My wife and I along with some friends spent a week in the Guancaste region of Costa Rica at an all inclusive resort in the later part of October 2007. We were looking to take several tours away from the resort to see some of what Costa Rica has to offer and meet some of its people. We did not want to be put in a large tour bus and shuttled from place to place but were looking for a more personal tours suited suited to our grups small size.

Avispa Adventures filled the bill. They specialize in tours with no more than six people. It is owned and opertaed by Amy Lynn, an American living in Costa Rica for eleven years, and her partner Jose Moreno. They and their staff all speak English and are very personable and friendly. Their knowledge of the regions and the local culture provides an experience you will get no where else. Side trips on the tour to see local points of interest, sampling local cusine, stopping at a supermarket to allow us to shop for some needed supplies, and and pulling over so members of our group could shop for souvenirs. We were never rushed and told to take our time no matter what we were doing.

They are totally focused on your welfare, friendship, and providing you an intimate glimpse of the Costa Rica they know and love.

My family and I just returned from an awesome vacation in Costa Rica. I can’t say enough good things about that country and its people. There are so many things to do and gorgeous country to be seen. Our first adventure upon arriving was a great tour we took through Avispas Adventures. We stayed in Playa Hermosa, where Amy picked us up drove us to the Palo Verde National Park. There, we boarded a boat and took a cruise of the river. My daughters, ages 9 and 7, were amazed at the wild life. I thought their eyes were going to bug out when Luis, the captain, gently picked up 2 GIANT grasshoppers and put them on the girls’ arms! We saw numerous species of birds, a giant crocodile lounging in the shallow water and the highlight of the trip – monkeys! We floated by a few large troops of Howler (congos) monkeys and were fortunate enough to have Capuchin (monos) monkeys crawl and jump on the boat to examine us. Who’s checking who out?! They were so close, we could almost touch them. The look of awe and excitement on my girls’ faces is something I will treasure forever and I know they will never forget. The pictures turned out great, too!

After the boat ride, we had the pleasure of having lunch at Luis’ house. His wife made a fantastic, authentic Costa Rican meal and we enjoyed the whole family.

I can’t thank Amy and Avispas Adventures enough for such a great, personal introduction to such a wonderful country. We will definitely be back!

Warmly,
Krista Parker
California, USA

We just got back from Costa Rica and what was probably the best vacation we have ever had. (Mostly due to Amy with Avispa's Adventures) If you think I am exaggerating, you haven't gone on tours with Amy and Avispa. They do personalized tours no matter what size group you have. Although we were in a large group (16 people) we did not all want to do the same thing everyday. Amy was fantastic. She worked with us as individual couples as well as our large group. She made sure that everyone did exactly what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it. (And with our group that is no easy task!) As a group we did their signature tour (Miravalles Adventure), Palo Verde and whitewater rafting (Many of us were beginners while others were experienced whitewater rafters, but we all had a blast!) I must say you wouldn't want to miss them. She also arranged everything from fishing and golfing to private dining experiences and bar hopping.

Having various food allergies, I was concerned about eating off of the resort. However even when we were traveling in the large group, Amy always made it a point to have a special meal for me! I was shocked! Having so many people to deal with and she still remembered! The personal attention you get with Avispa’s Adventures is unmatchable. Amy says, “You come to Costa Rica and Avispa’s Adventures as clients, but you go home our friends”. This is so true! They truly make you feel like you are visiting friends that you have known for years.

We can’t wait for our next vacation in Costa Rica with our new friends.

If you are going to vacation in Guanacaste, contact Amy with Avispa's Adventures. They will make your vacation unforgettable!
(When you look them up make sure you put the "s" on Avispa's or you will get another persons website. Also if you email Amy and she does not get back to you in a day or so, send her another email sometimes she has internet problems-but it is worth the wait)

After reviews on trip advisor, I'd emailed Amy before leaving England and had booked their Miravelles Adventure and white water rafting for my husband, sons aged 16 & 14 and myself.

Avispas is a very small outfit which specialises in personalised tours in small buses. The drivers are Carlos who doesn't speak English as fluently as some guides but who is a great character and Jose who is also lovely. We had Carlos for the Miravelles Adventure which is such a buzz. The ziplines were amazing fun, followed by lunch in a small restaurant on site and then we went horse riding (leisurely!) and then on a short walk to the waterfall followed by a fascinating tour around the volcanic springs and mud pools of the activity centre. Only my husband and one son braved the hot and cold pools although we all helped to finish the champagne which ended the day!

We also did the white water rafting tour. As we hadn't done rafting before, we chose to do a 2 hour trip in small 2 person kayaks with a guide each. That was also great fun and included stopping to swim at a place which had a tarzan swing and diving platform - great for teenagers in these days of health and safety regulations!

At the end of the tour, we met up with Amy and asked her to organise a trip to Arenal for us. I didn't want to do the hot springs there, which is what all the big tours do (we heard afterwards that there was deafening disco music playing there, so it was anything but relaxing!). However I also wanted to stay overnight at a hotel overlooking the lava flow from Arenal. Amy said that would be practically impossible as very few hotels were on that side and they booked up months in advance, but she'd see what she could do.

Well she was brilliant and we had the trip of a lifetime. We travelled in our own mini-bus (as on all our trips) with Jose to Arenal. We had lunch at a restaurant and spent the afternoon at the Hanging Bridges in the true rainforest - what an experience! We were then taken to the Hotel Linda Queste del Norte - a small hotel with the most amazing views of Arenal from the enormous picture windows. We watched the volcano erupting as dusk came, but were disappointed that after the meal the clouds descended and we couldn't see any more. However we woke at about 1am to find the clouds had dispersed and we could again see the lava flow from our bed. However Jose had given us his powerful binoculars so we went to sit on the bench outside our room, watching the lava flow down the volcano accompanied by the amazing sounds of the rainforest at night - a truly magical experience!

The folowing day I'd requested a trip up in Sky Tram followed by ziplining as we'd all enjoyed that on the previous trip. This was incredible! Some of the ziplines were 600m or more long. The first long one set off in the trees, but then opened out over the valley to the rainforest floor with incredible views of Arenal Lake and the volcano. Experience of a lifetime - completed when Arenal actually erupted whilst we were up there.

We finished the trip with a personalised tour around a small botanical garden where we saw butterflies, a sloth, blue jeans frogs and a whole variety of wild life followed by a final lunch in a 'real' not tourist restaurant.

This tour, as you've probably guessed, was the absolute highlight of our holiday. The variety of experiences and wildlife and just being in an actual rainforest was extraordinary. Thanks to Amy and Avispas for putting in so much effort to arrange this. I really can't recommend them highly enough. None of the other tours even mentioned Sky Tram and Sky Trek and we had this amazing experience and personalisation for far less money than the big tours were costing. Do look at their webste and if you want the experience of a lifetime, ask about the Arenal trip. I would say stay overnight as it's a long journey from Guanacaste and watching a volcano erupting is something else!