We were in Costa Rica the last week of January and first week of February 2010. Our group included myself, & my two siblings, our spouses, my son and two good friends. We booked two tours through Avispas Adventures. I had read about Avispas on-line through reviews of our resort. Although the reviews were geared toward the resort, I lost count how many folks
commented on Avispas Adventures and the great service/value they received. I cannot say enough about their service. We booked ahead by e-mail and got a phone call from Amy (to us in Canada) to discuss what experience we were looking for. Customer experience/service is their number 1 objective and they really deliver - in spades. Not only do they understand what
experience you are looking for, they anticipate your needs. I also felt like our group was the only customer Avispas had (and I know they were extremely busy with excursions the weekend we were there). But, everyone was very attentive. They want to make the experience as personal as possible for the group. No tour buses - just you/your group and the guides. Amy accompanied us the Fiesta at Coco Beach and it was like going with your sister/aunt - very much like family (yep, she even had to put up with my two brothers - kudos for that one, Amy). We left a video camera on the bus and returning it to us was absolutely no problem and they did everything they could to get it back to us quickly (so as not to miss taping any of our vacation).
Our first tour was to Miravelles Volcano. What a day. I won't go into the actual tour as it has been written about many times. But let me tell you about our experience. Hugo Boss and young William were our guides and they were fantastic. We had a blast. There was nothing they wouldn't do for us. You want to stop and take pictures, just say so. You want to stop and go shopping, just say so. The day is yours. I'm sure if we wanted to stop and skinny dip, they would have obliged (don't worry Amy, we didn't - lol). Their knowledge of Costa Rica was beyond anything I would have expected. And trust me, we had some pretty off the wall questions. Learning about the culture, flora, fauna, language, food, etc. of Costa Rica was an added bonus to experiencing the excursion. And, the champagne served to us in the hot springs was a nice touch.
The second tour was a trip to a local Fiesta (like a small town fair) in Coco Beach. We tasted the local food and it was delicious. We watched the bull riding and what an experience. Local people running around teasing the bulls after the rider was finished. Talk about entertaining
and scary. The people were right on the field with the bull running around and would climb up the fence when he came to close. It was great fun to watch.
Again, I can't even put into words how great this tour company is. All I can say is....Amy you've got a gem of a company and you should be proud. Your customer service surpasses anything I've ever experienced and should be held up as a standard for other service industry companies to achieve.
Pam - Canada