RÍO CELESTE: Tubing+Bosque Lluvioso+Vida Silvestre+Cascada+Volcán Activo (PRIVADO)

This tour is not at all what was advertised. Out of all of the items you are supposed to accomplish, only one, the tubing, was what was stated in the description. Below is what actually happened: 1). Rio Celeste National Park Hike - we arrived, the bus driver was not the same company as the “guide” and so we were in a parking lot by ourselves while the van driver (who barely spoke English) walked around aimlessly talking to locals until another gentleman came from one of the restaurants across the street, asked us how many people we had, got us through the gate into the national park and in broken English said walk 1.5km this way and then come back. He then left and went back across the street to sit and look at his phone in the restaurant. We did not see where two brooks merged, we did not head to another part to swim. Instead when we were done we walked back across the street to the guy on his phone and told him we were done. He walked off and 20 minutes later our van showed back up and we went along the road. 2). River Tubing - As advertised and a fun experience. This was the only time we had a true guide and only while actually on the river. 3). Cataratas Llanos De Cortes - We didn’t do this portion of the trip at all. 4). Finca Lima Verde - We didn’t do this portion of the trip at all. 5). After we left the tubing we got back in our van and drove to a shack on the side of the road (Photo attached). I had to use Google Translate to order because neither our “guide” nor our bus driver nor the restaurant spoke enough English to understand me. After we ordered, the “Guide” left with no explanation. 6). After lunch we went to our driver and he said (through google translate) “ The guide said we could drive by the paradise tree, do you want to do that or head back to Tamarindo?” We chose to head back after researching said tree on our own. All in all the trip was an ok experience solely because of the tubing, but it certainly was not as described. What’s even more disturbing and dissapointing is Victor’s response to the whole situation. They are refusing to assist me outside of sending an email to the “Tour operator” (Picture included of the persons logo) to have them address the situation. I have no connection to the tour operator, viator charged my card, viator is what I used to communicate and they have been zero help in providing restitution to a tour that was nothing like what was booked. Do not book this tour and Think twice about using Viator. I know I will in the future.

We had a great time and definitely recommend this tour! I was a bit hesitant and nervous to book this due to the negative reviews, but since this was the only tour that covered all the activities we wanted to do, I decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did! The listing clearly states that pickup at your place of accommodation is an extra $25 per person. Our rental is off the beaten path without a clear address and they communicated very well to accommodate our pickup anyway. We were just fine paying that much for pickup and were disappointed that some people gave such negative reviews because of it. The excursion itself was incredible and our driver Mauricio was friendly and very accommodating. Our favorite part was the river tubing, but enjoyed all the stops. Do keep in mind it's a long day. We started at 7 am in Tamarindo and weren't dropped off until after 8 pm, partly due to a bad traffic backup and also taking our time at a few stops. But it was worth it and would definitely recommend it.

They disclose that they charge a fee for picking up at your location. The fee was 55 dollars per person and when I said I would meet them at hotel that was 15 minutes away from pick up point, my reservation somehow got mixed up and there wasn't enough tickets. They said there was a problem with my booking.

I wish I had listened to other reviews that warned about this tour provider. Even though I had reached out 5 days in advance of the tour to confirm the pick up time, and our tickets said they would pick us up in the hotel lobby (and the tour description specifically said that hotel pick up in the city we stayed in was included), we got a message the day before (after the 24 hr cancellation window) that we had to pay $25 extra per person for the hotel pick up (an extra $225 for our party of 9). We were out playing and enjoying our vacation with our kids and by the time we saw the message after 6pm, they has cancelled the trip on us and said we would get no refund because they couldn't "confirm"!! To Viator's credit, they backed us up eventually and gave us the refund, but I had to fight for it, and it took a toll on me during the vacation. I was so outraged and angry at our treatment by the tour company. Why didn't they clarify the pick up location when I reached out earlier? Apparently so they could extort more money at the last minute. I have no idea how this tour operator is allowed to list on a reputable website, unless they are exploiting some massive loophole in Viator/Trip Advisor policy. It seems to me that they intentionally mess with people. We booked a separate tour through Viator a few days before this one, and it was wonderful. I was expecting the same easy and happy experience, but was hugely disappointed.

BEWARE - Although the "What's Included" Section of this excursion clearly states HOTEL PICKUP AND DROPOFF IS INCLUDED, this company threatened to cancel our tour the night before unless we added $20 pp for hotel pick-up. In our case, it amounted to an additional $160.00 Their response was - "If you want point-to-point pick up then you have to pay the fee." What the hell is point-to-point? What happened to the "Hotel Pick-up and drop-off included" statement? They hide behind unclear language written in extremely poor English - designed to confuse and justify their ransom money. For me, it's more about the principle than the money. I expected them to be honest and they weren't. I'm sure they will reply with some face-saving BS, but we were robbed. The guide they sent, Emil, was nice enough, but clearly, was not familiar with this tour. He worked hard and provided drinks, but was not very talkative and did not provide much information like most guides we've had in the past. All in all, it was a very disappointing, long day. I will add the two guys at the Tubing Gerald and Fabrizio were very good. But overall, my recommendation is: DO NOT GO ON THIS TOUR. It's not worth the money.

DO NOT BOOK. DO NOT BOOK. DO NOT BOOK. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. ZERO COMMUNICATION. THIS TOUR SHOULD HONESTLY BE TAKEN OFF TRIP ADVISOR. I booked this tour for me and 4 friends. The day before the tour, I realized there was no pick up time listed on the booking. I called the tour provider 3 times and left a voicemail with no response. I attempted to contact the company via the trip advisor app, but there was no response. Then, I messaged the number listed using WhatsApp and they responded that they could pick us up at 7am if we sent them an additional $25/person. I sent screenshots of the listing showing that it says hotel pick up and drop off are included if the hotel is listed during checkout. Our hotel was listed so I assumed that hotel pick up and drop off was included. When I started questioning the company about why they were requesting more money they stopped responding on WhatsApp. I tried to call them 2 more times via WhatsApp with no answer. After many attempts of no communication, I called TripAdvisor to see if they could assist me. The person I talked to on the phone was very nice, but I spent an hour on the phone trying to get a full refund. The TripAdvisor agent attempted to contact the company via telephone twice, but there was no answer. I did receive a full refund, thanks to TripAdvisor, but it was extremely inconvenient. It also put a damper on our vacation because we were really looking forward to this tour.

It was great The guys doing the tubing were so great and I highly recommend . Great bonding time with family

Great day out. Julian was a wonderful guide and very accommodating. River was beautiful and guides were very helpful. Lunch was delicious!

Our tour guide’s name was Francisco and he was amazing!! He did everything he could to make sure our tour was phenomenal. We hiked to the waterfall, ate fresh pineapple and coconut water, tubed down the blue river, visited a sloth sanctuary and had a delicious meal. A day we will never forget!

We loved it!! Alex is an absolute pleasure to work with, he’s knowledgeable about the area and always sharing information about the things/places we saw!! Truly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed Nos encanto!! Alex es muy agradable, conoce muy bien el area y donde fuimos y las cosas q vimos fueron muy bien explicadas por el y sus conocimientos. Realmente lo recomendamos y no se van arrenpentir!!