Highlights of Costa Rica

The highlights of Costa Rica tour enabled me to see a fair bit of the country, and its wildlife, in a short space of time, although, upon reflection, I think adding an extra day or two to it would be advantageous. The tour was well-organized, and the guide excellent. In general, the different accommodation used was good - it was all clean and offered decent facilities. To improve, my suggestion would be less time in La Fortuna, and more in Quepos, but that’s just my personal opinion.

I just left this on google reviews: This tour exceeded all expectations! Our guide went above and beyond to ensure we had as many adventures as possible, making every moment truly special. The small group size (just five of us) made the experience even better—we felt comfortable, well taken care of, and able to personalize our trip. Some of the highlights included exploring Monteverde’s stunning cloud forest, a wildlife river cruise where we spotted incredible species, and relaxing on the white-sand beaches of Manuel Antonio alongside iguanas and capuchin monkeys. We also enjoyed zip-lining, hanging bridges, and a visit to a sloth reserve. My personal favorite was horseback riding on the beach—an optional activity I did on my own, but one I highly recommend. The photos from this trip are absolutely amazing! Even the nighttime walk, which wasn’t my favorite activity, turned into a hilarious and memorable experience. I laughed so much that it ended up being fun, even though we didn’t see much (except in the parking lot!). Overall, this trip was an incredible mix of adventure, nature, and fun. If you’re looking for an unforgettable way to experience Costa Rica, this is it. Highly recommend! If you’re lucky enough to get Diago as a guide, you will have an experience you’ll never forget. Diago deserves a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review direct to explore worldwide!! He went way above and beyond. He took us to amazing restaurants and was our personal photographer. I’ll never forget this trip! I went solo and met the group there and I felt safe with our guide and group. Well done explore worldwide. Where can I go next….

Such an amazing holiday, the hotels were all great and the tour guide had loads of knowledge on all the different animals and he was so kind!

Whilst the weather was poor (it rained for four days), The guide did not help the situation. His briefs for what was to follow later in the day or the next day were mixed in with other conversations or explanation. At times many of the 9 in the party were not sure what was going on. In La Fortuna after the raft, the options were the waterfall or the canopy bridge walk. However, it was one or the other. There was time for both but this may have entailed a bit of driving. As it was, we had completed the rafting, walking down to the waterfall and had lunch by 13:00. It was then a drive back to the hotel to wait 2 hours for the thermal spa. There is not much to see in La Fortuna, even at Christmas time. The craft market took 20 minutes maximum to walk around.

I had expected abundant wildlife and good weather. The wildlife was elusive and it rained for most of the week. I appreciate that the weather could not have been predicted but I have been to countries with far more interesting wildlife, and with architecture, history and culture as well. Costa Rica has none of these. Also the high cost of everything detracts from one's enjoyment. Our tour leader was good at spotting wildlife but poor at communicating with the group, or taking into account their views. The final negative point was on the last night, which was Xmas Eve. I asked him where we could eat that evening and he said we could eat in the hotel or there might be some restaurants open, although he didn't know which ones. Later, when we asked for a table in the hotel restaurant, we were told they were fully booked and not doing room service! After some unsuccessful phone calls to various restaurants, 2 of us decided to go out and see what was available. Just one block away was a Chinese restaurant which had space and was very good. I would not recommend Costa Rica as a holiday destination based on this tour.

Tour was well organised, ran on time and the tour guide Walter, was excellent. The hotels were generally OK say 3 star. One was very good and one needed a complete refurb, especially of the plumbing which was leaking in several rooms. Explore let themselves down by trying to make changes at the very last minute. My trip was booked almost one year in advance and I understand things change but you waited as long as you possibly could before notifying me - very poor performance on this.

I loved the trip!!! We needed better weather!!!! Ha ha ha And I’ve already told several people about Explore!!! I gave the accommodations average, because some places were outstanding and others were ho hum. The animals, birds and colors are amazing in Costa Rica. The food was great too!! Our guide and driver were over the top wonderful!!! Kind, knowledgeable and nerves of steel ( driving was totally nuts).

Walter was amazing! He had wonderful knowledge and easily handled any issues smoothly and without showing any stress. Not to mention, Walter having a day to day life in Costa Rica made us feel like we were with some what of a celebrity of the area. ;-)

Itinerary listed more activities than were actually presented. A few hotels were very good and a couple were very disappointing.

My trip to Costa Rica was absolutely amazing. I was told a month in advance that I was the only person booked on the trip, and was given the option to change the reservation, but decided to go ahead. I had Diego as my guide and driver the whole week, and he was brilliant. He was incredibly knowledgeable, always on time, always ready to answer questions and made me feel comfortable as a young solo traveller. My main goal was to see wildlife, and this trip was perfect as we did the raft tour, a night tour, went to Manuel Antonio national park and also went to protected wildlife areas. My highlights included seeing a baby sloth, seeing all four species of monkey, and also seeing an armadillo. I also loved doing the zip wires in the cloud forest. My guide chose to mostly eat in local restaurants, which were affordable and meant I felt more immersed in the culture. Whilst there was a fair bit of driving involved, these drives were not boring as there was so much to see. Diego would regularly pull over to show me wildlife, as we were both interested in birds. I had never done anything like this before, and was terrified to start with, but I managed to settle in and by the end I didn’t want to go home

Wonderful 'taste' of Costa Rica's wildlife and flora. Since it was 8 days, there was some travel time to get to each spot (as clearly written in the itinerary) and the guide and driver did a great job with wildlife spotting along the way. Personally, I would have preferred more time in Monteverde area and less by the beach, but that is how it was planned from the start. Went at the end of the rainy season, so there were some minor adjustments that the guide worked out ... so we did still see all the planned stops. Leisurely trip.

Highlights of Costa Rica was an excellent trip, it packed in many sites and activities. I was a little apprehensive about the float trip but it was slow and gentle and allowed us to get a unique view from the river. The guide was excellent and pointed out lots of aniand birds. The rain and cloud forests didn't disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed the fast paced trip.

The tour was very good. Even though we went during the rainy season, they worked with the situation every day it rained. If you come prepared, it should not be a problem. And by coming prepared, that means bring a poncho, umbrella, rain jacket, and a change of clothes when they become wet from rain and sweat. The hotels were comfortable, the food was good, the locals were friendly, and treated us fairly in pricing. The only issue is that they should have made a better effort to describe the physical requirements of the tour. We went on 5 long walks where 3 were VERY strenuous. We are in our 70s and it was very challenging. Thank goodness we had our trekking poles to assist in one walk in the Hanging Bridges. We had to stop several times to catch our breath but the younger people went on and left us behind. Thank goodness the guy leading the tour stayed with us.

Amazing country made all the better for visiting by an excellent guide.