Inside Tours Costa Rica — Local services in Hospital

Well firstly, they don’t send you a confirmation about the tour in a good amount of time. I messaged them the day before the tour around midday to confirm the tour, time and pick up (as I was starting to get worried), the person said they would contact me in the afternoon. I was only sent the information after 6:30pm which seems a bit unprofessional. Added to that , the main reason for my review is because of the tour guide. We were running 5 minutes late(exactly 5 minutes) due to Uber. I messaged the guide (Josef) early enough to let him know we would be 5 minutes late- and while I understand there is an itinerary and times that need to be kept- his reaction was so impolite. I quote ,he said “listen to me (in Spanish) , we will only wait 5 minutes , if you are 6 minutes late then sorry you will have to meet us at the breakfast place” (there was more as it was a 46 second voice note)… he could’ve just said it in a nice way. Well, the Uber driver heard a bit of the voice note and tried driving a little faster- believe it or not we got there 3 minutes late (not 5) and even BEFORE the bus to Isla Tortuga arrived!! Well. That was the start. The guide rushed us for everything. On the poster, it says you will have around 1 hour for breakfast, the guide told us we only had 25 minutes - most of which is spent standing in the line. I wanted to take a picture outside the restaurant and when the guide saw me, he was pointing to his watch and saying we need to go. This continued throughout the day and the guides attitude really made the experience unpleasant. The company says you stop to see dolphins, but we saw a pod of dolphins , they only stopped the boat for 2-3 minutes and that’s it. When we got to the island, it was a better experience, but compared to the vibe of the other tour companies who had music and mics and just a overall better atmosphere than Inside Tours- we felt a bit let down, but still tried to make the most of the time at the beach. They also give you the coffee straight after you’ve eaten lunch- which feels just a bit forced and a waste because of the timing. The other staff were very nice compared to the guide we had and overall the food was good. The only reason I am giving this 2 stars is because the snorkelling was amazing and definitely worth it. We’ve been on many tours in CR but unfortunately this is a company we will not be using again. If you like to feel rushed and pressured, then 100% book the trip with company- but if not, I would think twice. Also, remember that you have to pay for EVERYTHING on the island- the chairs, the toilets, the hike,...

Amazing trip! We had a blast with Alfonso, our guide! Alex our driver made sure we got to Puntarenas and back to San Jose beating the traffic. The bus ride was super smooth and boats ride was like a roller coaster. We loved it all.

We got to the island and did the Eco trail hike. It was $6 and is self guided. Takes about an hour if you do the big loop. I think 30 min for the shorter. We did the longer one, but it’s quite steep and you should have good shoes. I did it in water shoes but flip flops would definitely not be good. Great lookout points! We also saw lots of wildlife. Very few people do it. We saw a snake, couple geckos, an iguana, couple howler monkeys, lots of small birds and a couple deers too. Highly recommend doing it as soon as you get to the island.

Then, we ran to catch the snorkeling tour which was included. Lots of colorful fish. We had our own mask which was great, some of the masks provided didn’t seal.

After we got back I did some paddle boarding while my husband kayaked to save me when I fell :) again lots of fun and we had built up an appetite for lunch which was scrumptious! Get the fish!

After lunch we rented kayaks again for $10 for 30 min and kayaked to Tortuga Island and soaked the views. There are lots of little alcoves so almost feels like being on a private island.

Then we just hung out at the beach till the boat came to take us back.

During the boat rides we saw a couple dolphins and even a crocodile called Carmelo!

Tips: Bring two towels if you want something to put on the sand and a clean towel for afterwards. Honestly the sand is so nice and there are so many activities we didn’t need our towel at the beach.

Bring water shoes - great for activities and hiking

Bring a phone dry pack, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and a big water bottle (no fresh water in the island)

They charge for washrooms on the island but everyone took credit card so if you don’t have cash all good.

Only critique is we were told to leave our towels and clean clothes in the bus but honestly we felt so rushed packing the bag for the beach that we forgot our dry bag for the phone and my husband ended up dropping his phone in the water which sucked since we had a dry back in our other backpack that we were told to leave in the bus. So just take all your stuff! There is a tent on the beach that is our company’s so you can leave stuff...

We were told to meet in the lobby of Best Western in Jaco but were turned away by security at the parking lot stating they have no affiliation with the Inside Tours. We waited on the corner of the intersection. After being picked up we stopped at a souvenir shop to transfer to another bud, we were told we had a few minutes to grab a snack or drink so I grabbed a coffee only to be told the bud was leaving and I couldn’t bring it with me. We got to their “dock” and it was in shambles. They packed us onto a small boat with hard plastic seats. We were hoping to see some sea life but 3 of the 4 staff slept all the way to the island so they couldn’t really do much spotting. Once at the island we were informed they don’t provide any type of beach chairs or umbrellas. They do not have water for their guests either. We thought we’d be exploring an island but the island is completely roped off and blocked, you may only be on the beach. There’s very little shade anywhere. The lunch was very small and left us still feeling hungry.You have to pay to use the restroom. Two of the four staff were rude and obviously didn’t want to be there, zero fun or friendly interaction with guests. It’s really just a $250 cramped boat ride to an island where nothing is included and you’re charged for basic necessities like shade and water. We didn’t see any wildlife in the sea or on the island “other than small fish” as described in their itinerary. This is really just another beach, you can have a cheaper and better experience just going to a free beach on the mainland. It was a very disappointing experience and we felt like we got hustled in the end. We were really looking for a fun filled day but were instead uncomfortable, inconvenienced and...