Nancy from NY, USA     May 14, 2012

From the moment we contacted Gecko right to the very end of our trip - we were provided with excellent service. We missed a connecting flight coming in - mechanical problems - and called Gecko to let them know. They wer enot only able to cancel the driver meeting us but sent him back the next day to pick us up. When they gave us a pick up time - they were extremely precise. Everything went flawless. The drivers were professional and courteous and if I may throw out that Jorge on the trip to Arenal was so much fun. He stopped to show us things (coffee beans, sloths and a beautiful humming bird garden), I would highly recommend you use this company. They know everything you need to know for a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. Show less

Kent from Barrie, Ontario, Canada     May 10, 2012

I needed to plan a trip for my wife birthday and decided to go to Costa Rica with the family. I did a little research and decided to try Gecko. All I can say from the time I contacted them by email to finalizing the trip it was a pleasure. The trip has now just passed and everything went so smooth. My family had the best time and all the suggestions Gecko made were excellent. We thank you for all your help. We hope to return again soon. Show less

Rob and Lauren from Vancouver     April 09, 2012

I had dreamed of travelling Costa Rica for most of my life, and when my fiance and I decided to make it happen- we placed all our trust into Gecko Trail Adventures. The trip was a dream come true all because of the organizing that Gecko put into the vacation and we could not have asked for a more trustworthy/ organized/ friendly company!! Thank you so much for the trip of a life time!! Show less

elysia from denver, colorado     April 03, 2012

Gecko was accommodating - I waited until much too late to book - they found a driver for me with little notice and I was off and running. After taking a red eye and traveling with kids by car 6 hours, the driver made it simple and painless from point a to b. I was so exhausted, I paid him in cash when I had already pre paid. 2 weeks after I returned, Gecko was amazingly honest and refunded my money previously paid with a note stating I had overpaid. I would have never remembered this and I so appreciate the honesty. This is a company I will plan to use again when I return. Thanks so much. Show less

Mani from San Diego, CA USA     March 31, 2012

This trip was our first to Costa Rica and, although we had many friends who have visited the country, we were not sure exactly how to set up the best tours. I found Gecko through another tour site and decided to go with them because they were much more responsive to our questions and concerns. Our adventure was incredible. We wanted to see as much of the rain forests of Coast Rica as possible, and Gecko set up our excursions coast to coast. First we adventured into the Caribbean coast where we were delighted to explore Tortuguero. There we encountered caiman crocodiles, toucans, turtles, iguanas, geckos, and a Show more variety of water animals on a relaxing boat ride through the canals. Then we experienced the excitement of the zip lines in Arenal while staying at the luxurious Observatory Lodge. Our room had an incredible view of Mt. Arenal as well as the gorgeous plants and trees of the facility. Then off we went to Monteverde and explored the beauty and mysteries of the cloud forest through the suspension bridges and forest hike. Lastly, we relaxed on the beautiful beaches of Manual Antonio and were enthralled by a beautiful sunset off a catamaran ride after snorkeling in the warm ocean waters of the Pacific. The trip wasmarvelous and one we will never forget. Much of it was due to the experienced organization of Gecko Trails. We had many adventurous days interspersed with relaxation. Just what we wanted and enjoyed. Show less

Lori and Bernard Raghubeer from Toronto, Canada     March 31, 2012

Had a great time in Arenal,Monteverde and Manuel Antonio.Everything that we wanted to do was perfectly organized and the tour guides were great.Added some horseback riding with Las Brisas in Monteverde.My husband loved the zip lining with Sky Trek and the Cloud Forest Reserve was amazing.Check out Alternative souvenirs in Santa Elena/Monteverde and the Orchid coffee shop. Also,Meli Melo store in Quepos.We look forward to going back again and will be recommending Gecko Trail Adventures to anyone we know that wants to go to Costa Rica.Beautiful country and people.Thanks again for a great experience. Show less

Dennis Borton from Roxboro, NC, USA     March 12, 2012

Our party had 4 adults and two children ages 2 and 5. We had a somewhat complex schedule and everything went very well. Had 5 locations and 5 pick-ups and all were on time with vans that were the perfect size for us. Each location was at least as good and usually better than we expected. All of the drivers and guides were great so we relaxed on the beach, took a boat tour on the Tortuguero Canal, saw many sloths, monkeys, reptiles, birds, butterflies etc. A great trip overall. Just two suggestions for improvement. We had asked about having car seats for the little girls and most vans didn't have them, so fortuneately we brought ours along. And it would be best to tell clients that children are not allowed in the pool at the Hotel Banana Azul. But these are very minor points and we thought Gecko Trail Adventures arranged a great trip. Show less

Stephen Moore from Milwaukee, WI USA     February 12, 2012

Incredible! Ricky was very knowledgeable, informative, and fun. Sloths, toucans, monkeys, spiders, ants, birds, butterflies, plants and trees. We had such a great time. Definitely worth every penny. Keep up the good work. Show less

Tim Love from England     February 06, 2012

Hi Guys 2 days a go I was ziplining through the Costa Rican rain forrest now I'm home and it's snowing sucks! Had an amazing trek Coast to Coast with the Fire Fighters charity finshing with the canopy tour I took 15 others along and the afternoon went so smothly you have all been so much help, excellent service all round highly recommended! Thanks again guys you have a beautiful country! Tim Love UK FireFighter Show less

Charleen Gustafson     February 04, 2012

Dear Yetti,

WOW!
We just had the best trip we have ever had.
Thank you for helping us. I cannot tell you how many times I was grateful that you helped organize this for us. It was such a relief to know that whomever we were going with was a reputable business, and the hotels you chose were beautiful.
Thanks for taking care of us when MV Experts forgot us. That was the only company that we were disappointed with. First they forgot to pick us up, then at the other side of the lake, instead of a jeep which was on our itinerary we ended up in the back of a very crowded van with no air Show more conditioning so we spit dust for the whole trip. I don't mind the adventure, but if we paid for a jeep and got a cramped, shabby, crowded van with no air they should not charge us for a jeep.

Everything else was fantastic. We loved Exploradores, and Disafico. The guides were fabulous.
I loved the hotel Don Taco. It was my favourite. And the Samara Inn was beautiful. Aranjuez was interesting and quaint.

The entire trip was perfectly suited to us.
Thanks again. Show less

Amanda P from Raeford, North Carolina     January 29, 2012

I contacted Gecko Trail Adventures, to help me plan not only our trip to Costa Rica but to help me plan the wedding we never had. Maythe & Nina pulled it all together! From hotel reservation to a cake for our ceremony, they planned it all! Maythe found a photographer, bakery, champagne, officiant and flowers. All I had to provide was me and my husband! Our cake was from a local bakery, Bread and Chocolate, our flowers were from the gardens of hour hotel, the Banana Azul. The location was perfect under the almond trees on the beach =) We couldn't have asked for more! The rest our vacation was just as wonderful! All of the activities we planned, flowed nicely. We had enough time to enjoy the area itself and everything Costa Rica has to offer without being extremely overwheled! We didn't want to leave!!! I would recommend Gecko Trail Adventures to everyone! Show less

Molly & Jason from Cambridge, USA     January 27, 2012

When planning our honeymoon to Costa Rica, we had a good idea of where we wanted to go and a few hotels we wanted to stay at, but didn't know the best way to put the 15 day trip together. We are independent travelers and had never used a tour company before. On a whim, we contacted Gecko Trails for a quote and they responded in record time with a complete custom itinerary that was well within our budget (and far cheaper than we could have ever expected).

The reps were incredibly responsive by email, usually responding to questions or requested changes on the same business day, and they finalized our Show more itinerary in a matter of days, making all the changes we requested, booking our preferred hotels and transfers, and suggesting tours along the way. Paying cash upfront for all our transfers, hotels and tours was a little scary, but the good reputation of Gecko Trails on the internet gave us the faith that it would be fine (which it was). By having them facilitate the cash payments to hotels and transport vendors, we saved a fortune in fees and hassles and didn't have to worry about having much cash on hand during our trip.

Every part of our trip went smoothly, from the pick up at the airport to ourvarious tours and all our transfers. The drivers were all kind and professional and the vehicles in good repair. The hotels we chose were lovely, and there was never a question about payment being expected (i.e. Gecko had pre-paid everything before we even arrived).

The few times we ran into issues, Gecko sorted things out immediately. One hotel had 2 reservations from the same company for the same night and had only booked a single room. One phone call and it was sorted. We had a change in pickup time one day (45 minutes earlier than scheduled) and Gecko called the hotel to notify us and sent an email(we didn't get the message, but that wasn't their fault). And finally, our snorkel trip was cancelled for poor weather and we were able to receive a full cash refund in person in their office on the very same day.

We are thankful to Gecko Trails for their kind staff and excellent service that made our honeymoon as wonderful (and affordable!) as we could have ever imagined. Their relationships with the local vendors and small, family hotels that we stayed in really made things easy for us. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company, and will use them again in the future when we go back to Costa Rica(which we definitely will do).

[*Note: we also left this review on Trip Advisor] Show less

Paul Koch     January 22, 2012

We are home from our trip and I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know how much we appreciated our driver for our two van trips. The driver was prompt and a pleasure to ride with. The trip back to San Jose was a difficult one with long delays but the driver was great and we really appreciated having him do the driving instead of us. Please pass along our thanks to him. Show less

Norman Jalbuena from Dubai, UAE     November 06, 2011

Just wanted to say I had a good trip. Everything I wanted to do happened and what was stated in the itinerary met up to the expectations. Thanks and look forward to booking with you again in the future. The drivers and excursion companies used were professional, punctual and friendly. Definitely go with this travel company again. Show less

erika rentas from puerto rico     October 18, 2011

I just came from Vacation On Costa Rica using Gecko and the planning, the timing and the organization was perfect. Everything runned exactly as the schedule said by the minute.This pepole know what they are doing. It is sad that they only work in one country.. Show less

Bob and Suzanne from Portland, USA     October 16, 2011

Our 2 week Costa Rica adventure was saved by Gecko Trail. We started planning with another large "reputable" agency, but their response times were slow and prices were crazy. On investigation, we found they were charging a 30% premium! We switched to Gecko who responded quickly, recommended more reasonable tours and accommodations and overall saved us thousands.

A week before our trip was to begin, the couple we had planned to travel with had a family emergency. Gecko totally came through and was able to get refunds on all their reservations while keeping ours intact. Amazing! When we finally got to Puerto Viejo we were personally greeted by Nina, the owner, and always made to feel welcome.

When we go back to Costa Rica, we'll definitely go with Gecko. Show less

Tim & Dave from El Cerrito, Ca     October 05, 2011

We worked a couple of months with Ernesto - Gecko Travel's Rep. He was very patient with us as we worked through all alternatives for the locations we *thought* we wanted to travel to and the various adventures offerred at each location. We were very concerned about the methods of traveling (intracountry buses and taxi's) and about actually having people meeting us when they said they'd be there. Rest assured - it was incredibly smooth. Every time someone was to meet us they were there - on time or even early a couple of times! There is "system" they use specifcially set up for us tourists and worked incredibly Show more well.

As far as what we did, liked, etc: -- we were in the country for 12 days:

San Jose : The Poas Vocano, Dakota Coffee Plantation, and la Paz Waterfall park -- This really was a wonderful excursion. It takes all day after being picked up at 7:30 AM. There were only 6 of us & the Guide (who was with us the entire day & spoke perfect English). We hit the Poas Volcano on a beautiful clear day - unusual according to the guide, or more like "lucky". It was awesome -- and actually much much better than Arenal. You hike to the rim of the crater and peer down into its bubbling green lake. TheDakota coffee plantation was a nice stop along the way before the volcano. We got a (free) decent breakfast & wonderful coffee and learnt how coffee is harvested. The La Paz Waterfall park was equally awesome - a must do if you stay in San Jose and have a full day. Really beautiful wildlife and the climax of some really beautiful waterfalls -- which you cannot swim in; only pictures.

The next day we set off for the 2-day Pacquare River Rafting trip. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip … and only because we did the 2-day trip which includes an overnight stay at a (upscale) Tent Camp. Being theoff season, we were the only 2 on this guided trip; so we were basically 1 on 1 with the main Guide (Puluche), his guide-in-training (Gabby), and the out-in-front in-case-of-emergency Kayaker (Kenneth - who spoke English). The drive to the launching area was an even longer drive than what the 1-dayer's did because they only do about 17 miles whereas the overnighters do 22 miles of river -- class 4 rapids. The long 1-hour drive DOWN into the Canyon was potentially a scene out of a Horror movie (e.g., 2 tourists in an old beat-up 4x4 with 1 person who spoke English drigin for 1.5 hours down a dirt road behind multiplegates. lol.) After 2-3 hours of rafting, we of course stopped at the tent camp and assisted in hauling the provisions up to the camp (food, drinks, linens, our overnight stuff, etc.). PS - by RAFTING I mean WE ALL DO THE WORK. WE ALL PADDLE AS THE GUIDE BARKS INSTRUCTIONS. We had the camp to ourself and our tent overlooked the river, which was a soothing sound at night for sleeping. We saw Fireflies (luciernagas). Geckos. Beautful flowering plants. All tents are raised platforms & have actual beds with mattresses and linens and pillows. Not the best - but hey, it worked fine. The guides did all the cooking - lunchupon arrival, and AWESOME dinner (fresh sea bass & chicken) & Wine, and the typical breakfast (eggs, fruit, sausages, beans & rice, juice.) Then we hauled everything back down to the raft and we were off for the 2nd day. We were on a timeline to meet up with that day's 1-day rafting groups for a group lunch. So after like 2+ hours of rafting & stopping at secret waterfalls & large pools of water to swim in we met the "groups". Ugh, 8 people in a raft with a Guide? Uh, no thanks .. glad there was only 4 of us in our raft. After lunch and another 2 hours of rapids we were back at the Exploradades Center to pick up ourluggage, which was secured overnight.

Then off via a small bus to Puerto Viejo - stayed at Banana Azul. This is on the Caribean coast, right on the ocean, and was very HOT (September). A really nice place, albeit very open and a bit "noisy" if you have "active" neighbirs to your room … which we did .. up and walking around all night, sitting on their balcony smoking at night, etc. They were probably the worst part of our stay. They have a very nice restaurant on-site with a different menu each night - for $14 each. We did the Kayaking trip through the jungle which was very fun. It's on a 2-person Kayak andwe saw lots of jungle life -- including a Sloth that actually came down out of the tree. We sat there for 10 mins., snapping pics & video. Downtown Puerto Viejo is just a small town with a lot of tourist traps. We heard about a restauraunt called "Bread & Chocolate" and wanted to give it a try, but were unable to make it in for breakfast or lunch given our schedule. We also did the "3 in 1" tour: Animal Rescue, Chocolate Farm, and Waterfall - frankly, this was a bust after everything we did to this point. The Animal Rescue is really just a small ZOO. Too much emphasis in things that were disinteresting to us; yea wesaw a couple of howler monkeys in the trees. Being in the cage WITH the monkeys was a treat. But for 1.5 hours it was really not worth the HEAT. Then the journey to the Waterfall was long and the hike DOWN into the canyon was LONG & difficult & slippery in spots. The Waterfall is realtively small and very difficult to get into the pool to swim -- and at this point we had been in really wonderful waterfalls and pools (see above). So we would pass on this excursion if we had it to do again given what we had already done. In town we ate at the red neon upstairs restaurant (Rios something) which was a BUST. The foodreally sucked. The "fried Calamari" was a rubber dish of tasteless goo and inedible. Each of our main dishes were pretty bad as well. The only thing going for it was a nice view of the street life and they had 2 for 1 drink specials.

Then we were off to La Fortuna (Arenal) - stayed at Los Lagos. A pretentious up-scale resort with a lot of swimming pools & hot springs. we stayed at the very top of the hill -- the "view rooms". Heads up: They are too far away from the main part of the resort to WALK. They have 2 Shuttles that basically run 24x7 to pick you up and bring you to wherever you are trying to get toin the resort .. like the swimming area, dining area, etc. They can sometimes take 15 mins. to pick you up … if not require a 2nd phone call to the desk. Frankly, it would have been better to stay downtown some place and not in this sterile and snooty environment. the loud & "bad spanish singing" by the bartenders at the pool-side bar was enough to chase away anyone. I didn't get the point; maybe they were trying to make it Disneyland-esq? We did the Arenal Volcano "tour" & Tabcon Hot Springs on the 2nd day here. It was also a BUST. It POURED on us. The operators refused to cancel the tour. After getting there wecouldn't see the Volcano the entire trip for all the fog & rain. I was miserable and damp; even with the rain gear. After we hiked in the dark back to the van, they dropped us off at the Tabacon Hot Springs. This was kinda nice, but being dark, we couldn't see much as we strolled around the warm (not HOT) freshwater pools. Would probably be nice to see it during the day. Included was a really nice Buffett - finally some food different than what we had been eating the previous week. This was the only trip with any "confusion" - and it had to do with being "handed off" to another driver. But it worked out as we got backto our room around 10 PM and exhausted --- only to be kept awake by a group of 8 or 10 Asian guys who decided their world was more important than our sleep! I asked them nicely to quiet down. Nada. They were LOUD until 2 AM. I even called the front desk pleading for "help" … the front desk could do nothing for us. Glad to check out of that hole the next morning.

Then off on a long bus ride to Manuel Antonio - stayed at Villa Roca, which is about 4 miles outside Quepos, so it is dead in this area. This was a really nice (Gay) resort, but only 3 rooms filled. Beautiful infinity pool to sit by over a beer.And Joseph was really a sweetheart. We chatted with him most of the 2 days we were by the pool or bar. We did the Snorkeling excursion which turned out much better than we had anticpated. We were grouped with about 20 Dutch tourists which made it really fun. We saw some really cool fish and saw Whales breach and porpois. It included a really nice lunch and all the beer you wanted. We met the 1 guide named Miner. He was pretty funny and personable. The only other thing we "tried" to do was take a bus and go into the National Parque (Jungle) by ourself -- without prearranging it. It was a total Bust and I don'trecommend trying it. There are a ton of "local" scammers that will accost you outside the park and demand that you pay them to be your "GUIDE" … even if you simply want to go in by yourself. It was very intimidating - we walked away and never saw the park.

Then it was a small plane ride from Quepos back to a final night in San Jose. This was very cool to see the area from above. 30 mins. later we arrived in San Jose and hired a Taxi to get us to Casa 69; downtown San Jose. It cost us $20 for the Taxi. That night we ventured out to walk around and find a couple of (gay) bars. We went to Avispa, which was OK.. but not much of an American Dance Club given its size. And it was ear-splitting LOUD! The few people dancing on the floor were "partner dancing" to Latin music. Then to Bochinches - but they wanted $4 each to get in and we had not planned to stay long; so passed. There is also Puchas in the same area - which we assume is some sort of Gay strip club. The streets felt very safe to walk around - especially given the various "warnings" about not going out alone at night. We saw Police everywhere and never felt threatened. Oh, and Casa 69 - well, very very noisy due to the Trains that run right in front of it from 7AM to 7 PM (or so). The "free/included" breakfast was NOT included contrary to what our travel documents said. But being under new ownership there was probably miscommunication what WAS included (continental only).

So to recap, great trip and very friendly people.

- Do use Gecko Travel !! Trust them. They were awesome.
- Do the Poas & la Paz Waterfall park
- Do the 2 day raft trip & tent camp (not the 1 day)
- Do Banana Azul, but try for Room #1 if possible. While there, do the River Kayaking but skip the 3 in 1 Waterfall, Animal Rescue, Chocolate place.
- If you wish tosave $$ on accomodations in Puerto Viejo, there are MANY MANY choices to stay at just outside town. We saw places as cheap as $15/night on the south end of town.
- If you actually see Poas on a clear day, skip Arenal altogether … probably shrowded, very hot and probably rain - or just do a DAY trip to Tabacon .. or even just stay THERE.
- Definitely do both: Bus ride between towns and a plane ride back to San Jose for your final.
- Take a bunch of $1 bills for tipping. Every tour will "nag" you for tips at the end of the excursion - and they do deserve a couple of $$. Don't tip in restaurants - tipsare already included. (unless you get special service).
- And you don't have to pre-book the excursions during the off-season. All of the resorts/hotels have the same "packages" that you can arrange when you get there. That way if you're tired or the weather doesn't suit the excursion (e.g., RAINING), you don't have to waste the money.
- They all advertise "free WiFi" at the hotels/resorts … but it is spotty at times, but overall was there for my use on a cell phone.
- The mosquitos were nowhere NEAR as bad as we had anticipated. One of us got like 8 bites over the 12 days, I got 3 … Just use thenetting over the beds when it's available.

I'll put my reviews on TripAdvisor.com for the specific places we stayed if you wish to search the place over there.

Pura Vida !! Show less

Melissa from Boston, MA     September 27, 2011

Hi Gecko Trail

I had an absolutely wonderful trip and can't
wait to come back again sometime soon.

Everything went perfectly with the airport pick-up/bus ticket. The man who picked us up was
wonderful, kind, and very helpful. We both really liked him. I really was as pleased as can be about the service, and would be happy to recommend you to anyone.

One thing you might think about doing is explaining how the border crossing works to new tourists. It's just an "extra," but we did find
that process to be confusing and a little bit challenging, and I think it'd be something tourists would greatly appreciate. How much you'll
pay at the border crossing and to who, how long it usually takes, what you're supposed to do when you get there, etc.

But like I said, everything went great and I appreciated your help!

Best,
Melissa Show less

Tatiana Bonilla     September 13, 2011

We just returned from our trip to Costa Rica and everything was absolutely perfect! Thank you so much, especially to Guadalupe, for making sure all of our tours, transportation, hotels, etc. were taken care of. We did not have to worry about a thing and had a wonderful time. I'm already recommending you to everybody that wants to make a trip to Costa Rica. Also, the tour companies that you use, such as Sky Adventures, Exploradores Outdoors and Pura Vida, were excellent, excellent! They took wonderful care of us! I'm certainly coming back again soon and will definitely use Gecko Trail again! Show less

Richard Garnett from England     August 30, 2011

Thanks so much for looking after us so brilliantly. Your service was faultless and we would very much like to come back next year!
Best wishes, Richard Show less

Jen from San Francisco     August 29, 2011

Dear Gecko Trail Adventures,
Thank you for making our trip so easy. I was a bit hesitant to cross the boarder with two children in tow, but you put us at ease and ensured that we reached our destination safely.

Best,
Jen Show less

Carol Bauer from Kennesaw, GA USA     August 24, 2011

Spent 10 glorious and fun filled days in Costa Rica with peace of mind thanks to Gecko Trail. Throughout the planning process I had MANY questions about things to do, where to stay, difficulty of activity,and all the way to what kind of power outlet we would find in Costa Rica. The staff at Gecko Trail were informative and ever patient including sending a picture of an outlet for my peace of mind. They even arranged travel for us on one leg of our trip that they had nothing to do with. Everything they booked went smoothly from drivers to accomodations to outings. Since I am not a seasoned travelor I relied heavily on them for advice and they came through in every way. Thank you Gecko Trail Adventure! Pura Vida! Show less

Ramzi Aniba from Washington, DC, USA     August 22, 2011

We stayed Aug 10-13th at the Magic Moon House! The property was very nice, we utilized both levels (2 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs). The layout of the house was great, a nice open kitchen, the outdoor space on the 2nd level is wonderful, my brother and cousins used the hammocks to relax a lot and you can see the ocean right in front of you. The rooms are very spacious and we appreciated the way the house was functional for us. The house grounds are really nice, it's like you're in your own oasis. We opened up the house doors and windows as much as possible....we even noticed a horse farm behind one of the Show more bedroom windows that had live cattle, kind of cool for all the cows to do an about face and stare at us. The house does not have have AC, it has fans throughout the house but, honestly we were on the beach so, we felt the breeze...no need for AC. I will tell you that you will need bug spray and ant spray....the caribbean side is the natural side of costa rica so, you're living the simple life.

We basically had our own private beach and we had a rental jeep so, we drove down to punta uva and manzanillo. Johnnys and Mangos are the best bars in Puerto Viejo. For food, we liked Mare Nostrum, Lydia's Placeand Koki Beach. A lot of people recommended Tamares, do not order the chicken sandwich or burgers, definitely not a fan. Kind of dumb of us to order that anyway...fish with rice and beans is the way to go, costa rica does not really have a specialized cuisine. We went to the supermarket and bought food since the house came with a fridge, oven/stove and microwave. The rocky road leading to Magic Moon and Banana Azul is a bit rough, we were definitely isolated from the center town of puerto viejo but, it's only a 5 mins drive or 10 mins walk on the beach. If I come back to Puerto Veijo, you better believe I'mstaying at Magic Moon again....we were really not impressed with any of the other hotels we saw in town and on the beach, most of them are rundown or just plain jane.

Also, if you want to do ziplining, jungle tours, white water rafting, snorkeling or scuba diving, the Banana Azul hotel, where we had to pick up the house key, is a few doors down and offers Gecko Trail Adventures, great times! The best in costa rica hands down. Aaron and Pablo our guides were great. Ashton who arranged everything is very cool. Best time to go to Costa Rica is nov - feb and with that said, it was 80 degrees in august! Wewould have loved to have more sun but, we ovbiously understood we were in their winter season....there were still a lot of people at the bars though, especially after midnight....late crowds. Go to Mangos first or another bar on the small main road then venture off to Johnnys on the water, you're sure to have a good time. Also, for those who are interested, follow the smell of ganj, it's openly smoked outside by the locals, especially at the bars....the cops don't really hound folks, when locals see cops coming they just put their joints behind their backs until the cops roll past....so seamless. Our time at MagicMoon was very laidback and relaxing, we went to the Pacific coast afterwards, Jaco and Manuel Antonio and we preferred the Caribbean side the best even though they were not as advanced as the Pacific side. I believe the Caribbean side got electricity in 1986.

We didn't get a chance to see Samara, Mal Pais or Montezuma on the west pacific coast, must go by ferry from puntareanas which is 30mins from Jaco ....but, maybe next time. But, with that said, If I were you, I would check out both coasts...Jaco is packed in January (probably a good home base) which from a tourist perspective might work out better but,the Caribbean vibe had us wanting to go back to Puerto Viejo even when we were in Jaco. Puerto Viejo is about a 4 hour drive...if you don't get lost from San Jose. Jaco is about an hour half from San Jose so, plan accordingly. The rental car from Natcar.com helped us a lot to explore the country. Stay at least 3-4 days in Puerto Viejo and 3-4 days in Jaco to truly experience the fun. If you don't have a car....it won't be the same experience to get up and go see and do whatever you want. Stay at Magic Moon in Puerto Veijo and any Daystar property in Jaco. Have fun! Show less

Ramzi Aniba from Washington DC, USA     August 22, 2011

Zipling tour was the best! Aaron and Pablo our guides were great. If you can't do the all day jungle tour, which is highly recommended, the canopy and zipline tour is hands down the best zipling you'll do in CR. Show less

Caitlin from Boston, MA     August 17, 2011

Gecko Trail Adventures did an amazing job planning our 16-day Costa Rican Adventure tour. There was not a single glitch in our itinerary. I will definitely use Gecko again for my next vacation. It really was a relaxing vacation with the help of Yetty and Gecko Trail Adventures. Show less

Brian Weston from Orlando, FL USA     July 06, 2011

We stayed in Magic Moon house a few weeks ago. The house was tremendous. What a fantastic place to stay. Couple that with the best customer service experience provided by Gecko and you have the formula for a perfect vacation.

Every adventure Gecko arranged for us was top notch and well worth the money. We did numerous trips including Cahuita snorkleing, chocolate making, waterfall climb, jungle hike, spa day and surf lessons. We loved every single one!

Thanks especially to Ashton for making our trip a huge success! Show less

John and David from Austin, TX     June 16, 2011

We can't say enough great things about Gecko Trails! Your office was efficient in helping us to plan our customized trip to CR. From the time we arrived in San Jose until we arrived back at the airport, everything ran as smoothly as it could possibly run. Van drivers, excursion personnel, and hotel staff were uniformly well informed, on time, efficient, and a joy to work with. We've already highly recommended your services to all of our traveling friends and family. We'll definitely be using you again! Thanks for helping to make our trip exceptional! Show less

Steve     June 15, 2011

I would highly recommend Gecko Trail Adventures to anybody looking ot travel to Costa Rica. They helped us with everything from itinerary planning, transportation, and hotels. The service was always quick and friendly and all of the vendors they booked with were reliable. Show less

Andreas from Frankfurt am Main / Germany     May 29, 2011

Dear friends at Gecko,
thanks to your appreciated warm and professional contribution and the perfect organizational skills of Anja during the planning stage, I was touring through Costa Rica from Easter Sunday to May 4th 2011. - What a wonderful country! - And what a smooth and convenient travel experience! I did Monteverde - Arenal - Cahuita - Puerto Vieho packed with lots of outdoor activity! It was awesome!
So I definitely will come back and of course I will rely on your services again! Then I will travel the Pacific coast!
So thanks again and hope to meet you soon again!
Many regards
Andreas Show less

Steve & Phil from Florida USA     May 14, 2011

We had a excellent time on our 25th anniversary. Gecko made it happen without any flaws. Would highly recommend anyone use them for their trip. Ernesto was the best. Loved Costa Rica and the people. Will be back with friends. Show less

Aaron King & Sara Zolman King     May 12, 2011

Hi Gecko Trail!
Just wanted to give a huge thank you to Yetty for planning a WONDERFUL vacation for us the week of April 16th-23rd. We had an amazing time with a week full of once in a lifetime adventures! Everything went smoothly and we had amazing resorts, excursions, drivers and guides! I couldn't even pick what would have been my favorite from Sky Trek zipline, Exploradores overnight rafting and from volcano to ocean views. It was all magnificent!
Pura Vida, Aaron & Sara Show less

Kerry and René from Montreal, Canada     May 08, 2011

Gecko Trail Adventures, and Maythe in particular, put together a Costa Rican honeymoon for us that met or surpassed all our expectations ... one of our best trips ever! Highlights included the Monteverde area cloud forests, zip-lining, waterfall walks/swims and of course the three-day Pacuare River rafting adventure (honeymoon package). Everything went super smoothly, hotels were gay-friendly and Maythe was very helpful and pleasant to deal with, despite our hundreds of questions. We highly recommend Gecko for anyone else heading to Costa Rica! Show less

Benjamin Trunk     April 18, 2011

Hi Maythe!

We are back in Germany, and I wanted to write to you to thank you for your hard work. We really had a great time in Costa Rica and everything you planed worked out perfectly! Thank you very much!

Just 2 little suggestions (maybe for our next trip) or to make you guys at Gecko even better (if that is possible):

The trip from Monteverde to Arenal with Grayline is really annoying, we had to switch buses and it took nearly all day. While we were there, we heard of the jeep-boat-jep transfer, which is not only cheaper, but also a lot quicker and supposed to have some great Show more views.

And while the hike-dinner-and spa trip on our last evening in Arenal was one of the best activities we had, the hike took so long that we had to eat rather quick and still had only about one hour left in the spa. It was totally worth it, but if we had known we would surely have visited one of the many other spas before.

The only time we were disappointed was in Cahuita at the Magellan Inn, which we picked by ourselves. Not only were they really far off (which would have been fine), but contrary to their homepage they didn’t have a restaurant or the promised TVs (which was really sad becauseit was the only time we actually wanted one to watch the Oscar-Night…). And although the breakfast was technically included, it only consisted of bread and jam, and for luxuries like “jamon y ceso” or fried eggs it was another 5$ or 3$... But we don’t want to complain, it was an amazing trip and we will always be happy about our time in Costa Rica!

Thank you very much,
Kathy and Ben Show less

Stephan Wininger from Nashville, TN USA     April 18, 2011

Don't hesitate to utilize Gecko Trail's talented and professional staff to plan every detail of your Costa Rican vacation!

Everything went flawlessly and I could not be happier with all they did on my behalf to ensure a wonderful vacation. I highly doubt any other agency could be more informed or helpful.

Ernesto's patience and prompt responses to each and every question during the planning phase of my two week vacation was comforting and most reassuring.

Once I arrived in San José, I immediately took a regional Nature Air flight to San Manuel/Quepos for a week at the Show more beach. Then a second Nature Air flight to La Fortuna to visit Arenal Volcano and Tabacón Thermal Springs Resort and Spa. Finally a third flight Nature Air flight back to San José where I enjoyed the last few nights of my Costa Rican vacation.

Gecko Trail's staff's attention to detail ensured each and every connection was perfectly choreographed and each hotel reservation perfect. Ernesto even had cabs waiting for me when appropriate. How nice not have to worry about any details!

On my next trip to Costa Rica,I will definitely be using Gecko Trail Adventures again. Soon, very soon!

Thanks again Gecko Trail Adventures! Show less

Sarah Haynes from Scottsdale, AZ     April 01, 2011

Gecko Trail Adventures made the arrangements for me to visit Puerto Viejo. I traveled by Interbus. Unfortunately, I left my computer charger at the B&B. Through Gecko's persistence the charger was relayed to the Interbus main office in San Pedro where I was able to recover it. They went above and beyond the call of duty! I highly recommend their services! Show less

Joe from Coeur dAlene, ID     March 24, 2011

We scheduled our entire trip through Gecko Trail Adventures and things went off perfectly! We made changes to our plans up to last week before our trip and Gecko Trail helped make all our reservations work out for us.

If you have any hesitations about trusting folks located in Costa Ricato help you with your travels rather than a local agent...have no worries! They are great at what they do, their staff is wonderful, helpful and understanding, and prices are great.
THANKS AGAIN GECKO TRAIL ADVENTURES. Show less

Brian from Chicago     March 15, 2011

I arranged my entire trip through Gecko based on feedback from friends that had used them before. It took about a month of working with them, looking into their advice and some research on my own but I basically had my entire trip booked via Gecko before I went. Everything was as smooth as could be and I enjoyed the trip immensely.

Some MUSTS are Tabacon if you are in Fortuna and the zip line canopy tour in Monteverde. Relaxing on the beach in Manuel Antonio was also very nice.

I only had 1 small problem on the trip with confusion at one hotel whether breakfast was included. It only took one quick email to Gecko and they resolved it with the hotel. It was the hotel's mistake.

Highly recommend Gecko to help plan a fun trip to CR!! Show less

Mark Catalina & Megan Ebbrecht     March 12, 2011

Dear Maythe, Karen and Gecko Employees,

We have just returned to the US after an 8 day trip to Costa Rica. Our visit to your country greatly surpassed any of our previous experiences to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Haiti and Bonaire. Participating in the Arenal Volcano hike and Tabacon Hot Springs while staying at San Bosco in LaFortuna, Rafting down the Pacuare River, and Full day Canopy tour, zip line, waterfall and quads were the finest adventures we have ever been on. On the flight back home I thought to myself that when I get there I will write one of the best reviews that has ever been done for Show more Gecko Trail Adventures, Banana Azul, and Costa Rica in general, but unfortunately so many past customers have beaten me to it!

Some of the important things that mattered to us, may not matter to everyone else. Many of your employees may not even realize this, since many have not travelled abroad or been dropped into unfamiliar surroundings. But, when arriving in a strange land (especially in the dark)where cultures and habitat are so different than you have ever experienced and communication skills are so limited (we speak no Spanish), it is so reassuring to meet that ‘local’ person, have them smile at you,try to understand your needs and concerns, reassure you that you are in the right place and that your schedule is in their hands and they are there ready to guide you throughout your stay. They are there for you.

We did not stay at the Banana Azul because they didn’t have any vacancy. Online, while at home, we rented a studio apartment nearby. We were dropped off at Azul in the dark after an extended ride through Limon due to an accident on RT 32 which halted traffic for more than an hour, not knowing exactly where are lodging was located. Our luggage in hand and driver gone, we approached Kristiam at Azuland asked for direction. We were so unprepared, with no address in hand, not even considering that no one would have heard of the place we were to stay. Kristiam jumped online to locate information, make a call to our destination, welcome us to Costa Rica and offer us all the amenities that would be available to us as if we were guests at their resort.

I cannot say enough about the way we were treated at Banana Azul. David, Kristiam, Frederik, and all the staff were wonderful to us. They listened to us when we needed to talk and shared with us some of their experiences from the US to Costa Rica. We werewelcomed at their meals, to rent their equipment, to enjoy their beach and lounges and better yet… their guests. As much as we were looking to be away from other tourists and enjoy Costa Rican’s, it was even better to share our new experiences with other travellers like ourselves and immerse ourselves in the new found joys of a beautiful country.

Let me start now with Maythe. She was our first contact with Gecko once we arrived in Costa Rica and welcomed us. She was also the first to listen to our concerns about our living arrangements while visiting. She assured us that we were on schedule, going to live(inside joke), and with that beautiful smile convinced us that we would love our visit to her country. How could you not believe this beautiful smile! Well, she was right! Although she had very tough competition because every Gecko employee we met and spoke with gave us the same treatment. They were courteous, reassuring and were willing to manipulate your schedule at the drop of a hat. They never tried to sell us product, but always there to answer any question about the adventures and life in Costa Rica.

If you have been able to stay with me thus far, I will tell you the most important factor that madethis trip the most enjoyable. The tour guides that accompanied us on these excursions were unsurpassed by any in the world. I will most likely be misspelling their names, which is a shame because they clearly deserve to be recognized by Gecko, their employers and explicitly by fellow Costa Ricans. The volcano hike - Jobi, the Pacuare rafting – Ricky & Yuda, the canopy tour – Edgar. Each one of these men were incredible guides. If everyone in all countries had just a small percentage of their character, we would have a perfect world!

All of the guides and drivers that participated in our excursions wereexcellent, but it just happened that these 4 men were the ones that we were able to discover and converse more personally with and/or placed with us during the events. Jobi, Ricky and Edgar you are some of the finest people found anywhere on Earth. Their love for their country is radiant. They were excellent at articulating their knowledge of the soils, trees, bugs, volcanic evolution, indigenous peoples, animals and anything else that was asked of them. They displayed and preached about the importance of a clean environment, limiting and eliminating hazardous insecticides, cleansers and litter. They were adamantabout their respect of their land and countryside and the beauty that surrounded us at every turn. They made us feel welcome in their country and showed us how proud they were of it. That is something that has been missing here in the US for me, for some time.

These men and similar fellow Costa Ricans should be recognized by your government and compensated. They make the tourism industry special and help us all to realize how valuable our natural resources are and how important the message that they send to us visitors is, in regards to the health of their country, economy and the tourism industry. It isthese attributes that will bring us back to Costa Rica and direct our friends and acquaintances your way for a wonderful vacation.

We have travelled to other countries that have the potential that still exists in Costa Rica, but found that they have been tainted by under-educated, environmentally-bliss peoples, litter strewn mountains, streets and streams. The fact that other countries are ‘laid - back’, or ‘chillin’ should not be the excuse for laziness or the lack of understanding the extreme importance of our impact on the environment and the balance of industry and tourism in a region.

All ofthe other countries we have visited, we were bombarded by time-share ‘thieves’, beggars and solicitors. All of which probably exist in Costa Rica, but we never once encountered. We spent 5 nights on the Caribbean coast near the town of Puerto Viejo in a rented apartment, rented bicycles for travel and ate mostly at local sodas while enjoying the beautiful turquois beaches at Playa Negra. Visits to Cocles, Punta Uva, and Manzanillo strengthened our love for the people of Costa Rica and your country. Sad to have departed, our hats go off to Gecko and all the others that we had contact with for the tremendous support andfun we had during our stay.

Love to all of you,
Mark & Megan Show less

M Waugh from Canada     March 07, 2011

We used Gecko to help plan our trip. We provided them with the places we wanted to go and what we wanted to see ..... we had a hassle free vacation and amazing two weeks in Costa Rica. I have already recommended this firm to others. Thanks guys for making our vacation so special. Show less

Brian from New Jersey     March 07, 2011

Our 10 night custom vacation was spectacular thanks to Ernesto at Gecko putting it all together. Out trip included 4 cities: San Jose, Manuel Antonio, Arenal and Santa Ana. We had a mix of active days and others for relaxation so we reutrned home refreshed. The only suggestion I would make for those who can pack light (<40 lbs) and afford it is to fly between destinations rather than take the tourist vans. These trips can be between 4 and 5 hours with air taking about 30 minutes. Show less

fabian from australia     March 04, 2011

I'm super glad that we chose Gecko Trail Adventures when planning our trip to Costa Rica. Everything was easy and we didn't have to do any of our own research in order to see all of the best attractions in Costa Rica. The Gecko staff were friendly and helpful and our holiday was perfect! I couldn't imagine an easier way to travel! Show less

David from Winnipeg, Canada     February 22, 2011

My trip went really well. All the details planned by you at Gecko went flawlessly. A couple comments to keep in mind when you are dealing with other tourists follow:

1. The Arenal Volcano area is quite beautiful with great hiking and other activities available, but don't expect to see the top of the volcano as it is almost always cloud covered.

2. Of my two excursions on my full day in the Arenal area, the first one (the horseback ride to the La Paz Waterful operated by Desafio) was very scenic and nice, but I was the only English speaking person on the three-person tour so the guide Show more primarily spoke Spanish. In fact he really only spoke to one person so it didn't seem he was telling us much of anything about the nature and scenery we were passing. The second excursion (the Arenal Volcano Hike operated by PVT) was excellent. The guide was amazing at pointing out and explaining so much. Our group members were also quite fit so he took us on a longer more challenging hike. I gave him a big tip!

3. In Manuel Antonio National Park, a lot of the trails are closed so if somebody wants to do lot of hiking they have to go around the barricades and hike the closed trails themselves (that'swhat I did). Manuel Antonio is beautiful.

4. Colours Oasis Resort is nice and a good gay place to stay in San Jose. It is easy to meet people there (especially as a solo traveller) so you can go with people on excursions into the city. I'm not sure I would have wanted to do too much in the city by myself ... at least not at night. Breakfasts were very good. Other food and drink was excellent but a bit pricey.

5. Hotel Mandarina is a nice place to say. It is gay-friendly but definitely not gay ... but that's good too. The people working there were really friendly and knowledgeable aboutthe area whether it was the park, the beach, the clubs (including gay ones), etc. The room I had in the Hotel Mandarina was so beautifully decorated (somewhat modernist) that it was a real pleasure to stay there. There are no views from the rooms, but that's fine, you can just walk across the street. The breakfasts were excellent.

Overall the trip was excellent. I really enjoyed everything. I would definitely recommend Manuel Antonio as an area to visit. On a previous trip I went to Playa Grande and it was great too. The Arenal Volcano was alright to visit as long as you can accept you won't see the topof the volcano or any eruptions. I'm glad I went to Manuel Antonio on your recommendation instead of the cloud forest (there were enough clouds on the way to the volcano from San Jose and at the volcano).

Thank you for arranging everything. I would definitely use your services again. Show less

Dave Westhouse from London, England     February 22, 2011

I would like to thank the staff at Gecko Trail Adventures for doing such a wonderful job with taking care of the details of our vacation and allowing us (two couples) to enjoy a seamless vacation without having to worry about transportation and other STUFF. They got us to and from the airport, in hotels in San Jose and La Fortuna. We ...enjoyed the whitewater rafting, the 3-in-1 tour, and the zip-ling. The whitewater rafting was incredible and I am glad of hints to do it first to take advantage of transport from Costa Rica to Puerto Viejo. It was so nice to have the tour desk at Banana Azul and to have met the many faces who emailed us beforehand. We traveled from Feb 5-14, 2011.
Thank you once again. We truly appreciated your work. Show less

Beatrice from Toronto, Canada     February 22, 2011

Thanks to Yetty and Gecko Trail for helping make our trip the best we've ever had. Yetty was extremely helpful and patient with me as I had many questions, but she organized everything so well, and we had a wonderful trip.

Our favorite part was the white water rafting and fishing trips. Exploredores is very professional and really made it exciting. "Ricky" was the best guide, very outgoing and I had fun joking around with him.

The fishing trip was amazing, we caught 5 big yellow fin tuna and took one to eat, yummmm!

Thanks again Gecko Trail and of course Yetty, for making this experience a GREAT one.

We will be back. Show less

Peggy from Toronto, Canada     February 17, 2011

Thanks to Gecko, we had a vacation that was both relaxing and adventurous. It was relaxing because everything was planned and paid for in advance and all of the transportation connections ran so smoothly. The trip also included so many wonderful experiences - hiking, snorkelling, whitewater rafting, kayaking, canal tours, hot springs, etc. We did the "Volcano, Beach and Jungle" trip with an extra two nights in Tortuguero. The hotels (Arenal Green, La Kukula, Rana Roja, Casa 69) were all wonderful. Each one was unique and had a different type of charm, but my favorite place was Rana Roja in Tortuguero. This lodge is Show more not listed on tripadvisor so i was a little worried but it was so beautiful. The cabins are contructed so that you feel connected to the sights and sounds of the jungle. The food was excellent and there was a goregous pool and shared bar. We also did several trips with Gecko's partner Exploradores and they were very professional and fun. With the help of their guides, we saw a lot of wildlife and learned about the plants and animals of Costa Rica. This trip was also an amazing value. Show less

Peggy from Toronto, Canada     February 17, 2011

Thanks to Yetty and Gecko for organizing an amazing vacation. Everything ran so smoothly. My sister and I did the "Volcano, Beach and Jungle" trip with an extra two nights in Tortuguero. The hotels were all wonderful and reasonably priced. Each one (Arenal Green, La Kukula, Rana Roja and Casa 69) was unique and had a different type of charm, but my favorite place was Rana Roja in Ttortugeruo. This lodge is not listed on tripadvisor so i was a little worried but it was so beautiful. The cabins are contructed so that you feel connected to the sights and sounds of the jungle. The food was excellent and there was a beautiful pool and shared bar. We also did several trips with Gecko's partner Exploradores and they were incredibly professional and fun. This trip was also a great value. Show less

Hans Nijholt from Amsterdam, The Netherlands     February 15, 2011

A big thank you to Mauricio who did a fabulous job in preparing our itinerary in Costa Rica in January 2011. We first emailed about our favorite things to do in a holiday and he came up with some suggestions on what to do. He finally arranged all our hotels, excursions and transport. Everything was very good organized. The transport came always on time and the excursions were great. We first stayed in Manuel Antonio and from there we did Monteverde, La Fortuna and Puerto Viejo. We really liked the Wildwater rafting and the Canopy tour. I can really recommend Gecko Trail if you need a travel agency in Costa Rica.

Thanks again!

Hans and Marcel Show less

Cathy Geard from Ontario, Canada     January 18, 2011

Thank you to Maythe for making my son's and my trip through Costa Rica safe and enjoyable. Your hardwork, patience and understanding our situation was greatly appreciated. Everywhere you booked us was exceptional, our transport worked out perfectly. I felt safe and happy travelling on my own with a 12 year old son.
Arenal was fantastic both the hotels and volcanoe tours. The boat-jeep ride fun and a exceptionally beautiful hotel in Monteverde. The towns and people both friendly and safe.
We are back now in Canada and would like to thank you for your time and hardwork putting together a wonderful package for us. The last week of our trip turned out amazing and fun, leaving us with great memories of Costa Rica.
Thank you,
Cathy Geard and Mike Show less

Daryl and Tessa Gottlieb     January 10, 2011

The staff at Gecko Trails, especially Nina, were truly a gift from God. My wife and I were planning our wedding in Puerto Viejo from the United States, so, as you can imagine, there were countless issues regarding transportation for ourselves and our guests, not to mention the task of organizing our rehearsal meal and multiple excursions.

I can't say enough about Nina. We exchanged well over 100 emails, and engaged in multiple skype conversations, in the months leading up to our New Year's Eve wedding. She was not just responsive to my questions, but alwasy quick to offer suggestions or input regarding Show more our plans. She was our "boots on the ground," as it were, and I can confidently say that our trip, and those of our family members, would not have been the success it was but for the professional and caring assistance of Nina.

We also had the opportunity to honeymoon at Banana Azul, where Gecko Trail has a kiosk set up. The staff members there were awesome as well, always willing to provide restaurant suggections, input on excursions, and even their weather predictions.

This is an honest company, and run like a well-oiled machinge, from top to bottom. Trust them with your plans, and youwill not go wrong.

Pura Vida! Show less

Ed from St. Louis, MO USA     January 07, 2011

Found Gecko Trail Adventures through a Google search for gay-friendly travel. Any reservations I had about booking every aspect of my travel in Costa Rica with a company I was not familiar with was immediately put aside. Mauricio was my agent at Gecko and did an amazing job of recommending various hotels and activities. Considering how many times I had to change my itinerary in the months before my trip, I am indebted to him for 1) keeping me organized 2) making all the hotel, transport and activity arrangements for me 3) being incredibly responsive to my questions. My transports included private driver in San Jose Show more (airport to hotel) as well as the Interbus shuttle system (shared shuttle with ~7 other people). Be forewarned that car travel in parts of CR can be rough/bumpy, since the road system is not as well-developed as in the States. Shared shuttle is a nice, cheap way to go, plus gives you the opportunity of meeting some other adventuresome travelers (in my case, mostly students, Europeans, those wanting to save a little money).

Things that I would highly recommend that were suggested by Gecko/Mauricio: 1) splurging for a stay at the Tabacon Hot Springs Resort (http://www.tabacon.com/). The incredible serviceat the resort and the hot springs are not to be missed. None of the other hotels in the area can boast as large a variety of hot springs (most only had 1 or 2 hot spring pools, Tabacon has easily over 15 hot spring pools to lounge in). However, it's a tough hotel to get into, so plan at least 6 months in advance. There is also a nice buffet dinner at Tabacon, which is nice to do after a couple hours in the springs. But put your reservation in for dinner early, it's a pretty place. The spa is also very nice. I slurged on a 1.5 deep tissue massage, which was conducted outside in a private cabana surrounded by the hotsprings. 2) White water rafting through Desafio (http://www.desafiocostarica.com/). Highly experienced guides who were very much into our safety on a class 3-4 river. Travel and a nice, picnic-style meal to match the rugged activity afterwards. 3) Sky Tram/Sky Trek (zip line) through Sky Adventures (http://www.skyadventures.travel/index/index.html). I wish I would have known beforehand that there was a tree-top restaurant at this place, so that I would have scheduled more time afterwards to enjoy it. But the zip lines were long, fast, and unlike other companies, you don't have to do any braking, the zip guides do thebraking for you. 4) Hike through Manuel Antonio National Park. Pay the fee for a professional guide, they will notice wild animals and flora that you would easily miss if you did this hike without a guide. Unfortunately, because of the recent rains in the area, did not get to see all the trails that were available.

Things that weren't as nice about my stay: The California Hotel (http://www.hotel-california.com/) was a little disappointing. It was more rustic and a bit run down, though fine for spending time just hanging out at the beach. Unfortunately, it's a little bit further out from the beach thansome of the other hotels of its type in the city of Manuel Antonio. I had ordered a king sized bed. What I got was a kingsize bed frame with a queen mattress on it. In addition, there is desk clerk between 10pm and 6am, so guests are pretty much on their own (e.g., if locked out of room, etc.). Otherwise, the desk staff were helpful and breakfast buffet was included and reasonable (fresh fruit, eggs to order, toast, juice, coffee). If you're looking for higher end accommodations, it looked like the Parador (http://www.hotelparador.com/) was the nicest in this town (didn't stay there, but got to see it when my shuttlebus stopped there before the Manuel Antonio nature hike). If you do plan to stay in Manuel Antonio, I would recommend staying closer to the beach. There is one bus line that goes between MA and Quepos. Small hotels, shops and restaurants line the single main road between the two villages. Show less

Drew White from Washington, DC     January 06, 2011

When the impossible needs to be done, I will be turning to Gecko yet again. They were able to get me a last minute room in Puerto Viejo on New Years Eve thanks to knowing of a cancellation within minutes after it happened. Booked the room from a pay phone in Bocas Del Toro and they made it seemless. They were also able to arrange transportation across the country. Strongly recommend to make you trip and life easier. Show less

Liz Hirsch and James Hetherington     January 05, 2011

I want to thank all of you who helped us put together-and save-our trip to Costa Rica. You are the best!

Thank you for setting us up with Exploradores. They were awesome. Can't think of a better guide than Laura. Our jungle experience was so interesting, full of fun and great adventure. Can't believe the number of animals we saw at the RanaRojo and on our boat trips. Special thanks to Laura for getting us included on another trip through the jungle after she returned to the base camp with the others in our initial group. Will never forget cruising down the canals sneaking up on caymans and crocs Show more and watching the kingfishers dive-bomb for fish.


The one booking that I made for myself was an absolute disaster......bungalo suggested by the management of Banana Azul because their place was full. It was so awful that we decided to leave after just one night. Our entire time in the area would have been horrible if not for Gecko Trail. I forget the name of the wonderful woman who was at the Gecko Trail kiosk at Banana Azul who witnessed my "melt down". She totally saved the day by finding us rooms at the Namuwoki!!! It is enchanting! Wish we could have spent more time there. Loved thesetting, staff and almost every second we spent there. Playa Chiquita and surrounds are so much more our style than Puerto Viejo. We met delightful people, saw amazing animals from our porch and on the four hour jungle tour you arranged for us. Ricky, the tour guide, was one of the high points of our trip.

Feel free to use me as a reference for anyone who asks. We love Gecko Trail Adventures. Show less

Tammy Matthews from USA     January 04, 2011

I booked a whitewater rafting trip, hoseback riding on the beach and Zipline/canopy tour. All were fabulous!
All my guides were very professional, punctual and always put my safety first. I have already recommended Gecko to friends and I have only been back 4 days! Show less

Lydia Fourmy from San Francisco, USA     January 04, 2011

Karen from Gecko Trail Adventures was our helpful assistant in booking a trip to Costa Rica. Gecko Trail Adventures employes "travel agents" who can assist you with planning your entire trip or a portion of it, depending on what you want to do and where you want to stay. A fee is not charged for the service provided as the agents make their commission from the hotels and tour companies with whom their company partners. It is a carefree way to do business and to create a travel experience to suit your specific needs. I highly recommend Gecko Trail Adventures.

My significant other actually came across Show more Banana Azul online and that is how we found Gecko Trail Adventures. All of our communication with Karen was via email and she was always quick to reply to our queries. If she was not available, someone else would reply that he or she could assist or let us know when Karen would be back in the office. Karen was efficient and concise in her communication. She would break down the prices for us per activity and hotel and would suggest alternates as she saw fit. For example, she suggested rather than stay in San Jose the first few nights, to take a shuttle from San Jose to Manual Antonio to start our adventure thereand spend the last couple of days in the city. Great idea! We took her up on that.

It rained so much when we were there that complications arose due to the weather. The shuttle service, Interbus, that was contracted for us was excellent, always there for us when we needed them, even if a bit delayed from the rain. One of our drivers had to park his van and walk to get us because of a sink hole, but there he was, smiling and laughing and helping us with our bags, but this is for another review. I simply want to emphasize that Gecko Trail Adventures has excellent business partners. Due to therain, we had to rebook our river rafting trip. Our calls and emails were always answered professionally and promptly and a sense of enthusiasm was displayed to help us. As a result, our rafting trip was cut to one day and we spent an extra day in the Caribbean, and the refund for the difference was completed no questions asked.

Again, I highly recommend Gecko Trail Adventures as a means of planning your trip to Costa Rica. I will be using this service again when I return to South America.

Lydia Fourmy Show less

Jim Hobson from San Francisco, USA     December 22, 2010

When I shattered my collarbonein a freak accident halfway through my trip, Maythe at Gecko arranged transportation halfway across the country to the main hospital in San Jose, as well as accommodations until I could return home. Not only did they do this for no extra charge, but I even got a small refund for the part of the tour I couldn't finish. Hands down, Gecko is the best! Show less

Shams from Chicago, IL     November 16, 2010

We went to puerto viejo for our honeymoon and Gecko made the trip easy and smooth...which is exactly what you want during a honeymoon. I had to make some changes after I got there due to an injury and they made it very simple and where understanding. They even set up a pick up from a friends house, and where very accommodating. I'm the type of person that usually likes to do everything on my own, but I booked through Gecko because I was busy wedding planning. After using them once I would definitely book through them again just to make my life easier. Show less

jadesmith     October 31, 2010

Cahuita National Park was truly fabulous. Fewer people and more wildlife at this park. The trail was easy and well shaded. We saw many sloths, monkeys, snakes, turtles, lizards, bats, King Fishers, hummingbirds, insects, crabs, and more. Show less

Desi     September 21, 2010

Gecko made traveling in Costa Rica so easy and accessible. I was incredibly impressed with how flexible Gecko was with our requests; we changed a few items from the package with no problem. Also, I felt that they were fair and honest in terms of quality of accommodations, which can be a rarity among travel agent-type organizations. Thank you for all of your help and for making my Costa Rica travels so wonderful. I definitely would use your services again! Show less

John     August 13, 2010

Thanks for helping us put together an amazing and memorable honeymoon. We tried to work with many agencies and they kept wanting to much $ and were limiting in where we could stay. You helped us plan right down to each ride, activity and the type of place we wanted to stay and helped us stay on our budget and make things incredible. We have recommended your agency to all our friends. Keep up the good work! Thanks again! If anyone wants information on how to plan a coast to coast honeymoon, romantic trip and need ideas feel free to contact us through a response to this comment. Show less

diana     August 12, 2010

amazing service!!! i really didnt want to go around booking with lots of places... or spending lots of time looking for the best rates and such.... so when i found gecko and realized that their service and prices were great looking i handed them over my whole week trip - and wow!!! THANK YOU GECKO! YOU ROCK!! (i actually dont know how make money.... hmm... but youre the best!!) Show less

Barb and Scott from Middleton WI, USA     August 11, 2010

We used Gecko Trails to book our rafting trip, lodging in La Fortuna, and transportation between Puerto Viejo, La Fortuna and San Jose. Nina patiently answered my many many questions and helped us work out a plan that met all of our travel wishes and stayed within our budget. We had a wonderful time in Costa Rica and really appreciated all of the help we got from Gecko Trail Adventures. Show less

Shayne Hilburn from Dallas Texas     August 10, 2010

Gecko Trail booked all our trips while in costa rica and every one of them was great!! Mauricio helped me every step from picking a trip to payment. Mauricio was AWESOME and I still owe him a beer. With all the hiking, rafting, chocolate tour I never got to see him and thank him. THANK YOU Mauricio...YOU ROCK!!!

-Shayne Show less

Megan Lowrie     August 06, 2010

I just wanted to send you an e-mail to say GRACIAS!!! Our trip was great! We had an amazing time and saw a lot of the country! We loved Monte Verde and La Fortuna....We were very very happy with the Boat Tour as we got to see Monkeys!! :o) Made me very happy! The hotels were great as well...we LOVED the Montana Monteverde..we had a beautiful room with a beautiful view! Loved it!!

We have told my Mom and Step Dad and they are still going to book with you (Kelly Berry is my mom). I think they are even more excited now! I hope you can plan something for them that is as great as what you planned for us!!

thank you thank you! Show less

Kevin & Rob from Trinidad & Tobago     July 14, 2010

Without a doubt I would highly recommend this company! From my very first inquiry to when my Itinerary was sent to me Karen and Nina have been exceptional, professional and efficient!!!

Thank you all for an amazingly well co-ordinated vacation package; and for a totally worry free vacation!!! Show less

Kate Luhr from Los Angeles, USA     July 13, 2010

I cannot recommend this company highly enough. We pre-booked almost all of our vacation activities through them, and from their prompt and couteous responses before we ever left the states to the wonderful service they provided in country, we have no complaints. The tours they offer are wonderful. One of our tours had to be cancelled due to recent heavy rains, and they replaced it with another tour that turned out to be one of the best we did. I cannot say enough about the ease of transportation thanks to Gecko. Shuttles were on time, clean, and got us where we needed to go no matter where we were, and were much more affordable than some other companies' transpotation services. Gecko made everything so easy, all we had to do was sit back, relax and enjoy one of the greatest vacations we've ever had. Show less

Robert Fildes from England     July 09, 2010

Dear Anja:
Just a brief note to thank you for your efforts. We had a wonderful holiday and were very impressed at the efficiency of all the connections as well as the quality of hotels, hospitality etc.
Thanks again, best wishes, Robert and Sue, pp Peter and Kathy. Show less

Mari from Oklahoma     June 30, 2010

My husband and I were in Costa Rica in March. Everything was wonderful thanks to Gecko Trail. We had no waiting and last minute requests granted. Thanks to everyone at Bananza Azul and Gecko. Pura Vida! Show less

Donna from Mesquite tx     June 12, 2010

Our trip was outstanding. Mathye with Gecko was great. She went above and beyond to accommodate our wants. Everything was well planned and always on time. The people are sweet and very smart and fun to be with. I would highly recommend this beautiful country to anyone. We spent our whole trip on the Caribbean side. Banana Azul is lovely and the trip to Tortuguero was awesome. Show less

Joanna Train from San Diego, CA, USA     June 03, 2010

Our group of 4 returned from Costa Rica about a month ago, and we all agreed that it was one of the best vacations we'd ever been on. We had the perfect combination of adventure and relaxation! Gecko Trails booked all of our accommodations and tours, including a zipline tour, white water rafting, and volcano tour. All of the tours were amazing, and our guides were awesome! The hotels were also top-notch...we stayed at the Arenal Manoa in La Fortuna, then at Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo. We can't wait to go back, and we would definitely use Gecko Trails again. Show less

Nicole from London, England     June 02, 2010

The people at Gecko were nothing but delightful to work with: patient, friendly and accomodating. Would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to spend some time in Costa Rica. Show less

Billy from Bryan, Texas USA     May 28, 2010

Working with Gecko Trail Adventures and Karenh in San Jose was nothing short of wonderful! Karen took care of all my travel needs while in Costa Rica. I plan on going back, and when I do, she'll be at the top of list for making travel plans. Excellent jb, Karen! Show less

Carol Hayes from East Dundee, USA     May 24, 2010

Nina helped us plan a wonderul week in Costa Rica. We did rafting, zip lining, biking and hiking. Everything went soooo smoothly - we had a great, memorable time and will surely return. Thanks Nina! Show less

Novid & Matt     May 17, 2010

Thanks to Gecko Trail Adventures, my partner and I had a wonderful, worry-free week in Costa Rica. We simply sent Gecko Trail an e-mail describing the kind of vacation and activities we wanted (both adventurous and relaxing), and Nina set up everything: the hotels, the tours, the shuttle vans. She responded to all our e-mailed questions promptly, thoroughly and kindly. The shuttle vans always arrived right on time, and without fail the tour guides—whether for the hike around Arenal Volcano, the rain-forest hike to Rio Celeste, whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River or snorkeling in the Caribbean—were knowledgeable, Show more friendly and eager to ensure we had a great time. In La Fortuna, the lovely, immaculately landscaped hotel El Silencio del Campo is a gem; each room is its own cabin, with a picture-book view of the volcano. And in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean, Banana Azul hotel is another terrific find: a 12-room B&B on well-tailored grounds with a
pool, open-air bar/restaurant and other amenities, all a stone’s throw from the ocean. Gecko Trail helped us experience so many of the wonders of this beautiful country without having to handle any hassles. Show less

Stacey Kieffer     May 14, 2010

Hello!
We have booked a multi-day trip through Gecko Trail Adventures, and we were wondering if anyone had advice on what type of luggage to bring? Thanks! Show less

Salimah     April 22, 2010

Yetty helped me with all the details for a 9 day Coast to Coast Trip between 4/9/10 and 4/18/10. Though we had one issue with one hotel (their air-conditioning/lights were not dependable, both of which we had said were an absolute must) and we had to switch hotels, Yetty helped us get our money refunded for the other nights. We are incredibly grateful to her and Gecko Trail for helping us with that. Everything else was perfection, in fact beyond our wildest imagination!

The rest of the hotels were great: San Bosco had a great view of the Arenal volcano; La Isla, in Puerto Viejo, on the Carribean Show more side, had wonderful owners who when my mom hurt her toe, referred her to the best and nicest and closest doctor, and they had great breakfast ond lunches, and beautiful rooms right across the beach, and again, I cannot say enough about how kind and concerned about our comfort the owner Petra was to us; Adventure Inn in San Jose had a great huge room with a cool look and yummy breakfast.

The guides for our tours were excellent, absolutely amazing! We had a wonderful guides for Manuel Antonio Park and Damas Mangrove Sanctuary on the Pacific side---we were able to see so many animals, either up close orthrough a telescope that allowed us to feel upclose (white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, two-towed and three-towed sloths, iguanas, basilisks, the ferdilance snake, red-eyed green leaf frog, etc.)! The Toboccan Springs were unreal--being there felt and looked like heaven--and to top it off, we saw lava going down the volacano from there! We had a great Scuba Diving guide on the Carribean coast and I was able to see a huge spotted eagle ray! Our guides for the night Leatherback Turtle Laying Tour was beyond our wildest expectation--we were right next to the 5 foot turtle and saw and heardthe whole process!!!! Our guide for Manzanillo-Gandaco Wildlife Refuge went out of his way to find the best place for spotting Spider Monkeys and Toucans, exactly what we had asked to see!

And our tranzportation was airconditioned, safe, dependable and comfy---they had shuttles with drivers who were friendly and accomodating!

This was my first vacation and I am so lucky that Gecko Trail, and especially Yetty, helped me make my family's and my dreams come true!!!! Thank you so much for all your effort Yetty--I am so grateful for your help and effort!!!!!! Show less

D, Lis, KJ, Kim     April 20, 2010

We had an OUTSTANDING trip in Costa Rica and loved, loved, loved the itinerary you put together for us, the quality of the activities, the people we met along the way, the country, the places we stayed, and we would not change a thing. It was exactly the adventure we were seeking and you made our dreams possible! Everything went without a problem. We have each traveled extensively and usually book our own itinerary, but the package you put together was very authentic and it seemed that it was our own customized work. Gracias, gracias, gracias! Show less

Robert from England     March 30, 2010

Dear Gecko,
Congratulations, our trip went exactly to plan-no problems whatsoever.
We didn't have to think about a thing and had a wonderfull time-we can't praise you enough.
We've been travelling for over 35 years- in fact I had a travel book published worldwide a number of years ago-so I figure I'm in a good position to recognise a class travel company when I deal with one.
If we plan a return next year, you will be the first to know.
Wishing you all the best for the future
Rob And Morag Show less

Shelly Steckhahn from Milwaukee, Wisconsin     March 14, 2010

Hi,
I have been traveling throughout Costa Rica for many years and I really like your shared shuttle ride page on your website I recently found. I usually take interbus everywhere and I was aware of grayline, but I didn't really know about the other companies that provide an alternative to the public bus or private transfer. I will definitely be using this page in future travels.

Thanks Again!

Shelly Show less

Natalie Sholer from London     March 14, 2010

Gecko trail organised our 2 week holiday in Costa Rica and everything went really smoothly which saved us a lot of time and hassle trying to sort things out for ourselves. we were pleased with all of the hotels we stayed at and all of the trips that we booked were great. Overall I would highly recommend their service. Show less

Keith from Boston USA     March 13, 2010

We took the "Coast-to-coast: Pacific & Caribbean plus Mountains" trip and added a few days.
It was an excellent way of getting an overview of Costa Rica. We originally were going to rent a car and do something similar ourselves but then we found Gecko / Nina and are very glad we did they offer an excellent service and were very efficient and professional. The travel always arrived on time and the hotels were all good. Their recommendations for alternatives ... were all-good. We would unconditionally recommend booking through Gecko. Show less

Tim from Cork, Ireland     March 08, 2010

Just a quick note to say thanks to Maythe and all at Gecko for organising all our activites, tranfers etc. during our recent trip to Costa Rica. Everything went like clockwork and their knowhow enabled us to make the most of our time. Thanks Guys! Show less

Joanna and Jon from Rehoboth, MA     February 10, 2010

Hi there! Just a quick note to thank you for all your help arranging transportation for us for our 12-day honeymoon. With it being our first time visiting Costa Rica, we thought it would be a little too stressful trying to rent a car and find a way around. The cabs and busses that you booked for us were all on time and our drivers were all very professional. And the white water rafting trip from Puerto Viejo to Arenal was one of the biggest highlights of our trip! We LOVED our tour. Thank you so much! Cheers! Show less

Amber from Canada     February 08, 2010

All of our bookings with Gecko Trail were great. Nina found us ideal accommodation that was our style and within our budget range at the last minute both in Monte Verde and on the Caribbean coast. We were grateful to have booked our night hike, guided trek and hanging bridges tours in Monte Verde through these travel specialists - they have good, reliable contacts, making this portion of our trip smooth and fun.
We miss Costa Rica and all the Pura Vida! Hope to be back soon. Muchas gracias Gecko! Show less

Cynthia Kanner     January 26, 2010

I just wanted to say thank you for handling some of our arrangements on our Christmas trip to Costa Rica!! We loved your country and were so happy that everything went so smoothly. We really enjoyed our bus trip from San Jose to Cahuita and Javier did a wonderful job with our snorkeling adventure during our stay there.

Thank you again for everything - this was a very special first overseas trip for us as a family!! Show less

Lindsey Wadsworth from Portsmouth, England     January 17, 2010

We recently enjoyed a fabulous holiday in Costa Rica organised by Kikki and Nina at Gecko. The whole holiday was absolutely brilliant. The staff at Gecko helped us figure out what we wanted to do, incorporated it all in the timescale we wanted, recommended alternative hotels and organised the whole lot so every day went perfectly. All out pick-ups were on time, with door-to-door service and friendly drivers and a great way to meet other travellers and share experiences.
We did the ATV tour, 2 day white-water rafting trip, horse-riding, La Fortuna waterfall, Arenal volcano and Tabacon hot springs and ziplining Show more and Monteverde cloud forest.
The ATV tour was a brilliant, laid-back intorduction to Costa Rica with a lovely, genuine guide who knew masses about all the wildlife and area.
The white-water rafting was one of the best experiences we have ever had. Staying in the camp overnight was unbelieveable - the perfect way to get away from everything - and our guides Michael and Leo were great hosts and great cooks! We would recommend 2 days instead of one to everyone!
All the other trips were great, and I even got to video all the way down one of the wires on the canopy tour - what a fantastic souvenir!
All of our hotels were as described. All clean, with good facilities and friendly owners/staff. We particularly liked Trapp Family Lodge in Monteverde, Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo and Hotel Flores in Tamarindo.
Our experience of Costa Rica was unforgettable. Everyone was helpful and friendly and we will continue to recommend Costa Rica and Gecko Trails to everyone we know! Show less

Dennis and Rona True from Post Fallis, Idaho     January 17, 2010

Thank you Gecko and Maythe, for an amazing trip at a great price. All of our connections were perfect. Every single shuttle was on time and extremely friendly and helpful. We loved all of our accomodations except one. Caribe Town was a total disappointment. We had hoped to finish our trip at a really nice resort, and it was definitely not that at all. When our taxi arrived, there was no one there to let us in. We pounded on the gate and were finally let in by a friend of the owners, who was there with his family. We had no hot water which my husband tried to fix several times and there were no amenities as Show more described on the brochure. The place looked pretty shut down. Apparently Caribe Town is for sale, and the owners have kind of written it off. I would not recommend this place to others. That being said, the entire rest of the trip was fantastic. Arco Iris Lodge in Monteverde was beautiful, sustainable, and the buffet breakfast was great, especially the monkeys outside the window for entertainment. The canopy and zipline were wonderful and words don't describe how fabulous this place is.
Our stay in La Fortuna was great too. Campo Verde was just outside of town and was also beautiful with a terrific viewof Mt. Arenal. Our hike and visit to Tabacon were superb. Hotel Jacaranda in Puerto Viejo was such a great stop for us. Located in town, it was quiet, yet close to everything. The gardens, yoga, friendly staff, and community kitchen were just perfect. It was just the right blend of service and privacy. I had a really bad case of laryngitis when I was there and Vera, the owner made me a nice drink of brandy and honey. That's what I call personal service.
Rafting the Pacuare was wonderful. We had actually requested the Reventazon, but wound up on the Pacuare. I was worried about my back, but it wasgreat and I would recommend it to anyone who is afraid it might be to much for them. Don't miss out!
One last thing. We had heard several horror stories about robberies while traveling in Costa Rica. Our total experience was that Costa Rica is a beautiful country with beautiful people. I left my camera behind at one of our stops. When I realized it was missing several hours later, the restaurant where we were eating helped us locate the correct number and made the call for us. When I got there, the people behind the desk had held it for me. So much for the horror stories. There are more good people inthe world than bad. Pure Vida! Show less

Nina from Gecko Trail Adventures     August 01, 2010

Thanks Dennis and Rona for your comments. We appreciate you letting us know about your problems at Caribe Town and we apologize for your troubles. Since this event, the ownership has indeed changed. I have met the new owners and toured the property and I feel very confident now in recommending Caribe Town to our clients. The new owners Jessica and Kyle have done a great renovation of the property and everything looks fresh and inviting now! And the feedback we've gotten since the change is 100% positive. Show less

Jill Fish from Santa Clarita, CA     January 17, 2010

We booked our Exploradora trip thru Gecko Trail Adventures. We were upgraded to a harder and longer trip at no extra charge. One of our most fun experiences. Despite a problem with Paypal, Grecko took care of making it right. We would definitly use them to book future trips. Show less

Bethany from Augusta, GA     January 17, 2010

Maythe was wonderful from beginning to end. She set up all of our tours, transportation to/from San Jose to Puerto Viejo and the hotel stays the night we flew in and the night before we flew back.
The prices on the tours were more then reasonable and everything we did was a blast. She even helped accommodate a last minute surfing lesson.
I would, and do, highly recommend both Maythe and Gecko Trail Adventures to anyone wanting to do anything or stay anywhere in Costa Rica.
Thanks for everything Maythe! Hope we get to cross paths again sometime in the future. Show less

glenda smelt from Thunder Bay, Canada     January 17, 2010

We were in Costa Rica for 9 days in December. Our trip was awesome. We did several adventures, and all were excellent, even though the zip-lining scared the ---- out of me. Our favourite was the white-water rafting, somehting neither of us had ever done. I was a bit nervous, but the confidence and humour of the guide on the raft made the entire 4 hours very fun.
Every guide was friendly and helpful, and encouraging and comical. We found all the guides knowledgable about the country and very proud to teach about it.
Every pick-up was on time, which was very comforting when you are in another Show more country and there is somewhat of a language barrier.
We were disappointed in having to cancel the snorkelling due to unsafe water conditions, but we much enjoyed the kayak/hiking trip that replaced it.
We Thank you Yetty for setting it all up, and for recommending the hotels in San Jose, and for your guidance in how to get a taxi from the airport to the Adventure Inn. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.
We have already recommended you guys to several friends, and so hopefully you will see some more folks from here in the great white north of Thunder Bay soon.
Thanx again....
glenda smelt Show less

Charles Sanders from Palm Desert, California     January 17, 2010

Gecko Trail Adventures

We want to thank you for setting up our Wet & Wild November, 2009 vacation. Maythe did a great job with the arrangements and kept us fully informed from start to finish. She provide the personal touch that is often missing in vacation planning.

The Pacuare River rafting trip was personally challenging, the zip line canopy tour was exciting and physically exhausting, but worth every minute! The trip to Tortuguero National Park was filled with wildlife, and the rain forest and sea turtle preserve were awe inspiring!

Our lodging at Casa 69 in San Jose, at Azania Bungalows in Puerto Viejo, and the Lodge at Tortuguero all met our expectations for excellence and great service.

Thank you for making our first Costa Rica vacation a memorable one. We will definitely be back. Show less

Annika Anderson from New York     November 30, 2009

Hello again,

I am now home from my trip to Costa Rica and I wanted to say thanks for all your help planning my transportation in Costa Rica. Thank you for answering all of my many questions and I will definitely recommend your company to my friends and family when they come to Costa Rica.

Thanks, Annika Anderson from New York Show less

Annette L Smith     November 12, 2009

Maythe, helped me personalize my trip and changed my itinerary multiple times without any problems. I had been looking for a very specific itinerary and what would have cost me close to $4000 cost me less than a third going through Gecko Trail Adventures.
I was amazed at how all the transport appeared on time without any hitches. I would not hesitate to use Gecko again and I would recommend them to anyone.
Recommended trips:
Sky Tram Arenal/Zipo Lining
Pacuare River Rafting
Desafio Canyoneering
Zip Lining Caribbean
Jaguar Sanctuary Caribbean
Tortuguero
Tabacon Hot Springs was fabulous for the evening and staying at Banana Azul was so relaxing after alot of active trips and tours. I loved Costa Rica and Maythe made it so easy for me to enjoy the country and I would go back in a second and will be using Gecko again to help me find my way around. Thank you so much. Show less

Beth from San Francisco, USA     November 02, 2009

Nina booked a 10 day trip for our party of 6 in August 2009 and she ROCKS! Gecko was wonderful. She had lots of suggestions and took our feedback about what we wanted (cheaper accomodations, surfing, etc.) and made it all work. Her knowledge of the county and what there was to do was great. Favs would be Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo, such a wonderful, laid back and beautiful place! LOVED Tabacon Hot Springs... expensive but worth it. Costa Rica -- Pura Vida! Show less

Paddy and Kevin from Vancouver, Canada     October 31, 2009

We had an itinerary booked for us by Gecko trail (in April of this year). Our trip was similar to the package here.
The Tabacon Hot Springs are absolutely amazing.
We did the horseback ride up to the waterfall in La Fortuna, and would highly recommend it.
We opted for a TWO day rafting trip which included an overnight in a very remote site (with sleeping huts).
Our last several days were spent at Banana Azul....loved the atmosphere there. Very warm and laid back.
At first we weren't sure about not Show more having a car for the two weeks, but the transportation worked out well (flawlessly) and a car would have been inconvenient. All our transportation showed up on time and knew exactly where we we supposed to go, taking us door to door.

This was the best and easiest trip we have ever done. It was so nice to have Gecko trails work out ALL the details so we just had to show up at the airport! Show less

Beth Villegas from Orange County, CA     September 29, 2009

This was our second time to use Gecko Trail Adventures for transportation to and from the airport to Cahuita. We couldn't have asked for better service. Maythe answered all of my e-mails promptly and Jeremy was a courteous and knowlegable driver, pointing out places of interest as he drove. We will definitely use Gecko Trail Adventures again, and will recommend them highly to family and friends. Show less

Stephanie and Eric from Long Island, NY     September 21, 2009

Thanks to the Gecko Trail Adventures crew, my boyfriend and I had an AMAZING trip to Costa Rica. We stayed at Azania Bungalows and were very pleased. We loved the privacy of the bungalows other hotels didn't have. Each bungalow had their own hammock which was my boyfriend's favorite part! The tour guides were always on time for our pick ups. All the tours were everything I imagined and more! We went on the volcano tour and were able to see and hear lava rocks coming down the Arenal Volcano. We went with Tabacon Hot Springs, its totally worth the extra bucks. The horseback ride to a waterfall tour was lots of fun. It was about a 40 minute horseback ride followed by a small hike through the forest to get to the waterfall. The zipline tour was absolutely breathtaking.I highly recommend organizing tours with Gecko Trails. They just made planning our trip so easy! On our next trip to Costa Rica, we will be calling Gecko Trails Adventures. Thanks again! Show less

David + Mary W. and Friends from San Diego, CA     September 21, 2009

We used Gecko Trails to book our river rafting tour, trip to Tortuguero and hotel in San Jose. They were efficient and very easy to work with. All our trips and accomodations were very nice. We did river rafting on the Pacuare a few years back through Rios Tropicales --we contacted them for river rafting on this last trip but they never returned emails...bad service and I would never use Rios Tropicales again. So we got in touch with Gecko Trails and they took care of everything and it did not cost us anymore than what was published on the river rafting outfit company's website...I forgot the outfitter's name but its supposedly the best one in the country. Overall, we were very satisfied with Gecko Trail Adventures' service and we would use them again and have already recommended them to our family and friends. Show less

Susan Seeley from Piedmont, California USA     September 16, 2009

Gecko Trail Adventures was a great choice for us older folks. They were prompt and the arrangements were terrific. We especially enjoyed the hotel in Monteverde. The tours and the guides were all very knowledgable and excellent. We managed to do Hanging Bridges and loved the river rafting. Thanks for making the trip fun. We would not choose Bannana Azul again but were happy at Caribe Blue! Show less

Nassim, Stephanie, & Kristi from Los Angeles, CA     August 17, 2009

We recently spent a week in Costa Rica and had a wonderful experience. Kikki was so helpful with creating an itinerary for us and answering all my questions. We went rafting, hiking, ziplining, horseback riding, and on ATVs. It was definitely a fun and worthwhile experience and Gecko Adventures did a great job in helping us with all our tours and accommodations. Show less

Andrew & Octavio from Ft Lauderdale     August 17, 2009

We had such an amazing trip to Costa Rica this month. Maythe and the team at Gecko Tours took care of all the arrangements and tours for us. It was so easy and non stressful. Everything went off without one hitch. Costa Ricans are an extremely punctual group. They arrived for all our tours exactly when they said they would. Changes were easy before we left the states. White water rafting on the Pacure is a must with Exploradora tours. Ask for Ricky Bobby as your rafting guide. All the tours were excellently staffed and we just can't say enough good things about our trip. We can't wait to go back. We highly recommend Gecko Tours to help plan one of your most amazing vacations. If you are adventurous type, book the Full Day Jungle adventure. It is for the extreme outdoors person. Lots of fun and very exhillerating. Have fun... Drew & Octavio Show less

Julie, Jenny & Chris from Ft Calhoun, NE, USA     August 13, 2009

Can't say enough good things about all the wonderful arrangements that Gecko Tours (and particularly Kikki) did for us. We were very impressed with the top quality of all the tours and the lodging accomodations were great. The Costa Rica people really know tourism and we felt we got a fantastic deal for our vacation dollars. Thank you Gecko! Show less

Clare from Brooklyn, NY     August 12, 2009

Thanks to the Gecko team for ensuring our trip was packed (and I mean Packed!) with memorable activities from start to finish. Our itinerary was complex and we couldn't have managed the logistics without Nina's help. I often book my excursions through tour operators on my trips, but the personalized service and follow up with gecko are unsurpassed. Show less

Emily Donelan from Ramsey, NJ USA     July 20, 2009

Thank you so much for an amazing trip. Everything went exactly as planned. I was very nervous about everything working out but things just seemed to fall into place. Everyone showed up on time, we were picked up and dropped off exactly where we wanted. And Maythe, thank you especially for being so helpful and responding to my emails so quickly. You made everything easier, especially when our plans were so up in the air for a while. Thanks Gecko!!! Show less

Bethany from Augusta, GA     July 16, 2009

I just wanted to say thanks from the bottom of my heart. Maythe has been nothing less then amazing from the very first email. She has been there to offer tour suggestions, hotels, and general advice whenever requested. She has really gone above and beyond.
Now I just need to get there to enjoy the fun!!!
Thanks guys!! Show less

Megan, Dan, Ryan, Kate from PA     July 06, 2009

I can't even begin to describe how amazing our time in Costa Rica was...and it would not have been half as great if it weren't for Nina and Gecko Trail Adventures. Everything was like clockwork and all the hotels we stayed in were beyond awesome. I can't say enough about the team at Gecko Trail. Don't Costa Rica without them! :) Show less

Charlene & Owen from Dublin, Ireland     July 04, 2009

We used Gecko Trail Adventures to book a whitewater rafting trip including transport from San Jose to Puerto Viejo the day before travel - so impressed we went on to stay with them at their wonderful hotel in Puerto Viejo (Banana Azul) and book two more excellent trips with them (sloth sanctuary and Tortuguero). Highly recommended, fantastic staff! Show less

Rachael from Baltimore, MD     July 03, 2009

My new husband and I used Gecko Trails to book excursions for our Honeymoon in June. Nina was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable in helping us book everything we needed. All the companies we went with for excursions were professional and safe, not to mention a blast! Our favorite was the Canopy Ziplining tour, the guides were so friendly and fun. We highly recomend using this company, you will not be dissapointed! Show less

Rickey Broussard from Ingleside TX     July 03, 2009

My second trip to Costa Rica was better than the first. I stayed at Banana Azul again and Colin and Roberto were welcoming us home. Nina, our tour operator with Gecko Trail was fantastic this year just as she was last year. I will be back within the next year to spend my time in Peurto Viejo. Show less

Clark from Ogden, Utah     July 03, 2009

My family used Gecko Trails for our trip in June of 2009. One of the places we were staying cancelled on us last minute and we really had to scramble to change our tour pick ups and drop offs. They did not miss a beat. Very helpful and kind. I have nothing but praise for Gecko Trails. Thanks for a great time! Show less

Amanda Casali from Buffalo, NY     June 18, 2009

I used Gecko Trail Adventures for my trip in late May 2009. The trip was flawless! Every pick up was on time, every guide was amazingly nice and every adventure was awesome! Worth Every penny and more! I went with my husband and his family and everyone was extremely nice to us! I would recommend them to anyone who is going to CR! Pura Vida! Show less

Tara Grieb-Reid     June 16, 2009

Just wanted to drop you a line to say "Thank You" for all you did to set-up our transportation from the airport when we arrived and the flawless trip up to the Arenal area with this trip. It was a great experience I only regret I did not have more time up in La Fortuna. Thank you again for making all the arrangements, I will certainly recommend your company to all that plan a
trip to Costa Rica. Show less

Chris and Elliot from Boston, USA     June 12, 2009

Gecko Trail Adventures was a godsend! We wanted to stay at Banana Azul and they directed me to Nina for our travel and tour needs. She booked everything for us from Arenal to Puerto Viejo. Everything worked out well and, amazingly, every Interbus shuttle was on time to get us. We wanted this to be a relaxing vacation where we didn't have to figure out every detail on our own and it was that. Nina was knowledgeable and able to remedy any issue. We won't plan another trip to CR without her! Show less

Diane Duff     June 11, 2009

Katia, Kikki, Maythe and Nina:
Thank you for your follow-up note. I can’t tell you how much fun we had on our Costa Rica trip. All of the activities and hotels your team put together were wonderful, scheduled perfectly, nicely located, etc. The Tabacon Spa was a special treat. The food everywhere was terrific. I particularly want to note how impressed I was with the safety consciousness of the adventure activities—zip line, white water rafting especially. I felt like I was truly in the hands of professionals. Thanks for all of your efforts, and I hope to visit your lovely country again. Show less

Tina & Dennis from Austin, TX     June 11, 2009

I found out about Gecko Trail Adventures through a link on Banana Azul's website. Once the decision was made to stay at Banana Azul, it was with pure relief and excitement that we learned about Gecko Trail Adventures. I worked very closely with Nina to book the Romance & Adventure package with two extra nights in San Jose (Casa 69: Two thumbs up). I agree with everyone else's reviews: the scheduling, personal attention, and drive to satisfy are unparalled. The partnerships that Gecko Trail has built with all of the participating hospitality companies is amazing. I felt like a princess the entire time! My ONLY Show more (mild) complaint was with the "Romantic Dinner for Two." I wasn't 100% happy with the dinner, but I feel I might be alone on this, as I can see that El Loco Natural is a very popular dinner destination in Puerto Viejo.
A huge thank you to Nina and everyone at Gecko Trail for orchestrating a perfect symphony of romance and adventure (hence the aptly named vacation package)for an unforgettable trip to the most beautiful place in the world! Show less

Kele & Matt from Santa Monica, USA     June 09, 2009

Gecko Trail Adventures organized a wonderful vacation for my boyfriend and I. Everything was organized and on time - we never had to worry about any of our plans so the entire vacation was stress-free! Maythe was especially wonderful and I owe the return of my digital camera to her (for her unlimited kindness and patience). I strongly recommend booking your Costa Rican Adventure through this fantastic company. Show less

Lucy & Rosie from Pasadena, CA     June 08, 2009

Just took a trip to Costa Rica, it was so pleasant to have Mayte with Gecko Trail Adventures book the whole trip. Everyday was action packed and worth the physical exhaustion. We white water rafted, hiked, zip lined and went horseback riding! All in 4 1/2 days! Next time i will be sure to make it at least 1 week and allow for some down time in between. Pura Vida! Show less

Laia from Spain     June 05, 2009

We just came back from Costa Rica and we had a really really nice time touring the Caribbean side of the country. We booked a two days tour to Tortuguero with Maythe from gecko trails that we enjoyed a lot. The guides were really knowledgeable and experienced and we learned and enjoyed a lot. We got Maythe’s help in every moment explaining in detailed all the tour and answering very nicely and fast silly questions like how is the weather in there and which clothes should we bring. We really appreciate her help along the way. I strongly recommend a visit to Costa Rica. One of the best trips I’ve ever made. Show less

margaret from Raleigh, NC, USA     April 27, 2009

My friend and I had a little bit of a stutter getting down to Costa Rica, but Nina was there every step of the way and put together a wonderful vacation for us.

On our 2 nights in San Jose, we stayed with Kurt at Casa 69, and it was absolutely wonderful - a relaxing and comfortable oasis in the middle of the city. His hospitality is outstanding, and you cannot go wrong staying there. We cannot wait to see Kurt again on our next trip there.

While in Puerto Viejo, we were fortunate enough to stay at Casa Las Brisas with the wonderful Michel. Staying at Las Brisas was like spending the week Show more with a good friend, comfortable and warm. We miss you, Michel!!

The tours we booked were: Rafting, Canopy/Zipline, and Snorkel and Hike in Cahuita Nat'l Park. On our free days, Nina helped us arrange trips to the BriBri Chocolate Lady and La Casa de Serpiente, where we held the most precious baby sloth!

My only regret is that we did not do the 2-day rafting trip; something we will correct next time.

I cannot say enough about Nina - She is so knowledgeable and knows exactly what will make your vacation to Costa Rica all it can be. We enjoyed working with her as well as beingable to put a face to the name when we arrived. You made our trip so special and are a big part of why we felt so comfortable and fell in love with Costa Rica. Thank you for everything you did for and with us. We cannot wait to see you again next year! Show less

Tracy from Raleigh, NC     April 07, 2009

A friend and I visited Costa Rica back in mid-March and we had an amazing time. Nina did an exceptional job at organizing and planning everything for us so we were able to just sit back and enjoy. She handled everything from room accomodations, transportation, and tours.

Our stays at Casa 69 and Las Brisas were OUTSTANDING! The hospitality we received from both Kurt and Michel were some of the best we've ever had. I would highly recommend both B&B's.

The tours we did were: Rafting, Canopy/Zipline, and Snorkel and Hike in Cahuita Nat'l Park. Nina also led us to the Chocolate Lady Show more and La Casa de Serpiente. The Rafting was by far our favorite: exciting, thrilling, and the guides were wonderful, funny, and outgoing. The only downside was we wish we did the 2 day trip. Rafting is a must! The canopy tour was also a ton of fun and again the guides play a huge role in this. The views and adventure were breathtaking. The snorkel/hike was also nice but I definitely preferred the hike over the snorkel - the water is a bit silty. The Chocolate Lady (Petronila) was really interesting and it was so nice to learn about the BriBri history and get to taste some amazing chocolate. Finally La Casa deSerpiente was a ton of fun. Where else can you get up close and personal with monkeys, sloths, and ocelots. Being the animal lover I am I was in heaven.

Thank you Nina for helping to make this such a memorable trip. Your professionalism and guidance are truly appreciated. Nina is a wealth of knowledge and I have already been recommending her to family and friends back here in the states. When we return to Costa Rica we will definitely look to Nina to help us plan our adventures! Show less

Banu Syvertsen & Roy Thorvaldsen from Norfolk, Virginia     April 03, 2009

We just returned from Costa Rica and I wanted to give you feedback and thank you for a good job. Tusen takk, Tesekkur ederiz and Merci! all of them for you Nina!
The country is very beautiful and we are hapy that we had the chance of checking out most of its beauties. People were kind and eager to communicate and understand the French words I used instead of Spanish! .. We did not have any problems of what so ever.. Connections and people who received us or gave us to the other tour operator was smooth/good.

Most liked:
1-Totugero and Evergreens' cabins and Jungle Tom as guide are top of Show more the list
2-Fortuna, Arenal beautiful and relaxed atmosphere, nice small "city", a good serious young guy as our guide (don't know the name) He was very conscious about ecology and volcano & very knowledgable...
2 again-Banan Azul and Casa 69 and their owners, beautiful, beautiful places and geniously good people as their owners. Real gems.
3-Rafting team. Those boys, Exploradores were good organized, had humor and good skills. I was impressed how they dashed out lunch for 80 people in 15 minutes. Bravo!
4-Riding and hiking to waterfalls was a good day too. But riding guide (and a guidenamed Laura who did the first part of Tortugero) were hmmmmmmm.. a bit.... hmmm unmatured... yet... They need to develop in order to put the visitor to the first and not so self centered. Not bad at all but needs improvement.
5-Jacko Beach, touristy, nothing to write home about... But we had very good people at the Hotel Canciones del Mare which made the place loveable..
6-Casa Rio Blanco. I know that it was a last minute solution and we did not spend more time than sleeping there, people who own it were interesting to talk and nice to know but the cabin we stayed was a bit too rustic for me.

That's all I can come up right now Nina. We must thank you once more to arrange this for us.

With our best wishes
Banu G. Syvertsen and Roy Thorvaldsen Show less

Amanda and Darren from New York, NY     March 31, 2009

Gecko Trails and Nina truly made a wonderful experience for us form start to finish. We did the Wet n Wild tour, stayed at the fab Banana Azul, transportation was imeccable, great service, nice people. Thanks!!!! Show less

Jesse and Michaela from Boston, Mass     March 30, 2009

Spending two weeks in Costa Rica was breathtaking, but the trip was totally stress-free thanks to Nina with Gecko Trail Adventures. We didn't have to worry about booking any of our hotels or transportation and on top of that we got to enjoy several really cool tours! It took any and all anxiety out of vacation planning and allowed us to truly relax. Thanks! Show less

Jessica and Josh from montana     March 30, 2009

We spent 2 weeks in CR. our 5 days at banana azul were great. Nina at Gecko Trails set everything up for us from san jose to the caribean to tortuguero and then on to la fortuna. Everything was PERFECT shuttles were always right on time and really nice. Our favorite part was the OVERNIGHT white water rafting trip that NINA set up for us.

just be careful of the rip tides

truly professional service Show less

Claire and Alan from France and Scotland     March 11, 2009

After spending a wonderful two weeks trip to Costa Rica and in the particularly wonderul stay at Banana Azul, we booked a package to the National parc of Tortuguero. It was fantastic and the best place in the whole country to spot wildlife !! We saw crocodiles, caymans, turtles, sloths, monkeys... and the hotel was very good as well, with a great swimming pool :) Show less

Emily and Colin from New York     February 23, 2009

We just got back last night from CR and we had a wonderful time. We used Gecko Trail Adventures to plan our trip and all their arrangements went like clockwork and the guides/drivers were great, especially Ivan on the rafting. We did the canopy ride in Monte Verde, by the way. Well worth the extra. As you know, the weather wasn't exactly dry for our last days in P Viejo/Cocles, but hey we caught up on our naps and still got to wander around. Show less

Tey from Florida     March 07, 2009

Maythe, as well as the rest of Gecko Trail staff, were nothing short of wonderful and helpful during the whole booking process and helping me find the trips/itinerary which I was exactly looking for. I will certainly be recommending them to anyone I know who is interested in taking a vacation to Costa Rica. Show less

Claudia Pettersson from Suecia     January 21, 2012

Desde Suecia estabamos plnificando nuestro viaje somos 16 personas toda la grande familia y necesitabamos una agencia que nos ayudara con esto,encontramos a Gecko y decidimos de contratarlos,me contacte con Mauricio mi salvador durante todos esos meses de planear hoteles,transportes,tours y todo lo que significa de hacer un viaje tan lejos y para tanta gente!pero todo salio genial y fue un viaje lleno de muchos lindos recuerdos gracias por la ayuda de Gecko y Mauricio todo congino estupendo y todos los transportes fueron muy puntuales,gracias a toda la gente costariquense tuvimos unas vacaciones inolvidables!!!!de todo el grupo sueco un millon de gracias!!! Show less

Silvana Lewis from Frauenfeld, Schweiz     October 09, 2011

Wir waren Juli/August in Puerto Viejo und haben alles was wir unternehmen wollten und auch unsere Unterkunft über Gecko Trail Adventures gebucht!
Alles hat reibungslos geklappt, wir mussten uns um nichts kümmern! Der Abholdienst vom Flughafen hat geklappt, das Hotel war in San José für die erste Nacht gebucht Die Touren waren allesamt der Hammer, die Empfehlungen des Teams trafen voll ins Schwarze! Das Team ist sehr kompetent, zuvorkommend und freundlich! Sehr empfehlenswert!!!! Show less

Sylvia from Switzerland     October 08, 2011

Mein Gottenkind (17) und ich (44) haben dank Gecko Trail unvergessliche Ferien in Costa Rica verbracht (April/Mai 2011). Durch Zufall stiess ich auf diesen Anbieter und nahm mit Nina Kontakt auf. Sie ging super auf unsere Wünsche ein und hat uns eine tolle Route zusammen gestellt. So verbrachten wir einige Tage an der Karibikküste, besuchten Tortuguero, einen sehenswerten NP, danach La Fortuna mit dem Arenal, die Tabacon Hot Springs (sehr erholsam), hatten Action beim River Rafting auf dem Rio Balsa, gingen in Monteverde reiten und sausten dort auch noch über die Baumwipfel. Zu guter Letzt erholten wir uns noch ein Show more paar Tage an der Pazifikküste. So gingen die 17 Tage leider viel zu schnell vorbei. Alle Transporte mit Interbus und all die Aktivitäten mit diversen Anbietern haben sehr gut geklappt. So war zwar alles organisiert, aber wir hatten trotzdem noch eine gewisse Freiheit, was wir schätzten. Zudem war das Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis hervorragend. Fazit: ich kann euch Gecko Trail nur empfehlen und würde wieder mit ihnen reisen! Show less

Zaida Guevara     September 23, 2011

Hola!

El servicio proporcionado por su agencia, fue muy bueno, en un principio tuvimos un poco de dudas ya que cambiamos fechas y actividades pero con la información que nos enviaron, todo salió de maravilla

Yo trabajo para una aerolínea y realmente quede muy contenta con el servicio al cliente proporcionado. Además he escrito un artículo para la revista de la oficina, con todas las actividades que realizamos, y por mi parte están totalmente recomendados.

Muchas gracias, por la experiencia. Y espero en un futuro regresar a CR y poder contactarlos.

Saludos, Zaida Show less

Carina Borchert     May 02, 2011

Liebe Anja,
Costa Rica war super!! Ich muss zugeben, ich war schon ein bisschen nervös, als ich in Quepos auf den Grayline-Bus gewartet habe - aber es hat alles wunderbar geklappt. Die Fahrer waren alle überpünktlich und sehr hilfsbereit, besonders die von Sky-Trek und von Exploradores. Das Cloud Forest Reserve war spannend, und den freien Nachmittag am ersten Tag habe ich genutzt, um die Ranaria in St. Elena anzuschauen. Hat sich gelohnt, besonders auch für Familien mit Kindern zu empfehlen. Das Hotel war gemütlich. In Arenal habe ich genossen, dass das Hotel so mitten im Zentrum war, es gab allerdings ein Show more kleines Ameisenproblem - hat mich jetzt nicht so sehr gestört, aber das würden einige Leute anders sehen, denke ich. Die Canopy Tour war unglaublich, und die Leute so professionell, dass ich mich von Anfang an sicher gefühlt habe. Am Nachmittag wurde es leider sehr heiß, was für die Hot Springs nicht so passend ist - vielleicht eher eine Aktivität für abends. Das Essen da war aber sehr gut, besonders der Nachtisch...
Am dritten Tag dann die Rafting-Tour, ich war sehr beeindruckt. Hätte mir das nicht so aufregend vorgestellt, und gleichzeitig gab es dann immer wieder schöne ruhige Stellen...danke, dass du michdazu "überredet" hast!! Brillenträger sollten allerdings unbedingt Kontaktlinsen tragen... ;)
Das Casa 69 fand ich von den drei Hotels am schönsten, die Zimmer sind sehr liebevoll und individuell eingerichtet. Morgens hat mich Manuel abgeholt, pünktlich wie ich das schon gewohnt war, und am Flughafen hatte ich deswegen überhaupt keinen Stress.
Also - ich hatte vier perfekte Tage, GANZ VIELEN DANK!! Du wirst bestimmt nochmal von mir hören...ich will diese perfekten Tage wiederholen! ;) Show less

Inge     February 26, 2011

Hat alles super geklappt und ich hatte 3 schöne und abwechslungsreiche wochen in costa rica!! besonders in herz geschlossen habe ich manuel, den taxifahrer! absolut nett und zuverlässig!! hat am abend vor meinem frühen abflug sogar angerufen und war morgens schon 15 minuten vor der eigentlichen zeit da!
puerto viejo fand ich total klasse !! hab mir 2mal ein rad gemietet und bin bis kurz vor manzanillo gefahren!! war an den stränden und habe faultiere , brüllaffen und iguanas gesehen!! mit dem bus war ich im cahuita nationalpark und in gandocca habe ich mich einer kleinen gruppe angeschlossen und eine tour Show more gemacht!

alle interbusverbindungen haben reibungslos geklappt und machmal war die fahrt schon wie eine " ausflug " -- die fahrer waren sehr freundlich und sind bis auf die letzte fahrt von samara nach san jose perfekt gefahren!!
sehr gut gefallen haben mir das casa 69!!-- das hotel san bosco!! und die palm lodge!! das guarana fand ich nicht so doll-- ist aber meine persönliches empfinden! Show less

Alejandro Barrozo from Ushuaia , Argentina     April 11, 2010

Hola Maythe:

Ya he regresado a mi ciudad (Ushuaia en Argentina) y te escribo para agradecerte por el fantástico viaje que he realizado. Todo ha sido perfecto (la puntualidad de los transfers y tours, la atención y hospitalidad en los lugares en que me alojé, la calidad de las comidas, etc.), mejor aún de lo que podría haber soñado previamente. Tan bueno ha sido todo que en mis tours de pesca, cuyo servicio no fue contratado con ustedes, no pesqué nada ¡y no me importa!. Te cuento que pude ver el volcán Arenal despejado ¡¡¡desde la ventana de la habitación que me habías seleccionado en el Observatory Show more Lodge!!!. También vi muchos animales y disfruté de las fantásticas playas de Manuel Antonio y Tamarindo.

He encontrado su empresa en el facebook y me agregaré a sus contactos, y con tiempo en las semanas siguientes comenzaré a subir mis fotos.

Espero volver algún día (no muy lejano) con mi esposa y familia.

Gracias!!!!!! He tenido una gran dosis de PURA VIDA.

Alejandro. Show less

Familie Müller und Ludewig from Germany     April 11, 2010

Wir möchten uns ganz herzlich für den tollen Urlaub bedanken, den wir in der Zeit vom 16.-30.3.2010 in Costa Rica verbringen konnten. Die atemberaubenden Naturerlebnisse und die außergewöhnlichen Touren(Canopy; Rafting..)werden uns lange in Erinnerung bleiben. Die Auswahl der Hotels und Lodges, die Tourenplanung und Organisation ließ keine Wünsche offen. Dass dieser erlebnissreiche Urlaub auch Raum ließ für Erholung und Entspanung ist der durchdachten Planung und Organisation von Gecko Trail Adventures zu verdanken. Danke an alle Beteiligten und weiterhin gue Ideen und zufriedene Kunden ! Show less

Sharon from Switzerland     October 27, 2009

to Nina: es isch so brutal de hammer gsi!!! ich han no nie i so kurzer ziit so viel über es land erfahre und so viel gseh wi in Costa Rica! Mir hend gar nüm wele gah das hend eus den au eusi Körper zrugzahlt...mir sind grad krank worde womer dihei acho sind:-D! du bisch eifach genial!!! Danke danke danke viel viel viel mal!! Mir freued eus dich und din Maa scho bald bi eus ide schwiiz z ha...den zeigemer ihm eusi schöne LIECHT kalte berge:-P

To all Ladies at gecko trail: you're beautiful:-) Show less