Beaches & Rainforest

We had high expectations for this trip and they were surpassed. Our family has traveled to some fun and interesting places. In all of our adventures, nothing stands out like our day hike up the Bananitio River with Justo Lopez. We walked into a primary rainforest and saw a completely different ecosystem than we had ever seen. He showed us edible plants and animals. We handled large spiders. He taught us about the many varieties of birds and trees. We examined various animal tracks. A repel down a waterfall was followed by a traditional Costa Rican picnic that was packed in. What a day! Selva Bananito was the most interesting and unique accommodation we have ever enjoyed. The huts on stilts at Selva Bananito without electricity for accommodations were built with wood from the farm. They are beautiful. Many will not believe the following statement, but it is true. We were on the edge of the jungle. There were not windows or screens. We slept with all of the shutters wide open. There were virtually no bugs bothering us. We came prepared with mosquito nets and Deet. They were returned unopened. The lack of electricity does not allow artificial light or sound. We just listened to the sounds of the jungle. More than once we giggled with glee.

We enjoyed all of the accomodations, I would say upgrading to the Xandari for our first day was AMAZING, made our arrival so nice. I can't say enough about Selva Bananito, delicious food and the staff there are wonderful! We really enjoyed each place as we met so many wonderful people and we really like that fact that each place was our own little bungalow in paradise. From Xandari, to the Arenal, Selva Bananito and then on to Puerto Viejo, we enjoyed everything. We did so much and enjoyed the weather, can't say enough about this tour, it was awesome! Our tour was better than we expected, we were a little concerned about being stuck in a group, and we weren't, we really got to do a lot on our own and private tours were amazing. This was an amazing first trip to Costa Rica! Riding bikes in Puerto Viejo and then over to Punta Uva and Manzanillo - beautiful and we loved it! Imperial - la cerveza de Costa Rica - YUM Selva Bananito food - perfect!! transfers, often private and always friendly! Pura Vida - really the way of all the Ticos, we will return to Costa Rica and hope that our next trip there is as great as this one was!! Everything was smooth, Marisa and Ashley took good care of us and making sure we were all set. Thank you!!

We were very impressed about the set-up of the whole trip, everything was arranged and worked out without any hick-ups! Some of the transports were quite astonishing: a car waiting for us in some rainforest village as we were dropped off by another van. When we were told we were going to be picked up at 6:05 it really was 6:05. Very impressive. The rainforest and the white water rafting were our favorits, the guides were loaded with information. Safety was their main concern, which we really appreciated. Great people!!! Excellent sources of information, very personable, very reliable! We would for sure use Adventure Life's services again!

We had a wonderful trip! I'd never been to Costa Rica before, and was skeptical that the country would live up to all the hype. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about it. To my delight, our trip lived up to it all! It's a beautiful country, we had many wonderful adventures, and Adventure Life found us unique and delightful places to stay with knowledgeable, competent guides. Thanks for a great experience!