Published on Aug, 2024
Hi - we had a good experience with Costa Rica Best Trips and Viator. I was a bit nervous as I did not book through a travel agent, and through the Viator site it was a little unclear who my actual vendor was, when I booked. I received messages shortly after my booking with the name of the company, exact pickup and drop off times and communications about the trip itself and any stops we would like to make. We had lots of messages back and forth, and this was very comforting, since I was arriving from out of the country. The trip was also nice as it was a private transfer for a family of 5. Some other companies were charging twice as much for shared shuttles, so this was a blessing to our family. Our driver Daver who picked us up from the airport, was very professional. He kindly stopped at the souvenir shop, so we could get sunscreen, coffee, and water. We took longer than we probably should have, and he was patient as well. Our driver Andres on the way back to the airport from our hotel was truly amazing!!! We had great conversation with him. Also, our flight was delayed by 3 hours, and we just realized and got the message as we were loading the shuttle. Since we had the time, he made extra stops so we could get money "colones" to take home. We hadn't needed any at the resort. He stopped at places he thought we could find exactly what we needed, and he did all of the communications and got us what we wanted. He was also extremely professional!
My only complaint and caution which is not the fault of the shuttle, as we were actually warned by the company not to let anyone handle our bags outside of the airport, but there were a few tricky gentlemen who did manage to help us, despite the fact that we told them we have a driver and do not need help. They pretended to be with our driver and then expected tip money. They were nice, and there were no problems, and we did tip them. Our driver was exactly where we were told he would be and holding a sign with our name on it.
We appreciated the stops at no extra charges, although they also offer longer stops that you can pay for if communicated ahead of time.