Great trip to see some of the many a varied aspects of Costa Rica This trip was an excellent introduction to the many and varied climactic zones in Costa Rica and their associated wildlife. All of the locations visited on the trip were really interesting, although perhaps a minor change could be made to improve the experience.
Costa Rica is a relatively small country and so driving distances were easily manageable.
Although on paper it might look as if we were in a bus a lot, every moment was worth it for the variety of terrain and wildlife we saw, and the people we met. The wildlife was stunning, made more so through the expertise of our guide, the Tortuguera boat pilot, and the bus driver too. The accommodation was invariably clean and well looked after.
The only concern was Manuel Antonio park, which is highly commercialised. We queued for a hour from just after 7 am to get in, and there was (in contrast to all the other parks) close to mayhem inside. I suspect that mangrove wildlife is not as happy as it should be there.
The coffee farm and the over-canopy walkways were well worth the money. The visit to a dairy farm was very good too, and the farming ladies did so much to make us welcome.
The National Museum in San Jose is excellent.
Amazing variety of habitat We hadn't realised the incredible variety of habitats within Costa Rica, and this trip allowed us to sample them with Johnny, our superb tour leader. Hotels were all good and some were exceptional, particularly Cuna del Angel, where the views from the restaurant were wonderful, and the Savegre Hotel, where the grounds were beautiful. The pace of the trip was good, it was nice to have 2 nights in each hotel. We enjoyed seeing sloths, monkeys, crocodiles and hundreds of birds. The weather was very hot in some places, but the walking was never too fast paced. The cultural experience at the farm was lovely.