Costa Rica 2022
Costa Rica | Nov 23 - Nov 29, 2022

Loni
Loni K.
Minneapolis, MN | Reviewed on Dec 06, 2022

Our trip was well thought out and planned according to what we like to do, see, and accomplish. Our guides were wonderful. Franklin at the Arenal Volcano was so passionate about everything nature. Karla at Manuel Antonio Park was great at spotting all of the wildlife. We even stopped the bus before the park because she and our bus driver George, spotted birds, sloths, and monkeys on our way. Jesus and Alexi were wonderful in the Mangroves. Again, so passionate about what they do. Our vehicle served us well up and down mountain roads. We feel like we got a good feel for different parts of Costa Rica...Waterfalls, Volcano, Rainforest, Beach, etc. Our accomodations were on point and all of the food provided was tasty and good quality. We are grateful that we went with Kim kim to plan our trip so that our time was spent enjoying the sites and beautiful country and people. Everywhere we went, things were smooth.

Hotel Reviews
Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs
Fortuna

Wonderful views of the volcano when not in the clouds. Fabulous breakfast buffet and lovely dinner in the evening.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
our room view, breakfast, outdoor patia
Jungle Vista Boutique Hotel
Manuel Antonio

this was very close to the beach but right in the middle of the jungle. Monkeys everywhere. Beautiful pool areas. lovely bar and cocktails. Close to our favorite restaurant....Emilios cafe. We could walk there. Woke up to beautiful bird sounds and some Howler Monkeys. Umbrellas available in the lobby for the guests which were big and nice. We needed them a couple of times and it was nice to have such sturdy big umbrellas to use. Nice balcony off of room to enjoy the jungle.

Authenticity & Character
Location
view from balcony.....watching birds, monkeys
Staff
They were available for anything at anytime. Made sure we were happy with our drinks poolside. made fresh gaucamole for us poolside.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
San José to Arenal with visit to La Paz Waterfall
San José to Arenal with visit to La Paz Waterfall
Costa Rica

this was a nice self guided tour of this park. The waterfalls are beautiful. You should take time to see all 5. We spent about 3 hours including lunch here. We did the longer hikes which were right in the middle of the greenest forest.

Quality of Experience
Food
Nice buffet lunch.
Transport
We drove ourselves which is up mountain roads. beautiful drive from San jose
Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968
Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968
Arenal/La Fortuna

We loved our guide Franklin. It was just the four of us and Franklin on our guided hike. We learned a lot and loved his description and passion for everything he shared. The Volcano was hidden behind clouds but Franklin was positive we would see it 100 percent as we acsended on our hike. He was right, A glorious site!

Quality of Experience
The hike, learning about the plants, animals, insects, volcano, etc
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Franklin was very passionate, kind, engaging and experienced
Transport
Our bus driver did a great job.
Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs
Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs
Arenal/La Fortuna

We went to this in the evening when it was dark. I would have loved seeing it during the day, but our experience was very cool. While we were in the Hot springs, we were also in a thunderstorm and rainstorm. We were in the Hot Springs for about 1 1/2 hours and then had a nice buffet dinner afterward. This reminded me a bit of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, commercialized but a fun night and experience

Quality of Experience
Food
Good quality food with many choices
Guides, Drivers and Staff
self guided
Transport
WE drove oursleves.....10 minutes from the hotel
Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike
Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike
Costa Rica

This was a great place to see all of the wildlife. Since it is the busiest park in Costa rica, there were a lot of people there. Our guide had 4 couples, which we appreciated in order to see and hear our guide at all times. There were many other larger groups of people. All of the guides were friendly to each other and helped each other spot specific animals. the beach here was busy, so we just walked the beach and put our feet in and saved our beach day for another time.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Both our driver, George and our guide Karla were great.
Transport
George was as much on the hunt for wildlife as our guide
Damas Island Boat Tour
Damas Island Boat Tour
Manuel Antonio

this was other worldly. If you have not been in a Mangrove forest, it is so cool. We went late afternoon which was pretty nice for seeing birds, snakes, monkeys, etc. Even the bats at dusk were so cool to watch swooping close to the water

Quality of Experience
Food
We had dinner with our two tour guides after and it was a very nice simple delicious dinner.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
We had George our van driver, our boat driver and two guides for the 4 of us. They were all great.
Transport
Local specialist: Yuliana Valverde
Yuliana
Yuliana Valverde
Local specialist in San José, Costa Rica | Replied on Dec 08, 2022

Hi Loni,
I hope you are well.
Thank you for your time and leave us this beautiful review.
It is great to know you enjoy every destination you have in your itinerary. I am gladly assisting you during this time.
I hope you could visit Costa Rica in the future, and explore different areas of our beautiful country.
Kind regards,
Yuliana