Etiqueta: Mountain

  My wife and I booked this excursion at short notice having done it already elsewhere in Costa Rica. The initial email correspondence was good and we were told that to... read more secure the booking we had to pay an initial deposit using Paypal (not something we use) so we registered and duly paid $30. We then received confirmation of the booking for the 7th May but we had made the booking for the 8th May when we would be in San Jose. This caused some frantic email chasing to rectify this. This was eventually done, but we assumed that the balance due could be paid also using paypal.

As arranged, we were collected from our hotel in San Jose at 6am and after collecting other guests made our way to Turrialba via a hearty breakfast half way through the journey.

On our arrival at the start we were told to select a life jacket, paddle and helmet but this necessitated some swapping and changing to make sue we had the right gear. (So check to make sure you are happy before you start) The health & safety and instructional briefing was good and we did not set out on the river until the staff member who was our coxon (whose level of English was good) was happy to proceed.

The 24KM rafting experience was fantastic through a wonderful wild and natural environment through much of the way, primary rainforest.

The the half way stage we stopped for fresh melon and pineapple which was very welcome. At the final destination we were supplied with a good quality abundant and hearty meal, able to watch the photos that had been taken by staff throughout the journey and available to be purchased.

It was not until the end did we discover that the balance of payment needed to me made in cash. I only had my credit card but this was not an option. It was a bit embarrassing that on the journey back to San Jose I had to stop at an ATM to take out cash to pay the balance to our driver.

The experience did not spoil an otherwise superb day but it would have been better if I was informed at the outset that cash would be required to pay the balance and that the initial fee to secure the booking was to a booking agent and the balance could not be paid by Paypal.