Costa Rica Experts

All I can say was wow!!! Our trip was so organized and easy breezy. We stood in closta rica for 10 days and we chose 2 locations. I recommend staying at 3 locations with the amount of days. Renting a car in Costa Rica is very expensive And the roads are very stressful and confusing especially when it's raining. And remember, your in the jungle on a 2 lane highway, in mountains with no lights. itinerary was customized to us we are adventurous and wanted to experience Costa Rica at its fullest.

Our trip included transportation from San Jose airport to Arenal (4 days) which was a 3.5hr drive which was very comfortable, we were in a large van with A.C and chairs that reclineed. All our excursions included round trip transportation. All our drivers were very knowledgeable of wild life, the area, and their country. All our tour guides were also very knowledgeable of the rain forests, and educated us about everything costa rica. We stood at Tabacon Thermal Springs Resort, jaw dropping. We had unlimited access to the volcanic thermal springs, the mineral water works wonders for your body, skin, hair, spirit. The higher you walk up the springs the hotter the water is. Pictures do no justice. The resorts shower water was from the volcanic springs, let's just say I took really long showers. Lol.

2nd location was Puerto Viejo. We went white water rafting on The Pacuare River, which was amazing!!! We showered then we had transportation to Puerto Viejo (Caribbean side) which was about 2.5hr drive. We stood at Aguas Claras, we had our very own bungalow in the Jungle right off the beach. We saw sloths outside our balcony, a family of monkey's, and much more wild life. We also did a few excursions.

We had direct contact with the office in Costa Rica and they were so helpful confirming our excursions and transportation. It was super easy and they were so friendly. I highly recommend this travel agency, for all the excursions we did and the private transportation, and where we stayed, we paid less than other people we met. We booked in Jan, and had to pay the trip in full a month before departure which was May 4th for departure on Jun 4th.

Excursions, highly recommend all: Arenal Hanging Bridges, Arenal Sky Tram & Canaopy Zipline, Pacuare River Whitewater Rafting Class III-IV (first timers and it awesome), Talamanca Bribri Reserve/Chocolate Process/waterfall tour, Cahuita Snorkeling and Rainforest hike.

Phenomenal overall experience with Aaron Daker, Managing Director, and Costa Rica Experts for our honeymoon in Costa Rica!

Planning started via Costa Rica Expert's website with a quick / easy questionnaire which included a helpful checklist, along with our preferred budget to work within. Personally LOVED this part, as it provided us with a helpful framework for our trip, without the hours of research ahead of time. Questionnaire covered our interest in activity type (i.e., hiking, massages, horseback riding, etc.) and destinations (i.e., Manuel Antonio, San Jose, etc.) which had detailed descriptions on category of area (i.e., beach, mountains, cloud forest, etc.).

~24-48 hrs. later, had a 13-day itinerary in my inbox complete with transfers, hotels, and excursions based on the questionnaire. This was HUGE to me, as it made the visualization process super easy, and we could get an idea of what we loved or wanted to tweak (which turned out to be very little!) prior to discussing. From there, Aaron let us know we could call him directly or schedule a call anytime to review.

Did a video call w/ Aaron (super warm, friendly, and informative) who helped answer questions, and guide us on timing, as we were only about a month away. As timing was tight and hotels were booking up quickly, he did us a favor by putting a hold on them, while we made our decision (without forcing us to sign a contract / put money down) which not only made me feel more comfortable with him / the company but was also incredibly helpful.

From the minute we engaged with Aaron after filling out the checklist, through the planning, to being onsite throughout our trip, he was incredibly responsive and informative.

Our honeymoon trip itself was incredible, and truly the best trip either of us ever had. From the hotel selections, to the ease of transfers to and from locations, to the excursion recommendations, there was truly nothing we felt wasn't absolutely spectacular. It also opened our eyes to areas / places we likely would not have found on our own.

Couldn't be more pleased with the decision to use Aaron and Costa Rica Experts, and will eagerly look forward to using them in the future.

So bummed they just focus on Costa Rica cause I would love to use Costa Rica Experts for all my upcoming vacations. I worked with Brandon starting about 6 months ago to plan an adventurous yet relaxing Costa Rican adventure to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I did a little bit of research ahead of time (thanks to friends who had traveled to Costa Rica), but Brandon proved to be a wealth of info.

There are so many different areas to visit in Costa Rica, but with Brandon's help we narrowed it down to Manuel Antonio and Papagayo. Brandon suggested to do all the adventurous stuff in Manuel Antonio, which included a moderate walk thru the national park (saw monkeys and other wildlife galore), horseback riding and white water rafting. All our activities, drivers, hotel reservations etc were organized perfectly and we woke up everyday not having to worry about what to do and how to get there. We basically just needed to walk downstairs at the times provided in our itinerary.

In Manuel Antonio we stayed at the Gaia Hotel, an amazing 20 room boutique hotel. I had heard from friends that the rooms were a bit small so Brandon made sure we had a suite that was spacious.

We then made a 5 hour drive (transportation also organized by Costa Rica Experts) to Papagayo where we planned to relax and enjoy the Four Seasons Resort. By far one of the (if not THE) best resorts we've stayed at. I didn't have Costa Rica Experts plan anything once we got here since I planned on just enjoying the sun, but we ended up taking advantage of many of the activities organized by the Four Seasons.

We probably could have planned all our adventures thru the Gaia as well, but I liked having it all planned out ahead of time. Between 2 little kids and a busy job I don't have much time to spend researching vacations and Brandon did all the work for me. There is no extra charge (they make $ thru the hotels and activities they book). It was also just $100 to secure the trip when we booked it months ago and then the entire balance was due 2 months before the trip. I also liked that everything (besides food) was paid for when we got on vacation so we didn't need to worry about dealing with their currency outside of meals. We booked our flights on our own since we wanted to use miles, but they'll take care of that if you'd like as well.

A snowstorm hit Chicago the day we were supposed to return from Costa Rica. I emailed Brandon in a panic for hotel suggestions near the Liberia airport in case we got stuck. He responded immediately with a suggestion and also the # of someone else at the agency who would be around to help us if our flight was canceled. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately since a longer vacation would have been lovely) we didn't have to use the #, but it was nice knowing we weren't on our own in case something did happen.

I will definitely be using Costa Rica Experts again to plan future trips to CR and will cross my fingers they open up other divisions for travel to the rest of the world!

We worked with Monica to book our fairly last minute trip. We were 1.5 month out. Just got back and I can rave enough about how well everything was organized for us.
My husband and I are very pleased with all the arrangement Monica put together for us - everything was amazing! All the transfers were on time and the tours/adventures were spot on. We added on a couple more once on location. I would recommend having a slight idea of what you want to do and see there - so many cool things to experience in Costa Rica! Pura Vida

I highly recommend Costa Rica Experts (CRE) for anyone planning to visit this beautiful country! My family wanted to go to Costa Rica for my mother's 60th birthday, and I reached out to CRE to plan an itinerary. Aaron Daker was extremely thoughtful and accomodating for all my requests, and put together a wonderful itinerary for Bajos Del Torro and Arenal/La Fortuna. The trip itself was outstanding! Everything went smoothly, and every single tour operator and hotel stay had the nicest people! There was one day where a planned river safari had to be cancelled due to flooding, but Elfa (not sure of her name spelling) in the Completely Costa Rica office and Jacamar Tours were so helpful and efficient in organizing an alternate option. The hotel selections were amazing, and both hotels went the extra mile to make my mother feel special for her birthday. I've never had a trip go as seamlessly as this one did, and I cannot recommed CRE more! I've already shared my itinerary with several family friends who also plan to visit Costa Rica. Kudos to the entire CRE team!

We emailed Costa Rica Experts when we decided planning a trip to Costa Rica for me, my wife, and our two boys was just too difficult due to the sheer number of options, most being local hotel chains and such we've never heard of. Matt at CRE asked me a bunch of questions and provided a sample itinerary that was nearly perfect. We made one or two tweaks with Matt and were on our way. We're finishing up our trip now and I have to say their selection of hotels, tours/adventures, and transportation were excellent. We had a great time and will definitely use them again when we travel to Costa Rica in the future.

Do NOT do it. Literally in CR right now and our honeymoon has been ruined. They will likely delete this, but we will be sure to review on other platforms if it helps even one person not have their honeymoon completely ruined. This company booked us at an AWFUL hotel, very dirty, and the "ocean view" is only there if you can look past the mountains of trash outside your window, they will do nothing to help us. Acted like they did us a favor putting us in a king bed room, which is what we should have had in the first place. If you want to eat in their restaurant, be prepared to share your lunch with a swarm of flies. So gross.

I had never used a travel agency before but read great reviews about Costa Rica Experts and Megan helped me set up an absolutely phenomenal week. Everything was efficient, pickups and transfers were on time and well-organized, the activities were perfect, and my accommodations were far beyond my expectations. I highly recommend their services for an amazing Costa Rica trip!

I worked with Costa Rica Experts (aka Panama Vacation Experts) to plan a trip to Costa Rica and Panama in March. They did an excellent job of booking hotels and transportation including a private charter from Panama to Costa Rica. Aaron at CRE is very professional and knowledgeable about the area. All of the local travel representatives they contract with were very helpful and customer oriented.

We had to leave earlier than anticipated on our departure day because of road closures. A local travel agency advised us of the potential problem and arranged for an early hotel pickup and booked a tour at a coffee plantation to help fill in the time before our flight home.
I would highly recommend CRE and will use them again when I return to Costa Rica or Panama.

One of the best family vacations ever.

Trustworthy
Organized
Reliable
Diverse
Well connected in country

We chose the adventure tour. We were lucky to have fun activities everyday from hiking volcanoes, swinging bridges, zip lining, surfing and coffee plantations. Those were the highlights. There was more. All our lodging was tops: comfortable with great views and access to fun.

We will definitely go back to CR and will use CRE to get us there and back.