Aventuras Naturales in CR
 

Has anyone ever booked a tour with Aventuras Naturales (aka Costa Rica Nature Adventures)? They run rafting trips on the Pacuare and the Pacuare Lodge right on the river. I was wondering what your experiences were like in dealing with their reservations team. I'm currently in talks with them and am encountering issues - to put it mildly - so I'm wondering if this is normal for travel companies in CR or if I should talk to someone else.

Thanks!

Can you elaborate further? I've communicated with them previously with no issues. However, we again put our 2 night Pacuare trip on the back burner, so can't comment on them beyond the initial communication. We like Rio Tropicales as well.

If you are considering overnight on the river, Adventuras Naturales has more deluxe accomodations (and prices), Rio Tropicales a little less pricey, little less luxurious.

Hi shillmac,

I've actually booked and stayed with them before and while my friend did all the heavy lifting with regards to reservations, she did mention that the rep was hard to get a hold of and a little unresponsive.

I sent my "wish list" itinerary over to her about 3 weeks ago and have diligently followed up to get the rough draft with costs, etc. I called today and she couldn't remember any of my emails - or any of hers telling me she was working on my itinerary - couldn't remember my name, couldn't find my name on her system, etc.

So I forwarded her all the emails we'd traded and reminded her that I was leaving on Sept. 28th and was more than a little anxious that I hadn't gotten anything from her. She promised she'd send me a "rough itinerary" by tonight but warned me that as a single traveler, that it would be veeeery expensive and that they (AV) only worked with outfits in their price range (deluxe) and not with hostels.

The thing is I never asked nor mentioned anything about hostels, but simply asked for some more affordable and budget-friendly options as I would be in CR for 5 weeks and would need to economize most of the time but still allow for treats every now and then - hence the stint at Pacuare Lodge with the rafting - and assured her that I was perfectly willing to make other arrangements if the suggestions I'd made with regards to lodgings and activities were not on the usual AV roster of reciprocal outfitters.

This could well be my anxiety speaking but it sounded as though she didn't intend or wouldn't have the time to really do the research to get me the best deals. When she got on the phone, she told me straight off that she was very busy with December itineraries and travelers and that I wasn't on her to-do list at all.

I'm not opposed to winging parts of my itinerary, but I had hoped that by this time I would have certain days and activities locked in and given that we were returning clients that service would've been more attentive.

I emailed her about four hours after we spoke - around close of business CR time - because I still hadn't received anything, and surprisingly she emailed back quickly although only to tell me she was still working on it and that she would either send it late, late tonight or early tomorrow.

Thoughts?

It's 7:46 pm Pacific and no itinerary from Aventuras Naturales. It's fairly obvious now that the rep hasn't worked on the itinerary at all during the past three weeks despite telling me she had been working on it throughout.

I'd get another rep and quickly. The thing is, I didn't know they (AV) were in the business of booking entire itineraries for people. I thought it was just a company that had a few tour offerings to be booked, one of them being the overnight hotel stay option with the rafting.

You'd be much better off to work with someone who is more interested in serving up the kind of itinerary you have specified. Check with Pat Hewitt at Costa Rica Travel Exchange. He'll do a much better job for you.

www.lovecostarica.com

I don't have a lot of patience for the judgements of people who think that if one stays in a deluxe accomodation occasionally that is all you know about (see "Lodging in Manuel Antonio" thread). Ditto for those who assume that if one requests budget or moderate occasionally, then THAT is all one is interested in. Wouldn't you agree that a LOT of people "mix it up" a bit?

Good luck!

Eressea - was in CR this year, and we used Costa Rica Rios. We really enjoyed working with them, and the whole trip. We did a longer tour, I believe it was 7 days, but packed full of fun adventures (kayaking and rafting, and typical jungle tour). They had a great place to stay in Turrialba (sp?) w/ friendly staff and an awesome lodge right on the river with individual bungalows for rafting days. Check them out if you're looking for additional options.

I strongly recommend Rios Tropicales. They have been around for a long time and they are quite professional.

DoUTravel
http://www.mapdango.com

Funny, cause we're leaving tomorrow on a trip booked by them. I had my travel agent handle it, and he had a very hard time getting them to respond. But, we finally have an itinerary, and I'm hoping for the best. I'd say it would be easier using someone else. I used them because they had a package advertised on the Pacuare Lodge website. good luck!

Thanks everyone for weighing in. AV booked a two week package for us last time and it took them a while to get it done then. I spoke with my friend who made the reservations and learned that no other rep would touch our itinerary once another rep had communicated with us; I'm guessing that there might have been commissions involved or something so they're careful to not tread on each others' toes.

They do book other tours but we had to tell them what we wanted and where as they didn't really offer advice - we had asked her to let us know if we were crisscrossing the country and wasting time but we had to plot out our route pretty much by ourselves - or even suggestions really. I understand now that they're not a full-fledged travel company in the sense that they would help you book an itinerary more lengthy and complex than the prepackaged tours they themselves offered.

Despite the reservation/booking process with AV, we had an excellent time rafting and can absolutely recommend our guide. (His name is Cholo.) One of the main reasons I chose to go back is so that I can raft the Pacuare again when there's more water (levels were really low in May) and when you have a great guide to boot, it makes for a perfect day. The staff at the lodge were all wonderful as well.

Shillmac: I completely agree with you on mixing up my itinerary. And that it's a shame the AV rep assumed that because I was interested in less luxurious lodgings that it wasn't worth her while to work with me.

Thank you for all the recommendations and links everyone: you know what I'll be doing during the next few days...

Hi there - we're back from our trip with them (I had weighed in before we left). I have to say, the trip was absolutely flawless. They met us at the airport, had all our vouchers, and every booking and transfer was perfect. So, it may depend on your ability to be patient and wait until the last minute, etc. Our travel agent who actually booked the trip for us did say their prices were great, so that's something to consider. Let us know how it goes!