Expediciones Tropicales — Local services in Carmen

On Tuesday May 24, 2017 my husband and I went on the tour to see the Arenal volcano and to Tabacon hot springs. Although it was an excellent tour and scenery our driver Oscar was the worst ever our tour guide Hernan was great but the driver was very irresponsible with lives on board. I felt like my life was coming to an end soon. He drove so fast to the volcano sight way over the speed limit which was very unsafe especially when your traveling with other lives on board. We made it safely to the volcano and springs to thank God and had a wonderful relaxing time. On our way back to San Jose he continued to drive recklously and it was dark and VERY foggy to the point where you could not see a thing around not even the car in front of you. This is the point where I truly was praying to God for a safe trip back and fearing my life. As he drove fast around cliffs and very dangerous areas. He supposely hit something and lost control of the bus and hit a hard dirt wall. As my husband and I were sitting in the back we were the ones that were injured the most as it slammed SO HARD into the wall. We had no serious injuries at the time my husband hurt his knee with the chair and I had hurt my leg and back as well. We were offered to go to the hospital but at that time we declined. After we hit the wall he was begged by all the passengers to slow down and take it easy and he still didn't and continued on driving recklously. At this point I was scared and my anxiety kicked in. I just kept praying to make it home safe and quick. He also stopped at a pit station to wash off the dirt and grass so that it wouldn't be noticeable. EVERYONE on that bus was scared at this point. The next day I woke up worst and could barely walk. As our trip came to an end and we were leaving the I had to be transported in the airport with a wheelchair due to the pain. When I got back to the states I went to the doctor and I have a strained groin muscle and my back is also strained. I am on various medications but recovery may take a while and to be able to walk straight again as well. I wanted to let you know so that I can possibly prevent this from happening again to another person with that same irresponsible driver Oscar. I will never forget this as it is still haunting me because that wall could have been a cliff where we could have rolled off and died. I am in pain and recovering I don't wish this on anybody especially if your visiting from far away. I hope something can be done before something serious really happens next time with this man in the driver seat. I get some people drive crazy over there but I had been on buses and cars prior to this and none of them drove as recklous as he did. Thank god there were no children on this tour. My trip was amazing and so is the country but it was a bummer when this bus accident happened and I got injured the way I did. Please be careful with this driver named Oscar he is not...

I went on the day tour of Tortuguero National Park and it was amazing! The guide, (I believe his name was Josue?) was great at switching back and forth from English to Spanish, which is really difficult. He had lots of knowledge on the area, animals, the village, and the people. I experienced way more than I thought I would with a visit to the beach, turtle nests, and fresh coconuts. The driver was great and got us out of the mountains even with pouring down rain, fog, construction, and LOTS of traffic (I would've had a breakdown if I was driving). They made sure everyone got to their hostel/hotel safely, even after this hotel was giving them trouble about going past the gate after hours, but this boy was on crutches and couldn't walk that far (ridiculously far, actually). They got him past the gate and right up to the hotel. Most of the negative reviews on here are from stuck-up Americans that want other countries to be exactly like America (and I can say that because I'm American), but if you're open minded and willing to accept that "hey, you're in a foreign country, things are going to be different", you'll have a great time,...

This trip was well worth the price! The Class 3 an 4 rapids were very fun and required full paddling power from everyone in the raft, but not too scary!( We are a couple of active and fit Seniors and we did exceedingly well)Our guide Francisco was full of Exuberance about the area and the river and shared his passion with us. The Pacuare river is a very special natural flowing river through an amazing rain forest. We paddled through canyons and several wagerfuls- just beautiful. There were opportunities to jump out and float too! We had an inpromptu back flip off the raft party! The river borders on an indigenous tribe conservation land and it was so interesting to learn about this tribe and their existence on the old ways and new ways. Breakfast was served at a hill top restaurant with a very nice view and generous portions. Lunch was prepared by the guides themselves over a fire in a big thatch hut alongside the river! Yum! The trip ended with cold drinks and a photo show of us! The Mercedes tour bus was very clean and comfortable! Francisco pointed out the highlights as we wound around the mountain roads. It was a fun and...