Kajak- en snorkeltocht vanuit Manuel Antonio

We reserved the kayak/snorkel/beach/lunch trip for two teachers and ten high school students. The written plan was that the company would pick us up at our hotel at 9:00 (Hotel Colibri- about 1.5 miles away). I received a text the day before saying that they would be at the hotel at 8:35. We were in Quepos eating breakfast and were going to be late, so I sent them a message at 8:15. We arrived at the hotel at 8: 57- 22 minutes late... totally our fault, so take what you will from that. They had come and gone, and sent these texts: "You arrived late. You will need to take a taxi. You have to arrive to Naomi (the marina) right now to get the tour or will be a no show and lose the money." It took us 15 minutes to get 3 taxis to fit everyone. Later, I asked our guide why they didn't just drive their shuttle back to get us... Were they occupied with another group or what...? The shuttle was available, he said, and that he had no idea why they wouldn't come get us (again- 1.5 miles). This made me wonder if they were just looking for an excuse to cancel and keep the $800. At any rate, we got on the water and paddled across the bay to the snorkeling area. After 30 minutes of snorkeling (It was okay- we knew this wasn't a gem of a spot), the guide told us we needed to paddle back to the marina. "What about the beach?" I asked. He told me it was too late. At this point, I complained and asked if it was always this rigid. He told me it wasn't- that there was already a group of 24 on the water, and that made it a difficult day for them to manage. This clarified things for me... they were (likely) squeezing us by either wanting to cancel our trip/keep the money for our slight tardiness, or hurry us through the trip because they had a larger group to manage. I vented to the guide while acknowledging that it wasn't his doing- and after a few minutes of silent paddling, he told me there was a change of plans- that we could paddle to a beach (rocky, muddy- a poor consolation to Biesanz beach, the original destination) and spend 15 minutes. He was making an effort to smooth it out, and I appreciated it. I realize my mood certainly soured my perception of everything else, but it just seemed like they were under-prepared all around. They had 34 people paddling a mile or so across a bay, jumping out of the kayaks to snorkel, then paddling back- so, in the water for 2 hours or so- and the support consisted of just two guides, also in kayaks. If someone had gotten sick or hurt, or if weather had changed quickly, I don't see how they could have dealt with it competently. If I were to return, I would choose another company.

Uitstekende service met geweldige gidsen (Mario & Caesar). De kajak- en snorkeltrip was prachtig en we brachten een uur door op het strand voordat we via kajak terugkeerden. Ze zorgden voor lunch in een lokaal restaurant, wat heerlijk was! Inclusief ophalen en wegbrengen naar het hotel waar we logeerden.

The kayaking and snorkeling were fantastic. However, the Tucantour company was lacking. Of the 2 backpacks we were told we could leave on the bus, BOTH were misplaced and we had to wait for over an hour for their retrieval!