Off-the-Beaten-Path Costa Rica Family Tour

Our trip to Costa Rica was wonderful in large part due to the excellent planning and follow-through by this travel company.  Their representatives helped us create a very personalized itinerary, were always responsive to our needs and accessible even after we arrived.  On the trip itself, our drivers were on time, knowledgeable and friendly.  We learned so much from them about the people of Costa Rica and their love and respect for their amazing country. We stopped along our routes and were treated to sites of mountains, waterways and animals we might have missed. We found a tree full of macaws and crocs under a bridge for us to see. What wonderful photo shoots! 

Although we had some spots in mind, our travel company set up the tours in each area and arranged for the hotels as we traveled from San Jose to Tortuguero to Arenal to Monteverde to Manuel Antonio to Dominical.  It all went so smoothly, and we loved being in so many different environments. In Tortuguero we stayed at a lovely lodge (What a setting!), toured the canals and saw the Green Turtles nesting. From there we went to Arenal, stayed at a beautiful hilltop villa (great staff, food and views), visited the national park and the hot springs, and then on to Monteverde with a 20 degree drop in temperature  (best  Frutti de Mar EVER in the hotel restaurant), then on to a fun time at the hotel in Manuel Antonio - monkeys galore plus time to relax and enjoy one of the many pools (Yummy mojitos too!). Last, but certainly not least, we traveled to Dominical, the absolutely perfect way to end our visit to Costa Rica. We canot say enough about the natural and most beautiful design of the stone and wood lodges overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the amazing gourmet food and most of all about the remarkable staff and the feeling of friendliness, peace and well-being they conveyed to us throughout our too-brief stay. Add in a visit to the Boruca Indigenous People and the enduring pride of our hosts and others, in their culture, art and spritiuality and you have a perfect finale to an amazing trip.  Thank you to our agent and others at at this company. We will be in touch for our trip back!

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.

When my parents decided they wanted our entire family, 18 people, ranging in age from seven to 80, to go to Costa Rica as a belated celebration for their 50th wedding anniversary, I knew we would need help to make it happen. I reached out to a few different travel companies for quotes and more information, and we ultimately chose this one to help plan this trip of a lifetime.

From the beginning, Pierre and the team at the travel agency offered great insight and advice. They asked lots of questions to make sure they met our needs, and with such a large group, there were many different things to take into consideration. They were also very good at working within our general budget, which ended up being approximately $1500 per person for the main part of the trip (10 days in La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio). We also added a Tortuguero extension for 14 of us.

Throughout the planning process, Pierre and the team were great at updating the itinerary and keeping us informed. We ended up adding on a few tours just a few weeks before the start of the trip and they quickly worked to include those. (It is challenging to get 18 people together for a discussion, so it took us a while to confirm some of the optional tours.)

From day one everything was very efficient and smooth. We had comfortable private transportation between destinations and for all of our tours, we had private transfers and guides, except for the Tortuguero extension. Pierre chose great hotels for us in terms of amenities, ambiance, etc, though in hindsight, with 18 people, accommodations that were within walking distance to town, restaurants, etc, would have made things easier.

We also happened to celebrate three birthdays on this trip, including my husband's 50th, for which Pierre and his team surprised us by arranging a beautiful cake, balloons, and sparkling wine. That was incredibly thoughtful. Then they helped us arrange a cake at our resort in Tortuguero for my sister.

Definitely a very memorable family trip with so many great moments. We saw so much wildlife and had many exciting experiences. Thank you!

Great Value!

We trusted Zicasso and this travel agency with 7 precious days away from work/school and they delivered a lifetime of memories for our family in Costa Rica.  We simply told our travel agent what type of experience we were looking for as well as a couple of "must-do" items.  She took it from there and planned an amazing itinerary that exceeded our expectations.  She was exceptionally responsive to our questions and itinerary changes.  She even made it a point to follow-up with our guides during the trip to ensure everything was going smoothly.  We spent a few days in encountering wildlife (e.g. monkeys, sloths, iguanas) in Tortuguero and then went on to relax at the beach in Puerto Viejo (very laid back beach town with Caribbean influence). The experiences, logistics, and professionalism of everyone we encountered (including our travel agency's partner companies) were top-notch.  Highly recommend Zicasso, this travel agency, and their networks.  Thanks to all but special shout-outs to:  our travel agent, our hosts at the Tortuga lodge, and especially our guide who took care of us for three days in Puerto Viejo.  

My trip went very smooth. The trip was well organized. The standard large group tour to Tortuguero connection had no problems. The guide at the Aninga Lodge was excellent gets 5 stars. The pickup at El Ceibo restaurant and drive to Tabacon was pleasant. I had a great talk with my private driver all the way. The Tabacon Spa & Resort is the place to stay. I am happy the first hotel was full at final booking. Room was 5 star. I chose the buffet the first night and was overwhelmed with the food to select from. The second night tried the hotel restaurant and had a great meal. I very much enjoyed the solo singer during the meal. Tabacon Hot Springs adjacent to the hotel is the most beautiful spot on this earth. A must see place. There is so much activities at Arenal. I did the Balsa White Water Rafting and loved it. The trip from Tabacon to Tamarindo was ok. The private driver on the first half spoke very little English and the vehicle had a strong cleaning chemical smell. I needed to keep the window open for fresh air. I was glad it was only for half the journey. The second half was with several other passengers. This drive was without any complaints. The Cala Luna Hotel is a distance from the town of Tamarindo but is a great place to stay. I was scheduled for a premium room and was upgraded to a spacious Villa with private pool. The front desk staff were fantastic. Always a smile and willing to help. The distance to town is 2-3 miles depending if you do the low tide beach walk or the road walk. I did the walk 3 times during my stay. I have to give this travel agency 5 out of 5 stars for this vacation.