I normally travel on my own and was therefore apprehensive about travelling with a group. Two points I would make. Firstly I enjoyed it immensely. Secondly it was not a trip that would not have been easy to replicate solo.
Walking and More in Albania This trip offers a combination of (fairly serious) walking and culture, and as such might be slightly mis-named, in that the walking is concentrated at the start and the trip then becomes more of a mix - this is worth pointing out in case you are expecting heavy duty walking every day. It didn't bother me though, I loved the mix and exploring this fascinating country still struggling with its new freedom whilst also giving the old legs a bit of a stretch. There's a fair bit of travelling around, but nothing too serious, and I found the day trip into Kosovo provided an extra dimension.
Destination Services Costa Rica is a smaller company and I couldn't find out allot about them, but their Exotic Costa Rica tour lined up better with what we were hoping to see on our visit. Communication was not direct, so I didn't always feel we were on the same page. In the end, EVERYTHING was line up in a wonderful manner .....accomdations; tours; and transfers! Transfers were not only on time.... they were there early. All accommodations were in nice condition overall, and staff were very accommodating. You will not have a tour leader or guide that stays with you through the trip. However, in all instances the hotels had all the information on what, where, and when for us. I would certainly travel through them again, and recommend you to consider Destination Services Costa Rica on your journey to Costa Rice!