Natural Habitat Adventures Launches New Costa Rica and Nicaragua Nature Adventure

 

The world’s premier nature travel company, Natural Habitat Adventures (Nat Hab - http://www.nathab.com/), will host four departures of a new exploratory itinerary, Tropical Discovery: Costa Rica to Nicaragua, beginning in late 2015.

Just 10 guests per departure will explore wild regions of Costa Rica and seldom-visited Nicaragua, a country many visitors believe represents what Costa Rica felt like 50 years ago. The inaugural departure of this new 11-day adventure is set for Nov. 26, 2015. The per-person, double occupancy rate is $4,995; single supplement is $895.

“Costa Rica holds legendary status as a nature tourism destination,” said Ben Bressler,Nat Hab founder and president, “and Nicaragua is equally spectacular though far less known.”

A combined exploration of the two countries’ mosaic of tropical habitats showcases a vivid diversity of wildlife. Colonial Granada, established in 1524, is part of the mix too, adding a historical element as the first European city in mainland America. Bressler explained that this trip was designed in tandem with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to highlight a broad range of wilder, less-visited regions of these two nature-rich countries.

From the highest point on the Pan-American Highway (11,322 feet) through Costa Rica’s Talamanca Mountains guests access Savegre Mountain Reserve in a cloud forest rife with giant tropical oaks and some 600 bird species, including the rare and resplendent quetzal. A private boat cruise on the Sarapiqui River weaves through some of the best-preserved rain forest in Costa Rica, inhabited by a host of wildlife. And visits to two field research centers – La Selva, an international biological research station, and Tirimbina Rainforest Center, where the focus is on bats – offer guests a chance to interact with scientists studying tropical habitats and wildlife.

Just over Costa Rica’s northern border, vast Lake Nicaragua and the volcanoes that flank it offer multiple opportunities to examine the impact of volcanic activity on the natural environment. The itinerary includes a cruise among lava islets on the lake, an excursion to view nesting parakeets in the crater of the active Masaya Volcano, and a walk through old-growth dry tropical forest growing out of lava rock.

Morgan’s Rock, a 4,000-acre nature preserve on Nicaragua’s southern Pacific coast, provides a remote immersion in the tropical landscape. Nesting sea turtles are sometimes found along the mile-long beach while the forested reserve interior shelters spider, howler and capuchin monkeys, sloth, deer, agouti, reptiles, and indigenous and migratory birds.

While the itinerary’s focus is on nature and conservation, the history and culture of region’s peoples embellish the experience. These include one of the world’s best pre-Columbian rock art sites on Ometepe Island, the colonial textures of Granada, visits to handcrafted hammock and maraca workshops, and a home-cooked meal in the home of a Costa Rican family.

Accommodations are selected for authenticity and eco-sensitivity. In Costa Rica’s Talamanca Mountains guests stay at Savegre Mountain Lodge in the cloud forest. Another lodge, San Juan de la Isla, enjoys a lakefront location on Nicaragua’s Santo Domingo Beach in view of Isla Ometepe’s towering twin volcanoes. The ecolodge at Morgan’s Rock is part of a family estate engaged in low-impact agriculture and sustainable forestry practices.

Trip rates include all transportation and activities as described in the itinerary, an internal charter flight, accommodations, all meals, non-alcoholic beverages and purified drinking water, services of a Nat Hab Expedition Leader, local guides and lodge staff, airport transfers, most gratuities, all permits, entrance fees and taxes. The international gateway is San Jose, Costa Rica.

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. ClickHERE to order a copy of the 2015 catalog.

About Natural Habitat Adventures
Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalistExpedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.

Follow Natural Habitat Adventures:
Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/NaturalHabitatAdventures
Google+:       https://plus.google.com/+Nathab/
Twitter:          https://twitter.com/nathab
YouTube:      https://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalHabitatAdv
Pinterest:       http://www.pinterest.com/nathabpinterest/
Instagram:     http://instagram.com/naturalhabitatadventures

Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport

Natural Habitat Adventures Announces Exclusive “Grizzly Ship” For Close Encounters with Alaska’s Giant Brown Bears

 
 The world’s premier nature travel company, Natural Habitat Adventures (Nat Hab - http://www.nathab.com/), announces the exclusive charter of a legendary vessel it has rechristened the M/V Natural Habitat Ursus, to take guests as close as possible in safety to the largest coastal grizzlies in the world.
 
The new adventure, Alaska’s Coastal Grizzlies: Kodiak to Katmai, will accommodate just eight guests at a time aboard the Ursus for the planet’s most intimate bear encounters.
 
Two versions of the trip are scheduled weekly from mid June through mid September 2015: Alaska’s Coastal Grizzlies: Kodiak to Katmai (seven days) and Alaska’s Coastal Grizzlies: Kodiak to Katmai Photo Tour (eight days). The rate is from $7,995 per person, double occupancy. Photo-focused departures are led by a naturalist guide who is also a professional photographer.
 
M/V Natural Habitat Ursus (Latin for ‘bear’) has been recently refurbished to provide comfortable accommodations. It was originally built in 1984 as a crab fishing boat called Time Bandit, which plied the stormy waters of the Bering Sea and gained fame in the Discovery Channel TV series "The Deadliest Catch." Its shallow draft allows cruising near the shoreline, where guests can watch bears forage in meadows and dig clams on the tide flats in remote Katmai National Park on the Alaska Peninsula.
 
The route is flexible in order to follow the bears while aboard this classic 73-foot-long wooden vessel. The Ursus accommodates a maximum of eight travelers in four guest cabins with upper/lower bunks. It carries a full complement of state-of-the-art navigation and safety equipment. The ship’s interior is intimate and simply appointed, with ample space for meals and activities. Guests share two toilets and two showers. A well-lit galley and dining area provide for convivial conversation over gourmet meals prepared each day by the onboard chef. Fresh Alaskan seafood, including halibut, salmon and crab, highlight the menu.
 
“With Ursus providing our offshore expedition base, we are able to visit some of the planet's most pristine wilderness in Katmai National Park without leaving an impact. Shore excursions, which get us even closer to the bears, take place via Zodiac rafts carried on board,” explained Ben Bressler, founder and president ofNatural Habitat Adventures.
 
Nature puts on few displays as arresting as Alaskan brown bears feeding on summer’s bounty. These bears – the largest coastal grizzlies in the world – gorge on spawning salmon as the fish swim up the rivers that pour onto these wild beaches. “Nothing can prepare you for the drama of an actual encounter with these magnificent beasts, just yards away,” says Bressler. Since these bears live in protected habitat and have never had negative experiences with humans, they are nonchalant to the group’s presence and are safely approachable at close range.
 
The adventure begins on Kodiak Island where guests are introduced to Alaska Native and Russian cultures. A local boat excursion follows rocky shorelines for sightings of sea lions, otters, puffins, bald eagles and occasionally whales. A floatplane on Day 3 flies guests to Kukak Bay to meet the M/V Natural Habitat Ursus, which immediately begins cruising slowly along the coast toward Hallo Bay to spot the first bears. Days 4 through 6 unveil the drama of multiple encounters with North America’s largest land predators (an adult male can weigh 900 pounds).
 
Via skiff guests reach shore to explore on foot, guided by a highly experienced Expedition Leader. It’s not uncommon to find massive grizzlies in great numbers; previous trips have seen as many as 30 to 40 of them at once. And far from dozing lethargically, these bears put on quite a show in their efforts to fill up on enough protein-rich food to prepare them for a long winter in hibernation. Depending on the time of the visit, bears may be mating or cubs gallivanting. On Day 7 guests depart from Kodiak.
 
NHA Expedition Leader Brad Josephsleads the Kodiak to Katmai Photography Tour (10 dates have been scheduled for 2015). A noted bear expert and Alaska resident (when he is not guiding bear adventures around the world from China to Churchill), he is one of Alaska’s premier naturalist guides, as well as a superlative professional wildlife photographer who is gifted at sharing photography tips and guidance with his guests.
 
About M/V Natural Habitat Ursus
M/V Natural Habitat Ursus was built in 1984 and transitioned for research use by the National Park Service in 1989, conducting scientific study and monitoring. It has since been converted and comfortably appointed for custom marine charter use. In addition to Nat Hab’s grizzly adventures, the ship has outfitted two international filmmaking projects, the 2012 BBC/Discovery Channel documentary Great Bear Stakeout, and an NHK (Japanese public television) program on orcas hunting gray whales and humpbacks.
 
About Natural Habitat Adventures
Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner ofWorld Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.
 
For trip information, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2015 catalog.