Costa Rica
 

Hi, We are planning to go to Costa Rica next February, March and I am looking for a really good Travel agent in Costa Rica. We now what and where we want to go but I need to find the best travel agent to make the booking. We have done this for India and Vietnam booking in the actual country very successfully so now want to do the same in Costa Rica. Some advice please.

It's very easy to book everything yourselves. We've planned all our trips that way, but if you want an agent, Pat Hewitt who posts on this board has a great reputation.

If you already know your plans, why not book it yourself? Almost every single hotel in CR you can book online, as well as transfers and activities. CR is very easy to navigate and book on your own.

When I am traveling on my own or with a few friends I book everything on my own as it's very easy to do.

But when I have led groups I have used Horizontes Nature Tours out of San Jose. I generally have designed the tour and have them make the hotel, transportation and activity bookings. www.horizontes.com, 506-2222-2022 Eddie Rodriguez is my contact [email protected]

I like the fact that Horizontes is a very community/service oriented company. When the major earthquake of 2009 hit the Poas area, I told them about an effort our group was making to assist the elementary school in Poasito. They loved the idea and had all of their employees do a service day to help out.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, I have had a quote from anywhere costa rica, has anyone some opinions on them ?

For very personal service, check out http://coatitours.com/Home_Page.php. We used Wilson (owner) as a driver, and he also arranged some tours for us. He can do a full range of planning depending on your needs (hotels, transportation, excursions, restaurants, etc). I tend to be more of a do-it-yourself-er, but he offered his services when I contacted him about transportation, so we took him up on a few things. He's a great guy, very knowledgeable, and also make great restaurant recs.

Costa Rica Expeditions is also very good, but they can be pricey.

I have had 3 quotes 2 for about $3600 and 1 for $6100 for the same holiday a bit strange.
Has any one used Anywhere Costa Rica or www tachiz travel ? Thanks

The advice you got in the first three answers is the best. Agents, packagers, bundles, etc., will most likely be using the same "subcontractors" that you would use if you did it yourself. That's the way most responders on this forum have done. If you want someone handling every detail for you, look into a guided or hosted tour, look at Caravan or OAT.

Booking is SOOO easy in Costa Rica that you can just book the hotels that you want, book tours after you get there, and ask your hotel to book onward transportation. Or you can contact a driver who is willing to make hotel reservations for you and get you there.

The first three posts tell how it's done in CR. they might do it differently in India or Vietnam.

I quadruple the advice all the first three answers on planning your own trip. I am just in the final stages of planning a 31 day trip for me and my three young children (my husband joining the last 8 days). We are visiting four areas of the country, have rented a car, made hotel reservations or rented a house, etc. If you know where you're going it's pretty simple to make your own reservations. We didn't have a clue as to where we were going and with three small kids I overly researched. Costa Rica has been one of the easiest places to plan a trip and book all our arrangements. Trip Advisor and Fodors has been very useful on reviews.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the info. I have just had a great quote from Tachiz travel, sound very genuine, any comments ?

Where do they have you going, and what hotels are you staying in?

We want to do Tirtuguero, Arenal and Tambor, in fact we have our route planned but want to hire a car, stay in really good hotels. I now have a quote from Anywhere Costa Rica are they a good an honest company. That is the most important point for us. Thanks

Tortuguero cannot be reached by car or any land transportation. There are no "really good" hotels there. Do you want to rent a car or hire a car and driver? You must have asked your question with the expectation that the replies would be helpful and instructive. The replies do not encourage you to shop for travel bundlers in Costa Rica. That isn't the way that the people you have asked for advice plan their travel--for the most part. The way to evaluate how good a quote is is to compare the costs of *exactly* what the quote includes with the prices you find on line for the exact same services. If you do not know exactly what the quote includes, you ought not to be going about this in the way you have chosen.

If you want a really good hotel in Tortuguero, go with the Tortuga Lodge; they have excellent food and service and won't put you into a group to tour with or dine with like some other lodges do. They're run by Costa Rica Expeditions that I mentioned above. You'll have to either fly or boat in. Sansa and Nature Air are the in country carriers.

You can book drivers through your hotels when you reserve them if you decide that you do want to plan things yourself.

Thanks, I am waiting for a quote from costa rica expeditions but am now getting more in a muddle than ever. We did go to India through a company out there and now really want to go to Costa Rica in the same way but need a super quality firm, with private transfers.

Who owns Tortuguero Lodge as I have heard that the company that own them are not the best !!

Please more advice.

Is anywhere Costa Rica a very good reliable company please.

By all accounts on Tripadvisor, Anywhere Costa Rica is a reputable company.
If you are planning to use private driver for transfers between locations, check out www.tucanlimoservices.com. A small family owned company with impeccable reputation as private drivers, they will surely be capable of putting together an interesting and personalized itinerary. Contact mrs.Rocio.

I recommend you book on your own as well. I just returned from a ten day trip and was able to book by getting great advice on this forum. I think you would save money by booking yourself! Goodl luck!

I have heard that Gecko trails are good, any comments anyone ? thanks

The most straightforward reviews of the booking agents and packagers that you are inquiring about can be found in Tripadvisor. What you want to do is just not the kind of thing that most people who frequent this board are familiar with. You CAN book the way you want to book, but you can see from the responses, that's not the way that most people on this board are familiar with and therefore they can only advise you to do the easy thing and book it yourself or follow some of the other advice. They are trying to advise you that in Costa Rica, things are not typically done the way they are in India or Vietnam. It's like wanting to get advice on the best train to take to Honolulu. If you have to have a packager in country, please do check the reviews of the companies (written, for the most part, by actual customers) on Tripadvisor.

The advice for packagers already mentioned above for

http://coatitours.com/Home_Page.php

and

http://www.tucanlimoservices.com/

is excellent. Both these services are companies built by successful and experienced drivers who can perform the services you need. These services have been mentioned with praise around here for years, because these are the ones that people are familiar with and they're really good at what they do.

I hope that you will reread all the responses to your post and become more comfortable with the advice you are getting. To me Costa Rica is about joyful expectations all the way to the last day of my stay. The planning process shouldn't have to be frustrating and stressful. There's good advice in the responses you have had above.

Thanks for your message. Still not sure what to do, some quotes are for $3600 for 2 and others $7000 for 2 I can't understand the great difference. We would like the security of a good agent and at the moment Anywhere Costa Rica seems to be my favorite.

Thanks again

It would be easier to give feedback if you give a list of the specific hotels and activities they have you doing. The caliber of the hotels they have you staying in could affect the price.

Have you ever heard of one called Road Scholar Tours? When we stayed at Selva Verde they had a group there, and they all just loved it. Most of them seemed to be older folks. They had them going to some good spots. They had some cool guest lecturers come in and speak to them.

At the moment we are looking to go with Anywhere Costa Rica, I have heard good reports.
To Tortuguero, Arenal and Tambor. Comments about this company would be most welcome

Thanks

@lidboymk2, did you end up going with anywherecostarica? How was your experience with them and the site?

I just got back from Costa Rica and I used Anywhere Costa Rica. They will book as much or as little of the trip as you want. You can let them know where you want to go, when and what you want to see. They have suggestions for things in the area to see. I will say the accomodation was as I requested - sometimes economical (safe & clean being the main priority) but also a mid-range lodge and transport the resort which I paid for with my hotel points. The transport between locations was great - always punctual! Anywhere Costa Rica made booking this trip so easy...I would recommend.