Avispa's Adventures...

We were looking to have a lot of fun in Costa Rica, not just sit around on a beach for a week. So we signed up for tours to a number of places. Our first tour was through Swiss Travel, which was through our hotel. We ended up just walking through a rainforest, and across some hanging bridges. While the bridges were nice, the tour could have been in Pennsylvania and looked no different. Very disappointing. But then we stumbled upon Avispa's Adventures, and that made the rest of the trip exceptional. They take much smaller amounts of people on fun excursions. Ziplining, horseback riding, hikes through beautiful rainforests to waterfalls, hot spring/mudbaths, river boat tours, and all sorts of interactions with exotic animals. And they take you to small, intimate places to eat (one day we ate at someone's house/small cafe). We met some great people on the tour, the guides were extremely friendly, and overall it dwarfed the other tours, which were often busloads of 15-30 people. This tour company is run by a former American and her Costa Rican husband, so it was a seamless transition from our culture to theirs. Couldn't recommend anything more than this tour company. And if you're into surfing, contact Beth at Costa Rica Surf Charters. She's, along with her husband, are American transplants running surf excursions in numerous Costa Rica locations....www.costaricasurfcharters.com.