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Travel Planners in Monteverde, Arenal Volcano and other areas of Costa Rica
Monteverde Tours has over 18 years experience as travel advisors and planners and can advise and arrange tours, hotels, transport and vacation packages. Plus has a wealth of information about traveling in Costa Rica!
Its role complements the Desafio Adventure Company office in Arenal (which operates many of its own tours and transportation) and also the Monteverde Adventure Company in Santa Elena, Monteverde, The Desafio Adventure Company is a pioneer in the rafting of new rivers and many other tours in Costa Rica. In the last few years it has bult a solid reputation with its Canyoneering tours and is highly ranked in Trip Advisor. Desafio also won Virgin Holiday's Best Tour Operator Award for Local Economies based on its approach to the local economy and sustainable tourism practices.
Janet Ellis is the owner of the Monteverde Tours web site since 1998 and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the tourist trade in Costa Rica. Janet Ellis' husband, Marvin Anchia, runs the very popular Horse Trek Monteverde riding stables in Monteverde.
Please visit the Monteverde Adventure Office in Monteverde! Who will be happy to provide you with a map and answer any questions you might have..
Monteverde Adventure Company (Desafio Monteverde Tours)
Located just 200m East of Banco National underneath the Beer House Restaurant in Santa Elena. Post Code 60109
Email: info@monteverdetours.com
Telephone (506) 2-645-5874
Fax (506) 2-645-5904
skype: monteverde.tours
Free USA and Canada 1- 866 - 811 -0522
To: Desafio Monteverde Tours
From: Dawne, Ted, Sydney, Dylan ......................Our family recently had the delight of experiencing Costa Rica through your wonderful adventure company. From our first email contact, throughout months of planning, and finally the 'vacation' - you were most accomodating, professional and knowledgeable about youramazing country.
You custom organized our specific requests and offered advice to help everything go smoothly & top-notch!. We loved all of our accomodation - from the rustic, scenic haven of Poas Lodge to Arenal Springs Resort (our son's favourite), to the Heliconia Hotel in Monteverde; and spending our last week at Villas Playa Samara (I know we booked this separately but you guided us along and went out of your way to make sure it was good accommmodation!!).
We were impressed with the professionalism and safetymeasures with all of our activities: zip-lining over the cloud forest; horse-back riding along Lake Arenal to Monteverde; River-rafting down the Rio Balsa with super fun and experienced guides (thanks to Christian - our amazing guide and Rocky -Desafio's fearless leader); caving in Venado Caves(even with the tarantulas!); soaking in BaldiHot Springs;and we particularly enjoyed our knowledgeable Guided Nature Tours - in the Rainforest & 'Volcano-lava-watching', (thanks to Julio) and Monteverde Cloud Forest (thanks toSergio); and lastbut not least the night hike in Monteverde!
We reallyappreciated our private transport "Tourismo" drivers/guides immensely- Carlos (Poas), Guardo (aka Tomato), & Benny. So prompt, efficient, comfortable vans, reasonably priced, and provided many amazing animal sightings (sloths, iguanas, coatis) that we wouldn't have experienced without their patience and eagle-eyes!
Thanks Janet, Darlene &everyoneelse at Desafio whohelped make our vacation so memorable! We have nothing but amazing things to say about your company and have been telling everyone we know,booking through your companyis the only way to see Costa Rica!!
Cheers,
Dawne, Ted, Sydney & Dylan
B.C., Canada
Dear Janet (Monteverde Tours & Desafio)...
Thanks for all your help in planning our trip to Costa Rica. We had such a blast. All the activities were wonderful, including Marvin showing off with (his horse) Gladiator. All the lodging was great, and the transportion was spot on.What a beautiful country!
Pura Vida
Cheers,
David and Steph
Stephanie Chen
Dear Desafio Team- .........................We recently traveled to Costa Rica from May 16th-28th and used Desafio to book our hotels and transport for La Fortuna, Monteverde, Montezuma, and Manuel Antonio. We also booked several tours with Desafio while in La Fortuna and Monteverde. We wanted to let you know how pleased we were with your customer service, organization, staff and tours.
Our trip ran very smoothly from the moment we landed in Costa Rica until the time we departed for the USA thanks in large part to your services! On May 17, 2009 we landed in Costa Rica and the driver for the private shuttle service was there to greet us the minute we walked out of the airport. He was very polite, friendly, and knowledgeable about the wildlife in Costa Rica. He even had a wildlife book to show us.
While in La Fortuna we corresponded with Desafio via e-mail from a Blackberry to book our tours and everything worked out perfect. We also went into the Desafio Office in La Fortuna and we were very impressed with the service we received as well as the hours of operation because we were able to go in after a full day of activities and still book our tours for the next day.
On May 17th we did the Arenal Volcano/Baldi Hot Springs tour which was excellent. Unfortunately we didn't see any lava that night but our guides were great (Donald and Lorenzo I believe) and we did see Toucans, Howler Monkeys, and other wildlife!
On May 19th we did the Rio Celeste hike and this tour was well worth the time and the money! The waterfall was completely amazing and it's beauty truly cannot even be captured in pictures. Again, our guide and driver were great! We ate fresh pineapple from the pineapple factory on our way there (best pineapple we've ever eaten), saw several Sloths, and had an authentic Costa Rican lunch after our long hike (the Tilapia came straight out of the pond at the foot of the national Park!).
While in la Fortuna we decided we no longer wanted to stay in Monteverde for 2 nights as originally planned but rather wanted to stay one night and your staff completely helped us rearrange our reservations. There was absolutely no hassle for us and everything went very smoothly. We loved Monteverde and while we were there you booked us on the Selvatura canopy Tour, which was a major highlight of our trip! We absolutely loved it and it's an experience we won't soon forget!!
Finally, during the booking process of our trip, prior to departure, we were very pleased at the way your staff (especially, Janet, Darlene, and Veronica) responded to all of our e-mails very quickly and always provided us with all of the information we requested. We plan to go back to Costa Rica again next year and we will definitely use your services to book our hotel, transportation, and tours.
Further, we would definitely recommend you to friends and/or family that plan to go to Costa Rica. Thanks again for everything you did! We loved our trip and can't wait to go back!
Pura Vida!
Kimberly Gonzales
Stockton, California, USA
Jennifer Bates
Chico, California, USA
... WE LOVED THE TOUR (ALL DAY COWBOY) AND HAD A GREAT TIME, WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE WHO LIKES BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE WITH A GREAT GUIDE.ATTACHED TWO PHOTO'S, THE FIRST HE WAS GIVING US INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO RIDE AND THE OTHER WAS WHEN WE STARTED OUT.
To: Desafio Monteverde Tours
From: Dawne, Ted, Sydney, Dylan ......................Our family recently had the delight of experiencing Costa Rica through your wonderful adventure company. From our first email contact, throughout months of planning, and finally the 'vacation' - you were most accomodating, professional and knowledgeable about youramazing country.
You custom organized our specific requests and offered advice to help everything go smoothly & top-notch!. We loved all of our accomodation - from the rustic, scenic haven of Poas Lodge to Arenal Springs Resort (our son's favourite), to the Heliconia Hotel in Monteverde; and spending our last week at Villas Playa Samara (I know we booked this separately but you guided us along and went out of your way to make sure it was good accommmodation!!).
We were impressed with the professionalism and safetymeasures with all of our activities: zip-lining over the cloud forest; horse-back riding along Lake Arenal to Monteverde; River-rafting down the Rio Balsa with super fun and experienced guides (thanks to Christian - our amazing guide and Rocky -Desafio's fearless leader); caving in Venado Caves(even with the tarantulas!); soaking in BaldiHot Springs;and we particularly enjoyed our knowledgeable Guided Nature Tours - in the Rainforest & 'Volcano-lava-watching', (thanks to Julio) and Monteverde Cloud Forest (thanks toSergio); and lastbut not least the night hike in Monteverde!
We reallyappreciated our private transport "Tourismo" drivers/guides immensely- Carlos (Poas), Guardo (aka Tomato), & Benny. So prompt, efficient, comfortable vans, reasonably priced, and provided many amazing animal sightings (sloths, iguanas, coatis) that we wouldn't have experienced without their patience and eagle-eyes!
Thanks Janet, Darlene &everyoneelse at Desafio whohelped make our vacation so memorable! We have nothing but amazing things to say about your company and have been telling everyone we know,booking through your companyis the only way to see Costa Rica!!
Cheers,
Dawne, Ted, Sydney & Dylan
B.C., Canada
Dear Darlene & Janet.................
I want to thank you and everyone at Desafio for a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica! Our family of 6had the most memorable time and it was all thanks to your great company. Everyone on your staff was so friendly and very helpful the entire trip. They really made us feel at home in Costa Rica even though we did not speak the language. As you know we arranged most of our trip with your company and every experience we had with your company was 100% positive: very professional, always on time, very well organized, knowledgeable and most of all friendly & fun! It was great that almost everyone on your staff was bi-lingual.
Transportation from the airport - our transport (I am sorry I couldn't catch his nameif you could please extend a special thanks to him for his wonderful hospitality I would appreciate it & would love to know his first name if you have it for my travel blog)- He stopped along the way to show us some local highlights and even spotted a sloth for us! He was so friendly he immediately put us at ease! Not to mention his great driving skills & patience with our lack of Spanish!
Hotel - Magic Mountain was great. Again, a very friendly & helpful staff. The food & rooms at the hotel were great!
Our Tours in La Fortuna were needless to say werefantastic!Your staff was so knowledgeable, friendly & FUN!!! They made sure to point out the local wildlife & plants. Have I mentioned just how friendly everyone was!
Arenal Volcano Hike and Baldi Hot Springs - Wow not many people can say they have seen a volcano erupt. We had a wonderful viewing night. Danaus Night Hike - this is a great place - would have liked to have seen it during the day too. Canyoneering - They were incredible and made it fun even when I was a bit nervous. They were so funny and called me "Adventure Mom". What a great group! Caño Negro - Sure glad I took this trip - we really got to experience the wildlife (monkeys, birds, sloths, & caymans) as well as the beautiful country side.
Or trip from La Fortuna to Monteverde was an experience itself. The taxi – boat – taxi was very picturesque. Again the driver was very talented. I am amazed how they navigate the country roads. Costa Rica is so beautiful! We really appreciated the beautiful scenery as we traveled from La Fortuna to Monteverde.
In Monteverde we stayed at the Trapp Family Lodge. Again the accommodations, staff & food were great. It was a beautiful rustic lodge with a fantastic view of the mountains & rain forest. We loved the Selvatura tour day.
We all fell in love with Costa Rica and plan to visit again in the future. When we do will be sure to use Desafio again!
Thanks!
Yvonne
Monteverde Tours. Costa Rica Travel Agency. Based in Monteverde and Arenal Partners with Horse Trek Monteverde. Reservation and vacation planning services
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