the best of the gold coast beaches

  My friend and I were approached on the beach at our hotel, Hilton Papagayo Costa Rica Resort and Spa by a man named John D. Soto. He was wearing a... read more blue shirt with Unique Tours on it. We had been thinking of planning an exursion...More

  We were up close and personal with monkeys, iguanas, and crocodiles and I have the video to prove it!

  Pros: Booking pickup was easy. We were picked up on time (7:30am) right at our Airbnb. The “guide” gave us a little bit of info on Costa Rica on the... read more ride there. Zip lining was really fun, 7 in all. Zip lining was about an hour once we all got going. Decent speed and length, one line was nice and fast and long. Beautiful views! Then horseback riding lasted about 35 mins once we started walking. He let me lead the trail, and the horses were behaved. Next was white water tubing, about 3km long. This was the most fun! Some of the rapids were awesome since the current was strong. Plenty of lazy river floating in between adrenaline rushing drops. Water wasn’t overly cold. Guides there to help push you along the slow parts and make sure you’re not stuck on rocks. Then came lunch, at 2pm (make sure you eat a good breakfast). DELICIOUS food, all of it. Choice of pork fajita, chicken curry or pasta alfredo. The pumpkin soup appetizer was incredible and so was the little dessert bites at the end. Ending the day, which was not on the booking but a happy surprise, was the thermal sauna, mud bath, and hot springs. First, sauna to open pores. Then the mud bath that smelled TERRIBLE, but that’s to be expected with the minerals. We jumped in the river to wash off (showers there too but what’s the fun in that?!) and finished off in the hot springs tub. Throughout the day, someone takes action photos of you and sells them after if you want, $10 cash per person for all photos of you. Then we loaded back into the SUV and were dropped off at our Airbnb in Playa Hermosa before 5pm.

Cons: The guide was more of a driver than a guide. He chatted a bit but basically just dropped us off and slept in the car. We saw other guides with their groups and helping take photos. They do provide water, but one small bottle per person for the entire 8 hours. The horses are not well taken care of. At all. They were all pretty skinny, bones protruding on a few. My poor horse had skin lesions everywhere and his back legs were buckling a bit before we even started, and then he just collapsed with me on his back (photos). Other horses also had skin lesions and one had the skin on his back legs peeling so they tied his tail so he couldn’t even move it; the poor thing had flies biting everywhere. I would not support this kind of horse treatment if I’d known ahead of time. There was some waiting around between events and waiting for other groups to get there but it was all still within the advertised timing.

  Harold was great as our guide! We had so much fun walking in the rainforest and Harold was so informative with my many questions. We got confused on the pickup... read more location, but got it sorted out pretty quickly. (If you are staying at the RIU, the pickup location is the main gate OUTSIDE the resort.) We saw many sloths, one up close, and monkeys, frogs, pheasants, and bugs!! Everything on the tour made us appreciate being in Costa Rica. The lunch also was very delicious! I had the tilapia and it was GOOD! My son had the chicken and he really enjoyed it.

  We went on the river tour (Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Cipanci) and saw many types of birds, white faced monkeys and crocodiles as promised. But the best part... read more of the trip was the ride to and from the resort when our guide stopped frequently...More

  I booked with Frank the Tank after reading many good reviews and we were not disappointed. From the start, Frank was very helpful, communications were excellent from deciding upon tours... read more to the day prior to our excursion. We have just done the Volcano Mega Combo and it was a fantastic day and all at very reasonable price. Frank contacted the day before our trip confirming that our guide would be Marvin and sent us his photo so we knew who to look for on the beach. Marvin was prompt, friendly and very informative. He went above and beyond to make sure we were well looked after, he is a credit to the company and works very hard. I would highly recommend these guys to anyone looking to explore the local area. Don't be put off that they aren't the bigger tour operators, I'd much prefer to support local companies and these guys do a top job. We are certainly looking forward to our next 2 trips with Costa Rica Unique Transfers and Tours.