Costa Rica: TruTravels Review
- Anna
- Jul 7, 2024
- 6 min read
In May 2024, I travelled to Costa Rica and booked a TruTravels group tour to explore the country. I break everything down from expenses, activities, group dynamics and everything in between.
TruTravels Cost
When I booked my place for the group tour, there was actually a flash sale on for the date I selected. TruTravels offer quite a few sales and discounts on a selected group tours, here a link to all their discounted trips . I paid a total of £891 but I know the standard price usually for the 10-day Costa Rica Adventure is £1395.
What is Included in the Price?
Sometimes it can feel as though you are paying a lot of money for group tours and not entirely sure where the money is going. Here is a breakdown of everything that is included:
Activities
Whilst of TruTravels Costa Rica Adventure, all these activities are included in the price:
Local Homestay
Zip-lining
Tractor ride in countryside
Yoga class (weather permitting)
Waterfall in Montezuma
Night safari
Volcanic Hot Springs
El Salto Swimming Hole
The waterfall in Montezuma and the El Salto swimming hole are technically free activities, but I guess it is the knowledge of your guide you are paying for for these excursions.
Additional Activities You Can Pay For
La Fortuna, Monteverde and Santa Teresa are the locations where you will find additional activities. Here is a few examples:
Bungee jumping
Canyoning
Whitewater rafting
Horseback riding
Skywalk in the cloud forest
Surf lessons
Click here for an in-depth itinerary and journal entry of Costa Rica with TruTravels
Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival day and group dinner and drinks
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Other Expenses Included
Airport Pick Up
If you are arriving less than 48 hours before the trip, you can automatically qualify for free airport pickup and can also book a pre-night stay(not included in overall price).
Travel Guide
The total cost also includes the payment of your guide for the duration of the tour. Your tour guide is always on hand the whole length of your trip, whether it's making sure we are on time, translation with locals, advise of activities, information on the local area and an overall mood booster!
Transport
All transport is included (private van and boats/ferries)
Accommodation
9 nights of accommodation are provided. This is a mixture of twin share rooms and a 6-bed room in Santa Teresa.
Meals
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch and 2 Dinners are included in the price. All other meals and snack need to be paid out of pocket
Expenses to Factor In
Flights
Flights are not included when booking with TruTravels.
My flights from Edinburgh to San Jose, Costa Rica cost £584.91 with KLM. This included a total of three flights, Edinburgh to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Panama City and then Panama City to San Jose. I really enjoyed flying with KLM, all my flights ran smoothly even if I felt I was rushing through the airport to make sure I didn't miss the connecting flight.
Pre-night Accommodation
When I booked my flights, I knew I didn't want to take the risk of not arriving on time. So, I arrived the night before day one to get climatised and rest before meeting everyone the next day.
Food
Food was quite expensive in Costa Rica is you were eating our at restaurants and cafes. There are local places with authentic Costa Rican dishes but unfortunately we found these to be few an far between in touristy areas. They had capitalised on a Western market when it came to food. The majority of the accommodation stays provided kitchen space which is nice to be able to cook for yourself to save money. However, imported foods and ingredients are pricey so I would stick to local for the most cost effect solution.
Extra Activities
The extra activities can quite quickly exceed your budget if you are trying to make your money last. I would suggest picking one or two activities you feel you won't get to experience anywhere else. For example, I love whitewater rafting, I think its so much fun and a great way to spend half a day. I didn't decide to do this in Costa Rica because I have done this activity before in other countries.
Insurance
People have mixed opinions on travel insurance and how much cover you really need to get. At the end of the day, most likely nothing will happen whist you are away travelling but it is better to be safe and sorry. Whether it is the bare minimum health insurance cover or the full lot insurance is definitely something that needs to be invested in. As a type 1 diabetic I feel a lot more comfortable with insurance (lots of insurance companies don't offer cover on pre-existing health conditions so it is key to do your research and see which provides the right cover for your potential needs).
Travel Back to San Jose
Your guide helps you book travel for your onward journey. If you aren't staying in Costa Rica, mostly likely you will need to get back to San Jose from Santa Teresa for the airport. There is a small airport located near Santa Teresa, but this is more expensive. From Santa Teresa, we took a bus, ferry and small hire bus to get back to the airport.
Medical Equipment
Thankfully I didn't need to buy any medicine whilst in Costa Rica but as a type 1 diabetic and if you have been traveling around for a few months, you may need to make a stop for more supplies. Before you leave, check whether the country you are visiting stocks your insulin and how much it will roughly cost. Here are some useful webpages for information. Webpage 1 and Webpage 2.
Would I Recommend TruTravels?
There are pros and cons when selecting a group trip with TruTravels. Firstly, booking with a travel group company takes away all the pressure of booking and organising a trip. TruTravels website allows you to see all the different length of tours filtered by country and searching through each trips itinerary is very easy. Having all travel, accommodation and activities planned for you whilst in country is a big appeal for anyone not wanting to plan everything themselves.
As a female solo traveller, I joined a group tour for safety reasons also. The majority of my group were female and a big reason for that is safety in numbers. Being a woman should never hinder your travelling experience, sadly however, there are safety precautions that need to be taken when travelling in general but solo travel for women isn't always safe.
Booking with a group is that you make friends too! Now, you don't need to book with a group in order to make friends whilst travelling but knowing the same faces are with you for the whole trip is a nice experience.
If an itinerary is not quite what you are looking for, travel with a group of friends already and not necessarily interested in joining a group or think you can budget the same itinerary trip cheaper, I would recommend looking at the TruTravels Itinerary for a rough guide on planning your own trip!
I would recommend TruTravels Costa Rica Trip. I felt like the whole trip was well organised and structured. Having all travel in country and accommodation book before took a lot of pressure of the experience. I felt I experience a good mixture of active activities and relaxation time to explore and chill. Our guide for the 10 day trip was also amazing and a huge part of what made the experience great. Our guide, Manny, was awesome. He was always ready for a good time and made sure we were always prepared for whatever was coming next. Having someone so knowledgable about the country was also a huge benefit. We always felt safe with Manny and always put us in a good mood. I think having a guide who is super involved and friendly makes a difference between a tour being good and a tour being great.
There was also a lot of pre-departure support available through the support team in the UK. Any questions or concerns, they were able to provide answers very quickly.
I would love to go on more TruTravels trip in the future. If you have done a tour with TruTravels, let me know by leaving a comment where you went and how you found the experience.
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