Palo Verde Wetlands: Umfassendes Erlebnis

Great day with a mix of urban and country. Hosts very informative and made us feel like family. Great food at the lunch stop.

The trip on the boat was really good and we saw lots of wildlife, crocodiles, birds, bats, iguanas etc. The guide was good at telling us the species of bird and had a book which showed the variety of type of bird. Lunch at the hacienda was limited for us vegetarians, again just salad rice and beans. There were 2 types of meat as well as fish. For the cultural activity I would have liked to have a choice of tortilla making or rum experience. We were put on the rum experience not knowing of the alternative. We don't drink spirits so would have preferred the other. But the worst thing is on the way back the driver ran over a dog on the road and didn't stop to help the dog. The incident was preventable as he was driving fast and didn't slow down when he saw the dog, just honked his horn. He slowed down at the last minute by then it was too late. We were left traumatized. The guide made excuses and shrugged his shoulders and tried to placate us. The irony was at the outset of the tour he spent time saying how drivers and guides are licensed and professional and take care of wildlife and the environment. By the way we passed a vet practice en route so know help could have been available for the dog.

The guide provided by Swiss Travel, Abel Ramirez, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about many topics, very personable and pleasant. It was great to know there is a conservationist movement in Costa Rica which Abel explained to us. He went over and beyond to make the tour very interesting and special. He is a true asset to the company he works for. The driver provided was also very helpful and courteous. The boat guide was very knowledgeable and pointed out the wildlife during the excursion and also some interesting historical information. All three of them were local from nearby communities. The city tour was amazing. They arrived promptly and followed the schedule. We were very pleased with the entire experience.