Most Inspirational Moment
Tortuguero
Thoughts on Group Leader
a great birder
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
pity about the trip notes
Great holiday Costa Rica is great fun and lots of birds. just a few points: there are lots of additional activities so take plenty of dollars. if you don’t take them up you lose a lot of the experience and may have to stay on the bus. at least a couple of the hotels are not as stated in the trip notes and not really equivalent. The San Jose hotel is way out of town so you miss doing the city tour and there isn’t much to do there. take a camera. take the best camera you can get or be lucky and have some great photographers in the group. enjoy.
Discover Costa Rica Feb 2023
Excellent trip in every way. 6 locations 2 nights at each. Was wondering how Exodus worked it out. Including both coasts and high ground. Our trip was focussed on birds in particular and are group of 16 had a cohesiveness as a result – we were all considerate to one another, the wildlife, and ‘the moment out in the field’. Good value. we saw more than we could have expected I feel. The country of Costa Rica delivers on a number of levels and so does Exodus!
Most Inspirational Moment
How we all got on! With the help of our guide Armando. and then seeing an Osprey grab a fish and fly away in Tortuguero Then there were the Toucan's, Tanager's and a Tayra - and that's just the letter T! Most of us had Tortuguero down as our favourite spot. The inland waterway on one side -the roaring surf (like noisy air con at night) on the other - truly inspirational.
Thoughts on Group Leader
First class. Friendly. Caring. Funny. With knowledge and intelligence to bring the best out of the surroundings and the group.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Yes The trip is one big journey in a suitcase. Take time out at the end to relax before heading home.
Suggestions
An extra day in Tortuguero would work!
Busy cramped bus holiday
Costa Rica is lovely. The guides and drivers are amazing! As for the booking of the holiday, the bus being too small by at least 2/3 people (I was an extra) meant on long journeys it was not pleasant and caused problems. Some accommodation needed a little more thought (was the booking fit for the occupants, this could have been local).
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing the ocean, seeing the quetzal bird, loved the boat trips through the rainforest.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Mayer was simply amazing!!! He was group leader/ cater/ problem solver, that man deserves a medal.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Pack more warmer clothes, it wasn’t warm very often and you can get a frost in some locations. Use the laundrettes at the beginning of the journey, the end part is super expensive. Pack snacks for long journeys. Have an amazing camera. Be prepared for long journeys.
Suggestions
Expensive for the conditions of the holiday.
Amazing country and a great tour leader
I finally made it to Costa Rica after my initial booking was cancelled at the start of COVID. I am so glad I re-booked because it was an amazing trip. The country is beautiful and we moved between various stunning areas and micro climates with the aid of our great tour leader Johnny Villalobos and our driver Wilbour. We were also lucky that the group gelled really well and the tour Whats App group is still in full swing. We were also helped by amazing weather which cannot be guaranteed. The accommodation apart from the Sleep Inn in San Jose (which was noisy) was all very good and immersed us in the local environment. Esquinas Lodge was especially beautiful. Obviously the animal and specifically the bird life was spectacular and it will take me weeks to sort through the amazing photos. An amazing trip and one of the best I have done.
Most Inspirational Moment
Hard to say as there were many. It is between seeing Quetzals in Savegre and the beauty of Esquinas Lodge and the inspirational story of how it came about. Costa Rica has been lucky that it listened to some inspirational people. We also met several inspirational people who have created a life from what was a very hard environment. Real explorers.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Johnny Villalobos is an amazing person. You don't need a bird expert trip because he is one. He is also encyclopedic and very proud about the stories of Costa Rica. It is all put across in a very calm way and he always seems in control. Most mornings at 6am he would do an extra bird walk for those who wanted to attend and along with Wilbour our excellent driver added several extra activities at no cost. He is still answering questions on Whats App.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Book it. The country is very stable and beautiful and that cannot be said for many places these days. We were there in the dryer season and we found we didn't need walking boots. Good walking shoes were enough. If required as it was for the night walk rubber boots will be supplied and are compulsory. I was unlucky at the end so pack some immodium (I was the only one) and if it's bad visit a pharmacy. But don't let that put you off it can happen anywhere. Wash a few things everyday as you go along. I never needed to use a laundry.
Suggestions
Just to repeat that it was a great trip with a nice group and an excellent tour leader.
Costa Rica
It was an amazing trip, even though we had quite a lot of rain, even in the dry season and it didn’t make the wildlife any harder to see.
Most Inspirational Moment
The wildlife in the Tortuguero river area was absolutely beautiful.
Thoughts on Group Leader
The group leader Glenda was outstanding. Her wildlife knowledge was second to none, and nothing was too much trouble.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Even if you go in what is classed as the dry season, take good waterproofs.
Suggestions
Charlie our driver was absolutely outstanding. Some of the roads were narrow and very uneven but we always felt extremely safe. Nothing was too much trouble for him either.
Tropical Paradise
A wonderful trip. Packed with things to see from the start. David was a fantastic guide. So knowledgable and enthusiastic.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing macaws flying in the wild.
Thoughts on Group Leader
As already said, he was brilliant. It takes something to get me out of bed before sunrise on holiday, but I did it several times. He also suggested very good extras and also when it appeared we might miss out on something, he got it sorted. Also, the driver, Victor worked well with David. A real dynamic duo.
Advice for Potential Travellers
When in Manuel Antonio grab a cold drink from the supermarket and sit on the beach with the locals to watch the sunset.
Suggestions
Can I get a free trip for a good review?
Wonderful bird life
Very enjoyable trip. Slightly disappointed in the accommodation at Manuel Antonio otherwise absolutely no complaints
Most Inspirational Moment
Really enjoyed Manuel Antonio Park and beach
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent. Very knowledgeable about birds and animals. Also very informative about Costa Rica generally
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go on every activity you can. It’s a varied and wonderful country
Suggestions
Recommended
Enjoyable And Experiential Trip
Very good itinerary for discovering the many ecosystems in Costa Rica. Several good optional activities. Glenda wanted everyone to enjoy the trip and helped to make it enjoyable. Charlie, the bus driver, did an excellent job driving the back roads safely and was sensitive to those who needed to use the toilets regularly. Only 1 hotel was very good.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Glenda is very knowledgeable about wildlife and about birds in particular. And best of all she identified for me all the pictures of birds that I took. I will always be grateful to her for that. And she also wants to make it an enjoyable trip for everyone. However, her employer did not give her the tools needed to make her an effective guide. (1) Her company and herself was not able to give me information about the tour start and meeting point despite 2 days of calls to the company and trying to reach her. So the trip started with great frustration. (2) Glenda did not have an electronic communication device. Therefore when she spoke in the front of the bus or boat I could no hear her when I sat at the back. (3) She was not completely informed about all the optional activities that were contained in the Exodus travel guide. If I had not asked her about the kayaking option we would not have gone on that important part of our trip.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Only expect level 3 accommodations. At 2 rain forest hotels there was no temperature control in the rooms- only fans. So we were hot and sweating all the time. The only level 1 hotel was Sevegre Hotel.
Suggestions
Exodus provided good pre-trip information, developed a good itinerary, and answered my questions but based on my first experience with the Exodus sub-contractor for the Cosat Rica tour I will not use Exodus again.
Costa Rica
Excellent trip
Most Inspirational Moment
Wildlife
Thoughts on Group Leader
Absolutely 1st class a credit to her country
Advice for Potential Travellers
Glenda our guide was extremely professional and had amazing knowledge of the wildlife and fauna she united our group and became a friend to all of us for life I would definitely like to go again if she was our guide,and a mention to Charlie our driver who was a very safe and accommodating driver they made a great team
Wonderful Costa Rica!
Discover Costa Rica was an amazing trip in a beautiful country. It is verdant with different types of ecosystems, and teeming with wildlife of every kind. There is so much to see and do, and the days fly by. We saw sloths, iguanas, monkeys, caimans, crocodiles, birds of every kind (including the Great Green Macaw and the Resplendent Quetzel!), wonderful cloud forests, waterfalls, beaches, mountains and much more. The trip is well-organised, with comfortable transport and accommodation. The itinerary covers a number of locations in different parts of the country, so there is a fair bit of travel involved. Our driver Gabriel was good-natured, helpful and incredibly skilled at navigating some pretty tricky roads! Some of the locations are somewhat remote and surrounded by wilderness – peaceful and beautiful, and a good way to disconnect from it all. Special thanks to our tour leader, Jorge. He took an amazing itinerary and made it exceptional.
Most Inspirational Moment
Only one? That would be difficult. At the beginning of the trip, after the first day in Tortuguero where the wildlife is extremely abundant, I felt like I could return home satisfied. It got better from there..... I have to mention dinner in Manuel Antonio - we looked out of the restaurant and saw a sloth mother with baby on her tummy, travelling along the telephone wires in the pouring rain!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jorge was truly outstanding. He is friendly, helpful, fun and extremely knowledgeable about Costa Rica - its geography, history, wildlife and ecosystems, and happy to share that knowledge. I learned a lot on this trip, thanks to him. His skill at spotting wildlife is impressive, as are his bird calls! I'm sure we wouldn't have seen half of what we did without his help. He ensured that everyone was comfortable, and went out of his way to help some of us with our post-trip arrangements. We couldn't have had a better, or nicer, guide!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Sunscreen and insect repellent are a must. Costa Rica is hot and humid - pack accordingly. It's helpful to have light-weight, quick drying trousers for walks in the forests. Laundry facilities are available at two locations. It was useful to have an extra pair of walking shoes, since one pair got drenched in a rain shower and took a couple of days to dry out enough to wear. It is quite cool in the Dota region (Savegre cloud forest), so a warm jacket is definitely needed there. Be prepared for rain - I had a raincoat, but a poncho or backpack cover would have been helpful. If you have a camera - consider how you are going to protect it from the rain.
Suggestions
If you are interested in nature and wildlife, this trip is not to be missed.