2 independent reviews for Costa Rica tailor made vacation, highlights
Reviews for Costa Rica tailor made vacation, highlights
Isobel Gowan review 14 Mar 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The wide variety of wild life we saw and our trip to Corcovado National Park.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Costa Rica is a fabulous destination so allow yourself enough time in the remote places.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes and we very impressed with the local knowledge and enthusiasm of our guides and drivers on our trips in supporting conservation/being clear about environmental impact.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
This was a fabulous trip from start to finish: we stayed in beautiful places, ate great food, saw amazing wildlife and were really well looked after.Yvonne Chapman review 7 Feb 2015
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The stay at Cerro Escondido. It was not touristy, the hike there was great, and the managers were very welcoming. A beautiful, peaceful spot, off the beaten track.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
If you go to Tortuguero, go for as good a lodge as you can afford. We felt our guide was not as good as the one from the other lodge. Don't just stick to the well known bits, get off the beaten track a bit to experience the real Costa Rica.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes! Most guides were local, most hotels had environmental policies in place, especially the lodge in Osa, which was totally off grid, and built from very local materials. The staff at Cerro Escondido were passionate about conservation.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Mixed. Some bits were crowded and touristy (but beautiful), especially the famous national parks Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. Some of the transfers and tours were uncomfortable. The trip to Poas volcano involved 1 1/2 hours driving around San Jose before leaving for Poas. The coffee tour and lunch were ok, but the other stops selling tourist tat were annoying. The drive to Tortuguero was uncomfortable, the bus was full and my husband and I could not get seats together, and I had to sit in the back corner, which was bad for travel sickness! But the more remote bits were amazing.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you very much for your review and we are glad that you had a good time in Costa Rica.
As a country that offers many incredible experiences, especially for wildlife lovers, Costa Rica is rapidly growing in popularity. Therefore some of the more accessible spots, like Manuel Anotnio and Monteverde, can feel busy at times and we certainly agree that it's a great idea to get off the beaten track as much as you can.
We're very pleased that you liked the peace, beauty and sustainability of Cerro Escondido and El Remanso - if you would ever like to explore Costa Rica further, we would be delighted to take you to meet some of our local partners in the more remote and less well known areas of the country.
As we discussed when we were developing the itinerary, we did include a few shared tours and transfers as they are often a great way of bringing down the cost, but we apologise if you were uncomfortable and we will take care to make it clearer what they entail in future.
Thanks again for your helpful comments and we hope that we can help you again soon.
Simon and Dave
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