Personalized trips to Costa Rica
for independent travelers

The location and setting were amazing with views of Arenal Volcano. I stayed in a stand-alone bungalow that was very comfortable. The staff were simply wonderful. The only negative was that the jacuzzi was drained but the natural hot mineral pools were excellent.

The hotel is on a hill over looking the ocean. They offer an hourly shuttle but only to two different inconvenient locations. Also because it faces west for the incredible view there is no shade around the pool. The bed was very comfortable but the only covering was a very thick comforter so I asked for a lighter cover and they brought another heavy comforter.

So so ride mostly through a flat open field.

This was by far the best zipline experience I've had!

I was pleasantly surprised to be the only one on the raft with the guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, pointing out things along the way I never would've seen. He also went into detail about these sights. At the end of the very relaxing float he took me to an eco farm for snacks made entirely from ingredients from the farm.

This was billed as snorkling but really was a scuba trip that catered mostly to the scuba divers. The snorklers felt unimportant. There was no instruction on using the equipment.

The boat engine was so loud and the guide sat at the front talking with a group of photographers. I had to ask many times what he was talking about. Also it was billed as visiting an authentic Guantil Village to observe the generations old pottery making. There was no visit but a single guy who set up a table in the cafe where we lunched. He made a small clay pot and showed us photographs of the painting process. Very lame.

The lodge itself was really nice, but not as much privacy as we would have liked. You can hear your neighbors extremely clearly and the wall dividing the rooms don't go up all the way. Other than that, the pool was really nice to relax at and we were able to see plenty of wildlife at the lodge itself. We were greeted by some monkeys right outside of our room which was a pleasant surprise!

The resort was so nice! We had issues with the key card when we first checked in, but the hotel staff resolved the issue right away and had someone come up to the room to give us our new key cards. The room itself is a bit away from the restaurant, pools and main lobby but they had shuttle come around and pick us up and we didn't mind walking a couple times to get a nice workout in. The food was amazing and the hot springs at the resort was so much fun to relax and visit.

This hotel was so nice! It was extremely clean and the staff were all so nice and helpful. We loved feeling like we were out in nature but also was just a few minutes walk from restaurants and souvenir shops. The wifi was spotty at our room, but the staff told us in advance that they were having some wifi issues due to the high winds the area had been impacted by. It wasn't too much of a problem and was nice to disconnect from the outside world for a few days while we stayed here.

I love heights and getting an adrenaline rush so this activity was right up my alley. I had done zip lining before but this was really a great experience. The longer zip lines was truly amazing and really felt like you were flying across the forest. They also have different options for those who are more adventurous called the Superman where you zip line on your stomach and the Tarzan Swing which is like a mini bungee jump almost.

The visit to the village was nice. I think we were just exhausted from the travel that we would have liked to be able to get settled in a bit more before we had to go on the guided visit. Also because it is not the busy tourist season, it was a bit sparse and we probably would have been ok if we stayed for only an hour instead of the full two hours.

The Tortuguero national park was a fun tour to check out. We saw a lot of different animals and birds. We weren't prepared with binoculars so we didn't get the best views of the animals. It was very impressive that the guide was able to spot animals from so far away. Being on a boat for the tour was a nice little touch.

This was probably our most favorite tour during our entire Costa Rica trip! Our guide, Alfredo, was the best! He was able to give us so much information and spot all kinds of snakes and animals. He was also very friendly and would joke around a lot which made the whole experience very enjoyable. He also recommended we eat at the end of the day which we greatly appreciated because the food was very heavy and we probably wouldn't have been as comfortable with the Waterfall if we had eaten before. The food was very delicious! Alfredo also made sure to pack some fruits and drinks for us as well as towels which we weren't expecting, so that was such a nice little touch!

We had such a good time on this tour. We told our guide Carlos that we wanted a more active hike so he was able to find the best route for us. At the beginning of our hike we saw two rare birds, the Quetzal. They were so beautiful and Carlos told us that about 10% of folks who come to the forest ever get a chance to see them so we were pleasantly surprised! It was also great seeing how excited he got when he spotted the birds! I told Carlos I also wanted to see the clouds and he said it might be tough but was able to find a good place for us to see the clouds which was really nice. We ended the hike at the cafe which also has hummingbird feeders and there were hummingbirds everywhere which was really cool to see up close!