What an amazing trip and hosted by folks no less amazing! I can't say enough about our agent, Vanessa, and the various tour guides/drivers we had as we criss-crossed this beautiful country. Vanessa plotted out our itinerary in-depth, but the schedule was never rigid - weather, and the unpredictability of wildlife required a degree of flexibility, and our guides were ever accommodating, even with our changing whims. The driver/guides were also VERY knowledgeable about the birds and animals we were there to photograph. And they had a talent for spotting them without which we would have been oblivious. There was never a hitch anywhere along the way. If you are looking for experts to help maximize your Costa Rican experience, these are the people you are looking for.

I recently returned from an unforgettable trip organized by Bill Beard Costa Rica. They were very easy to communicate with before and during my trip. Costa Rica is a relatively small country, but it can be overwhelming to plan a trip on your own and maximize your vacation time. Bill Beard's handled it all for me, which was amazing. Not having to worry about planning transfers from the airport, activities, and hotels was great, and they booked the best operators for our activities. We started with lodging at Villas Sol in Playa Hermosa, which was an all-inclusive. The food was good, and the staff were so nice. They knew us by name by the second day. Our room was by the pool, and we had a fabulous view of the water and sunsets. The beach area by the hotel is also very nice. I did one day of diving out of Guanacaste, and we went with Rocket Frog Divers, booked through Bill Beard's. It was just me and one other diver (plus my mom, who doesn't dive) on the boat. It felt like a private tour. Their dive shop was really nice, the guide was very personable, and the boat was spacious and comfortable. We did the local Gulf of Papagayo dive sites, where we saw massive schools of fish, 8 sharks, a longtail ray, several species of eels, and the most octopus I have ever seen at one site (lost count)! Bill Beard's organized the transfer to our next hotel, Arenal Manoa, located near La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano. We stayed in a spacious Junior Suite with amazing views of Arenal Volcano. This was a beautiful property with amazing tropical foliage and so many birds. We saw toucans and a huge variety of tropical birds every day. We also saw caimans, iguanas, agoutis, and sloths! The hot spring pools and ponds at this resort were beautiful and so relaxing. We spent hours in the hot springs! The resort included breakfast every day, and the food was delicious. There is an omelette station, local fresh fruits, fresh pastries, cooked breakfast foods, fresh fruit juices, and more. Bill Beard's made the right choice in selecting this resort for us! Bill Beard's organized a whitewater rafting trip on the Balsa River through Wave Rafting. They promptly picked us up from our hotel, and along the scenic drive to the river they gave information about the local area and also gave a thorough briefing about rafting. Our guide was great and made it a safe trip for us. He also pointed out wildlife along the river, including basilisks, iguanas, and sloths. After the rafting, they took us to a local organic food for a delicious lunch made with items grown on the farm. I really enjoyed the coffee they served here. After lunch, we saw a demonstration on how they process the sugarcane and got to participate in a tasting. I really appreciate all the work from Bill Beard's in organizing this trip for us. I would highly recommend them to anyone planning a trip to Costa Rica, as their experience and local knowledge is unmatched!

A great afternoon on the water. Great drinks and food! Staff was wonderful! The snorkeling wasn’t the best because the water wasn’t very clear. But we still stayed in and enjoyed the water for almost 2 hours!

Joe’s tour of the waterfall and the rainforest wildlife was remarkable. He was so knowledgeable about the geography, wildlife, history and economy of Costa Rica. It turns out Joe is a serious birder as well! He spent extra time with us searching for birds. Overall, Bill Beards was a great group to work with – They accommodated a last-minute trip for us that fit our schedule perfectly.

I appreciated being picked up at our hotel for this excursion, however, people from the other hotel that we were picking up from weren't ready on time so we spent quite a bit of time waiting on them. We were dropped off right at the Coco Beach location that we were to take the dingy boat to the catamaran. Food was amazing on board and the snorkeling was okay (just not much to see). The boat crew was very friendly and it was a gorgeous sunset! Super fun experience for my family!

The entire excursion was a blast. The ride to the cove where we swam was relaxing and the views were amazing. Once we got to the cove I snorkeled, saw lots of beautiful fish, my wife and daughter swam and we all jumped off the side of the boat. We met some great people from our home state which was nice and drank margaritas, piña coladas and strawberry daiquiris. The food was good and the crew was awesome. I’d definitely book this tour again.

Our guides were very good and stopped to point out monkeys in the trees. No issues with hotel pickup and drop off. We had 6 riders with 2 guides which seemed appropriate. One guide in the rear to make sure we didn’t get lost on the trails. They provided a break with water. 2 hours was plenty of time to ride.

Our group did a one day action-pacted trip with Bill Beard. In one day, we went from zip lining to river tubing to hot springs to horseback riding. I think we would’ve enjoyed it more if everything hadn’t been so rushed and shortened. For example, the horseback riding was only about 25 minutes. We didn’t necessarily go through a scenic area for riding, either. The river tubing was so jam-packed with other people that it was a little bit hard to enjoy. The zip lining was probably the best since it was not an activity that could be rushed. My suggestion would be to have two of these activities in one day, not three or four. Allow guests to enjoy what they are doing without always feeling like they have to watch their watches. The amount of driving in between locations also cut into the good time.

Bill Beard planned our entire combination trip with Playa del Coco and Arenal/La Fortuna. We spent the first half of our trip on Playa del Coco 1-2 blocks away from the town and had the ability to walk to almost everything. All the pick-ups for diving were included and we had the best dive company! Then we traveled to Arenal/ La Fortuna and did multiple activities including the hanging bridges, La Fortuna waterfall, a night tour in the rainforest and white water rafting. As a planner myself, this trip was near seamless and very enjoyable. 10/10 recommend!!

Very fantastic. We saw two manta rays, angel fish, a pufferfish and several coral types. The boat ride was beautiful with an open bar and dinner with a sunset view of the various islands. The staff was superb and helpful and overall a grand time on a catamaran. Definitely good value for the overall experience! Thank you gracious hosts!!

This tour group is amazing! They customized our stay with our divers, as well as the non-divers in the group. The divers had 3 days of diving, and the other days were tours to the Sloth Adventure, Zipline, Hot Springs and River boat tour. Our guide Hosea was simply amazing. He was friendly and very informative about the customs, nature and the lifestyle of Costa Rica. I would recommend this tour group for families, friends and groups! ENJOY!

This is the third group I've led to Costa Rica using Bill Beard's Costa Rica and the single word I would use to describe every trip is "consistency"! The trip is consistently well planned, well organized, and well executed. From the moment our guide met us at the airport on arrival until the moment we said goodbye we were taken care of by experts. The tours were better than my group dreamed they would be, and the local dining and excursions brought Costa Rica deeper into our hearts and minds. My people loved feeling they were on more than "just a tour", but that they were experiencing being a part of the people and culture we came to visit. From cultural tours, wildlife tours, and even our scuba diving there was no end to the wonder. Even when asked, my group couldn't agree on any single experience they felt to be the "best"; only that everything we did seemed to be incredible for divers and non-divers alike. Thank you Bill and Nadine Beard, Jose Caravaca, and the entire staff for another wonderful week!

Best tour operator I have ever dealt with. I plan group trips around the world and Bill Beards was definitely the best. Super detailed and communication was excellent. Took care of everything from the minute we got off the plane, to all our tours, adventures and hotel. They had helped me arrange a group trip of 20 and everyone had a fantastic time. I will definitely plan another group trip back sometime in the future.

This was a great adventure, very close to our hotel. Tour driver and ATV guide were both fantastic. We had a private tour just for our family and it was awesome! Nadine from Bill Beard was awesome in helping to organize this day trip. Highly recommend - our kids loved riding the ATVs - everyone had a blast!

We just got back from CR and we booked this adventure for our family - it was AWESOME! Nadine from Bill Beards was amazing in helping to plan this full day excursion and we loved it. The driver, tour guide, raft guide, EVERYONE we encountered, was fabulous - very friendly, hospitable, knowledgeable, and made for a great day! Highly recommend this adventure and Bill Beard!