Most Inspirational Moment
For me it was seeing a turtle laying her eggs. Magical! For my husband it was snorkelling which he absolutely loved and saw two turtles, two stingrays and tons of fish.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jorge is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable and with a great sense of humour. He has a great relationship with Henri, our driver. Jorge and Henri gave up there time off so we could get a good view of a Resplendant Quetzal which we spent a good 45 minutes watching. Magical!!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Read the itinerary and trip notes before booking! Your move around a lot on this trip which isn't for everyone, although we loved it as we feel we've had a good snap shot of what Costa Rica has to offer. Research the hotels before you go, all details are in the trip notes to see what each one has to offer. Things to take- an umbrella as we ended up buying an one. The rain isn't like the rain in the uk as there is no wind and we noticed its what the locals use, plus you get so hot in a poncho; take a hair dryer if this is important to you as not all hotels provide them, good walking shoes, light clothing, water proof sandals or flip flops are handy for wet landings or walking through streams; towels are provided for snorkelling at drakes bay so we were glad we didn't weigh ourselves with taking a beach towel from home. Take bug spray and after bite cream. Also take plenty of money- we took colons and found we got a much better deal on things for doing so. Walking wise the only walk i struggled with (being exceptionally clumsy as i am) was to the waterfall at Corcovado as it was pouring with rain and it was quite uneven under foot. There was also a large river to wade through to get to it. If you go on the turtle watching tour (very highly recommended) you will have to wear the worst wellies known to man, so take long socks! Some people chose to ignore the advice to wear them and ended up knee deep in mud. Also ignore when told not to take a torch on the turtle watching- we were told not to by the company (not exodus!) and then got told to take our torches out for the walk! Foodwise i did struggle with eating in some places being vegan, but luckily i had taken some items of food with me, such as pitta breads. Its not that food wasn't provided for me, it was more that they only provided one vegan option and it would have meant i had exactly the same meal for lunch and dinner 2 days running. Also it means that you're not just eating fruit for breakfast as places like villa florencia that didn't provide anything i could eat for breakfast ( and all costa rican bread appears to contain milk). For us (my husband has food allergies) the best places to eat were at Cahuita and Drakes bay. Food portions can be small, especially in Totuguero, so was glad of the extra snacks i took. Hotel wise, some of the hotels are what could be deemed as basic, especially Drakes bay. Again, this wasn't a problem for us as we saw the lodges as a base to sleep only, especially as all lodges at Drakes Bay are on the sea front, and you can sometimes see dolphins swimming by. Tortuguero's lodges don't have glass at the windows, just bug nets, which we loved as it meant going to sleep listening to the thunder and frogs croaking, and waking up to the noise of howler monkeys. However, on the flip side it it meant the place is constantly damp, so I'd recommend not unpacking here as it meant clothes got wet if left out the case. Air conditioner is in all rooms except Tortuguero which has ceiling fans. For us, our favourite place was in the cloud mountains at Savegre. Quiet, not over loaded with tourists, and beautiful views. For us, it was paradise.