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Organized trip/cruise to Costa Rica - any experiences and are they worth it?

Organized trip/cruise to Costa Rica - any experiences and are they worth it?

Old Dec 14th, 2005, 07:27 AM
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Organized trip/cruise to Costa Rica - any experiences and are they worth it?

Has anyone been on an organized multi day tour in Costa Rica? We are planning on visiting this summer (2 adults 1 8 yr old boy) and some of the tours look very nice, but I'm not sure they are worth the markup... although it would be nice to have more kids along for my son. Any experiences to share? We have always travelled independantly in the past but this is our first trip to Latin America.
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Old Dec 19th, 2005, 08:39 AM
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Doesn't anyone have an opinion on organized tours/cruises?

Thanks!
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Old Dec 19th, 2005, 09:08 AM
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Haven't done one of these; I'm sure you would have a great time. It's hard not to--however you experience Costa Rica. Just wanted to say that, as far as doing a tour so your son could be with friends his own age, Costa Rica is so full of adventure and beauty and neat things to do, I'll bet he'll enjoy himself a lot without being around other kids. If that is your reason for going with a tour group, just know that you are going to have a fabulous time together as family!
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Old Dec 20th, 2005, 08:09 AM
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I'm biased because I organize group tours myself, but they can be a lot of fun, especially if they're on the smaller side and don't have a rushed itinerary. The advantages are that you don't have to worry about where to go or how to get there. You meet other interesting people, and it's really nice if your kids have someone else to goof around with. Gives you a break. Also they know what they're doing and usually choose good hotels and restaurants, and you know most of your costs upfront. I've seen some really good prices on tours--better than you can get yourself--and some over-inflated ones. Shop around.

The first time I came to CR, my son & I took a group tour. Swiss Travel was the ground operator, and they are fantastic. If they're involved in your tour you will have no worries. We had a great time and that's why we keep going back.

Sandy
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Old Dec 20th, 2005, 02:02 PM
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Another option rather than being locked into a set schedule with all activities planned out, is to use a company to arrange accommodations/travel and any activities that you are sure you want to do and leave the rest open.

We just returned from CR and being that I am so busy at work and outside of work, I did not have the time/energy to make all of our travel arrangements, so called on Solimar Travel to help. It worked like a dream. We were met at the airport by a driver who took us to our first destination and each mode of travel after that was arranged, including pickups from lodges and 3 Nature Air flights. We only had a couple of instances where Interbus changed its schedule, but we were always on the schedule and never without transportation. By using this method, we had the option to do nothing or sign up for guided trips or activities once we reached the lodge. It worked very well and for a first time visitor, took away the stress of moving between locations. We knew we did not want to try driving ourselves yet! We (husband and I) agree that this vacation was absolutely perfect.

I plan on doing a trip report when I catch up with my work.
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Old Dec 24th, 2005, 09:07 AM
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For what it's worth, as a first trip to CR - something relaxing and to give us a taste of the country - my family of 4 (kids were around 9 and 12) went on a Pacific coast small-boat cruise. The company, Temptress (it was Costa Rican with a CR crew), isn't around now, but either Lindblad or Cruisewest bought their boat and do the same itinerary. We had a fabulous time and to this day our kids would probably say it was their favorite trip - and that's saying a lot because we travel extensively. Temptress took care of all details so no sweating on our part, and the handful of kids on the boat really bonded.

Now we're off on an independent inland trip in Feb. to see some of the other sights.

No matter how you do it, go to CR, it is fantastic.

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