Absolutely. We can tailor your vacation in any number of ways. If you have specific activities or wildlife events you want to see then we can rearrange the trip to include those. If you want to combine Costa Rica with neighbouring Nicaragua, we can do that.

Costa Rica's a funny one because it manages to pack an unbelievable amount of weather into a small area. That's why most people are confused as to when to plan their visit.

Essentially, the country has a tall spine of mountains running down the middle so there is near total separation of the Caribbean from the Pacific sides. When it's good weather on the Caribbean side, it's less good on the Pacific, and vice versa.

Any trip to the country is really a balancing act between the two sides, with the weighting adjusted depending on the time of year.

We avoid any/all travel from late September through to late November. Things on the Pacific side are too wet and wild to enable safe travel.

Other than that, you can travel from December all the way through to September.

Christmas and New Year are peak season for travellers, getting quieter again in January to pick up in February and March, usually through to Easter time. After that point, things are fairly steady.

It should be said that the types of places we visit do not tend to get busy. However, the places we stay are small so it doesn't take much to fill them up.

This is somewhat dependent upon when you want to travel but for this trip, there are several key properties which make it highly vulnerable - most obviously on the Osa Peninsula so six to 12+ months is normal.

Having a vehicle allows you to stay in more remote, interesting places, and to explore locally once you are there. Journey times between your overnight stays will generally be around three or four hours so comfortably fit into a morning - days are not 'lost' to navigating.

Roads in Costa Rica are a mixture of good tarmac, old tarmac with potholes and compacted dirt roads. As a rule of thumb, the further you get from the populous Central Valley, the less traffic there is and the bumpier the road. However, both main coastal roads are smooth and sleek.

Don't worry, we do not expect you to drive as you land in Costa Rica, instead we have your car delivered to you at your first hotel. Since these tend to be on the outskirts of the city, your escape into the countryside should be relatively stress-free.

Overwhelmingly so, yes. Costa Rica is famously a peaceful place, with no standing army. It is enormously unlikely that you will encounter any problems at all, if you do then it would most likely be theft from your vehicle so you should be sensible about your belongings but you need be no more concerned than you would be travelling to, say, Spain. Or London.

By using Google Maps or Waze on your smart phone, you can easily navigate as you would at home without using any mobile data. We provide simple step-by-step instructions, don't worry.

We include 4x4 vehicles, well maintained and from reputable rental operators. For families these tend to be full size SUVs such as a Toyota Fortuner, automatic transmission, decent sized engine.

Absolutely, this would be a peach of a trip for a multi-generational family, or two families to travel together. It also works fine for different shaped families - one child, four children, all are possible. For a family of three, the beach house at the end is probably overkill but we can discuss.

As a tailor made trip, the level of exertion on this trip is determined by you, your interests and your ages. As a start point, we have included what we think are some of the best activities in Costa Rica: canyoning and rafting, with opportunities to arrange zip lines, snorkelling and kayaking as well. All are suitable for people with no experience and all specialist equipment is provided.

If you want more adrenaline, we can discuss this and potentially include other activities. Bear in mind that we also provide you with detailed Travel Guide Notes so you can read our tips and advice for any given part of the country and sort out additional activities as you go.

This vacation is intended to balance activities with wildlife, people and places. There is plenty going on already so you are unlikely to want to try and pack too much more in - unless you are a frenetic bunch.

Whenever you undertake activities as part of our trip, we ensure that they adhere to the very best international standards.

We do not include, or encourage, ATV use - they are noisy and dangerous. We do not include, or normally encourage, horse riding. The quality and treatment of horses is highly variable and the use of suitable helmets rare.

You must be careful of currents in Costa Rica - primarily on the Pacific coast. On this vacation you stay in Drake Bay which is protected, and on the Golfo Dulce which is also facing an inlet so much calmer than the open ocean. If you stop to take a dip in the open ocean, be sure to have read our advice on how to spot Rip Tides in your Travel Guide Notes.

Very. You have plenty of space to spread out, relax and make yourself at home. The trip is designed to reduce the amount of time you spend packing up and moving on, so you can really enjoy your three houses. The accommodation in itself is a highlight of the trip - think a hot tub bubbling as the clouds drift over the hills below, a shady beach hut next to gently rolling waves and inviting hammocks with birds and monkeys passing overhead.

Yes. There's no way to keep them out, and no point trying. When walking in forests, you should always wear closed toe shoes and long trousers tucked into socks. At dawn and dusk, make sure you have repellent on and wear clothing as close to colours of the forest floor as possible.

There are also snakes. No point pretending there aren't, however, they are terrified of of humans so you are not likely to see any unless you go in search of them. They hear your clumping footsteps coming and are long gone. Avoid the temptation of rummaging around blindly in piles of leaves and you'll be fine.

Absolutely, yes. Because you are going off the beaten track, you will be seeing life as lived by Ticos throughout this trip. Between guides, hosts and our top tips for where to go and what to eat, you should leave Costa Rica with a proper sense of the people.

There's a general and infectious sense of joie de vivre, Pura Vida, in Costa Rica.

Too many vacations to Costa Rica focus entirely on the wildlife with a bit of beach and activity thrown in. That's totally unfair to the people who live here and give it all colour - and who take such pride in their environment. It's not always obvious given the ramshackle appearance of many towns and villages but the environmental education and messaging here is remarkable and people are generally very proud of the lead their country takes in matters ecological.

But really, it's the day to day people watching that too many people miss. Lunch at a roadside 'soda' is an opportunity to see all of society eating side by side, doctors to farm labourers. Eating ceviche whilst watching the fishermen haul in their catch. Tucking into a huge plate of plantains, rice and beans as a pickup truck with a huge speaker strapped in the back goes up and down the street, blaring out the latest special offer at 'MEESTER CHICKEN!!!'

It's a fun, and funny, place.

We take a 15% deposit to secure your vacation, with the remainder due eight weeks before your departure.

Your money is 100% protected through our ATOL licence if your trip includes a flight booked through us, or through our ABTOT bond if it does not. Either way, this protection provides a cast-iron financial guarantee and helps you book with complete peace of mind. Because the contract between us exists here in the UK, you get this protection regardless of where you live.