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guest testimonials
The following are excerpts of letters sent to us by our guests, and they represent what they had to say about their trip to Costa Rica.

Where you see the camera icon , click to see their photos.

Guestbook 2008

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Hi Ana,

Just a note to tell you how fabulous our trip was. Thank you for setting this up. We had the best time, and Heraldo(I'm sure I'm spelling this wrong) was the most wonderful guide and driver. We probably wouldn't have seen so many animals and birds, without his expert eye and superior knowledge. He also took us to the best restaurants and shops. My pants can't button because of all the delicious foods we ate! We look forward to coming again someday, to your beautiful country and using your services again. I will tell all of my friends about Rain Forest Tours, and how all of our needs were taken care of.

Back here in brown California, I close my eyes and see the colors of Costa Rica.

Take care, and I hope we can work together again in the near future.


Ana:

It's been hectic since we arrived home, so apologies for delay in replying.

All travel arrangements went well, and Allan was a good driver / guide.

All of the accommodation and included meals were very good, apart from dinner at the Kioro Hotel restaurant. So thanks for your recommendations and arrangements, and also thanks to Allan for his recommendations of lunch and dinner venues.

The Kioro restaurant was the most expensive we tried on the tour, but the service and quality of food at dinner was awful. They supplied the wrong starters, and then replaced them with the correct ones which arrived poorly cooked. They also delivered the main courses immediately we had finished the starters, and it was clear that the main courses had been sitting around in the kitchen for some time and getting cold. After my comments they knocked off the bill the cost of one main course - a gesture but it didn't really compensate for their failings. The next night in Arenal we ate out at a place recommended by Alan and the food was much better quality than the Kioro, and was much better value for money since it cost in total less than the Kioro starter!

We found every Costa Rican to be friendly and helpful and the several guides knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. Despite the busy tour schedule there were time to relax, and we always felt safe and welcome.

With the 2,000 or so photographs of wildlife and views I took, we have fond memories and a good record of the trip, and I have a lot of image processing to do. Attached a few low-resolution images.

If we were to return to Costa Rica we'd definitely revisit La Selva Reserve, which we managed to fit in en route to Arenal. We had the best guide of all, and next time we'd spend at least half a day there. We'd also spend some more time around Arenal, to see more night views of the volcano activity, but somewhere other than the Kioro. We'd also probably try and visit some of the other volcanic areas and the north pacific coastal areas and natural parks.


Dear Ana,

A note of thanks for all that you did to make our trip delightful and truly effortless.  It was one of the most enjoyable trips that I have taken out of the country.  I can honestly say there was not even one thing that went wrong or to complain about, it was all perfect from the punctuality of the drivers, lodge, and activities. You are most professional in what you do and a pleasure to work with.  I admire your level of professionalism as I know Diana did as well.  Keep up the great work in creating happy travelers to your beautiful Costa Rica.  It is a paradise.  I have already passed your name and contact information on to two friends and will continue to do so.  Please feel free to share this with your boss, I want him to know what a great job you do!

All the best to you. 

Many Thanks,


Dear Ana-

I'm sure I speak for Cathy, too, when I say we couldn't have been happier with our Costa Rica trip! We really enjoyed each and every activity and felt right at home at Aguila de Osa Inn, as well as at the charming boutique Casa del Roland.  The vistas, food, wildlife and people of Osa were all lovely and inviting.  We can't stop raving about our vacation!

We appreciate your kindness and professionalism throughout our trip and let everyone we met know how helpful you and your company are.  We will continue to recommend you to our friends here in the States, and I do hope to be fortunate enough to visit CR again, and will of course use your agency. 

Thank you for coming to Pavas to meet with us personally, and for following up with us on our last leg of travel to make sure we made it to our return flight home.  We wish all agencies were this good!

I will try to send photos and comments at a later date.  Thank you again, Ana.

 


Dear Ana - Thank you for your message.  I was intending to write you and tell you about our trip, but, as you know, my husband's mother was hospitalized shortly before our return and we have been very busy hoping to get her stabilized.  Firstly, I want to thank you so much for your help with this medical emergency.  We so much appreciated your being the connection between doctors and family in the US.  Our driver, Geraldo, was also terrific and caring and his concern in following up with you and allowing us to call on his cell phone made this difficult situation easier. He was also very informative and made the long drive much more pleasant.

As for our trip, we were so pleased with the arrangements and everything seemed to run very smoothly - especially given all the different number and types of transports we took throughout our vacation.  There were many adventures and surprises which made our time very varied and fun.  The accomodations were very lovely.  The Hot Springs were fabulous and given the weather was cold and rainy, it was the most pleasant way to warm up imaginable. We loved the river tour of Cano Negro and really got into the birdwatching.  The catamaran was also run very well and offered nature watching, snorkeling, sailing, swimming and eating a great lunch - what else could you ask for?  We took a tour of the Don Juan Coffee plantation which was very interesting and informative.  The guide was great.  We must say that all of the guides on our trip were very good. We very much enjoyed the food and the delicious fresh fruits and your wonderful coffee.  We tried to eat in some of the local restaurants on each stop and that added to the experience of each destination.  Stew and I did the Zip-Line in Manuel Antonio and although I am the world's biggest chicken, I was so glad I pushed myself to do it! 
   So, we thank you again for planning and executing this wonderful vacation and I will be happy to recommend you to any of our friends or family who plan to visit Costa Rica.    

With best regards,     

Greetings Ana,
 
We had a wonderful time in Costa Rica!!!  Everything that you had set up for us through Rain Forest Tours went very smoothly.  Costa Rica is such a beautiful country.  The people we met were friendly, helpful, and justifiably proud of what their country has done to protect their enviornment and promote education.  Bernal, our guide at the Monte Verde cloud forest was amazing in his depth of knowledge and ability to spot wildlife.  Our drivers for the long parts of our transportation were also great.  It was nice to spend time talking, often in Spanglish, about both our cultures.  One important thing - we did not give our driver, Alan, a voucher for our final drive from Manuel Antonio to San Jose.  This was voucher number 3476 and was for the date of August 15 2008.  Alan was also our initial driver from San Jose to Monte Verde on Saturday Aug 9th.  If you need a copy of the voucher I can scan it and email it to you.
 
I will be sure to recommend your company to friends and family if they plan to visit Costa Rica.
 
Sincerely,
 


Hi Ana,

We cannot thank you enough for helping us to plan an unforgettable trip.  We already have, and will continue to  HIGHLY recommend recommend Rainforest Tours to all of our friends and acquaintances.  We will post some photos on your web site soon.  It was a pleasure to work with you, and we look forward to many more trips to Costa Rica in the future, so we will be in contact.  Thanks again.


Ana,

My  family and I were very satisfied with your services.  Please pass on our regards to Geraldo...he was magnificent!  You live in a wonderful country!  We'll send pictures sometime and yes I have recommended you already.

Thanks again,



Hi Ana!
Richard and I had a wonderful time. Allen was a superb driver and source of information and our tours were lots of fun. Thanks for everything! We will definately keep you in mind for the future and recommend rainforesttours to friends.

Thanks again!


Thank you for organizing a wonderful trip for Jim Shoup and me in your country.  Everything came off like clockwork, the weather was great, and we have 3,319 pictures to show it.  You and those you work with did a fine job.  Thanks,


Hi Ana,

Trip was great. Tamarindo was fun and the hotel staff excellent. Cala Luna has good resources, surfing and fishing guides, and good food. Everything was more rustic than expected (dirt roads and open air restaurants) but made the place more interesting. Weather was unexpectedly hot (90) and humid, and the hotel rooms didn't have air conditioning in the family area, so we couldn't sit there. Fortunately, the bedrooms had a/c and we did fine.

My son and grandson may go back and we'll keep you in mind.

Regards,


Ana,  many thanks for conceiving and arranging such a nice introduction to costa rica.   we all had a wonderful time and particularly enjoyed the wildlife tours, white water rafting, zipline adventure, and catamarran cruise.   special kudos to alan and jose for taking such good care of us on the last few days of our visit.   my only criticism is that the food at the Tortuguero lodge was inedible.


Hi Ana,

We had an absolutely wonderful Costa Rica vacation!!! Thank you so much once again. I have enclosed some photos from our trip. Hotel L'aqua Viva  and the Nosara area were wonderful. I would highly recommend it to anybody who wished to travel to that area. Playa Guiones is a beautiful beach with excellent waves and very clear water. I would strongly recommend either using a chofer (chauffeur) or renting a car as the roads are very, very dusty (muchos polvo).  We found an excellent chofer(dany.lafuente@hotmail.com) whom we would recommend highly. Also, we had problems with the insectos. The line between the sand and the grasses at sunset must be avoided. Insect repellent strongly recommended.

We are planning on another trip to Costa Rica next year.

Thanks again Ana.


Dear Ana,

So nice to hear from you! We really had a lovely time in Costa Rica. Things worked seamlessly, for the most part. Drivers almost always arrived on time  and were very attentive to our needs - we really enjoyed meeting and talking with Allan, and Jose.

The hotels were comfortable, although the triples were sometimes problematic as the hotels weren't always aware that the Horseys needed three separate beds in their triple. The last hotel in Manuel Antonio, had really spectacular views that were well worth the modest increase in price. We enjoyed all the activities we had booked in advance, and found some additional ones that pleased different members of our group: fishing and bungee jumping. We definitely could have skipped the dinner the first night in Manuel Antonio, though - I can't remember the name - because the food wasn't very good, and it was so touristy we could have been anywhere. There was even a big video screen advertising the splendors of Costa Rica right across from our table - something we could definitely have done without. The other restaurant, which I gather is much newer, was lovely. And the hotel restaurant was actually quite good and popular with our group for lunches, so it would have been fine for dinner as well. But this is a very minor quibble; for the most part we really enjoyed everything we did and saw. We even got to see - for about half an hour when the clouds parted- the Arenal volcano in its full splendor. Too bad the rain that night ruined an opportunity to see the lava flows at night, something that had been suggested by Allan. The catamaran sail and snorkel worked out beautifully, but I think it suited us so well because there were only 16 passengers on our boat. I believe that when I made clear to the owner of Iguana Tours that we really weren't interested in a party boat, he made sure to put us on a smaller catamaran so there was no chance we would have a rowdy, drunken group to ruin the experience. As it turned out, there was such a group that we might have been saddled with, a large group of  Dutch singles with whom we shared bus transportation. Sailing with them would have been a very different experience. I'm not sure we would have been placed on the smaller boat had we not made it clear that we didn't want a party boat ahead of time, so I would definitely suggest that you take this into account in booking with them in the future.

Thanks again for a lovely trip. I will certainly give your name to others who want to travel to Costa Rica, and will send a few photos when I've figured out how to download them from my camera!

Yours,


Dear Ana, As you have already heard from Stephen and Orren, we all enjoyed our trip very much.  Costa Rica is a beautiful country with wonderful people.  You did a terrific job of organizing our itinerary, and I have already given your name to one nice family.  Alan also particularly impressed us all with his professionalism and gentlemanly manner.  Very best luck to you!

Thanks again,


Ana – thank you for your wonderful facilitation for my Costa Rican vacation.  My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our travels. Your attention to detail was appreciated - PW

, PhD, MPH


Hi Ana


Many thanks for all the arrangements you made on our behalf. We are now back at the Best Western in San Jose awaiting our flight home tomorrow.

We have had a really lovely time in Costa Rica and hope to return one day. I will certainly be in touch with you if we do!


Again many thanks



Hello Ana,
 
Thank you very much for organizing my trip, everything went well without any problems, I will certainly recommend your services and will use you for any future trips I may have to Costa Rica.  I enjoyed it very much, the hotels were excellent.
 


Hi Ana,
 
We had a GREAT time in Costa Rica, and most everything went very smoothly.  You did a wonderful job with the hotels and tours. 
 
All of our hotels were outstanding and we had no problems.  Our tours were great, too.  We all loved the Canopy tour, the best!
 
We will send pictures when we get a chance.  I will definitely recommend your group to anyone I know going to Costa Rica.
 
Thanks again!!!!!

 
 
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