This trip encompasses both the wilds of trekking right in the mountains without seeing anyone the whole time and also the experience of walking the 'classic Inca trail'. Yes, you will see other people but you are walking in the footsteps of history and heritage! I was really pleased to have done it like this as I can say i walked the trail of the incas and arrived through sungate - it may be a cliche but hey youre only going to do it once so i am pleased to be able to say I did it this way.
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. The amount of wildlife that we saw was simply unbelievable - from sloths and whales, to scarlet macaws, toucans and 4 types of monkeys. We even saw animals that I'd never even heard of before. (Agouti and coati.) Tortuguero is simply magical - waking up to the sounds of the rainforest and then seeing turtles on the beach at the other end of the day. I couldn't believe the number of beautifully colourful birds we saw in the cloud forest. By the end of it, we were saying, "Oh, it's just another hummingbird." And our time on the peninsula was just spectacular. Plodging through a stream in the rainforest and swimming near a mini-waterfall were great experiences. Never mind being able to spot humpback whales while standing on the beach having a picnic lunch!
Wonderful trip, really. I had planned to walk the trail for a few years but was worried about my level of fitness. It was fine however. Others in the group struggled more but even those with no experience of walking at all managed to complete the trail and were well supported by our tour guide.