2 Weeks Special Volunteer Program in Costa Rica

Day 1 Sunday: San José airport picks up and transfers to Volunteers’ House & Hostel to unpack and rest. 

Day 2 Monday: -Brief orientation, starting at Jesús Soup Kitchen Project and Walking Santa Bárbara City Tour in the afternoon.

Days 3 – 6: Barrio Jesús Soup Kitchen.  
Our Social projects seek to contribute to the development of the poorest families in our population, principally in poor rural areas and marginalized urban areas in order for them to attain integral human development, which translates into better living conditions in harmony with nature. Volunteers will be working in Barrio Jesús Soup Kitchen by helping to prepare food, clean the place, wash dishes and share with the children and adults which go to this NGO to maybe have their only meal at the day.  During this first week, you will be helping four hours daily from Monday to Friday. You will provide care, love, and attention for these children and parents as well as assisting staff at the projects. 

Days 9 – 13: Jacó Beach Environmental Program.  

• Cleaning the beach and Recycling Campaign every Monday and Wednesday morning.
• Volunteers will pick up garbage all along the beach and place it in special garbage containers. Please keep in mind that because of the ultraviolet rays you can’t spend the four hours working at the beach. Volunteers will separate and recycle the garbage they collected from the beach.  
• Reforestation Program every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
• Volunteers will look for, pick up and place in the “greenhouse” beach almond trees which are the main food for the Big Scarlet Macaws.
• Helping community every Friday morning. Optional and if you didn't work 5 hours a day Monday to Thursday.
• Volunteers will work in different projects at the community, such as painting murals, working in the playground or the soccer field, working in the local community buildings, etc.                                                                       

Day 14 Saturday: Goodbye Costa Rica.
You can spend your last day saying goodbye to Costa Rica and shopping or continues traveling around the country. This is your last morning at the Volunteers’ House & Hostel.

Weekend Tours

Day 7 Saturday: Poás Volcano Tour: As we ascend the mountain, we will see coffee plantations as well as fern, flower and strawberry farms along the way, creating a beautiful array of colors and visuals.

There is a noticeable change in temperature and vegetation, preparing us for the pleasure of the exuberant cloud forest of the Poas Volcano.
The Poás Volcano is an active 2,708-metre (8,885 ft) stratovolcano. The crater of the volcano is over a mile across and 1050 feet deep.  It has erupted 40 times since 1828, including April 2017.

At the Volcano, we will have time to enjoy the impressive main crater with its sulfur fumaroles, and hike on a trail to the beautiful Botos Lagoon as we learn about the different ecosystems in the park. Enjoy your day at the Worlds’ Biggest Active Geyser. 

Day 8 Sunday: Canopy Adventure Barva Volcano. Zip-lining in the morning and transfer to Jacó Beach in the late afternoon.
Our trip begins with an early pick up 8 am approx. at your place. From there you will be transported to our Operation Center in San Jose de la Montana, Heredia. After registering and using the restrooms, our guides will be gearing you up for the adventure with a professional climbing harness, pulley, leather gloves, and helmet. Once the gear is in place we will jump back in our transportation to do a short (1/2 mile) drive up the hill. During this last drive, we will be able to learn about the cypress plantation and the way that it is managed.
 
Once we get to the top of the hill our guides will be conducting a “safety talk” where all the doubts about how to properly use the gear, the right position to ride on the cables and the way the broken system works will be explained. On this adventure, all you have to do is enjoy the ride.
 
After the safety talk, we will be walking into the primary forest. As we make our way to the first platform we will stop along the way to learn more about the cloud forest. At the end of this nature hike, we will find ourselves at the foot of a staircase that will take us to the top of the forest, climbing along a gigantic oak tree. Once we get to the first platform we will start using gravity to travel.