Brianne from Chicago, IL had this to say:

"My husband and I booked this tour package for our honeymoon in May and upgraded to the Deluxe package. There were some ups and downs throughout the trip, but overall it was pretty good. Prior to the trip, we tried to get more details- time we would be arriving/leaving each destination, time we would go on our excursions, etc. The Bookit.com representatives, while very friendly, did not have the information we needed. We were not given this information until we arrived at our resort, so it did not allow us to do some additional planning of other excursions. Unfortunate, but it worked out fine. Our trip started off on the wrong foot. Our flight- on TACA- was comfortable, but there was an extra stop in Guatamala City that was not listed on the flight itinerary. I noticed a discrepancy in the flight times, but did not find out we had an additional stop until we were on the plane. Two stops when we were expecting one- definitely annoying. When we finally arrived in San Jose, it took us a little while to find our transportation representation. When we did, she was friendly and guided us to our private transportation to Arenal. The van was very clean and the driver was friendly. While the Liberia airport is closer, I highly recommend flying into San Jose if you are going to Arenal. It was about a 2 hour drive and mostly went thru the Cloud Forest. It was quite an experience. The landscape was beautiful and it was a wonderful introduction to the country. The roads are winding and the drivers drive fast so it is not for those who get motion sickness. We arrived at our resort- Arenal Springs- and were very impressed. The rooms were beautiful split bungalows with very private, covered porches and rocking chairs facing the volcano. The top of the volcano was not visible as it is only visible less than 90 days of the year- mostly in March and April. But it was still stunning. The grounds were amazing with lots of lush vegetation. The food was very delicious and the service was fantastic. We spent the day walking the grounds and going into town. In town, we ate at a restaurant called Nene's, which we highly highly recommend, and spent the night enjoying the rainforest downpours from our covered patio. Definitely one for the books. The next day, we went on the volcano hike and to the hot springs. Both were absolutely amazing. The tour guides were extremely knowledgeable and friendly and the hot springs was absolutely gorgeous. I would rate this excursion a perfect 5 out of 5. Sad to leave Arenal, the next day we departed for Tamarindo in the Guanacaste province. Though we paid for the upgrade to the Deluxe package which stated transportation was 'non-stop with no more than 2 additional stops', we stopped 7 times throughout the trip and were packed in the bus like sardines. It should have take 4 hours, but it ended up taking 6 1/2. When we arrived in Tamarindo, we were a bit surprised at the condition of the town. We weren't expecting anything super developed, but this was much smaller and more run down than anticipated. We were booked at the hotel Tamarindo Diria- the only beachfront resort in Tamarindo. From the looks of the other accommodations, I would not recommend staying anywhere else in Tamarindo. Tamarindo Diria had a beautiful pool and grounds, a beach directly out front, and a nice beachfront bar and restaurant. There were lawn chairs on the beach, but they could only be rented out by the day. It was a nice resort, but was not as impressive as Arenal. We were promptly shown to our room, which was off a dim hallway on the first floor. There was no ocean view or view at all since the only window faced the dim hallway, making it very dreary and sad. We promptly asked for another room and upgraded to an oceanview room for an extra $200. Not an expected expense, but it was worth it. We had a view of the ocean and a nice terrace and the resort employees were quite accommodating to our room change. Our only complaint with the room was the shower. There was barely any water pressure. The water just trickled out and the temperature was difficult to control- sometimes chilly, sometimes scalding. Tamarindo Beach was nice, but far from the nicest beach. The water was cloudy and brown, but was very warm with some waves. The beach was very uncrowded, which was also nice. At times, you felt like you had a private beach. The Bookit planned excursion was pretty good. We went horseback riding, zip-lining, and to hot springs. Again, there were more stops than anticipated on the drive to the excursion destination. The horses looked a bit malnourished, but the ride was beautiful. We even got to run the horses in an open field, which was quite an experience. The zip-lining was fantastic and the set-up was very safe. The hot springs/mud bath was more of a natural setting and not as touristy, which made it a totally different experience than the hot springs in Arenal. I would rate this excursion a 3.5 out of 5. The ride back to the airport was about 3.5 hours. Luckily it was a private van with no stops. Overall we would recommend Costa Rica and definitely Arenal to anybody. That portion of the trip was spectacular. Tamarindo was nice, but did not live up to our expectations. It was not as picturesque as expected, though there were beautiful beaches and other areas surrounding Tamarindo that we saw on our outside booked ATV tour- clear water and white beaches. If you choose this tour package, we would recommend the Deluxe upgrade. While the transportation didn't always live up to the standards, the resorts and rooms were well worth the added charge and the trip in my opinion was a great value and experience for the price."

Posted: Tue, Jun 16, 2009

• Overall Experience:
• Quality:
• Value:
• Cleanliness:
• Staff Efficiency:
• Staff Friendliness:
• Would Return or Recommend:Yes

Brianne from Chicago, IL had this to say:

"My husband and I booked this tour package for our honeymoon in May and upgraded to the Deluxe package. There were some ups and downs throughout the trip, but overall it was pretty good. ''Prior to the trip, we tried to get more details- time we would be arriving/leaving each destination, time we would go on our excursions, etc. The Bookit.com representatives, while very friendly, did not have the information we needed. We were not given this information until we arrived at our resort, so it did not allow us to do some additional planning of other excursions. Unfortunate, but it worked out fine. ''Our trip started off on the wrong foot. Our flight- on TACA- was comfortable, but there was an extra stop in Guatamala City that was not listed on the flight itinerary. I noticed a discrepancy in the flight times, but did not find out we had an additional stop until we were on the plane. Two stops when we were expecting one- definitely annoying. When we finally arrived in San Jose, it took us a little while to find our transportation representation. When we did, she was friendly and guided us to our private transportation to Arenal. The van was very clean and the driver was friendly. While the Liberia airport is closer, I highly recommend flying into San Jose if you are going to Arenal. It was about a 2 hour drive and mostly went thru the Cloud Forest. It was quite an experience. The landscape was beautiful and it was a wonderful introduction to the country. The roads are winding and the drivers drive fast so it is not for those who get motion sickness. ''We arrived at our resort- Arenal Springs- and were very impressed. The rooms were beautiful split bungalows with very private, covered porches and rocking chairs facing the volcano. The top of the volcano was not visible as it is only visible less than 90 days of the year- mostly in March and April. But it was still stunning. The grounds were amazing with lots of lush vegetation. The food was very delicious and the service was fantastic. We spent the day walking the grounds and going into town. In town, we ate at a restaurant called Nene's, which we highly highly recommend and spent the night enjoying the rainforest downpours from our covered patio. Definitely one for the books. ''The next day, we went on the volcano hike and to the hot springs. Both were absolutely amazing. The tour guides were extremely knowledgeable and friendly and the hot springs was absolutely gorgeous. I would rate this excursion a perfect 5 out of 5.''Sad to leave Arenal, the next day we departed for Tamarindo in the Guanacaste province. Though we paid for the upgrade to the Deluxe package which stated transportation was 'non-stop with no more than 2 additional stops', we stopped 7 times throughout the trip and were packed in the bus like sardines. It should have take 4 hours, but it ended up taking 6 1/2. When we arrived in Tamarindo, we were a bit surprised at the condition of the town. We weren't expecting anything super developed, but this was much smaller and more run down than anticipated. We were booked at the hotel Tamarindo Diria- the only beachfront resort in Tamarindo. From the looks of the other accommodations, I would not recommend staying anywhere else in Tamarindo. Tamarindo Diria had a beautiful pool and grounds, a beach directly out front, and a nice beachfront bar and restaurant. There were lawn chairs on the beach, but they could only be rented out by the day. It was a nice resort, but was not as impressive as Arenal.''We were promptly shown to our room, which was off a dim hallway on the first flor. There was no ocean view or view at all since the only window faced the dim hallway, making it very dreary and sad. We promptly asked for another room and upgraded to an oceanview room for an extra $200. Not an expected expense, but it was worth it. We had a view of the ocean and a nice terrace and the resort employees were quite accommodating to our room change. Our only complaint with the room was the shower. There was barely any water pressure. The water just trickled out and the temperature was difficult to control- sometimes chilly, sometimes scalding.''Tamarindo Beach was nice, but far from the nicest beach. The water was cloudy and brown, but was very warm with some waves. The beach was very uncrowded, which was also nice. At times, you felt like you had a private beach. The Bookit planned excursion was pretty good. We went horseback riding, zip-lining, and to hot springs. Again, there were more stops than anticipated on the drive to the excursion destination. The horses looked a bit malnourished, but the ride was beautiful. We even got to run the horses in an open field, which was quite an experience. The zip-lining was fantastic and the set-up was very safe. The hot springs/mud bath was more of a natural setting and not as touristy, which made it a totally different experience than the hot springs in Arenal. I would rate this excursion a 3.5 out of 5.''The ride back to the airport was about 3.5 hours. Luckily it was a private van with no stops. ''Overall we would recommend Costa Rica and definitely Arenal to anybody. That portion of the trip was spectacular. Tamarindo was nice, but did not live up to our expectations. It was not as picturesque as expected, though there were beautiful beaches and other areas surrounding Tamarindo that we saw on our outside booked ATV tour- clear water and white beaches. If you choose this tour package, we would recommend the Deluxe upgrade. While the transportation didn't always live up to the standards, the resorts and rooms were well worth the added charge and the trip in my opinion was a great value and experience for the price."

Posted: Tue, Jun 16, 2009

• Overall Experience:
• Quality:
• Value:
• Cleanliness:
• Staff Efficiency:
• Staff Friendliness:
• Would Return or Recommend:Yes