Holy cow! Or rather, holy huge millipede! Was that a toucan? Get a closer look from the suspended bridges high in the rain forest canopy. Can you spot those howler monkeys you’ve been hearing? Swinging through the jungle, Tarzan style. Do some swinging of your own on a zip-line. Or will it be beach time? Or paddling through mangroves? Or TLC at the spa? It’s up to you. And you really can’t go wrong. With these activities. With private charter flights connecting it all. With a week of Backroads family fun in Costa Rica.

Premiere Inns

Parador Resort & Spa (2 nights): A Spanish-style resort with blissful views of the Manuel Antonio rain forest and the azure Pacific. (pool, spa, tennis)

Rafiki Safari Lodge (1 night): These African-style luxury safari tents offer the ideal setting for enjoying the sights and sounds of the jungle. (pool)

Hotel Punta Islita (2 nights): A Travel + Leisure favorite, this eco-friendly resort is tucked away between an ocean cove and the forest on the pristine Nicoya Peninsula. A Small Luxury Hotels of the World member. (pool, spa, tennis, golf)

Daily Mileage Options & Cumulative Elevation Gain

Day 1

• Level 1 1 Route Option Available
• Walking 1.6 miles
• 0 - 100 feet elevation gain

Day 2

• Level 1  2 Route Options Available
• Walking 2, 3.5 miles
• 0 - 300 feet elevation gain

Day 3

• Levels 1 to 3  5 Route Options Available
• Biking 5, 9, 12, 20 miles
• 100 - 600 feet elevation gain
• Hiking 2.1 miles
• 500 feet elevation gain

Day 4

• Levels 1 to 3  4 Route Options Available
• Biking 6, 9, 12, 18 miles
• 0 - 700 feet elevation gain
• Rafting 2.5 hours

Day 5

• Level 1  2 Route Options Available
• Walking 2.5, 3.7 miles
• 100 - 400 feet elevation gain

Day 6

• Guided Walk 1 hour

Please note: On this Family Trip, our routes are designed to be easygoing, with no significant gain or loss in elevation. However, rough terrain, heat and humidity can make biking in Costa Rica more challenging than the mileage may suggest. Although these conditions may slow down your riding, it's also what makes biking in Costa Rica an adventure! Liberal van shuttling is incorporated into the itinerary to facilitate our activities and mileage is kept moderate to enable you to spend more time exploring on your own.

Routes For All Abilities

Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next-and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.

Activity Level	Average Time	Biking Average	Walking Average
Level 1	2-3 hours	10-20 mile	2-5 miles
Level 2	2-4 hours	21-30 miles	5-7 miles
Level 3	3-5 hours	31-40 miles	7-9 miles
Level 4	4-6 hours	41-55 miles	9-11 miles
Level 5	5-7+ hours	56-75+ miles	11-13+ miles

2012 Dates & Pricing*

FAMILY TRIPS

*Prices may change. Once you book your trip, your price is guaranteed.

Recommended Kids Ages

Minimum Ages:

• Recommended minimum age for the trip: 9 years
• Minimum age restriction to ride own bike: 9 years
• Minimum age restriction to surf: 7 years
• Minimum age restriction to raft: 8 years
• No Burleys available on this trip

General Info on Minimum Ages:

We strongly encourage families to join our Family Trips, designed with kid- and adult-friendly features. Please note that we have a minimum age requirement of 1 year for all Inn trips and 2 years for all Camping trips. Other than that, we do not restrict trips to a minimum age except in the rare case of a hotel age restriction. We do, however, recommend minimum ages based on the following criteria:

• 12+ amount of cultural appreciation, difficulty of activities, routes
• 9+ difficulty of activities/activity age restrictions, routes
• 6+ several longer dinners; routes are difficult for pulling a Burley and therefore not appropriate for younger children; difficulty of activities/activity age restrictions

Please note that a trip may feature an activity with an older age requirement than the minimum age recommendation for the trip. Younger kids are still welcome on the trip and while they will not be able to participate in the activity, the leaders will suggest an alternate activity. For safety reasons, children under 7 may not ride their own bikes and are required to ride on a Piccolo or in a Burley. For certain destinations, children must be 9 or older to ride their own bikes.

Guest Trip Reviews

This was the best family vacation we have ever been on - and we are experienced vacationers. I have already recommended Backroads, and this trip in specific, to friends - and we only got back last night. We've gone on Backroads bike trips previously but had never taken our kids and had never done a multisport trip. We have an athletic 15 year old and a not-very-athletic 12 year old. Amazingly, this trip worked well for both kids. Everyone was happy.

Ann Becker - Kentfield, CA

One of the best vacations I've ever been on. Our guides were knowledgeable, excellent teachers, and also patient with us. I appreciated their humor as well as their knowledge and insight. Aside from the wonderful leaders, great accommodations, and beautifully interesting country, another thing that made the trip so special was the chemistry of the group…it was so enjoyable to be traveling with such a friendly and interesting mix of people. It was also amazing how well the kids in the group gelled.

Michael Steinberg - West Hartford, CT

My daughter and I both felt that Backroads gave us a chance to enjoy the local culture, food, people and wildlife in Costa Rica in a way that we never would have experienced on our own.

Sandra Beattie - Toronto, ON

My husband and I were in awe as to the enthusiasm of ALL the families - adults as well as children and how much fun they had - and the ease with how everyone got along together. The fun of observing them and being with all of them, yet not on top of each other, was wonderful. The activities and organization of the trip made it so easy and enjoyable. It is so nice to not be making decisions about where to go, when to eat, where to eat, arrange transportation, etc. and still have some choices.

Joan Strait - Lakewood, WA

Our leaders were fantastic - "off the charts"! A family trip is really challenging and they had a large group of teenage boys that they were wonderful with (no small feat), encouraging them in all the activities, getting the shy ones to come into their own, keeping up with the more outgoing ones and rising to every occasion. At the same time they made a group of preteen girls fall totally in love with them. And finally, they made us parents feel truly relaxed, taking over all the logistics and details of tours, transportation, meals and much more. The local guides were all great and it was clear that our leaders had nurtured good relationships with them, and even friendships. Costa Rica has much to offer, but it always comes down to the personal experiences one has, and those were memorable.

Jane Fink - Vienna,VA

Our leaders were tremendously welcoming and knowledgeable. They made the trip run smoothly and set the right tone of adventure, fun and learning. The week went by too quickly, and we are eager to experience the Backroads magic with our family again as soon as possible.

Anne Juster - Cleveland, OH

Fabulous trip! I can't think of a single thing I would change about it.

Jeff Rotter - Hoffman Estates, IL

An excellent time with many varied activities, which were great. Something new every day.

Richard Pomerantz - Honeoye Falls, NY