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I cannot recommend this trip enough. Everything was organised to perfection. We saw pretty much every animal available (apart from a jaguar which i believe the chances of seeing are zero)!
The hotels were all pretty much first class – food delicious, staff so friendly, rooms comfortable and the towel art!
Transport – comfy, driven very well by Felix, arrived on time everywhere.
Andreas – the best tour guide you could ever hope for. It was a passion for him to ensure that we all made the best of the holiday and he ensured that we see everything he saw. He was so knowledgeable with everything Costa Rica had to offer. He was careful to ensure i was feeling okay after a run-in with a raccoon 🙂
Activities – all spot on and the hot springs were amazing. I only wish i was brave enough to do the zip wire instead of the coffee tour.
Fellow travellers – all were amazing and made everyone feel welcome. i am sure we are going to keep in touch with everyone in the future.
The hatching turtles on Torteguero beach. The whole reason i booked for November and i was not disappointed. The friendliness of the Costa Rican people. Everywhere we went we were made to feel very welcome.
First Class! Could not have hoped for a friendlier, more knowledgeable tour leader
Take an umbrella and do not forget to take a fleece or something for the Savegre Lodge - it is a tad chilly at times!
We have just returned from a fantastic holiday guided by Johnny Villalobos. He made the experience memorable for our group of 13 travellers. He gave 100% to us, walking early to see as much as possible, owl hunting at night and working all hours to enable us to ‘ maximise’ our holiday ( his word ) ! The itinerary was well put together and all the lodges and hotels were carefully chosen, all different but all excellent. We particularly loved Esquinas Lodge, its remoteness and the birds of course! We saw a huge number of bird species and Johnny helped us to check the ‘list’ every evening in happy hour!!! We had the good fortune to be travelling with a great group of people which really made for a fun time as well. We did see quetzal too. We saw at least two males and two females and they did us the honour of performing a memorable flying display! All in all a really wonderful holiday. My only query might be a question of its rating as Leisurely 1!!!
Baby turtles hatching and making their perilous journey from nest to sea. The Resplendent Quetzals! Getting very wet in Monteverdi cloud forest! Visiting a local school and the home of Aurora for a Costa Rican lunch.
Amazing group leader. His knowledge, love and pride for his country Costa Rica shone through.
If you love birds, mammals, nature and beautiful scenery book this trip.
This was a wonderful holiday from start to finish, with so much to see and do. Our first stopover at Tortuguero was very enjoyable – the lodge was superb and we saw a lot of wildlife both on the boat trips and walking around the forest. It was also refreshing to have a swim in the pool at the end of a busy day. I thought the holiday may have gone downhill after that – but it didn’t! The lodges we visited subsequently were just as good, and I continued to be amazed by the flora and fauna that were in abundance at all locations on our trip. Add to that a couple of relaxing days on the beach at the Pacific, and it truly was the recipe for a superb holiday.
As already noted, this was a holiday of many experiences, and put them all together to get a whole that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. I would highlight the following however: - I did the Sky Trek at Monteverde, which is an optional extra - it's billed as the ultimate zip line experience and it certainly lived up to its reputation. I loved the thrills from zip lining at speed through the forest. - As a contrast, I also enjoyed the rest and relaxation on the Pacific coast. Our walk there at the Manuel Antonio national park was packed with sightings, including sloths and monkeys. We then had the rest of the day if desired to spend on the beach within the park itself, which was much more peaceful than the public beach back in the main resort area. - And finally, I need to mention the Esquinas Lodge. The main building is open plan which adds to the experience and you truly feel that you are away from all the hustle and bustle, and it is just you and nature.
Gio(vanni) was top class. He had a very easy-going manner and really helped to make the group gel and to engender our enthusiasm throughout the holiday. Nothing was a bother for him and he was always eager to please (although I did like his comment at the start of the holiday that it does rain in the rain forest and it is one complaint he can't help with!). He was also superb at spotting wildlife, and he kept up his 100% record on our trip of always managing to spot a quetzal in the Savegre cloud forest.
- Accept that it is likely to rain at some point during your trip and enjoy the experience for what it is. Our trip was the latter part of November and we were lucky as most of the rain fall was during the night. However, when it rained during our stay at Esquinas, we got the brollies out and enjoyed our walk in the rain, and slightly muddy paths (!), through the forest. - The cost of food and drink throughout the trip was relatively expensive and I ended up spending more than the average noted in the trip notes. However, the food was good quality and in particular I enjoyed the fish and seafood. - We made time on our last morning to visit the Gold Museum and it was very interesting. We were in it for over an hour but could have spent much longer going round all the exhibits.
In my opinion, this tour is the perfect blend of wildlife, nature, activities and perfect introduction to Costa Rica. They say a guide makes the trip and in this case Andres did, but everything ran perfectly from meals to accommodation, and activities to free time. I was surprised just how much wildlife we saw including sea turtles hatching and making their way towards the Pacific Ocean, hiked in cloud forests and watched the forest below from canopy bridges. Exodus did a fantastic job in selecting eco-lodges which worked with the environment, as opposed to leaving a carbon footprint. I couldn’t have asked for a better Costa Rica experience.
Tortuguero National park is an incredible place. Where else can you navigate the intricate river channels and waterways, spotting wildlife during the day, and watch sea turtles hatch and inch their way down to the Pacific Ocean in the same day.
Andres was the perfect guide. He had all the expected traits of an excellent guide: professional, knowledgeable, intelligent, able to read the needs and ability of the group. He gave us lots of information and kept us up to date with the daily activities.
Costa Rica tends to be quite wet so an umbrella and decent (breathable) light rain jacket will go a long way. Take a waterproof bag for your electronics and anti-moisture gel packs. Binoculars will be a huge help in spotting different wildlife.
Thoroughly enjoyed this trip. We had a great guide, Gustavo, and fab driver, Juan, who helped make the trip a success. We saw plenty of wildlife, including sloths, greenback turtles, monkeys, iguanas, frogs (including the iconic red eyed tree frog) and birds too numerous to list. Costa Rica is a lovely country with rich biodiversity and unspoilt countryside. The people were friendly and largely English speaking and very helpful in all the places we stayed. Our accomodation was of a good standard and the first and last lodges were particularly good. In spite of travelling in the rainy season the weather was kind to us – an added bonus.
There are a few moments that will stick in my memory. We were lucky enough to visit during green turtle nesting season. We were privileged enough to watch a turtle laying it's eggs then head back into the ocean which was pretty special. During this excursion a second turtle made it's way up the beach to where we were standing and nearly ran over my feet (the guide told us not to move) as it headed towards a nesting spot. A second highlight was seeing a red-eyed tree frog in the wild. In fact we saw two on one of our night walks. I even managed to get a couple of excellent photos, a great addition to my framed holiday highlight collection. Costa Rica is full of some colourful birds and we saw many. However the ones I will always remember are the humming birds. We saw many, many of humming birds and it was fascinating to watch them, and attempt to capture them on camera, at the special feeders around some of our lodges and in the wild.
Our group leader Gustavo was very knowledgeable about his country, the wildlife we saw and importantly the best places to look for sloth, frogs etc. His English was good and I found himhelpful and worked hard to make our trip a success. He even organised birthday cake for those on our trip who were celebrating. It is also worth mentioning our driver, Juan. Although he didn't speak much English, he also worked hard and was humorous, helping to keep us entertained. He also kept the tour bus very clean, both inside and out.
Pack light, the luggage all went on the roof of the tour bus so needed to be hauled up there (by the driver, guide and hotel staff). Be prepared to get wet - they don't call them rain forest and cloud forest for nothing! An umbrella is very useful, it also helps keep the camera dry when taking photos in the rain. Otherwise the trip notes were pretty accurate.
This was my first Exodus trip and it reminded me why I love to travel and how I have missed travelling.
It is a good trip to show you some of what Costa Rica has to offer and in comfort from travelling to accommodation, the daily drives are not to vast and are broken up with a visit here or there.
You go from travelling through mangroves to witnessing turtles nesting, to volcanoes, rain & cloud forests with a beach thrown in as well – with evening cicada and frog calls to being woken by the roar of a howler monkey with sights of sloths, untold colourful birds including the fabulous Quetzal, 4 species of monkeys and much, much more, what more could you really want?
I can't single anything out, it was great simply being away from it all and in such amazing surroundings, there were many "wow" moments for me
Gustavo was fantastic, he certainly knows his stuff and is excellent at spotting wildlife from afar, thus ensuring that we saw all we could. The trip was v well planned and organised
Expect rain, a sturdy poncho is wise although you may find it's simply easier and more fun to get wet and blend with the locals!
Discover Costa Rica is a fantastic holiday that is suitable for all ages. The itinerary is expertly put together, meaning you really get a sense of the whole country and the various different ecosystems. 6 lots of 2 night stays with the bookends in San Jose and a comfortable mini-bus for the entire trip (with wifi) take you from the Caribbean ocean and sea turtles in Tortugero, to the volcano and hot springs of Arenal, to the cloud forrests of Monteverde and Savegres, and the nature reserves of Manuel Antonio and Esquinas. Each of these locations present their own individual highlights and the travel in between is well planned and not overly long (4 hours on average on a travel day).
Seeing a three toed sloth on the edge of the road at extremely close quarters as she tried to cross the road has to be the highlight of the trip. Such amazing creatures!
Antonio was our group leader and great from the beginning to the end. Knowledgeable, always willing to go the extra mile, he really made our trip special.
No real need to bring much cash. Good to change a couple of hundred pounds into Colons in San Jose to get the best FX but otherwise you can pay with mastercard throughout the entire trip. Bring suncream and plenty of insect repellent. Waterproofs are essential too - good walking shoes and comfy sandals important too - flip flops for the beach.
This was a fantastic trip and a great way to discover the delights of Costa Rica. From the lush tropical rainforests of the Caribbean coast to the misty cloud forests to the fascinating pacific coast. A truly memorable trip
Probably our zip lining experience in the cloud forest, which was just fantastic and something I will never forget, but we also loved the volcanic hot springs, and of course seeing sloths, monkeys, toucans, crocodiles, scarlet macaws, etc, etc...
Fantastic. Knowledgeable on the flora and fauna and on Costa Rica generally and managed the tour to perfection.
The optional activities (zip lining and volcanic hot springs) are really worth doing and I would highly recommend them. Make sure you buy your souvenirs before you get to the airport, as the prices at the airport are more than double the price outside.
This was our first Exodus trip and it won’t be our last! It was a well paced holiday, moving on after two days in one place, but we managed to see a range of different environments in this amazing country. There was such a number and variety of animals and birds wherever we went! It must have one of the richest natural habitats in the world. The scenery was stunning too – from beautiful river systems to volcanoes and cloud forests and tropical rain forests. What an experience!
It's difficult to pinpoint any single moment, but waking up to the sound of howler monkeys in the trees above our chalet on the first morning was something that will live with us for a long time!
We chose this trip as the guide was a bird expert. Giullamo did not disappoint. He was professional throughout, making sure we all got the most out of the holiday. His knowledge of birds and animals was encyclopedic and he had an instinct for spotting the wildlife before any of us were aware of it. He took the trouble to explain about the different environments we visited and his pride in his country shone through. The research he had done before the trip paid dividends, down to booking good restaurants; in one case reserving seats to watch a sunset before we sat down to eat. We all agreed we could not have had a better guide.
We went to Costa Rica in the "dry" season, but the rain forests lived up to their name on a couple of occassions. Our waterproof ponchos proved invaluable to cover ourselves & our backpacks until the rain eased off. Having a pair of binoculars each was a good thing too.
The title of this holiday is Discover Costa Rica, and that is exactly what it delivers. During the break, you get to experience the beauty and the wide diversity of the country from Mangroves on the Caribbean coast, to volcanic regions to rain forests, cloud forests and beach resorts on the Pacific coast.
For me, the best part of the trip was Tortuguero on the north east, Caribbean coast. We stayed in La Laguna lodge which, although fairly rustic was nevertheless very comfortable and crammed with opportunities to see various forms of the beautiful wildlife to be found in Costa Rica from wading birds to sloths, to raptors, frogs and howler monkeys and many many more. Other areas such as Monte Verde cloud forest, and Esquinas Lodge were also extremely beautiful and interesting places.
Our leader was Guillermo Arrieta who was absolutely outstanding. His knowledge of and passion for his country, it's wildlife, industry and beauty was palpable. His attention to detail to ensure that every member of our group got everything they wanted from this holiday was superb. I can honestly say that having experienced many other group leaders with other high quality travel companies, Guillermo is by far the best.
Take plenty of memory cards for your camera (my wife and I took in excess of 10,000 pictures!), good quality waterproofs (it is a rain frost after all and it certainly doesn't disappoint!), good quality binoculars and stout but comfortable walking shoes.