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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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13 Reviews

4.9 out of 5

Reviews

Experiencing Pura Vida adventure in Costa Rica

Just back from this brilliant holiday – we’ve had an exceptional time exploring Costa Rica’s flora and fauna with plenty of adventure and activities to keep us entertained over the two week holiday. Our group spotted at least 125 different species of birds, animals and other creatures, from colourful butterflies and birds of every shape and size to adorable sloths, from poisonous frogs to killer tarantulas and scorpions, from humpback whales to dolphins and flying fish. Our tour of Costa Rica took in wet, dry and damp rain forests, incredible scenery, amazing sights and sounds, very rainy rain, beautiful hot sunshine, captivating night tours including a magical, breath-taking experience watching baby turtles hatching and making their first journey out to sea, wildlife walks and hikes, plus fabulous food from pineapple plantations and organic farms. Other activities included flying through the rain forest by zip line, tubing down rapids and horse riding through a wildlife rich ranch, basking in volcanic thermal springs under the stars. We added in a couple of optional adventures: surf lessons at the beach and a coffee, chocolate and sugar cane tour at the base of the Arenal volcano. Our excellent tour leader, Mayer Jimenez brought expert wildlife and bird knowledge to the holiday, a huge bonus for our group. This holiday comes highly recommended.

Most Inspirational Moment

Standing on a beach at night in the pitch dark, watching tiny baby turtles no bigger than a satsuma emerge from their sandy nest and making their way down the beach towards the sea.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Mayer was exceptional. His extensive knowledge of flora, fauna and birdlife really made our trip even better as we spotted more than 125 different species.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Rain forests are damp! Don't unpack anything you don't need: keep as much stuff as possible zipped up in your waterproof duffle bag or suitcase, including all clothes you aren't currently wearing. Quick-dry clothing is a great idea. And if you don't want to put on a soggy swimsuit, bring at least 3 sets with you, and watershoes if you plan on going tubing.

Incredible

What a superb and wonderful 2 weeks. So much to see and be amazed by, something new every day and so many wonderful birds and animals to try and photograph. Good accommodation and we were never hungry. Costa Rica is a very forward thinking and developed country and they are rightly very caring of their wildlife and forests. We had a wonderful guide (Carlos) and driver (Mau) and they helped us see everything that we would have completely missed without their help. It was all so wonderful that it is hard to pick out highlights but loved the day out looking for dolphins, the boat trips at Tortuguero (and Tortuguero itself) and the zip lines.

Most Inspirational Moment

Not possible to pick out a moment - the first two days were so brilliant that we would have been happy if that had been our entire holiday

Thoughts on Group Leader

Carlos was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, organised, thoughtful.......just made our trip brilliant

Advice for Potential Travellers

take a mini umbrella, buy a telephoto lens, do your washing in a service laundrette in La Fortuna, be quiet on walks so you can hear everything, do everything offered - do the zip line, ride the horses, swim in the waterfalls.. . Prepare to really appreciate what is happening to the rainforests and the animals that rely on them

Life-changing!

I had not been on holiday for over a decade before I embarked on this trip, so suffice to say I had high expectations! Costa Rica had been on my list ever since a colleague visited the country two years ago, and it was well worth the wait. We were fortunate enough to only have eight travellers, which meant that our guide, Jonathan, had ample time to answer all of our questions.

If you are looking for a holiday which will give you eight hours of sleep a night then this trip is not for you. We were up for breakfast before 8am every day and despite there being several optional extra activities listed on the trip notes, we didn’t have time to do any of them as we were constantly on the go! I felt as though I was away for six months or more, and I enjoyed moving to a new area of the country every few days. Each hotel we stayed at had a different style suited to the area of the country we were in – rainforest lodge, spa resort, mountain hotel, ranch, beach hotel. The food was wonderful – all breakfasts are included and on the days when our lunch and/or dinner weren’t included, we never felt hungry.

Most Inspirational Moment

I thoroughly enjoyed our turtle nesting tour in Samara and after three hours of walking up and down the same stretch of beach, we finally witnessed a female Lora turtle making her way up the beach, dig her nest, lay her eggs, cover them up again and return to the ocean.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jonathan, our tour guide, was absolutely brilliant. He even managed to squeeze in a few extra activities which weren't on our itinerary such as a visit to a fruit market with a tasting session, a stop in Nicoya town en route to Samara, a trip to the man who produces "the best coffee in Costa Rica" and also a slight detour to another of his friends who has their own pottery business. He knew the calls, English and Latin names of every bird we saw, gave a debrief at the end of each day, made sure we knew the plans for tomorrow, took us to local restaurants for the not-included meals and consistently went above and beyond for us. He made an incredible trip into an unforgettable one.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This trip is currently (Dec 2019) tagged as a culture trip, but in reality it is definitely a wildlife adventure. Some days we saw in excess of 30 different types of birds and reptiles, and were very lucky to find sloths, howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys, spiders, frogs, snakes, toucans, macaws, crocodiles, turtles, caimen, lizards and iguanas every single day. The trip notes state that the average lunch is around $15 and $35 for a dinner - in practise we found that we paid nowhere near this much. Hotel meals are expensive, but local restaurants often charge half the price for a more authentically Costa Rican meal.