Green Vacation Travel Agency — Local services in La Fortuna

Booked the Isla Tortuga tour. Nobody ever reached out to me so I had to call Viator to figure out if we were getting picked up or driving to the meeting point the night before. The website was confusing saying transportation was included but also at an extra charge. So that was off.

They finally reached out to me in the evening beforehand for meet up details. Tour said we depart at 7am. The person who reached out said to be there at 830. We didnt leave until 930 just waiting on people to arrive. Lots of waiting and wasting time. It was annoying because the drive was an hour from Jaco so I had to wake up early for no reason, to be leaving much later than originally stated. Felt like communication needs to be improved there with time management. Everyone on the tour should be a bit more respectful of time.

Our guide was Daniel. He was nice but I felt like he was passive aggressive annoyed with my group at times which made it a bit uncomfortable during the trip. We went to snorkel, which was great by the way. We were using the snorkel masks but my group didnt want to put our mouths on the mouthpiece because of germs. We weren't comfortable using it. Daniel was being very persistent and a bit aggressive towards my mom about her using the mouth piece and to "listen to him and do what he says". Only to her. It was uncomfortable for her as she kept having to tell him no and he didn't stop until I said she wasn't comfortable using it due to germs. Before we got into the water, he was rushing us telling us we were slow when we were just trying to make sure our fins fit and getting situated to get in as we had many beginning swimmers in our group. Felt rushed and a bit rude.

Once we got to the island, he seemed very upset with us when we noted that we didn't have cash on us. We arrived the day before the tour and didn't have the opportunity to get cash yet. Time just happened that way with us so we went without cash unfortunately, so we had card to pay for things. When we arrived I sprayed two sprays of sun block. I was not next to him but he started coughing and had this look of disgust/annoyance at me for wanting to put on sunblock. He was the only person to do that. I panicked and quickly apologized and walked away to put the rest on. I understand how putting too much can suffocate a person if you're next to them, but I sprayed 2 short sprays and not even near him and it just seemed a bit over the top and rude. So I never sprayed near him again out of courtesy.

I felt pressured to tip. The price per person was not worth it in my opinion. I spent nearly $600 for 5 people and still felt pressured to tip. I dont have an issue with tipping normally. The price just didn't feel justified to have time cut from waiting and a passive aggresive guide. For that price, maybe spend on a private boat? But I kept my distance from him the rest of the time. It was just awkward for me. Food was good, the beach was beautiful. They accept card on the island but bring cash too and don't get in my situation. I would visit the island again with a different company or private boat...

Thank you Juan Carlos and Mary our guides for an amazing trip. We booked the La Fortuna: Arenal Volcano, Hanging Bridges & Waterfall tour. This trip included hotel pick up and drop off with lunch and bottled water during the tour. Our family of 4 (2 teenagers) hiked over 6 miles this trip which is easy for us. The trails are well marked and maintained. We love how our guide decided to start our trip at Mistico Park Hanging Bridges. There he was able to spot local wildlife that I would have never spotted on my own. We saw Spider Monkeys, Snakes, Bats, Poison Dart Frogs (Blue Jeans), lizards etc. Juan Carlos is very knowledgeable about the local wildlife and history of La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano. We then hiked the lava fields of Arenal Volcano. Stopping to see impact craters from the 1968 eruption. The view from the top of the hike is beautiful. Great pictures of Arenal Volcano in the background and Lake Arenal on the opposite side. Our last stop on the tour was La Fortuna Waterfall where you walk down over 500 steps to the amazing Waterfall. There are places to change and take a dip in the pool at the base of the waterfall. It is cold but well worth it to be so close. There is another bathing spot down lower where the water is calm and you can swim. During the tour we stopped at a local Soda to have a typical Costa Rican lunch called "casado" (Rice, Black Beans, Sweet plantains, vegetable and choice of protein). The food was amazing. They also offer fresh juice and coffee. Thank you Juan Carlos and Mary for a wonderful day and please continue to spread the joy and beauty of Costa Rica with all that you meet. Please give Green Vacation Travel a chance. You will not be...

Juancarlos was absolutely the best guide and photographer. He spots the tiniest and farthest animals. He could find animals by the smell of the air or the sounds of the forest, and brought a telescope so everyone could see and take pictures/videos. I also loved that he worked hard to get the perfect angles. The first hike was around the Arenal Volcano and he was super knowledgeable about its history. Then we drove to the La Fortuna Waterfall and hiked down many steps to reach the falls. There you will have plenty of time to take pictures and swim in the falls. There's two separate swim areas. One's slightly rocky and right beneath the falls, so great for pictures but a little crowded. The other is slightly down the stream so easy access, still in view of the waterfall at an angle, and calmer and clearer water to swim with the fish. They give you a time to meet back at the top and the hike back up the stairs is significantly harder than the way down, so make sure you allow yourself enough time. Next is a casado lunch at a local restaurant with amazing fresh juices. Finally, there's the hike at the hanging bridges. This is the easiest hike of the day, but make sure to bring rainwear since it is a rainforest. Juancarlos and our driver (I think George?) were so amazing and took great care of us. They kept a cooler of water bottles in the car for you to grab from before each activity so we never needed our own, and it was great to leave our belongings in the car. They were big on only taking what we needed to be the...