Mexico to Costa Rica tour

Environment

Our 28 day Mexico to Costa Rica tour uses a mixture of local and private transport. Making use of the local transport infrastructure is the best way to travel within a country, as this limits your co2 footprint and does not contribute to further road congestion.

This tour visits many areas of natural beauty including Merida, Flores, Caye Caulker and various parks in Costa Rica! We believe it is of the utmost important to respect these environments and leave nothing but footprints. Our tour leaders regularly advise customers to dispose of all litter correctly, not to pick up or take natural materials from these environments, avoid walking on unmarked paths where you might disturb the flora and fauna of the area and do not approach or disturb wildlife in their natural habitats.

Our tour notes section includes a suggested packing list for customers which includes a reusable water bottle and cloth/cotton tote bag for when shopping or picking up souvenirs. Keeping plastic waste to a minimum while on vacation can be challenging, and we encourage customers to think about this when packing and make every effort to have this at the front of their mind while traveling.

This tour stops at and includes a guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Chichén Itzá. The money paid for tickets and entrance fees is important in the preservation of the site for years to come. Customers are educated on its history and role in Mexico, which is important in providing an understanding as to why these sites must be respected and kept in as good as a condition as possible.

While in Cahuita clients have the opportunity to visit and support the Jaguar Centre. This rehabilitation center rescues animals native to Costa Rica and once nursed back to full health, releases them back into the wild where possible. This is a wonderful project and important for the wildlife of Costa Rica.

Community

Our small group size (maximum 19 but normally 10-12 people) allows us to stay in smaller, locally owned hotels and guesthouses. This provides income for many smaller establishments who are not equipped for dealing with larger coach tours. One of the hotels we support in Costa Rica is Hotel Don Taco, a family owned establishment in the heart of Monteverde that has been operating as a family business since the early 90’s.

This tour includes most breakfasts but not lunches and dinners. This is because we believe allowing customers the flexibility and choice to eat where they wish in these local towns and cities is the most ideal situation for the community and restaurants that rely on tourism for an income. Our tour leaders are knowledgeable on the best local establishments and markets and will always advise clients to eat here and avoid larger international chains. We do not believe in resort vacations that provide “all inclusive” as this can often bring money away from the local restaurants and bars.

Our staff have spent many years building strong relationships with local suppliers through the countries visited on this tour. In each location, free time is available so that customers can choose which activities to participate in and where to inject money into the local community. From snorkelling in Belize to day tours that visit more ancient Mayan ruins, there are various options that provide jobs for the local community.

Where necessary, this tour uses a private minivan to get from A to B. The supplier is local to Central America, again providing income to the local communities. Using a local private transport supplier also gives us the chance to stop at restaurants and markets that public buses would not, again bringing people and money to these smaller establishments. While this tour uses three flights in the 28 day adventure, these internal flights cut down on drastically long travel days on the tour. By cutting these travel days out and reaching more destinations in the 28 days, we are spending more time in each location, thus injecting more money into the local communities.