This trip exceeded our expectations in every respect. We had a fantastic holiday with a small group of like-minded people and every day we saw something special thanks to our excellent guide, Berny. Our transport and driver were also first class.
Each destination was unique. The accommodation overall was excellent, especially the remote forest lodges where you really feel part of the wildlife experience. The food included was also very good, as were the optional restaurants we visited as a group with the guide when dinner wasn't included. No-one wanted to miss anything and everyone got along so well, which is always a bonus. We were very lucky with the weather and only got wet twice.
We only took two of the optional (extra cost) excursions - the suspension bridges and the night hike, both at Monteverde and both very good. Berny obviously enjoyed showing us the diverse flora and fauna at each destination as he included additional walks and hikes almost every day, even if we only had an hour or so free and only one or two wanted to go while others stayed behind at the resort and relaxed.
We spotted the elusive sun bittern at Tortuguero at the start of the trip and a pair of rare nesting quetzal at the end of the trip at Savegre - really exciting as we were searching for them and so special when we found them and saw them flying in and out of the nest.
Really too many memorable moments to mention, but if you enjoy viewing wildlife, birds, plants and flowers without the walking being too strenuous then this is the trip for you.
Discovering Costa Rica (with a Bird watching guide) As my personal interests are more history/culture/architecture I knew that by choosing a basically wildlife/scenery holiday I was slightly pushing myself out of my comfort zone but I had heard so much about Costa Rica I decided to give it.a go. As I was travelling with two chums one of whom is quite a keen bird watcher we picked a date where there would be a bird watching guide but when I booked and from the brochure it looked as if the tour would be as normal. I found this far from the case and this was as very much a bird watching trip. I must be honest and say there were moments I was bored to death! However, when I look back on the whole trip I did enjoy it and with the exception of one day it was well paced and very varied. The day in question (Monteverde - Manuel Antonio) where the journey time was shown as 4.5hours but due to frequent stops for bird watching it actually took over 8 hours and we effectively missed half a day at Manuel Antonio, a stop I had been particularly looking forward to.
Discover Costa Rica - wonderful experience Excellent holiday - good leader and driver. Good mix of people. Good insight into the best of Costa Rica and I want to go back and do it all again!