most beautiful and biodiverse waterways. We spend the night along the river at a permanent camp utilized by the rafting outfitters.

DAYS 5-8: BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH STATION
Next, we travel up to a ranger station, our home for the next three nights, in the highly-biodiverse Monteverde Cloud Forest. A resident expert will guide us through data collection and recording techniques related to an ongoing environmental research project. Explore the trail systems, work on your species identification, and support local research efforts aimed at protecting our planet’s plant and animal species. A ranger will take us on a night hike to experience the amazing nocturnal environment in the forest. 

DAYS 9-10: WILDLIFE REFUGE, SUSTAINABLE FARM, & ZIP LINE
We spend time volunteering with experts at a wildlife refuge and become familiar with efforts to conserve and rehabilitate Costa Rica’s wildlife species. We then go on an epic zip-line excursion to get our adrenaline pumping while seeing the forest canopy from high above! Try your hand at making fresh cheese at a local dairy farm, and learn about the inner-workings of a sustainable dairy farm from the owner himself.

DAYS 11-14: CONSERVATION AND SEA TURTLE PROJECTS
Travel south to one of the longest-running turtle conservation projects in Costa Rica, located on the Osa Peninsula. While staying at rustic yet comfortable group accommodations, we engage in community service projects and tours to support both the local community and conservation efforts of native sea turtles. Activities include in-water monitoring of hawksbill and green turtles, maintenance of a mangrove nursery, seagrass sampling and studies, and shifts at the turtle rescue center. Spotting sloths, colorful frogs, toucans, monkeys, and water birds is not uncommon here in the Osa Peninsula!

DAYS 15-16: PACIFIC COAST SURFING & EXPLORATION
Time to hit the beach! We travel to the Pacific Coast, famous for its unique combination of rainforest and ocean. We challenge ourselves with surf lessons taught by energetic local professional instructors. The wave conditions on this beach provide the perfect opportunity for all levels to hang ten! We will also adventure to a picturesque local beach and a beautiful waterfall. We have the unique opportunity to spot humpback whales as they congregate in the warm waters of the Pacific. 

DAYS 17-18: TRAVEL HOME
Our trip back to the Central Valley gives us time to share our memories before we fly home. We also have a celebratory dinner and awards ceremony at an authentic, local restaurant to reflect upon our last three weeks together.

When flights become available, please contact us for the latest airfare pricing or visit our Flight & Travel Arrangements page for more information about travel days.

Please note that this itinerary is subject to change.

SAVE A SPACE FOR 1 Week!

Tech Free Programs:

Global Works does not allow phones/internet-capable devices on our summer programs. We believe this enhances group cohesion and allows students to be fully present to their experience.

SERVICE PROJECTS

Sea Turtle Conservation

Volunteer with a turtle conservation organization in the Osa Peninsula

Wildlife Rehabilitation and Volunteering

Work alongside experts to rehabilitate and conserve Costa Rica’s diverse wildlife

Field Research

Support local research efforts aimed at protecting our planet’s plant and animal species

Environmental Service Projects

Participate in a beach cleanup to protect marine waterways

ADVENTURE & CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

In Water Turtle Surveying

Pacific Coast Surfing

Raft Costa Rica's best white water

Visit a local cheese farm

Hike through primary cloud forest

Gallery

Accommodations

ORIENTATION

Global Works Costa Rica participants spend the first and final days of the program in a small, comfortable lodge located in the mountains surrounding the capital of San Jose. The lodge is locally owned and specializes in hosting student groups. It is dorm style with 4 to 6 students sleeping in bunk beds; each room has a private bathroom with hot water showers. Large group spaces located on the property are ideal for group orientation, dance lessons, and ice-breaker activities.

MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST

Our two cloud forest lodges are located within the boundary of the largest private ecological reserve in the country, The Children’s Eternal Rainforest (Bosque Eterno de los Niños). To reach the lodges, students complete an attainable hike through primary cloud forest and are rewarded with rustic yet comfortable eco-lodges built to exist in harmony with the natural surroundings. Both lodges offer large rooms with bunk-beds and private bathrooms. A large balcony affords expansive views of surrounding volcanoes and the hammocks provide an unbeatable spot to sip coffee and relax after a long day of service work.

WILDLIFE REFUGE

In the La Fortuna area, we stay in a comfortable lodge located in a mountain valley. The lodge is locally owned and specializes in hosting teens and student groups. Rooms are for 2 to 4 students; each room has a private bathroom with hot water showers. Large group spaces located on the property are ideal for group activities.

OSA PENINSULA ECOLODGE

This Eco-Lodge is located in the northern part of the Osa Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The lodge has solar-powered electricity and is very basic, so please come with the expectation of simple-living! Our meals and volunteer projects are organized through the lodge and family that operate it.

PACIFIC COAST BEACH

Participants stay at an ecolodge in southern Costa Rica located just steps from the beaches of Marino Ballena National Park. Accommodations are traditional hotel-style rooms shared by two to four students. The lodge is styled with an onsite swimming pool, hammocks, and common areas.

Reviews & Testimonials

This trip has totally changed the way I think of myself and others and it has really made me want to be more a part of community service and traveling around the world and meeting new people and learning!

- Vera P-R., Costa Rica Participant

My trip leader always had a smile and was really good at giving advice and bringing up different perspectives.

- Catherine K., Costa Rica Participant