About Vargas Tours in Costa Rica

Old Jan 11th, 2005, 08:33 AM
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About Vargas Tours in Costa Rica

Help and information needed.

I have friends going to Costa Rica in late March/early April and they will be in the Coco Beach Area. I have heard some good things about Vargas Tours. Can anyone give me more information,such as how to contact them,prices, and what their tours are like.Percy,I think you mentioned that you took some of the Vargas Tours,could you or anyone else help.

Thank You
jmvp
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Old Jan 11th, 2005, 01:59 PM
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Hi jmvp

Well I can certainly give you some information about Vargas Tours.

I am sure others can add to what I have to say.

1. You e-mail Lupita (Ricardo Vargas's wife) at [email protected]

2. It is Lupita ( Lou- Peet- ah) that handles all the e-mails and bookings.


3. They do small tours only and is one of the main reason I booked all my tours with them.

4. Ricardo is one of the drivers and Tour Guides, he is usually the one to take you on the Turtle Egg Laying Tour or the Nicaragua Tour.

5. Lupita and Ricardo have their tour pick ups very well coordinated.
You will not be picked up and then be driven around for the next hour ,to many other hotels to pick up other people.

While Lupita comes to pick you up, Ricardo goes to pick up other and then they meet at a convenient place along the highway.
And the same thing upon your return..it is all pretty slick I thought.

6.Ricardo has two Naturalist Guides working for him
David Blanco and his brother Philipe Blanco.
The driver for David Blanco more than likely is "Manuel" and for Philipe it is "German."

For example , when I went on the Palo Verde Tour, David and Manuel came to pick me up (and another couple at the same resort.)
While Philipe and German wen to to pick up other.

We all met at Palo Verde, but our group was 4 and the other group was 6..see what I mean about samll tours.

Small tours are much more flexible , as I am sure others can tell you.

In fact I would just add that if you are going to be on the Papagayo Coast for the duration of your holidays or even for a few days, then ..

Vargas Tours are the way to go.

I was told about Vargas Tours a long time ago, I think by Jackie Briggs and another kind lady called Melissa, who made a posting months ago on another board ( Caribbean).

Also Ricardo and Lupita live near Coco Beach, so if you are staying near by ,it is even more convenient for you and them.

Oh yes ,now for some phone numbers.

Lupita /Ricardo is 670-0790 and cell is 385 -4312

I keep saying that there is no area code in Costa Rica , so if you are calling, you dial your country code,then Costa Rica Country Code and then their number.

I did 7 tours with them and booked them all in advance via e- mail.

Everything went smooth as glass.!!!!!

Hope you all have a good time.

Percy

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Old Jan 11th, 2005, 04:56 PM
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While I can't give as much detailed information as Percy did, I booked a tour with Vargas Tours based upon information on this site, and it could not have been more perfect. My entire family (two teenage girls and their parents!) fell in love with Felipe and the driver Herman (or Philipe and German?) was great. The day we spent with them was a highlight of our trip.
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Old Jan 11th, 2005, 05:59 PM
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BarbaraF

Oh yes !!! I can fully understand your teenage girls falling head over heels for Felipe!!!!!

I found that there was no segment of the Vargas Tours that was not splendid.

Ricardo has a brand new van...he just bought it in September, the other are about a year older.

When Ricardo and I drove to Tamarindo, I cringed everytime his new van hit a pothole!!!

But with the "new" van Ricardo does not himself do tours to Monteverde too often , rather his two Naturalist Guides do these .

Also one of the guides David Blanco has a small coffee growing acreage just a few miles outside of Monteverde, so David loves doing the Monteverde tours.!

PS.
Young ladies:

Although Felipe looks like he is 16, he is about 25-27 and he and his wife recently had a baby girl ,called Santamaria.
Sorry about that !!!!

Glad you all had a nice time BarbaraF

Percy

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Old Jan 12th, 2005, 08:54 AM
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Percy, Felipe told us he was 29 and I was astounded. I indeed thought he was about 22, maybe just out of college (I believe he said his brother was 22). He could not have been more conscientious or sincere about every aspect of the tour. And we drove past his house (on the way to a crafts store -- I wish I had the name of the artisan who made the beautiful pottery) and we waved at his wife and daughter playing out front. I felt like we had become part of his family. The personalized nature of the tour made it so much more memorable than had we taken one of those huge tour busses from the companies who work at the resorts.
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Old Jan 12th, 2005, 01:55 PM
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BabaraF

You are probably correct, he could very well be 29, NOT could be , if he said he was 29 then he is 29 !!

His brother David is 21.

Dave told me he was 21 , Philipe just grinned when I said he looks like 16 but is probably 25-27.

And yes he has a place near the Lodge in Rinco de la Viejo area.

Davis has a little coffee plantation acreage just outside of Monteverde...so he likes doing the tours to Monteverde.

Thank you for enlightening me about Felipe's age !!

In any case, he is a "cute" Tico.

Percy

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Old Jan 12th, 2005, 03:05 PM
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Hey there -
Nothing but 5 stars for Ricardo and his wife - Percy was excellent with his details.
Nothing but rave reviews.
Also - I didnt get to see these cute ticos. Now i am bit jealous.
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Old Jan 12th, 2005, 06:13 PM
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Hi Jacki

Yes, you really missed out.!

Felipe had the young ladies droooooling !!!!

All I can say is that if people are in Guanacaste and they want a super tour company and guides , then Vargas Tours are simply terrific.

Heck I would go with Ricardo again to Nicaragua the next time I get down in his area ..it was a terrific time.

Thanks Jacki for your good advice almost a year ago...my how time flies

Percy
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Old Jan 14th, 2005, 01:20 PM
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ttt

I am bringing this to the top for

bluepie.

Percy
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Old Jan 16th, 2005, 01:52 PM
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I am amused to read how attached people become to their tour guides! I don't know if it is all ticos or just those that go into the tourist business, but we felt the same way about our guides, Juan and Carol of JandCTours (jandctours.com). They were very dependable and made our holiday trip to Coco Beach and Tamarindo very special. We'll be going back to Costa Rica soon!

Sue
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Old Jan 16th, 2005, 07:44 PM
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susieD

I am sure that there are many good tour guides in Costa Rica.

I wish I knew them all!!

I learned of Vargas Tours from others and I was certainly not disappointed, with Lupita and Ricardo and their group.

Also since they live near Coco Beach I asked them what resort they thought was very good... and I was very happy with the choice they made for me.

It took me several months to plan out all the tours I took.

However, there are other tour groups and they know each other very well and at times even share clients when things are "slow."

I am sure that your tour guides we equally excellent and I was pleased to read that you had a good time.

Percy
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