The tour was excellent but the communications from the tour office was terrible. We wre not given an itinerary and had to continuosly phone to find where and when we would get picked up for the next stop on the tour and which hotel we would be at. Very frustrating with the only explanation that someone had left their job without getting that info to us.
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Overall the package was great and despite some constructive feedback, I do rate it as excellent/5 stars.
- Package included breakfast and a few additional meals, but be aware that Costa Rica is pricey. You can find good deals/meals, but be ready.
- Each day included a tour/activity, but found there was a decent amount of downtime that could be filled up with other activities, which again can be fairly pricey and it will add up quickly.
- I wish I could have had an extra night in both Manuel Antonio and Monteverde. You lose some mornings due to travel and these towns deserve more time. La Fortuna and Tortuguero having 2 days was perfect.
- All hotels were great, but with La Fortuna, it was located fairly far from the towns center and wish I had something closer.
- All drivers, tour guides and hotel staff were incredibly kind. Tour guides were amazing at providing recos for both the town you were in and for spots in your next tour stop.
All in all, got to see a good amount and left wanting to see more. Costa Rica is beautiful
Show moreDestination Services Costa Rica commented on this review
Dear Cindy,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed review. We're thrilled to hear that you had a great overall experience and rated the package as excellent — that truly means a lot to us.
We appreciate your constructive feedback regarding...
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Everything went as planned. The hotels and facilities were great. We even had upgrades at two of our locations, We had a great time. However...
If there was a criticism it would be the Guided Hanging Bridges at Selvatura Park. The title infers that there would be a guide-there was none. The other critique, more importantly is the allotted time. By the time we arrived at the park after picking others up we were told that we had until 4:30. We were about 3/5 of the way through the park when we simply had to abandon looking at the wonder around us and walk as fast as possible-up and down inclines, stairs and of course battling heat and humidity. We were very fortunate that two groups who passed us up-informed the driver that we were hustling to get to the exit as fast possible. We were about 10 minutes late. It was stressful not knowing if there would be return transfer or not, since we were emphatically told at the entrance if we expected to be transported back to our hotel we had to be out by 4:30. We were grateful to our driver and the other guests who were patient and kind enough to wait for us. I would strongly suggest that pick up time and arrival at the park be a earlier so that all guests can make it out on time.
Show moreDestination Services Costa Rica commented on this review
Dear Lucille,
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing both the highlights and your honest feedback. We're glad you had a great time overall and enjoyed the hotel upgrades!
We truly appreciate your comments about the Selvatura Park tour. We're...
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We had a good trip. The hotels were great and the food ok. It was expensive to buy and eat at restaurants. Destination services were very good. They did need reminders about the pick ups to go to the various activities but came through and were always available to answer their phones. I love TourRadar and their trips and will go again. This was my third trip with TourRadar.
Show moreDestination Services Costa Rica commented on this review
Dear Tanya,
Thank you for your review! We're glad you enjoyed the trip, the hotels, and our destination services. We appreciate your feedback about the pick-ups and restaurant costs — we'll keep that in mind to improve.
It means a lot that this was...
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Trip in general:
Overall the trip was good. I made it to all locations and had a good time. I was alone, never been there and don’t speak Spanish very well. This was for 11 days, five cities, two days in each and involved a lot of miles and hours of transfers. Transfers were on time and got me everywhere I was going. Hotels were smaller boutique hotels were all great (see comments below) except Turtle Beach Lodge in Tortuguero did not have air conditioning and it was extremely hot and humid there with no place to hide. I was told all had air conditioning. Activities I did were good and picked up on time and I had fun. I handled my own airline reservations.
My biggest complaint was communications between travel agents and tour provider. When asking questions it took days to get answers. I did not receive my final Itinerary until 7 days before trip and had to complain to get it. This made me really unsure about going. I have traveled a lot all over but had never been to Costa Rica, I was alone and had limited Spanish speaking. Communication was good when down there with tour provider through text.
Also some of my transports and hotels did not have fluent English speaking people which I was told they would. It was kind of weird that some groups I was with were English speaking but I was transferred in Spanish speaking bus where as they were in English speaking bus and we were going to the same city at the same time. I did not have any problems though.
Activities:
San Jose – walked to city on my own first night
Tortuguero – provided activities 1.) city of Guapiles, 2) guided jungle tours on land and boat to see animals. No optional, too remote.
La Fortuna – Provided tour of Arenal Volcano Park, optional ATV adventure through farm and river. Fun but you will get dirty.
Monteverde – Provided tour of Monteverde Cloud Forest Park, optional Extreme Zipline. Longest and highest ziplines, 14 platforms, including two Supermans and a Tarzan swing that is actually a bungee jump/swing. Warning: you have to walk up steep inclines before each zipline. If you are not in shape it will be hard. There were points I thought I wouldn’t make it. The experience is lots of fun, except the inclines.
Manuel Antonio –provided Manual Antonio National Park, walked to beach and restaurants. You can rent chairs and umbrella, can’t be in sun too long.
Hotels:
Autentico Hotel – San Jose – Nice hotel in city with air conditioning. I was able to walk to city center about 25 min walking. Restaurants and grocer near. Check in and check out was easy and English speaking attendant.
Turtle Beach Lodge – Tortuguero - A 4 hour drive and two hour boat ride. It’s a rustic lodge in the middle of the remote jungle. Rooms are basic, open air (no air conditioning) screens, no windows. It is hot and humid here and you only have a fan and if there is a breeze. You will hear everything including sounds of jungle and your neighbor’s, not real private. Can’t swim in ocean and pool warm. The food is good but basic. The staff and guides were excellent, friendly and helpful. I was glad that it was only a two night stay given that it was uncomfortable in extreme heat. Disappointed that I didn’t really see that many birds or animals for the locations remoteness. It may have been good at one time but too many transports, boats and people I think are scaring the animals away. I wouldn’t recommend location to someone.
Hotel Eco Arenal – La Fortuna – Nice small hotel with view of Volcano. Air conditional, pool and nice buffet breakfast with many choices. Attendant had limited English speaking. Restaurant right across street, Mary’s Barbeque, was excellent. Good service, good food moderate prices. Quite a walk to the small city. I got dropped off after an activity and ate there and then took an Uber back. Uber was cheap, fast and clean. The city has lots to do. Sign up for activities, restaurants and bars, grocers, etc..
Hotel Poca a Poco – Monteverde – Very nice small boutique hotel. It is laid out in different levels separating rooms with a floral jungle of any plant you can imagine. Covered pool, large hot tub and fire pit. They have a path that weaves through the jungle for spotting birds, animal and more vegetation. The room was attractive, modern, clean, private and spacious and had everything you need. Breakfast was to order and included. Check-in was easy and fast with English speaking host. There a small town a little way up the road with gift shops, groceries and many restaurants. I really enjoyed my time there and would recommend it.
Hotel La Vela - Manuel Antonio – Another very nice small boutique hotel. . Air conditional, pool and nice buffet breakfast with many choices. Check in and out easy with English speaking attendant. The beach and National Park Manuel Antonio are both a 10 minute walk, as were gift shops, groceries and many restaurants. Very convenient and nice.
Hotel Hampton Inn – San Jose – Big American style hotel with free breakfast buffet and free shuttle to airport. Many restaurants within walking distance.
Show moreDestination Services Costa Rica commented on this review
Dear Mr. Gray,
We truly appreciate you are taking the time to share with us your experience. Your opinion is very important for us!
It makes us happy to hear that you enjoyed your vacation even the Tortuguero Experience (please note that Lodge...
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Lucinda
·
March 21st, 2025
We were very happy with the entire trip until the last night in san José. The hotel was across the street from a casino. Loud people and music until 230 am when a round of 10 gunshots were fired. Police closed street so we were lucky to not get stranded. All the connections were excellent. Some drivers arrived early others a few minutes late. But always polite and helpful. The company in CR was very helpful with a couple issues. Responding quickly to email and phone. All parts of CR were beautiful in unique ways. Totally recommend the tour.
Show moreDestination Services Costa Rica commented on this review
Dear Lucinda,
Thank you for sharing your experience. Your opinion is very important for us!
We are truly sorry about the situation near to the last hotel; we will take some considerations about this. Again, our apologies!
At same time, we feel very...
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Cheuk-Ying
·
March 15th, 2025
The pick up from the San Jose airport at the beginning of the tour, and the transport back to the airport at the end was smooth without any problem. The tour guides at each location were knowledgeable and helpful to explain things and take photos for us from their telescopes. However, we were not picked up from our Eco Arenal hotel to the Ecotermales hotsprings at 5:30 pm on March 5, 2025. Nobody showed up from Outhikers and fortunately the hotel lady was kind enough to call the number at Outhikers but there was no answer. Apparently, the tour was changed to a different supplier North Adventures without our knowledge. The hotel lady called her own driver to drop us to the Ecotermales hotsprings just in time to have the dinner buffet and hotsprings afterward. We were worried how we would come back to the hotel. Somehow, North Adventures sent their driver to pick us up and drop us back to the hotel. They apologized for the mistake and gave us a free lunch the following day. In addition, the pickup by Interbus from Restaurant Fogon de Lola to Arenal was short one seat. There were 4 of us to be picked up but only 3 seats available. Luckily a young guy was kind enough to give up his seat and sat on the floor. Beware of the sale price advertised, you have to factor in extra costs for all the excursions and the hotel packages in San Jose and Manual Antonio, which eventually adds up significantly. The final itinerary was sent to us only one day before departure which did not give us ample time to review it. A nice surprise was the free upgrade to a superior hotel Poco a Poco in Monteverde! In general, TourRadar is slow to respond to your questions (they say average 3 days).
Show moreDestination Services Costa Rica commented on this review
Dear Cheuk-Ying,
Thank you for sharing your experience. Your opinion is very important for us!
We are truly sorry about the different situations you mentioned; we will take some considerations about this with the different suppliers. Again, our...
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Kerry
·
February 4th, 2025
The tour itinerary and activities are fantastic and Costa Rica is beautiful but I would not recommend this tour provider. There are not very responsive when there are issues. For one of the additional activities which I purchased with the tour, the Ecotermales Hotsprings, the activity provider was 40 minutes late and after messaging and ringing the activity provider they arrived. I also messaged Destination Services Costa Rica through WhatsApp and they did not respond. Another additional activity that was puchased, the Selvatura Treetop Walkway guided tour, the activity provider didn't pick me up and when messages were sent and the activity provider called I was advised that they were not coming and had left. When I contacted the tour provider about this they said they would find a resolution but they have subsequently ignored follow up messages and have not gotten back to any correspondence or provided a refund for the activity which I was not provided.
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Sandra
·
January 27th, 2025
Every detail was taken care of. From airport pickup to hotels reservations. Every van and every excursion was very well planed.
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Brenda
·
January 21st, 2025
Wasn’t informed ..no plastic bottles in the park..so humid that day with no hydration..my sis and I had to walk to the cafeteria for water. We were both feeling ill. Sat for over an hour drinking water. Didn’t finish the tour..went straight back. The guide was great!
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