A COSTA RICAN RIVER SAFARI

  This tour was just ok... Hike was good but no animals. Waterfall was nice. Guide was informative and engaging . The last part is where we were to see some... read more animals but they were few and far apart.. they were on some private land not in the wild.. not worth the money

  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: PRICE. This all takes place at Cañon de la Vieja, and if you book directly with them, it’s only $80 pp. The rest charged by this “tour” is transportation, so we basically paid $150 for transportation we already had (rented a car). 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. 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.

  We had a great tour with Costa Rica Unique Transfers and Tours! Harold was our driver and tour escort. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about the Guanacaste area and... read more the beautiful waterfalls and Miravalles Volcano area we visited. The lunch provided in the tour...More

  Absolutely fabulous would recommend this for all ages Beautiful country, The tour guide and driver were wonderful.

  This was an amazing tour! Our guide Ernesto was amazing, accommodating and fun! Rafting was the highlight but it was a full day of fun! Would definitely do this again!... read more Next time I'll bring my kid.

  Our tour included ziplining, hiking, swimming in waterfalls, horseback riding, mud baths and tour of volcano. It was a wonderful day but what made it truly special was Eddie.... read more I am sure there are many tours that included what we did, but I am so...More