Steve’s 9 day adventure in Costa Rica & Panama, including rafting on the Pacuare River, Selva Bananito Lodge, Tranquilo Bay, the Panama Canal, jungle hikes, bird watching, sea kayaking, beaches, and a bat cave!
Flight from Boston, MA (USA) to San Jose, Costa Rica
Mar 10, 2009
A room with a view at Selva Bananito Lodge! (Stephen Smith)Craig was kind enough to wake up ridiculously early to drive me to the airport at 4:00am. My 6:50am Miami flight was on time, and I got to Costa Rica’s San Jose Airport at 1:30pm as expected. Went through customs, exited the airport onto the hot sidewalk and nearly went with the wrong driver. He was holding a sign with my last name and "Esteban" as the first name, which is Spanish for Stephen. But I quickly saw an Adventure Life sign with my name on it, and fixed the situation. On the way to the Hotel Le Bergerac, the taxi got a flat. I sat in the car while he fixed it (he insisted).
The hotel was simple but nice, with a bed, TV, desk, and nice bathroom with double sinks and a nice shower. The room had a door to a semi-private outdoor sitting area with a table and chairs. All the rooms backed up to this shared space, but tall bushes gave each room a private feel. After checking in and making a 6:00pm reservation at the on site French Restaurant, I read my book (Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer) outside in the courtyard until dinner.
At dinner I had the local beer Imperial, beef tenderloin with mushrooms, scalloped potatoes, and broccoli. Requested a 5:00am wakeup call with 5:30am coffee at my room. I got to bed early, around 10pm.
Creating a checklist was very beneficial and meeting objectives on certain dates helped as well (to keep my trip organized). The Adventure Travel personnel helped keep me on track which is why my trip was so successful. Communication from both travel agencies (AT/MT) was vital.
Iziah Carthens
4 days ago
This is an amazing company to work with. I generally do not use tour companies as I am more of an independent traveller so I was slightly reticent. They were fantastic from the start - 10/10 - from lining up a phone call to discuss requirements, then their ongoing communication in the lead up to the tour and during it (thank you, Franny and Phen). They also explored cost-effective options (eg group transfers). The tour was in Patagonia so Adventure Life organised a pickup from the El Calafate airport to the El Chalten accommodation, two day hikes with a private guide and then to the El Calafate accommodation. A tour coordinator came to the hotel to explain, using the maps, what was involved in each day tour and what should be expected, and patiently answered all questions. The tour guide Marcos was excellent - very professional, knowledgable, communicative and at all times felt very safe with his navigational skills (important in the Patagonian wilderness). On the second day I forgot to take hiking poles so Marcos kindly gave me his. I honestly wouldn't have changed a thing and would happily recommend and book through them again.
Petrina Sta
6 days ago
Adventure Life has been great throughout my planning process for our up and coming Galapagos cruise. Kevin Moore, in particular, was very helpful in assisting me in making choices and providing me with options. He was also very patient, as I worked through figuring out what I really wanted in this vacation.
Lucy Greenway
6 days ago
Adventure Life was a pleasure to work with. They helped us find different options for our charter and answered a lot of questions with patience and clarity.
Brooke Hopper
1 week ago
Excellent service, great hotels and well organized excursions with expert guides! Highly recommended!
