Panama Travel Agents

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 company did a great job planning our 10-day vacation in Panama. The hotel and activity recommendations were excellent, all of the transfers were smooth, and all of the selected guides were professional. Our agent and her team made trip planning easy, while keeping it within budget! From scheduled tours to providing the resources for us to figure out “solo” plans, we had everything we needed at each destination.

Zicasso’s tour operator and his team planned the perfect vacation for our family (two teenagers and two adults).

It was the perfect combination of adventure, exploration, and water time, along with having all our needs attended to! It was great to have a detailed plan with pick-ups and drop-offs so we just had to show up on time!

The girls loved the private surf lessons, my husband enjoyed his fishing expedition, and we all loved our snorkeling tour and the sunset catamaran.

The accommodations and restaurant recommendations were wonderful, making this one of our favorite vacations! The planning, communication, and logistics were executed flawlessly. We sincerely appreciate all their work and expertise. We hope to use them again, as we plan to return!