We recently went on a 4 night tour with the tour operator starting on Monday 6th May. We flew into Liberia. Our guide was named Pablo and our bus driver named Mr Campbell. Both of them were absolutely fantastic. Pablo immediately made us feel at ease and explained everything very thoroughly and was very understanding of a member of the tour group who was travel sick. The tour was very well organised and the bus was always on time and was driven very carefully, we saw many other tourist buses being driven much less cautiously! We thouroughly enjoyed our trip and Pablo and Mr Campbell really helped with this so please can you pass on our appreciation to them.
Discover Costa Rica WUC - fabulous trip! Clearly a well thought out itinerary to explore the many different regions and ecosystems of Costa Rica. Timings worked very well but all you ever wished for was more time in each location but this would then make it a 3 week trip! No matter how much literature you read before the trip the diversity is amazing and just how much is packed into this small country is incredible; the wildlife, the insects, reptiles and plants exceed all expectations. Each location is so different you just never tire of what you will see next. We went on a bird watching departure, this suited both nature lovers and more serious 'birders' alike. I believe we saw and appreciated so much more due to this type of departure - would recommend it highly.
Great trip! There is a lot of time spent travelling on this trip but it's a necessary evil to fit so much in!
San Jose is nothing very exciting but is fine for an overnight stay before you start the proper adventure. I wouldn't spend any extra time here. Tortuguero is amazing, you head out on a boat to the hotel where you can see all kinds of wildlife. The hotel is a lodge in amongst the waterways and forest, you can see birds and reptiles in the hotel grounds. The boat safaris are good, particularly the first one, the earlier you go out in the day the more you see so the early starts are worth it.
La Fortuna is another lovely place to visit. The town is small and has some good restaurants, all against the backdrop of the volcano makes it rather special. The hotel here is another wooden lodge style place, really liked it, very peaceful. The optional trip to the hot springs is the perfect antedote to a long day of travelling, we got lucky and had 30 mins alone before the Americans descended on us! The food in the restaurant at the springs was good.
Monteverde wasn't quite what I expected. The walks in the cloud forest were lovely, I wish we had started earlier in the day so we might have seen more. Really didn't like the hotel here, great view but felt like a business hotel and not amongst the forest which was a shame as you missed the wildlife. Pizza place our guide took us too was fabulous!
We saw lots of birds and were very lucky with the weather given that I was there in the middle of the rainy season. Even when it rains it's too hot to zip up a jacket unless you're in Monteverde where it is much cooler and rather chilly at night. Don't forget the insect repellent.
You cannot avoid the rice and beans, or beans and rice and why would you want to! It's the staple dish so stock up. If you're avoiding carbs this is not the trip for you, it's carb tastic! I now have a new found addiction to fried plantain!