San Jose Tours in December 2025

Miguel was an excellent tour guide during our full-on five country tour of Central America. It’s not a tour for everyone as there is little free time but I loved it. Volcanoes, wildlife, Mayan ruins, local culture and yet more volcanoes - what’s not to like! We did the Costa Rica to Guatemala route and felt this flowed better than the alternative would have - particularly finishing up in a lovely hotel in Antigua.

Carlos was incredible right from the very first day of the trip. None of us knew him yet, and I didn’t know what to expect, but he immediately stood out to me as someone who was extremely professional, organized, and thorough. Every evening, he gave me and the rest of the group all the details we needed — the route, the roads, the timing, the breakfasts and dinners, the weather, the excursions, the challenges, the highlights. He told us what to wear, when to use sunscreen, what to expect from the climbs, when the rain might come, when to prepare for heat — every little detail was covered. Because of that, I felt comfortable, confident, and fully aware of what was coming the next day. There were no surprises, and that was because of Carlos. And once he finished going through all the serious information, he would sometimes throw in a little joke. Just a quick comment or a funny line to lighten the mood. I didn’t expect that from him at the beginning, but those moments always made me smile, and they helped me relax. It showed me that underneath the professional guide was a warm, funny, genuinely special person. As the days went on, I got to see how much Carlos truly loves to ride. He lives for cycling. He rides long distances, he races all the time, and he never seems to get tired. His passion for biking isn’t something he hides — you can feel it in everything he does. And that passion made the trip even better for me. It made me trust him, and it made me enjoy the rides more. I’ve been on a few guided trips before, and I can say honestly: Carlos is the best guide I have ever had. Professional, caring, sharp, humble, funny, and unbelievably dedicated — he made this entire trip better for me in every way. Carlos is truly one of a kind

The 3 Central America countries cycling trip could be a logistic nightmare, but Mike managed with aplomb, and the changing of bikes, crossing of borders etc. become part of the fun. Mike was truly excellent and we would thoroughly recommend the trip, despite some wet weather. The contrast between the countries was interesting and Mike was a mine of information. This was our 6th Explore cycling trip, and though they have all been great, this was near the top.

This was an excellent, short, if intense tour. So many amazing highlights in this incredible country, crammed into just shy of 8 days. Every national park we visited was amazing; the optional activates varied. Major highlights were the hanging bridges in the cloud forest in Monteverde and the unforgettable Manual Antonio National Park. Our guide (Tyron Vargas) was absolutely outstanding (and our driver was brilliant too!). Tyron was unbelievably knowledgeable, not just about the flora and fauna, but also about the country - its history, its people and its aspirations. All in all, a totally unforgettable experience. His ability to locate animals high in the canopy wasnamazing. He also took photos and videos of the animals via his telescope and then sent the resulting photos and videos to us on WhatsApp, so we could add his incredible photos and videos to our blurred ones! Pura Vida!!!

We had a wonderful and appreciated our CEO, Kim. She picked out good activities, helped us to think about when each type of activity would be best and how to weight the options. There were some tough personalities and she navigated those relationships with grace. We hit some major traffic and she remained calm. Kim set the tone for the week and her positive energy worked well with the kids to give them great experiences!

This was an excellent tour and I very much enjoyed it. The tour mananger and driver were great. I loved the fact that it was organized and very well planned. The only thing I would change would be a little more inclusion of "down time" or at least the option to take lesiure during the trip.