Splendid Costa Rica Vacation for Seniors: Live the Pura Vida

Zicasso’s travel agent and his team put together a Costa Rica vacation for four of us that exceeded our expectations in every way. Starting with planning the vacation, after discussing our priorities and interests, we were provided with a rough itinerary and an extensive list of possible excursions. The travel agent took the time for a lengthy conference call with all of us to arrange a dream vacation.

It was a dream vacation. Accommodations were wonderful. Our guides were so knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the areas visited. The excursions were designed to match our individual physical abilities. A special shout out to our driver. He showed us sights and animals we would have never seen on our own and he was downright fun! He exemplified the kindness and friendliness of the people of Costa Rica that is the essence of Pura Vida.

Zicasso’s travel company provided an excellent experience for our trip. Prior to the trip, they provided descriptions of what to bring and how to deal with every step of the trip, e.g., normal ranges for tips, packing lists for clothes, currency use, etc. The descriptions were very clear about how to meet our transportation and guides. Every step of our trip occurred on time, as scheduled. The guides they selected were experienced, with excellent English communication abilities.

Our guide in Monteverde was clearly the dean of the guide community. Other guides would ask him questions when we encountered them. He used his experience with bird sounds and other animal hints to allow us to watch two quetzals building a nest, taking turns with one quetzal on lookout while the other dug out a hole in a tree. We learned that it was very unusual to even see one quetzal at all, let alone two for an extended period. Our guide in the Arenal volcano area was also extremely knowledgeable about the plants and animals. We enjoyed getting to know them, as well as the driver who took us from Monteverde to Tamarindo.

The selection of guided tours and related events gave us a varied look at the many different things that Costa Rica has to offer in the northern part of the country. Working with the travel company on our itinerary gave us what we were looking for. It also allowed us to fly in and out of Liberia airport, which minimized our travel on the ground. During the course of our visit, we were in touch with a representative of the travel company on numerous occasions. He provided restaurant recommendations when we wanted to venture outside of the hotel. They were excellent. He also assisted in our determining proper tipping for particular legs of the trip.

The roads of Costa Rica can be challenging, especially at night, but our guides and drivers were very safe and skilled in dealing with the roads. The travel company used some of its people, but also engaged some who were independent. Their choices were very good and always on time. It was clear they are a well-run operation that knows how to support the traveler at every step of the vacation. Thank you for offering this travel company to us. It was our first experience with Zicasso. We were quite pleased and will definitely think of you for future trips.

We had a great trip and Zicasso’s travel agent did a very good job of organizing a variety of activities to enable us to see Costa Rica in a thorough way, but in a short time. 

My only disappointment was the resort in La Fortuna. It was a great place, but we were placed in rooms a mile away from the restaurant, hot springs, and swimming pools. We had to call for a shuttle bus each time we wanted to get out of our rooms and that was frustrating, as well as preventing any spontaneous strolls or time outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. We enjoyed all the other planned places and activities. 

I would suggest to our travel company that they include how long each planned activity is expected to last when they publish the itemized itinerary so clients can plan for meals, unscheduled time, and rest periods.

I highly recommend the travel company to other families traveling to Costa Rica! Pura vida!

We had a wonderful time on our trip. Zicasso’s travel specialist was responsive to what we wanted to do and adjusted our trip to fit our budget. He included our interests and took the research out of it for us. We asked him to plan on a tight time crunch of less than a month and he made it with ease.

Costa Rica had so much to do and he kept us active, which we wanted. I appreciated how the travel company had a travel app for all of our itineraries and tickets, as well as an emergency contact to make adjustments during the trip. We used this several times to book things we discovered during the trip and it was a breeze.

Our favorite adventures from our trip were ziplining, the river tour, and the waterfall in La Fortuna. We also enjoyed animal tours, which says a lot, as I'm not an animal fan, but the adventure was wonderful and felt very safe. I would consider the Monte Verde night tour next time.

We enjoyed our resort in Manuel Antonio and the beach at Manuel Antonio. The view was incredible.

Our whole tour flowed seamlessly and Costa Rica was beautiful and full of adventures. We'd happily return and use the travel company.

The coffee and chocolate tour in Don Juan was wonderful. Additionally, all of our hotels were great. I'd highly recommend this experience.

From the beginning, Zicasso's travel agency was totally with us in planning our trip to Costa Rica. All the hotels and activities they recommended were excellent. During the trip, they made adjustments when necessary. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and hopefully we can come back and take our kids and grandkids. Pura vida.

Having never been to Costa Rica, we wanted to experience an overview of the country and its diversity. Consequently, we ended up visiting five areas of the country over a two-week period, flying in and out of San José. The trip was well planned by Zicasso’s travel company and services met or exceeded our expectations, from accommodations to tours and transportation.