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Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers  

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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335 Reviews

4.8 out of 5

Reviews

Fabulous holiday

How many times can I say the word amazing?
We had high expectations of this holiday & we weren’t disappointed. It’s a busy holiday, moving on every 2 days, but there was time to relax in the afternoons & it meant that you feel you’ve seen so much of this varied country. The drives are about 4 hours, broken up with stops in interesting places, & the views are always amazing.
We saw so much wild life, and the atmosphere in the rain forests was a great experience

We had a couple of good fish meals at restaurants but Costa Rica isn’t really a ‘foodie ‘ destination. Prices are similar to England.

Most Inspirational Moment

Boat trip on the Laguna at Tortuguero was magical. The atmosphere of the rainforest at Aquinas lodge was special, especially on the night walk At every location, there was so much wild life. Particularly loved seeing the colourful birds, especially the flocks of toucans and the resplendent quetzal, and the iguanas, and of course the sloths and howler monkeys.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Johnny Villalobos well deserves his tour leader of the year award. He is a naturalist to his very core, and his passion is infectious. he is incredibly knowledgeable, not just about the wildlife, he told us so much about the history, the politics & the economics of his country. On top of that he’s warm & friendly, he’s witty & he is very humble.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack light, there’s some hoofing your case around but pack wisely as you’ll go from a hot & humid rainforest where you want to shower hourly, to the cool mountains where you need a jumper & jacket. All within a 4 hour drive. Beg steal or borrow a good pair of light weight binoculars. Set up a WhatsApp group to share photos with your group

Pura Vida

This was a ‘special treat’ holiday for me, I had been looking forward to it for 9 months and had very high expectations. These were more than met. Costa Rica is a fascinating country which we could learn a lot from. This tour gives you a really good introduction to the country, staying at 6 different locations all completely different. Wildlife was amazing. The journey was shared with a wonderful group of people – so much fun and friendship.

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to choose, there were so many - a wonderful close view of a sloth on our way to Tortuguero, staying at Esqinas Lodge, the monkeys at Manuel Antonio, the scarlet macaws.

Thoughts on Group Leader

It's easy to see why Johnny is an award-winning leader. His knowledge of and passion for his country was impressive and he taught us so much in his gentle way. He knew the best places and times to find wildlife, which always seemed to appear bang on cue! His organisational skills were exemplarary and he always had 'a plan'. We also came home ardent supporters of the Herediano football team!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go prepared for a wide variety of weather and remember to take your camera and binocluars with you wherever you go!

Discover Costa Rica

A great trip to get an idea of the different environments in Costa Rica, we saw a huge amount of wildlife in such a short space of time.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to pick just one moment; seeing a sloth in the wild for the first time, the tiny turtle heading out of its nest down to the sea, the hummingbirds, the perfectly named resplendent quetzals, the macaws, the ever changing scenery, never ending laughter with the group of strangers that quickly became friends ……..just so many wonderful moments to remember.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fantastic! Carlos Calvo is an excellent guide, his passion and knowledge knows no bounds, spotting animals and birds that we would have very easily missed. He is an amazing photographer and was more than happy to share his photos with the group. He is well organised and had a great sense of humour, interacting with everyone in the group with ease. Our driver Henry Fonseca was great too, he kept the minibus super clean, drove very carefully and always had a smile on his face.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely read the previous traveller notes, nothing to add as they are pretty comprehensive

Discover Costa Rica

Fantastic insight into this beautiful and fascinating country. Brilliant guide.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the baby turtles hurtling towards the incoming tide at Tortuguero

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant guide - very friendly and very knowledgeable about everything from the plants and wildlife to the history of the country

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring an umbrella !

Costa Rica is an amazing country

This was a great trip which we enjoyed thoroughly. Having wanted to visit CR for some time, I was hoping to see a lot of the wildlife and to experience its rich biodiversity. The itinerary was perfect and allowed plenty of time to enjoy these aspects. The transport and accommodation was comfortable and of a high standard. Our guide was superb.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many enjoyable moments throughout the trip, but for me the most thrilling moments were 1. witnessing a green turtle lay and bury her eggs on the beach at Tortuguera, and then return t o the sea on the second night in the country. This was a real privilege. 2. Spotting and photographing Resplendent Quetzals in the cloud forest at Savegre right at the end of the trip

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andres Zuniga is an absolutely superb guide. His knowledge of Costa Rica and its wildlife is astonishing and his ability to find and identify birds and animals is absolutely astounding. We would not have seen a tenth of what we did see without him. He instantly identified scores of birds by their calls. He found quetzals for us with little effort. He also has an impressive knowledge of the flora. He made our experience of Costa Rica an incredible one. Not only that, but he was pleasant at all times, interesting in what he told us, and was a great host and ambassador for his country. We also had a very capable, friendly and helpful bus driver, Geraldo. Between them they looked after our party extremely well.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are at all interested in birds and animals and enjoy seeing them, you will enjoy this trip. Costa Rica deserves its reputation as a country that has gone to great lengths to restore and conserve its forests and biodiversity and this itinerary will give you many wonderful experiences of what it has to offer.

Wonderful holiday in Costa Rica

I loved this trip. I had read many of the reviews before we went and so went with high expectations- we were certainly not disappointed. We saw so much more wildlife than I expected and saw such a variety of habitats/climates from rainforest to cloud forest, Caribbean coast to Pacific coast, plus a volcano to boot! It felt like we had been on holiday for way more than two weeks, we covered so much! I can’t pass a rustling bush now without trying to spot whatever is in there!

Most Inspirational Moment

I enjoyed all of it, it I guess highlights were seeing the Green Back turtle laying her eggs and returning to the sea; spotting not one, but four of the elusive Resplendent Quetzals in Savegre; seeing huge crocs; hearing howler monkeys at night ... the list goes on! Particularly loved the rainforest lodge in Esquina Blancas ... you will see what I mean when you go there!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Armando was a fantastic guide. He was so knowledgeable about all the wildlife in Costa Rica and took great care to seek out as much wildlife as he could (trying to fulfil everyone’s wish list) and make sure we got good photos through his telescope. He gave us a lot of information about Costa Rica in general too whilst en route on the bus; about agriculture and the economy, history and the education system. He is well organised and has a great sense of humour and was very patient with us! All in all you couldn’t wish for a better guide! Also a big shout out for Maurizio, our lovely driver, who was an integral part of the team!

Advice for Potential Travellers

We went in August ... rainy season. We had one day of torrential downpours so a good poncho was vital. A pair of flip flops that could be wiped dry would have been useful. Other than that day, we were so lucky not to experience much rain! Take walking boots, a couple of fleeces and long trousers for the cloud forest. You need more variety of clothing than you expect to account for hot and humid climates, where nothing dries, to warm clothing for the cooler, more temperate Monteverde. Pack into strong plastic bags to protect your luggage from rain/damp! Optional trips worth doing: the turtle laying trip. Two night walks ... both offering different things to see... in Monteverde and Esquina Blancas. The hot springs in La Fortuna!

A memorable trip!

The wildlife and scenery were stunning. We were not disappointed. Learning more about the country, its habitats and people was very interesting.

Most Inspirational Moment

Highlights were seeing the green backed turtles laying eggs in Tortuguero, and quetzals in the Savegre valley cloud forest. Also toucans, hummingbirds and sloths. An additional (optional) boat trip along the Rio Tarcoles was very worthwhile - we saw many different birds close to, as well as massive crocodiles.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide was fantastic in every respect. He was very knowledgeable indeed and went out of his way to try and make sure we saw as much wildlife as possible.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were a little worried beforehand as our trip was to take place in the wet season. However we only had one day when the rain was so torrential it delayed one of our activities (and we got soaked to the skin) so it is not a given that August is a "bad" time of the year to go. It was very very humid though (apart from when were up in the mountains) so I wished we had taken another couple of pairs of walking trousers & T shirts, as changes of clothes were required more often than I had anticipated. And a poncho proved more effective than a conventional waterproof when it did rain.

Discovering Costa Rica

Exceeded Expectations

Excellent Guide

Extraordinary range of wildlife and flowers

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a quetzl flying

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Holiday of a lifetime - do it before you die !

two wonderful weeks in costa rica

A superb tour that delivered pretty much everything it promised. Good accommodation and comfortable transport. Wonderful scenery, amazing birds, mammals and vegetation throughout.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cruising the quieter backwaters of the Tortaguero National Park, Seeing a mother and baby Sloth at close quarters, incredible birdlife on the Tarcoles river and magical two nights at the Esquinas Nature Lodge.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Armando was an excellent group leader who was very good at locating, identifying and explaining about all the myriad life forms we saw.

Advice for Potential Travellers

A must for lovers of birds and nature

Discover Costa Rica

Excellent trip in all aspect, better than I expected

Most Inspirational Moment

The whole trip but very impressed with the beauty of Costa Rica

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jonny Villalobos is a lovely man and a great tour leader. He is very passionate his country. His knowledge of the history, the people and what the country is doing to improve and conserve the country is incredible. The depth of knowledge about the wild is fantastic. More importantly is the way he imparts his knowledge in all the areas, with passion and in a way that is so captivating. He is more than a guide, he cares deeply about the group ensuring all their needs are met. He puts in a lot of time and effort & works hard to ensure our welfare is met and that we feel comfortable. I know he has previously been voted best tour guide but he should be voted again as 'the very best tour guide'

Advice for Potential Travellers

maybe to let people know that there are some quite steep climbs. Although Jonny did make it clear that we didn't have to do the climbs and when we did to take it at our own pace.