We hope you’re lucky enough to have Hayro as one of your guides. We lucked out having him three days on our trip. He is incredibly knowledgeable about each of the areas he took us to, found animals, insects and birds would never have seen without him. He clearly knows the area well, knows staff at the parks and shares tidbits about the country’s history and culture with you throughout the day. He ends the day telling you what to expect for your next day which is very helpful. The excursions all come out of San Jose so be prepared to spend some time on the road. CR traffic is bad and unpredictable which can make some days end late. Dinner is on your own each day which implies to me we’d be back by dinner - assumably 7 pm but two nights we were back later - 8-9pm so bring some snacks. Each day is well thought out and organized. Excursions in each direction from SJ which gives you a good amount of windshield time to see broader parts of the country. The lunches provided are great. We really enjoyed getting to know the other travelers in the group, it mixes up most days as some begin their 8 days and others peel off completing theirs. We spent a couple days with some we really enjoyed. Pack a variety of clothes as the excursions take you to beaches, rain forest and volcanos so having a thin jacket as a windbreaker/raincoat is ideal. You go from sea level to over 10,000 ft (not same day) so pack some items for a little cooler/breezy conditions. Overall had a really good time.
Wees bereid om wat tijd door te brengen in het voorziene vervoer, maar de moeite waard!
Elke dag is ofwel fysiek, educatief, schilderachtig, leuk en de gidsen zijn fantastisch
Overall, this was a good experience but there were some drawbacks to the 7 Night 8 Day All Inclusive Deluxe Package. First, the Best .... Trip Advisor and Summer Travel did a great job of communicating with us, coordinating our hotel, and coordinating the tours. This was our first trip to Costa Rica and we were pleased with those aspects of the trip. The staff at the hotel and all of the tour guides were great as well ... polite, informative, and helpful in all aspects. I believe the price for the package was good value as well. Now for the not so good ..... The Delta Hotel by Marriott in San Jose is definitely not a 4-star hotel. I would rank it as a marginal 3-star at best. The lobby appeared nice and there was also a small but pleasant bar/lounge area, but there were a lot of negatives to the hotel. The room was clean, the bed comfortable, there was a safe in the room, and there was an iron in the room. But there was no ironing board (important for my wife), the carpet and furniture were worn and stained, the free-standing floor lamp was broken, there was no mini-fridge, tiles in the bathroom were cracked, and fixtures in the bathroom were worn/corroded. In addition, the hotel web site advertised a 2nd upscale restaurant on a higher floor, but it was closed for renovation. The menu in the restaurant off the lobby was also limited, and prices exceeded what I normally pay in comparable restaurants in the United States. My wife and I enjoyed the activities we booked, but the drives were long because of the heavy traffic in all of Costa Rica. That resulted in very long days, most of which were spent in cramped mini-buses. Finally, if you are "seasoned citizens" or even out of shape youngsters, realize that the very long days and tours scheduled for every day of the trip can be exhausting. I am a very active "seasoned citizen", former fighter pilot, and former paratrooper, but it was just a little too much at my age (71) to get up at 5 or 6:00 AM every day and spend 10-12 hours on the road, hiking through the rain forest, or zip-lining through the jungle. If I do it again, I will book a less ambition tour schedule. Finally, on a good note, the catamaran tour included lunch. While we were sailing, the cook/chef prepared an awesome red snapper along with the obligatory beans and rice. Best meal we had on the trip, but stay away from the "spicy/hot" sauce. I like spicy / hot food but that sauce really "lit my fire." Habanero, ghost pepper or something similar must have been the base for the sauce.