My husband and I just returned from a trip to Costa Rica celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. We learned about Avispas tours online and arranged in advance for the Palo Verde River trip and also the day long Miravalles Adventure. We have traveled internationally and usually avoid tours, but we were absolutely delighted by our experience with Avispas. Amy was fantastic in helping us choose the excursions we would enjoy most, and Jose, our guide for both trips, was knowledgeable, eager to please, and just a fun traveling companion. We saw fabulous wildlife on the river trip, enjoyed a great lunch at a small local restaurant, and had the chance to experience a bit of what community life is like off the beaten track. Jose was happy to give us extra time for a shopping side trip. The five hour tour stretched into a leisurely 7 hours with no extra fees. We quickly saw that this is the hallmark of Avispas Tours. The itinerary always remained flexible, and we were never rushed. On our Miravalles day trip, we were the only travelers. However, since we had booked in advance, Amy was gracious enough to give the standard group rate. We began with a morning of zip lining. We'd never done this before and were a little nervous about it, but the guides at Papagayo Canopy Tours walked us through the process, and two of them escorted us all the way, never pushing us to go more quickly than we wanted. It was the most fun ever! Then we enjoyed another beautiful meal at an open air restaurant including traditional Costa Rican coffee service. Then it was on to go by horseback to the hiking trailhead for Miravalles falls. The views were breathtaking. After the horse trip back down, we were able to hike around the volcano crater and enjoy the relaxing volcanic mud soak followed by a sauna and nature hot spa. We weren't sure about the mud bath, but Jose really encouraged us to try it. If you take this trip, it is not to be missed! I've never felt so relaxed in my life and didn't have a single sore muscle the next day. Again, our day was leisurely and self paced with time for shopping and even a stop at the grocery store for airplane snacks and bags of coffee to take home with us. On our way back to our hotel, Jose pointed out a small town that would be hosting a bull riding competition the following night. "That sounds like fun." we commented, and he immediately offered to take us if we were interested. We arranged it with Amy and for a ridiculously small charge for transportation, off we went. This may have been our favorite part of the trip. Everyone in town was there from the grandpas to the babies. Outside the bull ring was a small carnival and vendors selling, among other things, delicious barbecued ribs. We arrived early, so Jose took us to experience beers and a local shrimp dish at a small neighborhood bar. The bull riding event itself was a slice of local color and excitement. Amy came by to meet us as well bringing warm cinnamon churros for us to snack on . As we enjoyed the evening together, she also shared a bit of how Avispas is giving back to the community through events like the children's Christmas parties that were going on during our stay. We were grateful for the opportunity to help purchase some of the food for one of those outreaches and so excited to meet someone who is committed to making a difference in the surrounding community. As an ESL teacher, I've volunteered with similar projects in Ethiopia, and felt such an immediate kinship with Amy's passion for impacting kids' lives. While in Costa Rica we stayed at a large resort hotel that offered a variety of very corporate group tours. We were so thankful that we had connected with Avispas. We were never just a customer or "one of many." When we left we felt we had become lifelong friends with Amy and Jose. While we hugged and said our goodbyes, we knew that we would heartily recommend Avispas to anyone we knew lucky enough to be visiting Costa Rica! As we said to Jose and Amy both, "How do you thank someone for a priceless memory?"
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