02 Mar 2023
We made a reservation for a private van to pick us at the Liberia airport, drinks included. When we arrived, no such vehicle was there. However, there were dozens of other transportation services waiting outside the airport to pick up other arriving passengers, so we asked around and finally found someone who knew the company we thought we had hired. He called them for us, and when we got them on the phone they informed us that they had no record of our reservation. They asked us how we made the reservation. When we told them it was through TripAdvisor, they told us that was the problem, specifically that TripAdvisor frequently fails to convey reservations to the local service provider. Fortunately, they found us other transportation to Tamarindo, but it sure as heck wasn't the fancy private van with free drinks and and an experienced guide that we had paid for. Instead, we were hustled across a sandy parking lot, dragging our bags behind us, and crammed into the back seat of a small sedan with no a/c, driven by a local who couldn't speak a word of English. We were relieved to get to our hotel in one piece, but it certainly wasn't in the style we expected, nor worthy of the price that we paid in advance.
The moral of this cautionary tale is that you don't need to use TripAdvisor. There are numerous transportation and tour guide options available online or through your hotel without the need of going through a third-party!