Francisco Herrera

The trip planned by Francisco was excellent. Each of the outings (adventures) was exactly what we wanted. In many ways it was like taking a graduate course in biology, botany and zoology. We particularly enjoyed the morning birdwatching with Josee. He was extremely well informed and gracious. Our driver, Alex, to and from airport/hotel, was superb. The roads were terrible. On arrival, we met Alex around 11pm as our flight had been delayed. He drove the difficult mountain roads to LaFortuna in fog and rain. Tip for the future, have your clients arrive at SJO in the afternoon to avoid the drive in the dark. We arrived at hotel at 2am and were picked up that morning for horseback riding at 8am (not much sleep). The hotel El Silencio was fine, not special. The Danus outing was good. The butterfly garden was not special. The transfer to Monteverde was fine and a nice boat ride with an attempt to find shorebirds. The hotel Fonda Vela was fine, not special; but the location was far from the activities because of terrible roads. It took about 45 minutes to go 5 miles. The sky walk adventure was worth the time; and the tram not particularly interesting. The Curicancha hike was very interesting with a wonderful guide. The night walk in the cloud forest was a highlight of the trip with a superb guide, Oscar. We took all our meals at the two hotels. The food was OK but nothing special or memorable. I forgot to ask Francisco about tipping. We did tip each guide $20 and also Alex. At meals, we tipped 20%. The drive from Monteverde to JSO was long and difficult but Alex did a great job. The daytime scenery as very interesting. Unfortunately the trip home took 16 hours -door to door- due to delays and long waits at airports. Not your fault. In all, we enjoyed being in Costa Rica and will surely recommend your agency and Francisco to our family and friends. Thanks for all you did for us. These are just my thoughts. My wife, Jan, will send her own review.
Donald Hamburg

We booked a 12 day (it was supposed to be a 14 day trip but American Airlines screwed us out of two days and Francisco with Tachiz Travel did an amazing job adjusting the itinerary in real time) trip across Costa Rica from coast to coast and places in between that went off beautifully! We highly recommend Tachiz Travel for anyone interested in traveling Costa Rica in good hands!

We booked an incredible 7-day Costa Rican vacation inclusive of daily private excursions with Tachiz Travel, through KimKim. It was truly by far one of the easiest and most professional travel agencies we have had the pleasure to work with over many years traveling across the world. From first contact to our final farewell, Alex and Francisco went above and beyond to ensure our adventures in Costa Rica were well organized and memorable utilizing the best tour operators in country.

Due to our last-minute decision to travel to Costa Rica for vacation, the accommodations we had selected were unfortunately not available for our entire stay. Therefore, Francisco recommended The Springs Resort & Spa overlooking the Arenal Volcano; what a fabulous resort! It is centrally located to the many activities available in the area including hiking, rafting, ziplining, bird watching, horseback riding, ATV excursions, or just relaxing in the hot springs. The Springs staff was not just accommodating but very friendly and happy to share incredible stories of their beautiful country and make sure our needs were met every step of the way. The resort has several onsite restaurants that are world class. Specifically, La Ventana restaurant, was phenomenal with an incredible chef (Jason Roja), sommelier, and staff. Maikol and Armando went out of their way each day to make our dining experiences special. The menu was extraordinary, creative, and diverse to meet anyone’s palate. We enjoyed every meal and experienced many customary dishes.

Francisco, Tachiz Travel, really listened and understood our interests and goals for the trip. He and Alex developed the perfect itinerary personally design for us. Every excursion guide and driver were exceptionally knowledgeable and spent quality time explaining the local history, customs, culture, and significant landmarks. The guides were true subject matter experts sharing their knowledge and showing us amazing birds, wildlife, and topography. It was one of the best vacations we have ever had. World-class trip.

We are planning on returning to Costa Rica soon and will leave the planning once again to the incredible team Tachiz Travel Team.

Where to start! This trip was perfection. From the greeting at the airport by an incredibly knowledgeable driver who gave us such insight into the area that we already felt at home by the time we arrived at Tabacon. Every tour guide we had was on time, extremely informative (not only about the specific adventure but about the country) and each one had an amazingly warm personality. We saw every animal that we had hoped to see and some we didn't even know about! We started in Arenal; then to Monteverde and finished in Conchal. It gave us such an amazing appreciation of so many different aspects of Costa Rica.

When I started thinking about this trip, I had a fairly specific idea of what we wanted to do. This was a trip for me and my 24 year old daughter. Alex and Francisco came up with a custom itinerary that far surpassed anything I could have thought up. They listened to everything I said and turned my ideas into a trip that became a trip of a lifetime. During the planning process they were with me the whole time. Always available by email and phone, to go over any question I had. We were there when the Corona virus just started to impact the US. By the time we left we were one of eight guests at our hotel. During the last week of the trip, the Costa Rican government closed their borders to incoming non-residents. Not only did everything go as planned, but as they were trying to get people home and deal with all of the cancellations, we never felt like we weren't being taken care of.

I could write a book about this trip and how amazing it was and I have Alex and Francisco to thank for that. If I could - I would go back tomorrow morning and have them plan everything. I plan to do just that next year as soon as I possibly can.

OUTSTANDING TRIP

Our trip was fantastic, and was extremely well planned and well executed. Every excursion was exactly what was promised to us. Alex was truly outstanding. Will definitely use KimKim again, and would use Tachiz travel when we return to Costa Rica.

By far, the best travel company i’ve ever dealt with. My wife and I had a really great experience.