Manuel's Tours. Costa Rica. — Local services in Quepos

I must say, my experience with Manuel's Tours was an absolute nightmare. My wife and I had one day to visit Manuel Antonio National Park and wanted to make the most of it, so we decided to book a private tour with this company. Based on their mostly positive reviews, we thought we were in good hands. How wrong we were.

We corresponded with Manuel's Tours via TripAdvisor and specifically asked if we could head to the park a bit early to arrive there when it opens at 7 AM. They confirmed they would pick us up at 6:30 outside our hotel. We were excited to see the beautiful nature of the park, but instead, we were left stranded outside our hotel with no communication from the company whatsoever.

We called, emailed, messaged them through various platforms, but all in vain. We were utterly shocked that they did not show up and left us high and dry without even attempting to provide any explanation. We even checked our correspondence to ensure that we gave them the correct hotel and contact information, which we did.

As the minutes ticked by, we became increasingly anxious and frantic, trying everything we could to contact them. But after waiting for an hour and half, the reality began to set in that they robbed us of our chance to visit the park. We were bitter, disappointed, and felt completely let down by a company that we had placed our trust in.

It's important to note that when you book a guided tour in Manuel Antonio National Park, the cost of the tour includes tickets into the park, which sell out several days in advance. As Manuel's Tours had our tickets, we could not enter the park without them. And to make matters worse, they made no attempt to get us the tickets or even make alternate plans. It was an absolute disgrace and showed a complete lack of care towards their customers.

Eventually, our hotel staff got involved and managed to contact Manuel's Tours through an alternative number. The company made several excuses, which seemed highly dubious and rang untrue to everyone involved. They claimed their car had broken down and they had no cell phone reception or access to the internet. But how could a company that offers multiple tours have a car break down and no reception without any way of contacting their office to at least inform their customers? It's clear that they had no intention of showing up, and we were simply left in the lurch.

We were appalled by the lack of professionalism, care, and responsibility shown by Manuel's Tours. They ruined our last day in Costa Rica, and we left feeling bitter and disappointed. Based on their responses to the negative reviews on this site, this company has a history of shifting the blame onto customers, but in this case, we have proof (in the form of timestamped Tripadvisor messages) that they were at fault. They did not show up when they said they would, did not communicate with us, and left us stranded without any explanation or apology.

In conclusion, I would strongly advise anyone thinking of using Manuel's Tours to think twice. They are an absolutely dreadful company with no regard for their customers' wellbeing or satisfaction. Save yourself the trouble and avoid them...

What an amazing tour! We reached out to Manuel because we were staying in Quepos, quite a distance from Corcovado. Manuel was incredibly responsive, and helped us secure a tour two days before. This tour included transportation from Quepos to Sierpe in addition to the inclusive price for all other things. Our naturalist Berny was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful! I’m addition to providing amazing information about the plants and animals on the tour, he also gave great recommendations about that to expect in each stage of the day. Berny was incredibly efficient at spotting animals and getting them in focus in his telescope so we left with amazing pictures of the wildlife. While seeing animals are never guaranteed, we saw four species of monkeys, tapiers, coatis, many types of birds, insects, and even a humpback whale and her baby on the boat ride back! Berny knows a lot about birds, which was very cool to be able to know what birds were around just based on the bird call. The tour of the mangroves was also very informative and we saw a sloth and a boa. Breakfast and lunch were simple, tasty and filling, and the ranger station was very beautiful. I cannot speak to the pricing of the tour as I did not look into competitive options. As of August 2021, the cost was $225 to San Pedrillo station and $245 to Sirena (longer boat ride). I imagine that this is a great option if you are staying in Quepos and need the additional transportation. Overall, I highly recommend this experience for the ease of planning, the amazing guides, really great boat drivers, great responsiveness from the office, and for the opportunity to visit such a biologically...

To reply Manuel Cabalceta: I can't believe you're still denying the responsibility and lying about this! We provided the names and passport numbers for all 4 travellers when we made the the reservation, because Tripadvisor requires all information to complete the booking. We also checked the official website of the Manuel Antonio national park and confirmed tickets were still available at that time. We didn't receive any communications from you since we booked the tour, until we were suddenly told it's cancelled. We were only told the tickets were sold out and you didn't say anything about the passport at that time. We contacted another tour agency and were able to get the tickets.

Avoid the these liers!! They take zero responsibility for their own mistakes and only make up fake stories to accuse others.

We booked the Manuel Antonio all inclusive tour 10 days in advance and confirmed park still had tickets at that time. On the day of the tour, we were having breakfast at hotel and waiting for pick up. And we got a call telling us the tour was cancelled because they didn’t get the park tickets for us. We asked them why they couldn’t tell us earlier so we could book the tickets ourselves or find another tour agent. They just said they were helping with other guests and hung up on us! This is incredibly unprofessional and irresponsible! I would suggest avoid these guys at all costs!

It’s also safer to book a tour which doesn’t include park tickets, so you could still go to the park yourself in case of cancellation. Because Manuel Antonio national park doesn’t allow to purchase tickets for...