Text : Dina Bauer and Métilde Wendenbaum ECEAT
The Northern zone stretches out to the Nicaragua border and possesses exuberant nature and a very rich biodiversity with national parks and private reserves. Since it is an agricultural zone (rich soil due to the volcanic activity in the region), the Northern zone is the perfect place to travel around nice farms with different agricultural plantations. Due to the general depreciation of the farming activities and the difficulty to maintain their way of life, some farmer’s families decided to complement their agricultural activity with high quality rural tourism offer.
The community network “Vacaciones con familias campesinas – Costa Rica” is now uniting 55 farmer’s families from 12 small communities in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica. The farms are all surrounded by a variety of beautiful landscapes. Most of them are small and dedicated to animal husbandry and/or agriculture. Many of them (50 %) apply organic agricultural methods to protect the environment. The network received technical support by a NGO, concerning how to receive guests. Visitors are invited to stay in farmers’ homes, to share a family environment and to taste the delights of the local food and beverages, to participate in regular celebrations and daily activities on the farm, to participate in sport events and unscheduled activities or spontaneous meetings with neighbours to play cards, etc.
Visitors can observe or get involved in cow milking or other agricultural production (pineapple, cassava, and hearts of palm), learning the traditional cuisine, etc.
Visitors can also get to know local craftsmen/women, learn about the work that women’s groups accomplish, or simply visit the community, to chat with people or to watch insects and tropical birds or to fish trout and tilapia. The farmer families also offer a volunteer program.
The lodging is organised in family houses of the farmers that are modest but clean and cosy. The farmhouses are either made of wood or a combination of wood and concrete. There are different lodging options and different levels of comfort covering the interest of each of the clients. The guest is invited by the farmers families to be like a family member for some days.
Localisation
The communities are located near the towns "La Fortuna de San Carlos" and "Ciudad Quesada" in the Northern Region of Costa Rica. 100 km from the capital city San José, visitors can take a bus to those medium cities, and then to the community chosen. The network can also arrange transportation for them. Ciudad Quesada, the head district of San Carlos can be reached within 2:30 hours from San Jose, the Capital city.
Contact
Christian Vega and Yeudi Herrera
c/o ACEPESA • Apdo. : 1257-1002 • San Jose, COSTA RICA
Tel. : + 506 354 6047 or + 506 302 3765
Fax : +506-280-6327-113
E-mail : info@costaricaruraltours.com
Internet : www.costaricaruraltours.com
Informations culturelles
100 % of the population of the Northern Zone, which participates in our tourism project, lives principally from farming activities. The main agricultural production is animal husbandry, production of pineapple, cassava, basic grains and hearts of palm etc. Language spoken is Spanish. The tourism activity in these communities date from the year 2000.
In the future the network wants to expand in other zones of the country and Central América. And the farmer families want to make regular evaluations of the satisfaction of the guests, and the social and environmental effects of the tourism in the comunities, to be able to improve the tourism program continually.
Recommended tour
Title : An agricultural stay in a farm
Duration : 4 days
Dates : every day
Seasons : Toute l’année. The dryer season is between December and May.
Price : US$ 47 per person per day, included in the price : Guide, lunch, probations. Accommodation in a family house for 16 US$ extra, breakfast included. Each meal extra costs US$ 7.
Activities : Observing and participating in agriculture activities with farmers families, Hiking, Horseback riding, Nature observation, Bird watching, Butterfly gardens, Boat trips, Fishing, Cooking courses, and more. hiking tours with flora and fauna observation including endangered species like the green macaw, horseback riding, river fishing, and boat tours. visit the permanently active Arenal Volcano ; Visiting different farmer families in the community and actively follow different agricultural processes, like the full process of pressed cheese preparation : And the cultivation of pineapple and actively participating in its planting process and its harvesting, learning about sugarcane cultivation : Finally we will visit a family, with whom we will make “tortillas” and we will brew coffee.
Hébergement : modest farmer family houses made of wood or a combination of wood and concrete.
Size of the groups : 8 people per guide