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Swiss Travel Costa Rica

Swiss Travel Costa Rica

Swiss Travel Costa Rica
4.5
Sightseeing ToursNature & Wildlife ToursDay Trips
About
Since 1972, Swiss Travel has been the best Destination Management Company (DMC) in Costa Rica, occupying a unique role in leading development of the tourism industry. We offer an integral and personalized service for individuals, groups, and meetings & incentive travelers that includes hotel reservations, transportation, tours, private services and organization of events.
Gulf of Papagayo, Costa Rica
Meets animal welfare guidelines

Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024

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Tours and Tickets by Swiss Travel Costa Rica
Travelers talk about

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles830 reviews
Excellent
569
Very good
115
Average
37
Poor
32
Terrible
77

NieSam
Maine960 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
I took the Hacienda Experience tour with Swiss Travel through Norwegian out of Puerto Limon. The tour is long, 8 hours, and four hours are on a bus. We had Minor as our tour guide and he was knowledgeable and informative. He pointed out sights along the way and gave us an overview of the hacienda we’d be visiting. A second bus followed with Percy as their guide.

The hacienda, Sitio de Mata, is striking. It’s set in the mountains and overlooks a hydroelectric dam with a lake behind it.The plants and the landscaping are striking. There’s also a beautiful church, a small house to tour, a stone labyrinth, and a gorgeous gazebo overlooking the valley.

We learned about macadamia growing and harvesting, coffee growing and production, and sugar cane processing. We watched a demonstration by hacienda staff where cane was turned into granular cane sugar, and where a chocolate macadamia nut confection was made. Samples were passed to all the attendees. The hacienda had stadium seating for all three demonstrations so everyone could see the process. The staff, Minor and Percy were all fantastic and were entertaining as well as informative.

A buffet lunch was included and was served in a large shelter overlooking the valley, dam and lake. Lunch consisted of pasta salad, steamed zucchini and carrots, white rice with macadamia nuts, black beans, stewed chicken, candied plantains, coffee and a cold sugar cane drink. Water and soda were available for purchase. All the food was excellent! There is a store where you can buy products, souvenirs and crafts. Restrooms were clean and of sufficient number to handle our two busloads of people.

A couple things keep this from being a five star review. First, several people stepped on biting ant nests. I’d think this would be a warning given at the start. Second, we had 30 minutes to wait for our table to be called to reach the buffet, eat, visit the hacienda store and use the restrooms. I’d have loved to be able to enjoy my lunch without needing to wolf it down. The antics during the presentation were fun and enjoyable. But I’d much rather have 15-20 minutes carved from that so we could enjoy the food, especially in such a striking setting.
Written February 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LSpivey
Mobile, AL93 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Couples
Hubby and I spent a week in Costa Rica, and we'd booked four tours in advance because we didn't want to only be hanging out at the resort, pool and beach as we live along the Gulf Coast and can do that anytime at home. We wanted to stay active and experience as much of Costa Rica as we possibly could. The prices for the tours were reasonable especially considering the attentiveness and friendliness of the Swiss Travel staff. All tour guides and drivers did a superb job making sure we were exactly where we were supposed to be and getting us back to our resort on time. And even if we were not on a nature tour, they would point out wildlife or plants and explain the meaning and history behind them.The tours were a lot of fun. One thing I didn't like was feeling like we needed to tip for each tour, especially when doing multiple activities for in one tour. We brought money for incidentals and tipping, but did not always have change or access to our belongings. However, we know what to expect for next time. The only other issue we had was with the diving / snorkeling tour, there were not enough snacks provided for everyone on the boat and we felt bottled water should have been provided as a more sanitary option over everyone drinking from a cooler with spigot and asked to reuse the cups.

I would definitely go with Swiss Travel for future tours due to their attention to detail and the excellent staff; it is very apparent that they are trained well and actually care that you are enjoying yourself.
Written April 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

walterharryd
Cleveland, OH160 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
We booked a Monteverde and coffee tour through the Four Seasons and they used Swiss Travel. It’s a long day but we had a delightful time with our tour guide Carlos and driver Jonathan. He was prompt, provided drinks and snacks, and was willing to give us control of days events. We especially enjoyed the coffee tour even though that was low on our list. So glad we did it. We had a wonderful authentic lunch with Carlos and Jonathan.
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Joanne V
Brantford, Canada5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Swiss travel was the local partner of Air Canada Vacations, who we booked our vacation with. When we met the representative at the resort she was very friendly and stated over and over how she was here to help families and cared about families. She warned us repeatedly about how we should not use other tour companies as they could not be trusted. I decided to go ahead and book an excursion for the next day with Swiss Travel, along with another family we where traveling with

Later that night and into the next day my two daughters started feeling ill and spent the night in the washroom with vomiting and intestinal distress. So, we did not go on the tour and had the other family let swiss travel know we could not make it.

By mid morning Swiss travel had the resort people track me down to have me call them. I called the representative who advised me that I would need to pay $144 US cancellation fee. No where in all her 'trust me, I work for families' speech was information on cancellation fees. No where did she ask why we did not make the tour. She did not ask how my children where feeling when I told her we did not make it due to illness. She did not ask if they needed anything (like medical assistance!). There was no help or empathy of any kind.

I understand that tour companies likely get a number of cancellations and have to have some sort of a policy, but what really upset me was the lack of giving a ;$*( about people when that is your business. We where at the beginning of our vacation and I fully intended to book more excursions. She did not offer to reduce the cancellation fee if we booked another excursion. Did not ask me if I wanted to reschedule. She told me to meet her at the front desk at 11 am with my credit card to pay, took my money and left!

After that day, my girls were much better and we proceeded book and take tours with the onsite tour company Tico Tours who where fantastic. We where able to book things at the last minute with no problems (at better rates than Swiss Travel), the staff were very understanding and helpful, made suggestions for what we might like and I'm happy to have spent my money with them rather than Swiss!
Written January 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ellen Y
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Friends
We were told it was a 2.5 hour ride, but it turned out to be a 3.5 hour ride. It’s a really long ride in a really small van with no leg room, a full van, a carry on bag at our feet, and no water. And a long portion of the ride is on rough dirt road.
Then we rejiggered our plans and canceled our other van trips to avoid repeating that. So we picked a trip with a 45 minute ride. And lo and behold they had us on the van for another grueling hour and a half - double what they told us it would be.
With the switching of our excursions to avoid the long van rides, we ended up with all these pink receipts. We kept our sunset sail excursion because it was just a 10 minute ride. We thought the sail was on Tuesday. When we pulled out that pink receipt the handwriting indicating the day was completely illegible. We got confused and had the wrong day for our sail. When we showed up on Tuesday for our Monday sail, they were extremely unforgiving and unaccommodating. We were obliged to pay for the sail we missed despite being loyal customers. They were not willing to budge in the slightest to do anything to give us some way to make us feel valued and well cared for.
In the end the companies that did the actual tours at Diamanté and Sensoria were wonderful. However Swiss Travel, as the organizer through our resort, was misleading, doing what they needed to do to get us to sign up so they could collect our money. And when that ended up in us paying for an excursion we missed, they did nothing to help us feel like we were getting our money’s worth.
Written January 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Erica V
Naples, FL2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Family
Save your money, time and frustration! We chose Swiss travel based upon the recommendation of our resort and they should be ashamed to recommend this company. My family booked an all day “off shore” fishing charter and a half day “in shore” fishing charter through this company. The first was the “all day” and it was awful. For more than $1,000 we hopped on a dingy that took us to a less than average fishing boat. The captain and mate had never met before that day. You should know definition of these terms: “Off shore” according to SwissTravel means to the left side of the rock formation; where you will always be able to see the shore. “ In shore” means to the right of the rock formation; where you will also be able to see the shore just a couple hours shorter than the all day.
Around 12:45 of our “all day- off shore” experience one of the motors stopped working. The captain could not figure it out. He kept trying to restart it but it would just beep so we needed to head back in since we were down to one 150 horsepower motor. It took hours to crawl back in as we were constantly soaked and batter by the waves. I ended up with bruises on my legs and my oldest son compared the trek back in to “eternal hell” because other boats were passing us and we just seemed to stand still.
In short, the first day was actually a half day of fishing with faded lures and poor accommodations. Then a slow and painful crawl back to the beach. There was no place to escape the sun or the splash except the t-top where the captain and mate sat. Lunch was included but my son and I could not eat it due to allergies we had made them aware of but they ignored. The radio screamed with other captains catching fish all around us which our captain then hurried over to , just to miss the “bite”. The description of the boat included a bathroom but the floor was littered with fish hooks, the sink filled with garbage and no TP was provided by the boat (you must bring your own).
When we returned to the resort I tried to call Swiss travel but they close at 4:00 and don’t reopen until 8:00am. No voicemail available.
This ended up being a larger problem than we realized because the next days charter left at 7:30 am so we were unable to voice concerns and dissatisfaction prior to that departure. We were shocked when we were delivered to the same boat. Both motors were working but it was worse than the first day as it relates to the “fishing”.
My family was so disappointed and frustrated that we had wasted 2 days of vacation on this. The worst part of it is that when I did get to speak to the girl at the desk she called “the provider” (aka the owner of the boat) who stated we were lying and there was never a problem with the boat.
Totally unacceptable! We weren’t asking for anything and now we are being called liars.
Vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing but these 2 days almost ruined our entire trip.
Swiss travel does not have any respect or regard for their customers so be safe stay way from booking with them!!!!
Written March 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

CraigH08
Cincinnati, OH67 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
I was in Costa Rica February 22, 2020 for a business conference (Los Suenos Marriott), and our organization arranged with Swiss Travel to book excursions to experience Costa Rica. The service with Swiss Travel was great. They were very kind and helpful. However, I signed up for a 2-3 hour horse back tour. It ended up at an ATV / Zipline Adventure Park (Vista Los Suenos Adventure Park). The park was very nice, and the horses looked well taken care, and the guides very helpful and friendly, but we were only on the horse for a very short distance out to a waterfall and then back. The stop at the waterfall and natural pool was enjoyable. But it seemed like this park that Swiss Travel used this time does not focus on horseback tours. I expected more time on the horse and experiencing Costa Rica.
Written February 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jules7712
Portland, OR13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Friends
What a magnificent site. The blue is intense and the setting of the waterfall takes your breath away. Sivi was fabulous. He stopped on the road to show us toucans. He shared openly about Costa Rica and Central America. He was friendly and helpful and we completely enjoyed our day with him. We loved it.
Written January 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trevor F
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023
Our experience with Swiss Travel was excellent and highly recommend.
All excursions were booked with them and included our travel to and from the airport.
All drivers and tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable.
Prices were reasonable and if you can fit it in the budget, going private tours is much more intimate.
Written February 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kelsey B
Jenner, CA10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
Dennis! Dennis! Dennis!
This man was our personal guide from my husband and I, plus some family. Our group was 8 total. We absolutely loved how personal Dennis was. He was very informative and professional. He, and our driver took excellent care of us throughout the day. He very much went at our pace, and we never felt rushed. We went horseback riding, Ziplining, tube sliding, mud and swimming in the hot springs. My nephews got a kick out of Dennis going ziplining with us. They commented on how awesome his job was! My siblings and I have never had such a good time on an adventure tour.

Another thing to note; My brother and his wife accidentally missed their original tour, which was also through swiss travel, but 30 minutes earlier. They waited to leave an extra 10-15 minutes so they could sort it out and get them on our tour instead, as we still had seats on the bus. I hope they are able to refund the original tour that they missed, since they still wound up getting paid for them going on our tour. That would be really great of Swiss Travel to do so!

I wouldn't recommend booking the tour to Nicaragua at this time. They are having issues at the border due to a change of power in the country. Don't waste your day holding your passport in line (you're going to feel like you're at the airport too soon). Instead, book a tour in Costa Rica and have the best day!

it was a very great day!
Written November 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Swiss Travel Costa Rica - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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