This is a fantastic tour that combines exciting activites with cultural experiences.
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High adventure experience for students and adults alike!
I have struggled with how to rate this EF Tours experience. I tend to be verbose, so I'll try to keep it succinct. The local tour guide, Gilbert (Gil) was exceptionally amazing. Gil deserves every accolade and bit of praise for his passion and service he provided as a knowledgeable guide. The bus driver (Toro) was amazing as well. All the excursions we went on were top notch. We stayed busy and had a wonderful whirlwind adventure!! 5 out of 5 stars for the whole experience in the destination (Costa Rica). However, EF Tours sorely lacks in providing care and compassion with the flights to and from the country. EF Tours booked my group with a SEVEN HOUR layover in Dallas on our way to Costa Rica. We traveled from Denver. There are plenty of direct flights from Denver to San Jose, so any layover is wholly unnecessary. Before the trip, after learning about the exorbitant layover, I had a couple of nightmares that EF Tours forgot to book us hotels and other excursions, because that layover felt like they didn't care about us and didn't put in any effort to ensure our entire experience, even the flights, would be comfortable. It had me feeling as if I'd made a terrible mistake and fell for a scam. I was genuinely so disturbed that any tour company would think a seven hour, unnecessary, layover was acceptable. The layover was a nightmare. Seven hours in an airport with several middle school aged children is not something I wish to repeat in my lifetime. I am shocked that EF Tours thought something like that would be appropriate. Anything could have happened to those kids. A direct flight would nearly eliminate any potential liability that EF Tours would face with kids getting lost/hurt/preyed upon while spending a whole day in an airport. Further, while we were scheduled to land at 10:40pm in Costa Rica, there was a delay on our second flight due to weather (not EF Tour's fault) which pushed our arrival to 12:30am. We didn't get to our hotel until about 1:30am after having to get through customs, and we had a 6:00am breakfast the next day. While EF Tours can't control the weather and flight delays, we should have never had such a late flight and long layover to begin with. This set the tone for the whole experience as miserable and exhausted. Our first day in CR we had three activities. We were all beyond tired, but we pushed through. It was just such a shame to start the experience in such a hellish manner. A direct flight from Denver to San Jose is about 5.5 hours. Our journey took us approximately SIXTEEN HOURS to get from Denver to San Jose. That's over three times it should have taken. The return journey back to Denver was similar, but a little more tolerable. We *only* had a three hour layover in Dallas on the way back, but it still resulted in us arriving in Denver at nearly midnight. It was completely unacceptable to book the flights they way they did, and EF Tours should be ashamed. I would rate them 1 out of 5 stars for that alone, but I don't want to discredit how great the whole experience was with the tour guide, driver, and excursions. That's why I choose three out of five stars.
My kids loved their time in Costa Rica. What a great opportunity!
Great tour overall - would like to see more cultural opportunities incorporated into the experience.
The excursions were great. The town of La Fortuna was great. I did not enjoy the town of Liberia; did not feel safe and secure. Recommend moving the last part of the trip to a town closer to the Pacific Ocean rather than Liberia. I would not recommend or do this tour again if it had Liberia as a destination.
Everything was interesting and well planned. I appreciated having a couple of things moved around for ease with our large group. There was a good balance of adventure and education.
Loved the activities, the tour guides and our driver
The experience was absolutely wonderful! Not only did the students learn a tremendous amount, but they also had an incredibly fun time. The food was delicious, and the tour director was super friendly and extremely helpful. Plus, the driver was highly skilled and got us where we needed to go safely and smoothly.
Great trip! Our guide Ollie was amazing! All of the tours and adventures were top notch! The kids had an amazing experience! My only complaint is that the hotels were not the caliber I would book on a trip.
Costa Rica was an amazing experience! I made so many unforgettable memories and made so many new friends! This trip also helped me find who I am as a person and I am so grateful that I got to go on this lifechanging trip!
We were promised Marriott and/or Hilton hotels (or something comparable) and instead got a hotel that had mouse poop on the floor, dead bugs, brown running water, and stains on the bedsheets. I told my daughter not to shower, wear long sleeves and leggings, and zip all her belongings closed so she doesn’t bring anything home.
Will definitely use EF tours again. Looking forward to our next trip!
Fun and safe, It was truly a new and life changing experience.
Such a well-organized and super fun trip!
It was an amazing trip! My 15 year old son had a great time!! So much adventure and activities to do!
The tour was amazing. From the driver to the tour guide to all of the amazing excursions. The hotels we stayed at felt like we were living a true Costa Rican experience. I would highly recommend this tour.
Everything thing was amazing. Wish we had about 1/2 a day at the beach before we had to leave to unwind before we have to travel 1 whole day flying back. As the day we traveled back home we left at 8:30am and we got home at 2:30 am so it was a li g day. So the 1/2 day of free time would have been great
Well-organized, good communication, great accommodations and variety of activities, friendly and competent staff.
This was a very action packed itinerary. Hiking, kayaking, white water rafting, zip lining, chocolate tour, coffee tour, snorkeling, we did it all. Students should be prepared for busy long days that are filled with a variety of fun activities. There was really something for everyone on this trip if students love to get out there and do things. There is still a bit of down time on bus rides and we even had some time to swim at the hotel. Overall, I thought this tour was a lot of fun, we learned a lot about Costa Rica, saw a lot of wildlife, and learned a lot about all the biodiversity. I highly recommend this trip. There was not much cultural engagement on this particular tour so if you are looking for that specifically then perhaps choose another tour.