Tropical Vacation Ideas for Couples

I really thought the Zicasso travel partner was fabulous and so thorough and easy to use. I would rate it the best travel app. It had my itinerary down to the minute detail, info on how to contact various people if there were any questions, and was so easy to navigate.  I would rate my trip to Australia my favorite so far. I recently went to Japan through a different travel agent and was able to compare the difference. Our travel team was so much better! 

My husband and I went to Australia to drop off my daughter, who was doing an exchange study in Sydney. We started in Melbourne and had a full-day tour to Phillip Island, with a moonlit animal sanctuary and penguins. I would recommend the penguins. I saw thousands of penguins. What an experience! I did not like the sanctuary part. Tickets were sold out for the koala petting and there were not very many animals to see. I have heard there are other sanctuaries/zoos in other parts of Australia that are much better.  

The Melbourne food tour was fantastic! Our tour guide did a wonderful job of explaining Melbourne's history with the food. We flew to Cairns, to Port Douglas, and had two excursions: a boat ride with snorkeling in the Great Reef Barrier and a Daintree safari.  The full-day cruise with snorkeling was wonderful, with so much food! The Daintree tour was a bit long and could have been condensed into half the time. I probably would not recommend that tour. 

Finally, we went to Sydney to drop off my daughter. We did the bridge walk, which was fantastic. Each person was so well protected and the safety checks were top-notch! 

Our trip went without any problems and our drivers were well-coordinated and on schedule. I would use this company for future trips to Australia. I plan to visit New Zealand and would use them again.

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.

While my family and I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of Tahiti, I regret to say that our experience with Zicasso's travel agent did not meet our expectations. We entrusted her with planning our 10-day vacation for a group of six, including four young adults in their 20s and early 30s, and unfortunately, several issues impacted our trip.

Of the ten days we were in Tahiti, only two excursions were arranged by our agent. Prior to departure, she sent us a finalized itinerary, and based on that schedule, we booked additional activities for the open days. However, on the second day of our trip, she informed us we had missed an excursion in Moorea. I referenced the itinerary she had provided, which listed that excursion for the following day. She claimed that the schedule had changed, and I was looking at an outdated version, despite never receiving an update or notification. She then placed the blame on airport staff for not informing us of the change—something that should have been her responsibility.

Additionally, the selection of one of the hotels for four nights did not align with the preferences we discussed. While the island and hotel are beautiful, the location was extremely isolated and better suited for honeymooners or older couples. The concierge offered little support in finding local activities, and we were disappointed to miss Easter Sunday services, which we had hoped to attend but received no assistance arranging.

Another major concern was the lodging setup. Our agent booked three rooms, each with a king and a single bed. This configuration was excessive for our group, as we could have comfortably managed with two rooms. This was an unnecessary expense, especially given the already significant cost of the trip.

Due to these issues—lack of communication, poor alignment with our group’s interests, and inefficient planning—I would not recommend her services, nor would I book with this travel agency again.

Costa Rica was an interesting country and Manuel Antonio had a lot to offer. We booked late (August) for a vacation for 11 (including our five grandchildren aged 11 to 16). Zicasso's travel agent came through with many connections for housing and activities. She was quick to respond to questions and always very pleasant. You could tell she loved Costa Rica and knew the country. She was detailed, until she wasn't. We were disappointed that the final schedule had many pick-up errors, as well as miscommunications. It felt as though she had passed the work off to someone else. 

Although it had been mentioned in previous reviews that a sloth lived in the tree above our pool at our villa, we never saw one. Everyone did enjoy interacting with the friendly monkeys and birds. Instead of swimming, the patio became a gathering spot for the forest animals. 

The consensus was that our private catamaran tour was our favorite, even though it rained during most of our trip. The crew was very hospitable, always on the lookout for our safety, and professional. They prepped food as we watched and it was extremely delicious! Our grandkids loved swimming off the boat, jumping into the water, and sitting on the netting as we sailed. 

We also enjoyed the private ATV tour (in spite of smelly, wet helmets). The staff, snack, and lunch were excellent, and the excursion was exciting. The staff were attentive to our safety. Unfortunately, two ATVs "died" during our trip. 

Our final outing was a rainforest waterfall excursion. We feel this was a "last-minute" fill-in for our scheduled tour. We were picked up in a vehicle that was too small for our group and we scrunched 13 people into a van that seated 11. The tour guide was pleasant and guided us to various waterfall sights, but there was little talk or explanation during the trip. The fresh pineapple was delicious and the favorite stop was at Window Beach, where everyone enjoyed jumping the warm waves of the Pacific. Communication was lacking as we never knew how long we had at each stop. The food back at the business was just okay. 

The villa was very nice and had some beautiful features. It was nice to have private bathrooms in the bedrooms, but we should have been alerted that we needed to bring our own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. We've never traveled anywhere that required us to do so and purchasing six of each at any of their stores was extremely pricey. It could have easily been handled with a "heads-up" mention. Also, the foosball table handle was broken, as was the dishwasher. It took a day for us to get enough towels for our needs since housekeeping didn't leave enough out. We lost time communicating with our host due to internet connections.

Manuel Antonio is an expensive town. There were many nice restaurants and one-of-a-kind, "homemade" shops, and the locals were very welcoming and accommodating. 

Hilly, windy, narrow roads made it nearly impossible to get around without a car. So, as a result, parking was difficult as well.

Zicasso’s travel specialist was great to work with. She anticipated our needs and was quick to respond with information and to answer questions. She set up a great trip for us and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Australia. We had a couple of issues with the tours that were set up for us and they were quickly resolved, with great results.

On our visit to Kangaroo Island, the small-group tour subcontractor mishandled our connection on the island; their recovery was to send a personal guide to spend the day with us and also provide us with dinner! It ended up being one of our best tours. Many of our small groups were just my wife and myself, sometimes with one or two others.

We also had a very rainy and windy day the day we were supposed to go out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a weekend and the travel specialist was on vacation. That said, the on-call person was amazing in rearranging one of our other small-group tours for that day and we were still able to go to the reef two days later.

All in all, I would highly recommend the travel specialist and her company. They were great up front and great during the trip.