Our trip to Costa Rica was wonderful! Jose was the absolute best tour guide ever! He's a walking encyclopedia and interesting and enjoyable to be with. He couldn't have been any better!

The trip was amazing, hotels we stayed at were incredible , as well as the provided meals. Best of all, Jose our tour manager, was absolutely amazing and very knowledgeable and professional. Jose definitely made the bus rides between locations very comfortable as well as providing some interesting history of each particular town/district we passed through.

Jose was exceptional! One of the top 5 we have had (being on over 25 Gate 1 trips that says a lot!) The bus driver, Felix, also was great! Manual, the Panama guide was VERY hard to understand, his skill of the English language was not good. It was a wonderful trip! The farm family lunch was highlight and great food! Loved all the boat rides. The tour and lunch with the Embera tribe was excellent, great fish!! We cannot wait for our next Gate 1 adventure.

On my recent trip to Costa Rica, Rafael was an excellent trip organizer. He was so knowledgeable about the biology of fauna and flora. As a biologist that has worked in the tropics for years, I learned a lot about the wildlife of Costa Rice. I wish we had seen more birds but understand that this is difficult with a group this size and not everyone's focus.

The experience was excellent but I would like to pay an extra compliment to our tour manager, Gilbert, who did an outstanding job of organizing, managing, and keeping the group in step. Thank you for men like him.

I just came back from the Costa Rica 13 day trip. Our guide was Cesar. He was an exceptional guide. This was my 7th trip with Gate 1. Cesar is very intelligent, great with fun facts, polite and funny. A real gem! Made our trip perfect.

Costa Rica is probably the best reasonable priced trips for anyone that loves nature. Abundant animals and plants throughout the trip. We had a BLAST! Tour director Gilberth was a walking encyclopedia about plants and animals, and the history of his country. He is a gifted speaker that was thorough, but not boring. We saw sloths, four different monkey breeds, reptiles, and many, many different birds. Beautiful plants everywhere, all while staying at some really nice hotels. The country also has some great food. I give this trip 5 STARS!!!

Our trip to Costa Rica provided by gate one was incredible. This was our second gate one trip and Max (tour guide in Italy) set the bar so high we didn't think anyone could match him. Well Ricardo was able to do just that and provide us with an unbelievable experience. He went out of his way to make sure everyone was happy, and the trip went flawlessly. Even when Mother Nature and traffic delayed us several hours to and from Tortuguero he made sure everyone was comfortable and happy. His way of getting to know everyone and dealing with 38 different personalities differently was amazing. We are already looking to book our next adventure for next year with gate one and have been recruiting friends to come along with us!

Our tour manager was Jairo, and he was excellent. He was very accommodating with our requests and did extra things for us that were not specifically included. He had a vast knowledge of wildlife, plants, and flora in general. He covered the history of the areas we were in and the cultural aspects of the people living there. He was also a very friendly, approachable man, and we enjoyed our company with him. It was important for him to have us consider the tour group a family.

The lush and green beauty of Costa Rica left me speechless. This trip significantly surpassed my initial expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed the activities included as part of the itinerary and the optional tours. On the first day that we met our fellow travel mates, it was an instant connection among us. I have met some wonderful people with whom I have formed bonds, and we intend to travel together on future Gate 1 trips. Our bus driver skillfully maneuvered the narrow roads of Costa Rica like a veteran. Our tour manager, Jose, was exceptional. He is a true representation of an ambassador for Costa Rica's history, culture, people, and way of life. Jose's enthusiasm and excitement to share the history and culture of Costa Rica with me made me more and more intrigued to learn more about this wonderfully diverse country. Jose's vast knowledge of Costa Rica is astounding. Jose's exemplary attention to detail ensured that we were comfortable and that our every need was met. His witty sense of humor was something that I looked forward to experiencing daily. He made the trip a memorable one for me, so much so that I intend to revisit Costa Rica, and I hope that I will be fortunate enough to get Jose as my tour manager again. Jose extended himself far beyond my expectations to ensure that my experience was comfortable, enjoyable, and exciting. He has a keen eye for spotting the wildlife in their habitat in places where we would least think to look. This trip was filled with tear-jerking laughter and adventure, education, and fun. Costa Rica is quite a special place.

My husband and I had an amazing trip to Costa Rica and Panama with Luis. He is an amazingly, knowledgeable guide of both Costa Rica and Panama. His personality makes everyone feel comfortable and sets a great tone for the entire group. We are happy he has his license now to be the tour guide in Panama! Our small Discovery group felt like a family, he was our friend and fearless leader!!!

We just completed the 14 day Costa Rica tour. I wanted to give a big shout out to our guide Gilbert. We have taken tours with other companies and Gilbert was by far the most excellent guide. He was organized, and very knowledgeable. We were especially impressed with his exact knowledge of the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. We learned so much. Gilbert was amiable, organized and made sure everyone was comfortable and secure. This was especially important since the tour had a number of seniors taking the hikes.

Trip was a very good. Tour guide, Jose, was an excellent host. Accommodations and food were good. No issues and nice memories. Thanks

I would like Gate 1 to know how exceptional our tour manager "Gio" and our bus driver "Hector" were. Gio made every day a pleasure and he was a wealth of information. Hector was a true professional driving group on the roads that I would never attempt to drive a bus the size we were in. I was sad to say goodbye to them both.

Our tour guide, Rafael, was absolutely amazing! He was very organized, communicated clearly and timely with expectations, activities and details, next steps. etc. so things went smoothly, and we knew what to expect each step along the way. He was a wealth of information on every topic imaginable: animals, plants, history, parks/sights in the country, food, health, economics, politics, and anything else guests could want to learn about. He kept us entertained on the coach with questions on topics he had previously discussed with us and rewarded correct answers with fun food items or cute Souvenir items particular to Costa Rica. He recognized a special anniversary for us and others on the trip - very thoughtful! He always checked at every meal if we all were enjoying our meal and everything was ok. He was considerate in keeping our group of 6 together in bus seat rotation, at group diners, and rooms at our overnight accommodations. He did a superb job at spotting/finding wildlife and pointing it out to the group and we loved his scope which he would set up for us to look through to see the animals up close and even take pictures on either his iPhone to share with the group or use our phone to capture a natural geographic quality photo!! A tour guide can make or break a trip, and Rafael did an outstanding job as our tour guide! Thank you for having stellar guides to enhance the travel experience for your customers!

Our drivers Luis, Jose and Marcos were EXCELLENT. Luis had to navigate going around a road closure (which added 3 hours to our return trip to San Jose). Jose and Marcos navigated very challenging road conditions as well. A shout out to a job well done. Manford was one of the BEST tour managers we've had on our many Gate 1 trips. He had to deal with a group of 27 merging with new travelers to a total of 41 and then back to 20 remaining travelers for the last few days of our tour. This meant that he had to keep the group organized, juggle travel conditions and make sure folks had their luggage with them to the proper locations. Manford did the ENTIRE tour himself - no local guides, and his energy, knowledge and pride in the Costa Rica culture and people made our trip even more special. This changing group came together quickly and it was so great - in large part due to his leadership.

Our Discovery trip to Costa Rica and Panama was so good. Our guide Ricardo was so personable, kind and so knowledgeable about wildlife. He looked for and pointed out to us the different Monkey species, Sloths, turtles, frogs and so much more at every stop we made. He took exceptional care of us for the entire trip through Costa Rica and Panama. We stayed in a beautiful lodge in the Rainforest, an amazing hotel with the jungle on one side and the beach within walking distance. From our Balcony we saw a Howler monkey on a tree a few feet in front of us. Wonderful! We had an amazing lunch with a Costa Rican Family that I will always remember because they were great hosts, their farm was beautiful, and the food was fantastic. Panama was a wonderful surprise, The boat ride on the Panama Canal was fun. The visit to the indigenous tribe was a highlight of the trip. Maurice, our local guide in Panama, was very knowledgeable and took very good care of us. Thank you Gate 1 for another amazing trip.

We want to emphasize and commend our tour guide, Jairo. He was the best. Aside from the excellent ratings noted in the survey we want to emphasize Jairo's love of his country. That love and his knowledge made the time spent terrific. He was over the top. Secondly, we want to compliment and commend our tour driver, Hector. Always smiling, always helpful and always patient. Hector's driving abilities were beyond comparison. These two individuals contributed greatly in making our journey a memorable one.

We had a great group to travel with, the accommodations were very well located and nice, our drivers, Hector & Felix, made the trip relaxing & safe. But most of the praise must go to Luis, our tour manager. He was always helpful, knowledgeable, concerned, always looking to make the best of our tour... an absolute pleasure to travel with. He is the best tour manager I've had out of all the trips with Gate 1 (and most other tour companies) which says a lot because you have the absolute best tour guides period. Make sure you take good care of him...he's a great asset to your company.

I would like to add that Manfred was an absolute pleasure! He was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and kind! I feel that he made the trip outstanding! His ability to connect with people and communicate all of the information is outstanding. His knowledge of EVERYTHING COSTA RICA should be commended! Also, I have no idea how Marvin, our bus driver, was able to maneuver through the craziest of roads! I am in awe of his driving skills!

My trip to Costa Rica was very good. The itinerary, transport, and hotels were very good. Our guide, Jose, was excellent; he is very organized and looked after our group with keen attention and kindness

Giovani was a great tour director on our Costa Rica tour along with Carlos our driver, they are great representatives for GATE1. Many thanks to Gio and Carlos.

I had a wonderful tour with Gate 1 to Costa Rica. I wanted to express my appreciation for Rafael, our tour manager, and everything he did to make the trip special. I cannot think of anything that could have been done better. He taught us an amazing amount about Costa Rican history and ecology. Rafa communicated all of the tour details daily and gave us plenty of reminders. He kept the group on time in a friendly way. I was impressed with his attention to detail. I also want to mention our skilled driver, Randall. He was a safe driver and kept the new bus spotless. Thank you to everyone at Gate 1 who put the tour together and allowed us to explore and learn about another country.

The trip was great. Jose our tour guide took great care of us. The hotels were impressive and the meals were fantastic. Much more than I expected.

My husband and I just returned from the 14 Day Kaleidoscope of Costa Rica. We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation. Our tour guide Manfred was excellent! His knowledge of each of the areas we visited was exceptional and we learned a great deal about the beautiful country and saw a lot of wildlife. Manfred greeted us the day we arrived at the hotel and was with us throughout assuring everything went smoothly. He was even there in the very early morning on the day of our departure, providing us with a bagged lunch and to say goodbye. We enjoyed all of the hotels and resorts which were truly unique and beautiful. Our bus driver Jose was wonderful in his ability to safely navigate the highways and mountain roads so the passengers could relax and simply enjoy the scenery from the comfort of a brand-new bus. We would highly recommend this trip!!

Our trip exceeded our expectations! My husband said it was the best trip he's ever taken. Much of the credit goes to our guide Rafael who shared his vast knowledge of all things Costa Rican as well as other subjects. He was a model of patience caring for a bus full of travelers and kept us all well informed. We came home wanting to book another trip with Gate1!

Once again, we had a magnificent vacation with Gate1 travel. Our trip to Costa Rica for 13 days was top-notch and we enjoyed every part of the trip. Our guide Jairo was magnificent and showed us all the culture, lifestyles and attractions of Costa Rica. Our accommodations and food was top-notch, and I have to give a lot of good credit to our bus driver Louise, as he did a magnificent job in driving us through the countryside. We say so many times when we pick our trips out, where would we like to go and see something new. We always realize that the countryside is magnificent to look at, but the true success of a vacation is our tour guide. We can't say enough good things about Jairo as he did an excellent job. The group absolutely loved him and he made the trip so exciting and refreshing.

We had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. Maria in Tortuguero was amazing. Rafael was SO ORGANIZED, even with 40 people things ran so smoothly. This was my 13th Gate 1 tour and Rafael made the trip seamless.

Loved our 14-day kaleidoscope of Costa Rica. Traveled with a great group and a wonderful guide (Jose). Visited truly magical places, hotels and meals were great and the itinerary really allowed for immersion into the culture and a great introduction to the wonderful wildlife. Would love to come back soon to photograph more of the birds!!

Our first trip with Gate 1 was a wonderful experience. Our sincere thanks. I will sum up the three factors that I believe made this experience so positive. Your guides - both Jose and Jairo were extraordinary guides and tour managers. Their extensive knowledge of the country, its flora and fauna and its people was astonishing. You have chosen extraordinary people to do this and we are very grateful. We left Costa Rica knowing so much more about it than I ever imagined. Jose and Jairo also showed empathy and caring for us, attending to our needs and making sure we were OK at all times, The "back office" work - All of the accommodations, travel, food and other details were taken care of ahead of time. It was refreshing to not have to worry about anything related to hotels, travel within the country, food and so many other details that were taken care of in the background. Any issue or problem that came up was promptly resolved. My compliments to your staff and all of the people who made sure things ran smoothly.

The trip was amazing! I had such a wonderful time thanks to the incredible tour director, Manfred!! Manfred was fantastic, knowledgeable, social and very organized! He and the bus driver Luis made this trip so very enjoyable!

Great, Giovanni was a wonderful guide. Everything moved like clockwork. The scenery was beautiful. We met a lot of nice people and the food was delicious. What more would we want!

First, I would like to thank Gate1 for taking care of us, taking us from San Jose airport to Arsenal to catch up with our tour since our flight was canceled and we arrived one day late. We have been traveling with Gate1 so many times and will continue to do so. I told all my friends how Gate1 always took care of us (last time was flight delay on our South Africa trip). Secondly, our tour guide Ricardo. He was wonderful. He explained a lot and took care of us down to small details. He was very friendly. He answered all of our questions. He timed everything exactly as required. We loved our optional tour. The coffee plantation visit was a must, everything is all natural and lunch was the best. We loved the wonderful hanging bridges. Even though our trip was short (seven days) but it was packed with information and wonderful wild life. Thank you, Ricardo.

We just completed the 13 day trip to Costa Rica with Tortuguero and Manuel Antionio. Our tour guide was Ricardo. We had an wonderful trip and wanted to say thank you to Ricardo for guiding our group. He was so knowledgeable and passionate about his country and we learned so much from him. He was also friendly, helpful, patient, and funny!! We enjoyed his sense of humor and guidance throughout this trip! We also enjoyed the great restaurants chosen for group dining and the fun, optional excursions offered. Well done, Gate One! Pura Vida!!

We just did the 14 day tour of Costa Rica with Gerardo Jimenez and it exceeded all our expectations. We had never joined a tour before and we were delighted with the itinerary and with the way Gerardo managed every aspect of our experience. He was attentive to any concerns or questions, he was consistently friendly and good-humored, and he was enthusiastically informative about his country and the flora and fauna we encountered. He and Adolfo, our driver, made us feel safe and at ease in every situation. I hope that Gate 1 appreciates them as the face of the organization!

For our recently completed tour of Costa Rica, our bus driver, Carlos, was absolutely remarkable. He had phenomenal driving skills allowing us to feel safe and secure throughout our trip. In addition, his effervescent personality brought so much positive energy to our bus. Our Tour Manager, Gilbert, was knowledgeable, caring and personable. He taught us much about Costa Rica's culture, food, flora and fauna interjecting humor throughout his talks so as to keep us interested and entertained. He worked tirelessly to oversee every detail of our tour with his efforts resulting in us having a smooth, seamless tour. My wife and I so appreciate how hard both Gilbert and Carlos worked to make our tour of Costa Rica a fantastic experience, one resulting in memories we will keep for a lifetime. Unfortunately, words cannot properly convey how well they both performed their duties. Suffice it to say, we are very grateful for the opportunity to have been on our tour with them.

We thought each hotel was fantastic. Imagine going on a two hour bus ride and then an hour and a half boat ride to our jungle bungalow! So exciting and so much fun. We loved the Hot Springs and then the beach hotel was out of this world. The final destination in Manuel Antonio national Park was a fabulous walk and then to a glorious beach. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you we had the most fantastic tour guide, Jose, he knew so much about the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. In addition, he told us so so much about Costa Rica history, culture, and how Costa Ricans live today. Jose was obviously very proud of Costa Rica, but he was very honest about Costa Rica's challenges. He was unbelievably fantastic. It was very obvious that he cared very deeply about us having a great time and about our safety.

My trip was awesome! Loved Costa Rica, and tourmates were wonderful . Our tour guide Gerardo and Marvin were exceptional.

Exploring Costa Rica with our guide Raphael was amazing. HE MADE THE EXPERIENCE!!! His knowledge of his beloved country shined through every day's adventure from history to flora and fauna. I have never enjoyed any guide as much. I came away from this trip with a new understanding of Costa Rica. And on another side, Rafael cared about our comfort and safety explaining what to expect each day. He quickly learned our interests and physical abilities. I think he personally wanted each traveler to come away with a well-rounded understanding of CR. I personally loved the level of detail he offered "everything". Truly amazed our group!

Our Costa Rica tour guide Jose was OUTSTANDING!!! His knowledge of his whole country was unbelievable! His calm personality made it so the entire 44 guests all had an amazing time together!! This was the best trip we have taken because of Jose! He was like being with a professor/local biologist and art director of a museum. We cannot forget about our driver Luis! He drove through those towns flawlessly with that bus. We were proud that we have been on 11 Gate 1 tours and we were with other guests who have done 35!! That says a lot about how wonderful your company is!!!! Looking forward to the next one very soon!

We LOVED our Costa Rica/Panama Discovery Tour! I had been to Costa Rica before, but Panama was a wonderful surprise! It was so beautiful! And learning about the Panama Canal was so interesting. But the one thing that made this tour was our Tour Manager. Luis was incredible. He is a literal encyclopedia of knowledge, he went over and above to help me when I lost something, was always upbeat and couldn't do enough for us to make sure that we had a great experience. And we got to meet his lovely family! Touring the farm, having lunch and meeting this warm and loving family was one of the other highlights of the trip. They really made us feel like WE were family! Again, a wonderful trip that I would highly recommend to anyone.

I would like to provide feedback on our Tour Manager, Raphael - Rafa. This was our seventh trip with Gate1, and each and every time I felt "I've found the absolute BEST guide possible." Well, Rafa has set a bar I think impossible to beat. The guy is simply beyond amazing. In a nutshell, you should put him in charge of training Gate1 tour managers - he really is that good. Specifically, he is a walking encyclopedia - and he doesn't pass this knowledge to his group as "look how smart I am." To the contrary, he says it in a manner that encouraged me to learn more. One of the things I most respected Rafa for was that in an exceptionally calm manner, he let everyone know he was the boss, and when he spoke everyone listened. Specifically, early on, he set expectations about timeliness - he did this in an exceptionally calm manner - but everyone got the point, and we never had anyone over one-minute late. Going forward, all manager guides are going to be judged based on the new Rafa set. He is an extraordinary individual, and a true Gem for Gate1.

I've been on several Gate1 tours with excellent guides. GIOVANI, our guide on this trip to Costa Rica and Panama was excellent plus. He was friendly, informative, educated, knowledgeable, a pleasure to be with. He is an exceptional guide!

Our tour manager in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, Cesar, was MAGNIFICENT! Patient, extremely knowledgeable, and kind. His background is perfect for the tours especially wildlife and nature! His communication skills are on point and he is perfect for this job!! Well done, Cesar!!

One of our best trips ever!! Starting with the GATE 1 folks meeting us at the San Jose Airport. It's like they already knew who we were. Amazing! Gabriella drove us to the hotel in a very professional manner. Much appreciated. We met with our tour guide Geraldo! Great start to a trip. The first day we knew Exactly what was going on and it stayed the same throughout the whole trip. Our bus driver, Marvin was Also, very professional and an excellent driver on the narrow roads throughout Costa Rica. Everything was Very organized and the transfer day when 12 of our fellow travelers departed for their 3 days on the beach, it was handled very professionally again. We missed their company, but our new Tour Guide Monica set the Tone right away for the rest of trip to San Jose for our city tour and it was excellent again. Having Patricia Bringing up the rear of our gaggle of 26 folks was very reassuring!! And of course, our departure went off without a hitch. And we had Gabriella driving us to the airport in a very Professional and precise manner. We loved it! A great way to end a great GATE 1 vacation. We are looking forward to our next GATE 1 Vacation next month to Europe to visit the Christmas Markets. Please keep up the excellent standards GATE 1.