Costa Rica Family Friendly Vacation: Jungle, Wildlife & Beach

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.

It rained every day that we were in Costa Rica. Sometimes, it poured. No one can do anything about the weather. Not the travel agency, Zicasso, or us. Despite the inclement weather, we made the best of the situation.

The driver who picked us up at the airport drove us safely to the hotel. Two of us had been in San Jose before. But not the other four. Some commentary about what we were seeking from the driver would have been nice rather than just a long silent drive.

The hotel was very nice. Maybe not Grano de Oro but no complaints about the hotel. The employees manning the desk were exceptional. And the hotels‘ restaurant excellent. (I had the freshest mojito ever from the bar). And next door to the hotel was a wonderful panaderia that seemed to be very conscious of those with nut allergies.

The next morning, while raining, we were picked up by our driver who first drove us to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Despite the pouring rain or maybe because of it, this sanctuary is a must see. It was a perfect start to a trip to CR. It is lovely and so well maintained.

He was the best of all the drivers and guides that we had on our entire trip. He was engaging, amusing and informative. He loves his country and loves his job. Who does not like being around happy people?! He deserves a raise!

Too bad he dropped us off at the resort. The extended stay there was the low point of our stay. The accommodations are subpar. Small rooms, poorly constructed, no insulation and the common walls shared with other guests were as thin as paper mache’! One could hear everything that the other guests were saying. When they flushed the toilet, took a shower or slammed their door, we thought it was coming from our bathroom! The first night, there were 2 crying little kids next to us. It was horrible. The following night, I had to have a detente with the new guests about the noise. They were just as aware of the issue.

Arenal has no shuttle into town; intentionally. They know that the road is too dangerous to walk. Therefore, unless one wants to pay $20 each way for a 6 kilometer cab ride, they have a captive audience when it comes to meals. Their breakfasts were great. A wonderful variety. Their lunch and dinners were stupidly expensive and their wait staff like little robots. For example, we ordered over-priced pizzas one night. One of the pizzas was obviously burned. The person could not even chew. We mentioned it to our server. His response: “Glad you all liked your pizzas.” “Ready for dessert?” Remember, my daughter speaks Spanish. “No, his pizza was over-cooked.” “Well, I’m glad that you liked it.” ”How about some dessert?”

I was also double-charged for a meal that was not included in our package. I am trying to work that out with my credit card company.

The travel agency should not be recommending lodgings at places that they have never stayed! There is no way knowing the parameters that I set forth that you would have recommended this resort.

The trip to Corcovado was a crazy experience in and of itself. But staying there was the highlight of our trip. But first, I had to get an extra room because you had booked 3 teens staying in one room together. They do not have any rooms for 3 people. Fortunately, they had an extra room for my granddaughter. Unfortunately, it was far from the rest of us and another room with a shared wall!

The accommodations at the Corcovado lodge was well worth the price. The breakfasts were rather bland but the other meals were excellent. The service was excellent and the people who manned reception, the best!

The grounds were well maintained and the excursions well planned and fun.

Bizarrely, though we were in Costa Rica, we did not see a single sloth anywhere. We saw a few spider monkeys when on the hanging bridge tour. But only two when at Corcovado. We did see 2 pumas! And I saw a coati! But the night walk was a beat as was the “jungle walk” during the day. Maybe it was the rain? Or maybe it was because our guide was always talking loudly as we went along. I understand that she was trying to be informative about the native flora but if I am a wild animal and I hear someone coming down a well worn path loudly, why would I reveal myself? Ask anyone who hunts. people only talk in whispers.

I have more to say but this format does not allow one to return to a previous text which is frustrating.

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.

Mike and I wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for our unforgettable two-week adventure in Costa Rica. The trip was amazing and exceeded our expectations. We were spoiled by the private transfers and private tours. All of the tour guides were professional and very informative. We enjoyed all of the selected hotels, with the lodge in Monteverde being our favorite. The hotel had a great happy hour with a variety of drinks and was within walking distance of Santa Elena. We liked having daily breakfast included and loved all of the fresh fruits, especially the cantaloupe and watermelon.

We appreciated your attention to detail and expert recommendations for the variety of tours and guides. We enjoyed the float trips and had a wonderful tour of the mangroves in Manuel Antonio. Our time in Monteverde included a rainy day hiking the hanging bridges and ziplining for the first time. I am glad we added the vanilla tour to our agenda in Manuel Antonio.   

Thank you so much for making this trip special and stress-free. Please let your staff know that we appreciated all of their hard work. The WhatsApp gateway was great once we figured out how to use the app. It allowed us to communicate with the team to update us on schedule changes or other information. We will definitely recommend your services to our family and friends, and ook forward to visiting Costa Rica in the future.

The lodge was excellent.

The bird watching tour was stellar.

The mangrove tour guide was more on his phone than doing his job. There was so much material for him to teach. It was a joke.

Our hotel in Manuel Antonio was in a great location, but not having water at breakfast and having to buy felt very cheap.