This was booked as a last minute tour with the aim to see as much of CR as possible and especially the wildlife.
Good:
the guides Estevan and Leny were excellent and clearly professional and friendly, with a very caring approach to all guests. They are both a real credit to the company.
The pick ups from the hotel were punctual.
On day 1 we travelled to Quepos in the south West for a catamaran wildlife and snorkeling tour. We were looking for dolphins and instead saw humpback whales which was amazing.
There were 2 days of tours to volcanoes. One would have been sufficient.
The coffee tour at Doka was interesting, but the prices were double or triple the retail prices in supermarkets, so did not motivate us to spend.
The waterfalls and rescued animal zoo was interesting to see animals of CR up close, and Leny was excellent at spotting even the smallest animals. We even saw an anteater.
The less good parts:
The hotel was the Radisson in downtown San Jose. We wer stationed here for the entire trip. It's a tired and old building with leaks from the bath. Staff also warned us not to venture out by foot outside the grounds after sunset due to safety issues (drugs/pimps/prostitution/robberies) in the area. You can get a taxi into central San Jose for usd 3-4.
The main downside of this tour though was the amount of time spent travelling to and from San Jose each day to get to the actual excursion. Some days as much as 11 hours were spent on the road which is very tiring. The reason is CR roads are massively over capacity, too many cars and not enough roads.
For that reason this format of tour is not one I would recommend. Instead, my advice is to pick a tour that moves location each day or every other day, and one that is not solely based around returning to San Jose every day.
Or as we did in the end, check out early, hire a car and go and explore CR for yourself. You will see and experience far more, and get to see the real CR.
Pros:
It was a great experience overall, with excellent communication from the tour operator.
Cons:
On the day of our zip‑line trip, we were placed in a very small van, and two of the seats were child‑sized. The lunch provided was not very good, except for the meal in La Fortuna. The hotel (Delta Marriott) did not feel like a four‑star property—according to the official site it was 3.5 stars—and it was older and undergoing renovations.
I would like to give an objective summary of my trip to Costa Rica, with Summer travel through Trip Advisor. Initially I wish to highlight the positive things, without a doubt Costa Rica is a very exotic destination and full of pleasant attractions, the people are very friendly and very responsive. My package was 7 Nights and 8 days, for a family group of 5 people, the transfer from the airport to the hotel did not present any inconvenience, one detail that we appreciate is that we were not placed in triple rooms, but in a double and two with king bed, something extremely practical for our logistics, however if I think it appropriate to comment that the assigned hotel, Delta Marriott San Jose, did not meet the international standard of 4 stars, as indicated by the package, if it had the facilities and services even to have maybe been 5 stars in the past, but the current state of the rooms never corresponded to those standards. We were assigned rooms on the 9th floor, they had a stale smell and damp on the carpets, you could tell that they were also very old and especially bad for allergic people, the bathtubs were notoriously percussed. One of the most important things when traveling is to have a pleasant room because you spend days with many activities and a comfortable rest is very important.
When making the claim at the hotel we were told that they did indeed have rooms a little deteriorated but that they had started a remodeling process, I think it is very important that you verify the condition of the facilities and services they offer and that you should not overvalue the properties because they generate a false expectation and the client feels cheated, this hotel reaches barely 3 stars.
Regarding the walks I think they are quite good, besides some of the guides especially Jairo and Lenny, they really know a lot what they are doing and entertain with their stories and anecdotes.The foods in general are fine, you have to be aware that Costa Rica is not a particularly known destination for being highly culinary, but on the day of the visit to the volcano Irazu, the restaurant where you went to lunch was not at all acceptable, I would suggest checking it for future occasions.
Finally a final recommendation on long trips like Manuel Antonio and the suspension bridges would suggest using slightly larger transports for tourist comfort.
Overall the destination and services are pleasant and I recommend them, although corrections should be made and these details consulted with the agency to avoid inconvenience.