Simple stays with essential amenities. Typically guesthouses, hostels or hotels rated below 3 stars — clean, no-frills, and great for value-conscious travelers.
Comfortable and reliable 3-star stays. Expect private rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and solid amenities — a great balance between comfort and cost.
Upscale 4-5 star hotels and lodges. Enjoy high-end service, refined comfort, and premium locations — ideal for travelers seeking extra indulgence.
We had the best time on our Costa Rica trip. I was worried about the coordination, but all went smoothly. The communication was fantastic and and when little things happened they were always available on Whatsapp for updates and reassurance. They were very flexible when I wanted to change things slightly at the last minute towards the end of the trip. I would highly recommend this company.
Adventure
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Lodge, Eco Lodge
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
San Jose, Tortuguero, Arenal, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve
San Jose, Tortuguero, Arenal, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve
I booked this trip for my daughter and me. She wanted action and adventure, every day, and this trip delivered. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the hotels. Much nicer than I expected, given the low cost of this to her. Most of the transportation was fairly high-quality as well. The bus too, and from the rafting was nothing fancy, but certainly nothing to worry about.
Be prepared to spend a little more time than you might expect in transit. That's a function of Costa Rican infrastructure. Lots of one lane roads means travel between cities can be really slow. But the scenery is gorgeous. If you just consider it part of the adventure, and enjoy it, it's not a problem.
I highly recommend this trip. It had everything we wanted.
Rafting
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
12-79 yrs
Operated in
English
Destinations
San Jose, Monteverde Cloud Fores
San Jose, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve, Pacuare River, Samara Beach, Arenal Volcano, Arenal
I was so surprised at how much was included in this trip to Costa Rica. CharlieTheTraveler managed to pack so many exciting tours all within the 10-day span. I was never bored and always had something to do!
The priceless memories I have from our group tour to Belize made me feel like I made the right decision to book with CharlieTheTraveler. The company has a personal 'touch' to its services and really does care about its customers. The tour guide also cared a lot about us, ensuring we were never bored and instead were having a great time. He did a great job.
We loved the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Sarapiqui River tour! La Paz is beyond beautiful with orchids, hummingbirds, frogs, toucans, scarlet macaws, parrots, coatis, sloths, ocelots, margays, and a jaguar. The gardens and waterfalls are exquisite. A wonderful buffet lunch was included.
Our trip down the Sarapiqui River in a covered boat was so much fun! We saw two caimans, iguanas, Anhingas, swallows, butterflies, and five troops of Mantled Howler monkeys.
Oscar and Armando, our guide and driver were so kind and taught us so much. We stopped at a lovely coffee finca to see the beans ripening, a sopa (local restaurant) in the mountains to take in spectacular waterfall and hummingbird views, we watched whitewater rafters, and sampled fresh pineapple at a farmstand.
Oscar and Armando treated us like family and made our first day in Costa Rica amazing!
National parksRaftingVolcanoes
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Lodge, Eco Lodge, Resort
Age Range
8-79 yrs
Operated in
english, spanish
Destinations
San Jose, Tortuguero National Pa
San Jose, Tortuguero National Park, Arenal Volcano, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Orosi, La Fortuna, Cahuita National Park
Outstanding trip. Oldemar was our contact person and itinerary organizer. He did a phenomenal job. he took care of all the logistics and they were excellent. I would recommend this trip to anyone
National parksVolcanoes
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Lodge, Eco Lodge, Resort
Age Range
6-79 yrs
Operated in
english, spanish
Destinations
San Jose, Manuel Antonio Nationa
San Jose, Manuel Antonio National Park, Tortuguero National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve, Arenal Volcano, Cahuita National Park
Its the second time in Costa Rica, the people are nice and its so beautiful here! Dont want to leave.
National parks
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
10-79 yrs
Operated in
English
Destinations
San Jose, Manuel Antonio Nationa
San Jose, Manuel Antonio National Park, Tortuguero National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Arenal Volcano, Pacuare River, Arenal
We thoroughly enjoyed this trip but we were SO glad that we chose to go at this time of year so that we could see the Day of The Dead celebrations! I cannot imagine having missed out on this most significant part of our trip. We dressed up and had our faces painted so that we could join in to the maximum. Everyone was jovial and kind hearted and good spirited. The visit to the cemetary to see the relatives celebrating was a highlight and certainly sheds a new light on death.
Apart from this, the trip involved seeing many of the Mayan ruins through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, all so different and each offering its own special attraction. The wildlife we saw around these ruins and along the river cruise was certainly unexpected and a real bonus. Take binnoculars!!
Luis, our guide, was very knowledgeable and passionate about his country and the history, cultures and traditions and we felt we learned a lot about each of the three countries involved.
There was a lot of travelling involved and most long days were interspersed with stopping off at sites to visit, but there were a couple of days when it seemed as if we were just going from A to B. Take lots of good books!! We were only a group of eight, so were able to spread out on the minibusses but space was tight for leg room in the Mexican minibus and it would have been a very uncomfortable ride if we had had to sit more closely together. The drivers were all very safe.
The hotels were mainly good, standard accommodation, clean and comfortable and some exceeded our expectations, especially the one in Guatemala. However, one was below standard and this was the one in Palenque, The Hotel Villas Kin- Ha. The rooms were dirty and tired and the food wasn't great. It was also a way from the centre of town making it difficult to eat elsewhere. There did seem to be better rooms on offer, but we were given the older ones at the back of the hotel.
We didn't do the extension and were sorry not to see Chichen Itza but we felt that many of the other Mayan Ruins we did see had lots to offer and were less crowded and more remote.
Alll in all, a great holiday!
Active and outdoorExplorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
I had booked to go on a group tour but ended up being the only person travelling. I wondered if this would be a problem.. but it was brilliant. I had my own guide, transport and could decide what to do when I wanted. The trip itself was amazing, 5 different areas and all just as good as the next. Lovely accommodation, especially in Arenal, great food, fantastic wildlife and the most beautiful country.
My guide was so nice, kind, respectful, amazing knowledge of the country and all the wildlife. The additional trips were really good and where necessary I just tagged on with other people so it was never a problem. The tour was full on, some early starts and at times not for the faint of heart, but for me it was perfect. I loved every single second of this trip. Thank you so much.
Wildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
