Testimonials

Good morning!

Thanks for the welcome back and for all the great excursions we went on. We loved the hotel Alta in San Jose very much. The rooms were very nice, the service excellent. The food and drinks were Very expensive there tho. I like a martini at night and didn’t expect to pay $30.00 for one. lol That is my only complaint for hotel Alta, we really enjoyed it. We also left them with a lot of clothes we donated. The rainforest was a great excursion that the whole group enjoyed, seeing Toucan’s and the butterfly garden was beautiful.

Hotel Aguila de Osa was very beautiful as well and had excellent service and the food was a real treat! I miss their meals now! The workers were very kind and had a fun atmosphere. We spoke with the owner the first night and enjoyed being with him as well. The first night Sienna’s room was over run by bugs and had bugs all over her pillow and floor but the staff came in and handled it quickly and efficiently. The view from the rooms was wonderful and we did see a lot of wildlife, but not having a/c in the rooms was rough! About 4 am it cooled down enough to sleep comfortably. Also, the book they had in the rooms had much higher tipping prices, it was a bit hard to navigate.

We all laughed that they had the worst coffee ever but the Best food! On the last day with them they went on a fishing excursion and caught a Lot of fish! My son Brock got a large tuna and Savana got a big wahoo that the chef cooked that night amazingly! We left the Inn with enough fish to feed all the guests for the next few nights! A great trip and great memories! Thanks!

Kim Van Sant

Hi Stasha

Hi Stasha, We had the most magical first day here possible. William is lovely. The Peace Lodge was everything I dreamed for the boys. And we had this incredible guide there named Johnathan who took gorgeous photos of all we saw and did. Hotel Alta is so elegant and stylish. So far we are in heaven. Thank you so much.

Shea

Hello Stasha

I had an absolutely fabulous trip! The resorts were all really great - great service, great food. The diving was good even though visibility got bad last two days. A pair of Harlequin shrimp made the whole trip worthwhile! The humpback whales were fun to watch, too. I think I liked the hiking almost more than the diving. All the animals and nature was new to me. Just loved the monkeys! We talked to some other guests at Aguila who suggested the Corcovado hike to the Sirena ranger station, so we made a last minute change and did that hike instead. It was wonderful, great guide and lots of wildlife. Hanging Bridges was beautiful, and another great guide. The Springs were pretty but had a "water park" atmosphere, and buffet dinner was marginal. I wish I could have spent more time at The Lost Iguana, just beautiful! The Toucan at breakfast there was one of the highlights of the trip! Weather was perfect, no rain at all. Transfer drivers were very friendly and accommodating.

Thanks so much for your help putting together this trip. You did a fabulous job! Looking forward to my next trip!

Pura Vida! Lynette Rudd

Hello Stasha

Sorry for the delay in sharing with you our experience in Costa Rica since we returned from our trip. It took us awhile to get caught up and get back into our daily activities. Of all the vacations that we had taken over the years, Costa Rica is one of the best in terms of overall experience, enjoyment, sceneries, and the friendliness of the people. Our stay at the Peace Lodge will remain in our memories for many years to come- starting with the lodge that we were in (I suspect, it may be a once in a life time experience; Margaret and I would be willing to make a return trip just to stay at the Peace Lodge again), to the butterfly farm, animal and bird sanctuaries, the frog station, the waterfalls, the plants and flowers on ground, the cloud and rain forests.... Then there is Xandari- the modern/contemporary theme of the villas was enlightening and the panoramic view from our unit was breath-taking; we stayed up at nights just to take in the view. The tropical breakfasts at Xandari- Margaret and I really like the fresh fruits in the mornings. Then there is the zip-line/canopy tour- we felt like kids again. The tour to Irazu Volcano, Orosi Valley and Lankester Garden- it was wonder full; we were lucky in that the weather was clear that day and as a result, we were able to see the inside of the crater and the water at the bottom of the volcano. Being that it was the "off-season," we were the only people on the tour and it was like a private tour; we were able to ask many questions of our tour guide. On the City Tour, we were just one of two parties attending the tour; again, it was leisurely and again, we were able to ask many questions. The drivers from your sister company you work with, were on time, professional, friendly and personable; clearly, a cut above average. And before I forget, the massage at the Peace Lodge- we definitely needed it and it was wonderful. All-in-all, one of our best vacation ventures ever.

There is no question, Costa Rica is one place we want to come back to. There are a number of other places in the world that we want to visit; we will make every effort to visit Costa Rica again.

Lastly, Margaret and I want to thank you so much for getting us into to the Peace Lodge and Xandari, for designing our trip and for putting together a well thought out itinerary. Your knowledge of Costa Rica, your relationships with the various ecotourism providers made our trip memorable and most enjoyable and your insight into the needs of the travelers are clearly reflected in the planning. We will refer members of our families and friends to you and we will give you a call when we visit Costa Rica again. With best regards,

Donald and Margaret Wong

My name is Jennifer Tietz and my family and I used Stasha for scripting out our Costa Rica vacation 2 summers ago. We just wanted to pass on to you what a wonderful, ethical and reliable service she provides to her clients planning trips though her company.

We decided at the very last minute (maybe less than 3 weeks in advance) to plot a trip to Costa Rica for our summer trip with our 2 kids, ages 12 and 14. We asked a bunch of our friends for travel tips and we found 3 of our family friends in our neighborhood in San Mateo who had used Stasha and her company Costa Rica Deluxe Tours. All 3 of these families had gotten Stasha as a reference from their friends who had been super happy with her planning and executing. Stasha planned the trip of a lifetime for our family in a very short amount of time without one hitch or misque. We were not very familiar with the lay of the land in CR but she listened to what we hoped to do and see and the kind of accommodations we wanted. We had the benefit of chatting with several first-hand customers of hers to compare notes, pricing and business practices so we felt very reassured that we would not be disappointed or short-changed in anyway. Our friends couldn't say enough good things about her so we had faith that the trip would be fabulous. I can only tell you that 2 years later, my kids are still chatting about the fun and adventure they had in CR. Truthfully, we had never used a trip company to plan a vacation because we are quite competent travelers on our own but I have to say this trip made me a believer in the benefits of using an experienced person to plan a trip to a foreign destination. Our accommodations were perfect, every driver showed up exactly on time and on point for each leg of our trip and the spots she picked for us to visit were outstanding. Our trip was extremely well organized without one hitch or disconnect.

We would highly recommend Stasha and her tour company without one ounce of hesitation. I have since given her company name out to many of my friends planning trips to CR. She is honest, efficient, and extremely knowledgeable about the in's and out's of CR. Her guests are greeted warmly at all of the properties she books and she did not leave one detail unplanned. I forget to mention that we paid by check for all of our services and travel arrangements. It has been her company's policy for many many years and it might appear strange but we saved money and it keeps expenses down for all parties involved.

If you would like to chat live about anything concerning her company, please let me know. We can't say enough good things about the company she runs. Again, I would be happy to chat with you anytime.

Jennifer Tietz

Dear Stasha D., I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "Stasha's experience and knowledge of Costa Rica was very helpful in planning a perfect trip.

Her recommendations were cost-effective and I believe we received value for money and maximized our exposure to the varied attractions of northern Cost Rica.

Thank you Stasha for all your personalized help" Service Category: Travel Agent Year first hired: 2011 Top Qualities: Great Results, Expert, Good Value

Greetings from Ocotal Beach Resort! Mrs. Stasha from Adventure and Dive Tours of Costa Rica told me you wanted a reference from her and her company. We have worked with her and Adventure and Dive Tours for over 25 years now. It is a well-known company in Costa Rica and provides excellent service to the customers. In these 25 years they have shown commitment and honesty to all of their customers and our hotel. We gladly recommend her.

If you have any questions please don´t hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards,

Andrea Vargas S.

Dear Stasha,
First, thank you for another perfectly orchestrated trip! Valerie and I had a wonderful thirty- fifth anniversary, and you were at the center of it. The “extras/surprises” you had planned for us were very heartwarming. Just like the two previous trips you planned for me/us, it went off without any hitches.
You had asked for our feedback and some pictures. Here’s the feedback, pictures to follow this coming week.
Drivers: Everyone was so nice, accommodating and knowledgeable. We really got a chance to know William and he is a very kind man, and an excellent employee of yours (he represents you and your company very well!).
Xandari – The accommodations, food and staff were outstanding. They have beautiful grounds, and the waterfall hikes were a great suggestion. I’m not sure how long it’s been since you stayed there, but there was a ‘noise’ issue. The first two nights were filled with (multiple) dogs barking incessantly, almost the entire night. These were neighbor dogs, not on the Xandari property. This coupled with three low flying commercial planes made it extremely difficult to get any sleep. Xandari may now be in the take-off pattern of the planes. Additionally, there are motorcycles running up and down the frontage road all day and late into the evening. William confirmed that the motorcycles are an issue in San Jose. We stayed in villa #3 the first two nights. The last night of our trip we stayed in villa #19 and the noise was less intense. The dogs and planes were a little less noticeable, and William thought it would be better on our second stay, as we were a bit farther from the road. If we were planning on staying our first night in or around San Jose, I would not want to stay here. It’s sad, as it is a top end resort, and the issues I mentioned are not within their control.
Arenas del Mar – Outstanding! You chose the perfect suite and we loved everything about it. The view was the best feature, one that we wanted to enjoy as much as possible. Valerie and I agreed this was probably the nicest view room we have ever had. The staff were amazing, everyone knew our names and always greeted us. The food was outstanding, and the property deserved every star it rated. This is a keeper and a must do again sometime. Great suggestion. Rainmaker – This is a great activity and one that Valerie and I enjoyed very much. We valued the ‘private’ tour, as it gave us plenty of time to ask questions and learn more than we would have in a group setting. The flora and fauna is a big part of our trips and Rainmaker did not disappoint. Our guide was great, knowledgeable, funny and patient. He genuinely wanted us to learn as much as possible.
Zipline – Unfortunately, due to lightning, this activity was canceled. We were on our way there and received a call from the zipline company, explaining why this was being canceled, and that we would receive a credit on our card. We totally understood and realize that these things happen. Not a problem, just wanted to let you know that there will be a credit coming (your way?).
City Tour of Quepos – Valerie and I love learning about the culture of Costa Rica, as we do the flora and fauna. Again, doing this as a ‘private’ tour allows us to go at our own pace and ask lots of questions. The flexibility that a private tour allows us is appreciated. How many people would want to visit local grocery stores and learn about the products sold there? We do.
Private Transfer to Sierpe – Again, being on our own with a driver, versus a bus or a large group, allows us the flexibility of stopping for a cup of coffee in a small roadside town, which we did, or exploring a local community, learning about the people and businesses of that area. We had a great driver, and the driver was perfect for this task. Our driver had lunch with us in Sierpe and waited until the boat arrived to take us to Copa De Arbol, that was classy of him, as he could have just dropped us off.
Copa De Arbol – First, the boat ride was awesome, we saw a large crocodile just after leaving the dock. We then rounded a bend to observe a huge truck, full of palm oil coconuts, had just fallen off the barge into the river (this was very sad to see for everyone involved, as all that was visible was about two feet of the cab). The mangrove tour our boat driver took us on along the way was so interesting, we learned a lot about this ‘nursery’ for fish, reptiles and amphibians. Now for the best part, arriving at Copa De Arbol. Thank you for talking me into including this into our itinerary! This is a unique, one-of-a-kind resort and experience, one that Valerie and I will never forget! There is so much to say about this resort, but the ‘people’ are what stood out the most to Valerie and me. What an amazing staff! They are so warm and friendly, everyone knowing our names and always greeting us so warmly. We have never been so impressed by a staff as we were here. From the grounds keepers all the way up to the managers, and everyone in between, these people truly care that you are enjoying your time, and appreciate you being there. They are amazingly intuitive to your needs, even before asking. Valerie and I can’t think of one thing to tell you that could have improved our stay here, they have this place dialed in!
Diving – Both dive days were with Drake Bay Divers. The first day was perfect! There were three of us divers and one dive master. The dive master was great, professional, knowledgeable, patient (one of the divers was new) and we all had a great time. The second day of diving did not go as well as the first. There were ‘nine’ divers and ‘one’ dive master. This is way too many divers for one dive master, and there were divers of all skill levels. Due the varying skill levels, the dive master spent more time corralling us and it took a lot longer to view the sea life she was pointing out. At one point, a diver got separated from the group and we had to circle back and search for him, fortunately this ended well. There were also a few snorkelers on this trip as well, so the boat was ‘packed.’ The waters that day were extremely rough, and I’m surprised they didn’t cancel, a couple people got seasick. I’m not sure what we paid for, but I don’t think this is what you arranged for. As I mentioned on the phone, I wasn’t looking for ‘private’ dives, but day two of diving was not what was expected. I’m guessing Drake Bay Divers booked too many people for this day and went with it. I would not write off Drake Bay Divers, I would just make sure they do what they agree to do with you, as they did on day one of my diving. I just thought you would want to know this for future divers. The ideal diving group size is ‘up to four or five divers, plus the dive master.’ This provides the diver and dive master the best experience possible.
Fishing – This was a great experience, all the way! The boat and crew were great, and a half-day fishing was the perfect amount of time for me. As this was private, and we got into a lot of fish, I was nice and sore from reeling in all the fish myself. This is a great company, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.
Corcovado Reserve – We were blessed with great weather that day, no rain, so that was a welcomed treat. Our guide was so passionate about us learning as much as possible about the flora and fauna, and how Costa Rica is doing in preserving this National Park and its resources. He gave us the truth; the good and bad things that are happening there, and wanted us to know this, so we would better understand and appreciate it. I was so impressed by his story and passion for this park. He told us that he was previously an “adventure guide,” and through a specific wilderness experience he had, that he was able to see the outdoors and nature in a new way and wants to protect it. He’s an inspiration to all of us! This is a great opportunity to see nature “naturally.”
Summary – Again thank you very much for the time, effort and experience you put into our itinerary. This trip allowed us to experience things we had never experienced before, and to see yet another side of Costa Rica. After three trips of your planning, we have now experienced a great cross-section of this beautiful country and meet some of the loveliest people on earth.
Blessings and Pura Vida to you Stasha! Brian & Valerie Weigelt

Good morning!
Thanks for the welcome back and for all the great excursions we went on. We loved the hotel Alta in San Jose very much. The rooms were very nice, the service excellent. The food and drinks were Very expensive there tho. I like a martini at night and didn’t expect to pay $30.00 for one. lol That is my only complaint for hotel Alta, we really enjoyed it. We also left them with a lot of clothes we donated. The rainforest was a great excursion that the whole group enjoyed, seeing Toucan’s and the butterfly garden was beautiful. Hotel Aguila de Osa was very beautiful as well and had excellent service and the food was a real treat! I miss their meals now! The workers were very kind and had a fun atmosphere. We spoke with the owner the first night and enjoyed being with him as well. The first night Sienna’s room was over run by bugs and had bugs all over her pillow and floor but the staff came in and handled it quickly and efficiently. The view from the rooms was wonderful and we did see a lot of wildlife, but not having a/c in the rooms was rough! About 4am it cooled down enough to sleep comfortably. Also, the book they had in the rooms had much higher tipping prices, it was a bit hard to navigate.
We all laughed that they had the worst coffee ever but the Best food! On the last day with them they went on a fishing excursion and caught a Lot of fish! My son Brock got a large tuna and Savana got a big wahoo that the chef cooked that night amazingly! We left the Inn with enough fish to feed all the guests for the next few nights!
A great trip and great memories! Thanks!
Kim Van Sant

My family traveled to Costa Rica and had a trip of a lifetime thanks to Stasha and her team. We first heard of Costa Rica Deluxe Vacations from a friend and they highly recommended Stasha when we were considering traveling to CR. My kids still remember this trip and it’s over 5 years ago now. Every place we stayed was amazing and we never had to think about what we were doing next. It was all organized and everything she suggested to us was awesome. I highly recommend these folks to take care of your travel needs to this incredible place. They truly are the experts and it is totally worth every penny.
Pam Severson & Family

Dear Stasha,
My apologizes I meant to send this sooner, but your email slid down my in box and out of sight and I forgot. 
All our hotels were excellent, except Lost Iguana.  1. Xandari was beautiful landscape and view, excellent service, and perfect rooms.  5 out of 5! 
2. Lost Iguana was fine, but compared to the others we stayed at it was not as deluxe as Xandari or Aguila de Osa, a 5 star jungle lodge and meals were great!                                                                                                             
3. Costa Verde (I think was the name) in Manuel Antonio was great.  Food was good, views were nice, the squirrel monkeys were everywhere!  The pool was awesome with a great view of the ocean.  We were scheduled to stay in the new units (think it was called the adult building or something), but there were no rooms available when we arrived.  The room we stayed in was perfectly fine, but it would have been nice to be in the newer building.    4.5 out of 5.
4. Aguila de Osa.  Paradise on earth, of course the best place we stayed in Costa Rica.  Service was impeccable, best food of the trip, amazing scenery, great rooms, awesome day trips it was great. 6 out of 5!!  I would say the only thing that was less than perfect was the zip-lining.  It was raining so the cables were very wet and way too fast to really enjoy the experience.  The tour guides were nice enough, but they were clearly only interested in getting us through quickly before anyone saw lightning (which would force us to stop and refund our money).  My recommendation is only do zip lining if the cables are dry.      Pura Vida Day 1&2 Volcano was stunning a mile wide crater is one of the largest on earth for an active volcano. We lucked out and got a clear day which is rare. Coffee plantation was fascinating. I had no idea the process of growing and harvesting coffee, all done by hand. Takes 3 years for a coffee plant to produce and it will the produce for 100 years, but will never be as good as the first beans it produced. We tasted their best stuff, still think coffee is gross. La paz waterfalls was a spectacular area. Impeccably designed as a continuous walk through the facility. You start at the top of the valley and tour bird aviary (touched a toucan), butterfly house, monkey house, then buffet lunch followed by frogs, orchids, snakes, and jungle cats. Finished with 2 amazing waterfalls. One called white magic that played wild tricks with your eyes if you stared at it.  Finished at the gift shop and are picked up at the bottom by our driver. Very well organized. 
 Returned to Xandari to relax. Took a walk to town for beer and were fast asleep by 9.   Slept 10 hours then hiked the trails at our resort. Through 5 waterfalls, bamboo groves, orchards, and finally to breakfast. Were picked up for the 3 hour pleasant drive to lost iguana near arenal volcano.  Arrived to wonderful room with beautiful patio with fish pond and view of volcano. Hiking boots on for 2 hour hike through primary jungle on the property. Truly amazing canopy jungle, everything I imagined from bbc films, complete with rotting bridges.   Back to hotel for happy hour in the swim up bar and then dinner. We enjoy our personal outdoor jacuzzi and then to bed. Off to hot springs, river kayaking, and nature tour at Club Rio today.   Pura Vida Day 3-5
Trip continues to go incredibly well, the trip plans have by flawless and our rides have all been on time.  No sunburn and shockingly very few bug bites.  We did have a reminder that we are in the jungle when we awoke on our third morning to have a 6 inch caterpillar checking us out from the bed hangings.  We calmly yet swiftly exited the bed and I escorted our visitor to the porch.  The Springs resort was unbelievable pleasant. At least 20 different man made pools with different temperatures of volcanic spring water piped in, were set throughout a couple acres of lush resort. I have noidea how they do it, but it was incredible. We try each pool and were the only ones in most of them, including one with our own private waterslide!  Think we rode it a dozen times.  We also did kayaking and tubing on the Arenal river followed by a nature hike through their rescue center with monkeys and jungle cats. The Springs is owned by the same people who did La Paz so everything was seamless and wonderful. Had one of our best meals of the trip for lunch and it was included in our tickets!  We were there for over 10 hours, finishing in a hot spring pool with frozen drinks at the swim up bar with the sun setting on one side and the volcano sitting on the other side complete with a wedding ceremony be held!  It was really nice. Returned to the hotel with really soft skin and prunny fingers from some many hours in the springs.   
Slept in next morning before having a big breakfast and heading to Arenal for our volcano hike. It was fun and pretty interesting, but the tour guide was a little dry. We hiked with 3 couples from Turkey.  Saw lots of big spiders and a caramundy which is a jungle raccoon with a long snout. Hiked up a lava flow for a great view of volcano and lake.   Returned to hotel and headed to the Hanging Bridges. WOW this was a 600 acres preserve of primary jungle (meaning never been touched) with huge bridges spanning the river gouges that put you in the canopy. The views were not to be believed.  The longest bridge was over 300 feet with 140 feet of open air and tree tops below you. For those of you with some vertigo issues this was not a tour for you, even I had numb feet and jumpy belly on some of these crossings.  Nearly the entire 2 miles of the trail we did not see another soul and had the whole jungle to ourselves. Heard the unworldly sounds from howling monkeys but never spotted them. Nice lunch at the park before returning to hotel for some time in the sauna. Upon coming back to the room we found a line of termites waking across the bed. Called reception and were moved to an even nicer room!  In bed early again and slept like the dead for 10 hours.   Woke early this morning for another hike on the property before breakfast (best time to see the birds). We are off to the airport in a few minutes to fly to Manuel Antonio for next 2 nights.   
Day 5 Our flight into Manuel Antonio was just fine, it fact it was quite fun.  The 'airport' was out the back of a restaurant and everyone had to be weighed to make sure the weight was not too much. The plane landed and we were loaded and took off again in under 10 minutes, if only American airlines were so efficient. We had an 18 seat plane and took off from the middle of a yucca field (kinda of like a potato but grows a small tree). 30 minutes later we were seeing the pacific ocean. Arrived at our very nice hotel and headed to the beach. I body surfed in the waves till exhaustion and then returned to the hotel pool (Laura is not a big fan of swimming in the ocean).   In our 4 hours here we have seen tons of squirrel monkeys, white faced monkeys, sloths, toucans, bats, and a ton of other birds. Just watched the sun set over the pacific with piña coladas in hand and just ordered a yummy seafood dinner. 
 Tomorrow is a tour of the national park ending with a swim in the ocean. Following day we fly to Osa Peninsula and enter the real 'wilderness'. Every Costa Rican we have talk to speaks of Osa with almost reverence for its untouched wildness.  Not sure of the wifi situation but assume you will not hear from us till we are in the Houston airport on July 8. 
Sincerely,
Sean Wylie-- Sean D. Wylie