Amazilia Travel

What an amazing experience to enjoy the sounds of nature as you fall asleep at night. The beds were not comfortable, but the experience made up for the lack of comfort from the mattresses.

Edwardo and Luis were amazing rafting guides, chefs, and company. I felt so safe as we rafting down the rivers enjoying beautiful sceneries, lots of wildlife and a cool hike to a swimming hole. The guides were very knowledgable and competent in their abilities to lead our group. They made us delicious meals as we arrived at the lodge for the evening.

The pineapple treat prepared for us after we completed the long hike to the waterfall and back was a nice treat!

Make sure to get a Beach Front room ( and not one next to the road). Our pickup time for San Jose got delayed. For one hour. The staff of the hotel helped to find out where the driver was. They arranged for a driver who took us a few miles and connected us to a van who drove us to San Jose. The driver of the van was an excellent driver!

Unfortunately: when we arrived we learned that the Hotel was booked for the following night ( the wrong night!). But the Hotel staff was helpful in arranging a room ( one of two rooms left to book for the night!). So it avoided a situation which could have been very disastrous for us since we had to leave at 4 am the following morning for the airport.

See our review

See review: second hike was cancelled. Guide was little motivated. Ecotermales was very good: better at daytime to see the environment

Wonderful place, but too many tourists and groups

Rainy day, hike cut short: just to Laguna.

We love wildlife and Tortuguero is full of animals. Our guide was also great and could spot animals which we would hardly spot by ourselves.

We have enjoyed the hike, unfortunately weather was not really on our side, so we could not see the Volcano peak for our entire stay in La Fortuna. Nevertheless we have enjoyed it a lot.

It was interesting experience, but due to rainy weather we didn't enjoy it as much as we could in case of good weather - but as our guide said - this is a rain forest and rain is good for nature :-) Because of weather, I also think we have not seen so many animals as we could see under different weather conditions. At the end of the tour there is half an hour session about the chocolate production with chocolate tasting. Since we have been visiting chocolate plantation already with really dedicated guided tour including tasting, this half an hour could not compete with proper chocolate tour, which we highly recommend.

It was a transportation from point A to point B with the lunch on the way, but due to very good guides (Lars in bus and Freddy on the boat) we have learned a lot about the country and nature and they have made the trip very interesting. Without them this would be a bit boring.

We like Monteverde a lot - it was not so hot in comparison with other locations, however mist and rain can occur at any time. Night Tour was a little bit overcrowded, but we had a great young guide who was able to keep distance from other groups by selecting different trails and was able to make this tour very pleasant. He could spot animals we would not be able to spot at all and he was also making pictures for us using his telescope - so overall great experience.

We were surprised by heavy crowds in the park - especially at the entrance. It took us at least 30 minutes to get through the gates and if we would not have a guide with us who knew what to do, we would spent there 1 hour easily. One of the reasons is that park rangers are checking backpacks and confiscating prohibited items (food, single used bottles, knifes, plastic, etc.). Park itself is great and despite of the people crowds, we could spot a lot of animals, which was the main purpose of our visit. Our guide was making pictures and videos through his telescope and he was sharing these pictures with the rest of the group. He was also able to spot animals which we wouldn't have chance to see - so I very recommend to have local guide there. There is one official place (in the big cage) where you can buy some meal and drinks, but everything has to be consumed inside of the cage. Unfortunately they are not very organized there and there is long queue to the cashier. Fortunately there are several spots in the park with drinkable water from the tap. There is also nice beach in the park, so it's possible to bring swimming suit and spend some time there.

Well located for the market and old quarter. Good breakfast

In the middle of the rain forest with Sloth, monkeys and other wild animals around the grounds. Very nice breakfasts, efficient transfers along the waterways to/from the meeting point and well versed local guides taking us out on canoe/boat. Although the rooms around the gardens do not have aircon, the tranquility and ambience of the hotel gardens easily made up for that !

The hotel is luxurious and the on-site hot thermal springs are amazing both night and day. Lots of animals to observe around the grounds. The only downside is the cost of F&B. All the hotel cafes and restaurants were expensive, with little choice under $30 for a main course (plus sides/starters/deserts drinks) -so a family of four were spending $200 every night . However, food was excelllent and breakfast was fabulous and included of course.

Really nice hotel, located out of town (walkable) with gardens full of colourful noisy birds, their own farm, their own micro-brewery and great food. Cocktails at happy hour, admiring the views was a highlight!

Amazing hotel which felt like we were in the rain forest with monkeys, sloth, iguanas all around the grounds. We had a Vista Room with views of the sea and bay and forest.

Efficient transport to the meeting point at the docks. However, the organisors moved our pick forward from 6.45am to 6am and as first pick up, we were on the bus for 50 minutes before we even left the City and the roads were then busy for the first half hour. We were picked up at the dock by Mwamber Lodge boats and enjoyed an amazing trip down the estuary right to our hotel, passing monkeys and birds along the river bank. I would give this part of the journey 5 stars!

We saw so much wildlife ! We went on various canoe, kayak and boat tours to spot wild animals and colourful birds

Difficult to review as it was wet and cloudy but our guide was enthusiastic and engaging

Saw many sloths. The guide ensured we saw them through telescopes as they are often up high in the trees

13 Zip lines within and above the cloud forest, the final one being 1KM long. Great fun.

Good sightings of monkeys, deer, birds, sloths and finished with swim at the beach.

AMAZING! The best parts were the hot-springs tubs piped directly into your hotel room, the gorgeous breakfast, volcano views and many hot and cool pools. 10/10 would live here if I could!

Great views and tasty food. Restaurant is small and wait staff are not accustomed to small kids.

SOOOO much fun! I cant even being to count the number of animals we saw.

We loved Juan Carols and Gonzalo sooooo much, we wanted to take them everywhere with us! My daughter was holding Gonzalo's hand and he was showing her all the birds. What a heavenly day!

Lots of great information! Yeri is clearly very highly educated!!! We all learned sooo much from her and the boat trip was very relaxing.

We saw some awesome animals! Jesus showed is so many things - my son's favorite was the click beetles, but we also saw a 2-toed sloth, palm viper and kinkajou.

FUN! Great wildlife guide Alex on the hanging bridges, and the fellas that did the ziplines were all so great and fun and very hard-working!

The hubby caught a 90lb yellowfin tuna and a large dorado, my mom and son smaller tuna. My husband had such a great time he wanted to go fishing again the next day!

Absolutely gorgeous location and a great resort for kids! Everything about this place was HUGE from the rooms, to the property, the beautiful volcano that dominated the entire landscape. Out of the 3 places we stayed in Costa Rica, this was the favorite of my kids, and I felt completely safe letting them roam around without me glued to their sides. Our room (129) was right across from the top of the slide into the pool, so my kids were in heaven. Our room itself was enormous, with a big bathroom and great beds. The property is extensive with beautiful walking paths with plenty of activities to do directly from the resort. The hot springs and float-up bar were the best after an afternoon of hiking and horseback riding. The breakfast buffet was a fantastic mix of local and traditional breakfast foods, so there was something for everyone and the prices for on-site food options were quite reasonably priced for a resort restaurant. Only a mile or so from the center of La Fortuna, it was easy to visit town and all the excellent eateries and local restaurants. This resort will be first on our list when we return next year.

This hotel is split into 2 main parts so if you do book here, make sure that you get a room on the ocean side of the resort, so you do not have to cross the busy road to access the restaurant and beach. From the balcony of our room, we could see the beach and could also view the on-site restaurant and pool. My kids were absolutely in love with the resort pet cat, which was really friendly, and my daughter would have taken home had we let her. There was also many other animals that were right on the resort grounds (capuchin monkeys, lizards, agouti, toucans, etc.)-- so much so that we didn't think it was necessary to go on a nature walk through the reserve park, as all the same animals were right on our resort. The only downside to this resort was the prices of the items on the on-site restaurant menu--They were shockingly high, so we made an effort to eat at other local restaurants. Shout out to the Magic Bus, a local eatery right off the beach that we ate at twice, it was that good.

Horseback riding up the mountains is a unique way to appreciate the surrounding countryside. The horses were well taken care of and were used to people. Our guide, Esteban, was fantastic and clearly cared about the horses in his charge. He was knowledgeable about the area and very personable. In addition to the horseback riding was the waterfall itself. Down 500 steps into a river gorge, the climb down and then back up is pretty strenuous, but it was truly magical to be able to swim in the river and feel the spray from the water hitting the rocks.

We had originally just booked this for the zip lining and hanging bridges, but ended up adding on the sloth rescue, which really was a great decision. Zip-lining was a fantastic, outside the box adventure, that couldn't have been more exhilarating. The guides that were at each platform made safety their number 1 priority, so even though we were several hundred feet in the air at times, I felt completely safe for both myself and my kids (12 & 13). The hanging bridges were a nice walk throughout the park. We did not join a guided tour, and just walked at our own pace. The sloth rescue/rehabilitation unit was phenomenal! It was amazing to be able to view and learn about these animals and the rehabilitation process of the park. In all, we spent about 5-6 hours completing the zip line course, the hanging bridges walk, the sloth habitat tour, and having a light lunch at the onsite restaurant. It makes for a full afternoon, so great for those looking for several activities in a single place.

This hike was nice, but nothing special. It was neat to learn about the prior volcanic eruptions that impacted the area, and while it is the closest you can get to the volcano, this was a pretty strenuous uphill hike for a mediocre photo op.

Our guide, Warner, made this activity for us. He was a fantastic source of local wildlife knowledge and was able to help tow my son back to the dock when he was too tired to paddle. It bears noting that the majority of the time on this excursion is spent in the kayak. The snorkeling was great, with lots of fish and sea-life to see, but the time in the water could have been longer. In addition to the kayak/snorkeling, the included lunch was fantastic. Typical fare, the chicken, rice, beans, and soursop juice was great, but what was really amazing was the dessert of warm pineapple al a mode with caramel drizzle. It was de-lish and an excellent way to end the excursion.

Far and away the Parador is our favorite place to stay.

Hotel Lomas del Volcan is an amazing property nestled in the tropical rainforest at the base of the Arenal Volcano. The luxury bungalows provide a unique lodging experience where you can enjoy nature from your room.

What a fun day. Our guide Cesar did an amazing job. From immersing us in the culture of the farmer's market; to educating us on the Coast Rican use of vegetables, herbs and spices; to putting the finishing touches on our tortillas. He was a wealth of knowledge. If you want to experience the true taste of Costa Rica, this activity is for you.

The ultimate Costa Rican activity. Imagine jumping off of a platform 165 ft. (55 mtrs) above the canyon floor, with a waterfall raging along side you in a lush tropical setting with only a rope, a harness and a helmet; then this activity is for you! The guides are extremely skilled, helpful and safety conscious. They continually encourage you to take it to the limit for the ultimate experience.

A very fun, educational and delicious adventure. Our host Brian was extremely informative and entertaining. We had no idea of what it took to make a chocolate bar or a cup of coffee. Now we do. Thanks Brian.

There is no better place to eat, drink, soak and relax than at Ecotermales Hot Springs. After a day of adventure, what better way to remove the aches and pains of the day. With six pools, ranging from 90 to 106 degrees (32 to 41 C), you are sure to find one to your liking.