Costa Rica for Families Vacation

I cannot say enough good things about the team at Zicasso’s travel partner. It's not just that they arranged an amazing Costa Rican adventure for me and my family, but it's the service they provided that really made everything so seamless.

The amazing service began during the planning stages, when the team worked with us to build a travel itinerary that fit our timing and budget (not easy, given it was the Christmas holiday season and we got a late start in planning). Based on our interests, they provided a menu of options in each region of the country. When we had questions about excursions, they were quick to respond and happy to provide recommendations based on their intimate knowledge of the activities and providers. In the week leading up to the trip, they provided a detailed itinerary, as well as instructions on what to expect when we landed in San Jose.

The incredible service continued once we were on the ground in Costa Rica. Our travel agent and his daughter met us at the airport with a welcome gift of local chocolates. He introduced our driver and went over the itinerary with us. We exchanged WhatsApp information and he encouraged me to text/call at any time with any questions, issues, or feedback.

From the airport, we made our way to Manuel Antonio, with a stop for lunch and fresh fruit. We checked into the hotel and a lovely room with panoramic views of the ocean and a magnificent sunset. It was my birthday, and the travel team arranged for a lovely fresh fruit tray to be sent to the room, as well as restaurant reservations that evening.

After three days in Manuel Antonio, we were driven to La Fortuna/Arenal (a long drive) and checked into a large resort with excellent facilities and incredibly responsive service (we called to ask for a roll-away bed, and within two minutes three people showed up with the bed and sheets). While we were in Arenal, we messaged the travel team with questions about potential changes to the itinerary (including changing the time of a couple of activities, as well as adding an activity), and they responded within minutes, making all the changes!

After three days in La Fortuna/Arenal, we headed to Monteverde for a couple of days at a resort, a lovely property in a great location. We enjoyed a couple of days in Monteverde before heading back to San Jose for our flight back to the States. On the drive back, our travel agent called to thank us for entrusting our trip to them, but I had to stop him, as it was really us who needed to thank him for making the trip so enjoyable (and so seamless)!

Our travel agency organized the perfect tour of Costa Rica. Our small group of 4 were treated as VIPs from the moment we arrived at San Jose airport, until the day we flew home. We even received a "welcome to Costa Rica" call and special "goodbye" call from our agency. Every transfer and guided tour was on time and the drivers were good. There were no worries or concerns, each day was perfectly organized and each hotel was informed of our itinerary. Our travel agency provided us with a free cell phone for local calls as well as walkie-talkies to stay in touch with each other. This added an even higher level of security to our trip.

We wanted to experience an environmental tour that would introduce us to the rain forest, the flora, fauna, birds, reptiles & animals of Costa Rica. We were amazed by the scenery and the knowledge of our guides on each of our tours. Costa Rica is truly magical. All of the hotels were interesting and clean, the staff friendly and efficient.  We stayed in bungalows & cabins in the heart of the rain forest! The food was very good and served in more than ample quantities. Our last few days were spent at the Belmar Hotel in Monteverde and the luxury of that small inn and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, were a great way to end our stay.

Our only disappointment was that our internal flight with Nature Air from Tortuguero National Park turned out to have a connection at San Jose airport with a 3.5 hour wait for the second flight to Arenal. We were expecting a direct flight, and more time to explore the village of La Fortuna.

We would definitely recommend this travel company and will use Zicasso Handcrafted Travel to help us book holidays in the future.

We absolutely loved this travel company and couldn’t have had a better experience from beginning to end! This was our honeymoon trip, so we are forever grateful that this company helped us plan and enjoy the honeymoon of our dreams.

Our travel agent worked with us from the beginning, helping us choose activities, sites, and lodging that suited our budget. Our 9 days in Costa Rica included 3 days in 3 locations: Arenal, Monteverde, and Guanacaste. Each site required land travel by bus or van, which was beautifully organized by our agent and his group. We felt safe and stress-free, getting to enjoy our transit instead of stressing over directions and routes. Though some may choose to rent a car, it’s wonderful to have a reliable travel service that coordinates safe, trustworthy drivers that get you from point A to point B. Each location came with a unique schedule of activities that we chose in advance. At Arenal, we enjoyed thermal springs at the resort, along with jungle rafting, volcano hiking, and an organic farm experience + cooking lesson. Our travel agent also scheduled a private bungalow dinner for our last night at Arenal—this took my breath away! Monteverde’s activities included cloud forest hiking, ziplining, a coffee and chocolate farm experience, and a night hike. In Guanacaste, we mostly relaxed but absolutely loved our one scheduled activity: sailing and snorkeling!

Each activity was enjoyable and exciting, and we thank our incredible travel agents for choosing the best of the best. We couldn’t be happier with how we planned and organized it. Thank you so much to our travel company—until next time in Costa Rica!