Only between Santa Teresa and Samara, Tamarindo and Liberia Airport Get Deal
Tropical Tours Shuttles
Reviews & Customer Testimonials
Real Reviews From Travelers Across Costa Rica
For more than two decades, Tropical Tours Shuttles has helped travelers safely reach Costa Rica’s most popular destinations. Every review on this page comes from guests who have experienced our shared shuttles, private transportation services, and airport transfers throughout the country.
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RatingTerrible company. Do NOT book with them!
I’m sure this is a great shuttle company for other individuals, but it just wasn’t the case for me. I highly suggest that you wait outside until the driver gets there because they don’t communicate when the driver is arriving. They just expect you to wait outside (mind you it was thunder storming outside) until your driver is there. Also this is nowhere in their terms and conditions that you need to wait outside until the driver is there as they give no updates. But they will try to blame it on you if there is any kind of discrepancy. They will not text you a pickup window or even any kind of update. They texted me AFTER the driver already left. And whoever is in charge of communicating on WhatsApp is completely unprofessional, unhelpful, and dismissive of their customer’s time and money. I’m begging you to book with another service because there is a 50/50 chance you cannot rely on them and that your vacation will be ruined. Upon further reading more reviews, it turns out I’m not the only one with issues with their customer service. They played with my time and most importantly, my money! For context, I had a shuttle planned to go to Santa Teresa from Fortuna at 5:30am. I even was the one that reached out the night before to confirm that pickup was 5:30am. (There would have been no confirmation if I didn’t personally reach out so make sure you do that). I was already waiting outside before that, and a couple minutes after 5:30am I decided to wait inside my room because it was raining hard and there was thunder outside and I didn’t want to be drenched as I had only a backpack. I even paid the fare for 2 passengers because they said they need at least 2 people to operate the shuttle. Anyways, the driver was here and left around 6:14am according to whoever was texting me on WhatsApp. I don’t understand why they didn’t even send me a simple text that the driver was already here. I was waiting! It’s not the driver’s fault at all. But whoever is working in that office needs to get fired as they are not doing their job of properly communicating with their customer. It would have taken 5 seconds to say the driver was here. Also, he said that the driver was ringing the doorbell, which I understand and appreciate that the DRIVER at least attempted to somehow contact me. Unfortunately I was staying at a hotel so the doorbell doesn’t ring for me, but I don’t expect them to know that. The person on WhatsApp didn’t even ATTEMPT to contact me before the driver left. Just blamed it on me. They also will not refund you your money should ANYTHING go wrong, so please beware. They will just shrug it off and say “sorry, can’t do anything about it.” Absolutely terrible. Don’t risk your vacation! Please save yourself the stress. Volcano Tours or literally any other company will be better than this one. Then they’re saying that the office is open until 6:30am to back up their side. Okay cool, so then you just confirmed that there’s someone in the office that could have communicated to me. And then they’re also saying that “as an example, all their other customers were ready and outside at 5:30 am in San Jose.” Okay that’s awesome, but I’m not one of those customers and I literally was also outside at 5:30am while it was pouring rain, but no one was there. Essentially, they’re blaming it on me that I wasn’t waiting outside at 5:30am until the driver showed up on THEIR time. That’s not even a policy of theirs that you need to be waiting outside and that they’re not going to text you. And if that’s your argument, then I could also argue that if all the other transportation companies and excursions I’ve worked with always texted me updates, then they could have too. It was whoever was on WhatApp’s job to say, “Hey, the driver is here.” I cannot stress how upset that made me as a solo female traveler trying to save money. Literally had me crying at 6:30 in the morning and I try my best to avoid any kind of issues as an anxious traveler lol. Essentially, they lacked communication on their part. I shouldn’t have received a text AFTER the driver left. I should have been told when he was there already or even before that. It’s funny because we spent like 45 minutes arguing on WhatsApp and the whole time I’m thinking “wow they have time to argue with me but they didn’t have time to text me that the driver was there and we could have avoided this situation altogether.” I honestly thought they were just not coming at all. I ended up having to make a last minute booking for private transportation for 400 bucks elsewhere. Insane, but I just didn’t want to risk this happening again and it’s a little difficult to get to Santa Teresa if you don’t book in advance. I’m not sure if I didn’t do my part in communicating enough? But they at least need to take some responsibility for it. Whoever is on their marketing team just does a great job as advertising it as a reliable service. The actual customer service though? TERRIBLE. If the person had just texted me that the driver was here, we could have avoided all of this. But no, they blamed it on me that I wasn’t waiting outside. Unfortunately, I had also pre-booked for another ride. I wanted to cancel so that I could get a refund and just book with a different company since I didn’t want to risk anything happening. I reached out well in advanced, as per their policy. No one replied to me. I’m not sure if they did that so that they don’t have to deal with giving me the refund. So they just took my money essentially. I’m very upset and had to file a chargeback because they did not provide any services for me, nor did they properly communicate with me or even try to relieve the situation. This is a terrible company, do not book.
Wood book a transfer again
Nosara to Liberia Shuttle. I was told by email I needed to go to the main road of my retreat which was a 25 min walk with a suitcase, however, on arrival to the front gate, it appears the driver was entering the retreat, so maybe I didnt need to sweat so hard. Easy to book the day before in off season, professional staff, clean and comfortable. They do hard work lifting bags on/off the vehicle all day. Cheaper than private shuttle!
Excellent!
Excellent and communication and service. Comfortable ride and experienced driver. Would use them again!
Get what you pay for
We used three shuttle companies for private shuttles during our stay in Costa Rica. This was unfortunately our worst experience of the three. However, it was the cheapest provider. The driver we had from Tamarindo to Alajuelo was unfriendly. We felt like we were inconveniencing him by riding with him.
Very satisfied
Well organised, easy pickup and transit to Santa Teresa. Would recommend without hesitation. Friendly drivers and good arrangement for the ferry.
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Rating
I booked a shuttle from Liberia Airport to Santa Teresa for a friend. Tropical Tours charged my card and sent a confirmation email, but no one picked her up. She was left waiting alone at the airport with taxis asking high last-minute prices. When I called Tropical Tours, they offered to pick her up the next day which doesn’t help. I ended up having to pay a taxi $300 to drive my friend to Santa teresa. I would not recommend relying on this company, especially considering their lack of accountability and customer support.
Nuestro viaje a Santa Teresa , fue maravilloso y sin ningún tipo de estrés gracias a esta empresa que nos ayudó muchísimos y siempre dispuestos a ayudarnos , los mejores y los recomiendo Muchísimo 👌🏻
Super Service auf jede meiner Fragen bekam ich über ihre WhatsApp eine sofortige Antwort!!
Booked three transfers with the guys, super affordable! The service was great and the cars were always clean and comfortable! They were late 2 times, one of the days 20 minutes, the other day 10 minutes. But I would really recommend, super affordable, easy and comfortable😄
David, our driver was the best! So helpful, safe & punctual.... he even pulled over so my daughter could get sick. Showed us beautiful sights, stopped for snacks/bathroom & made sure we were safely to our Airbnb!! Amazing company ... 🇨🇷🫶🏽🇨🇷
Great service!
It is my first time traveling solo out of the US and I was a bit nerveous. After getting to LIR I had another 2 hours to Samara on a shuttle. I am so very grateful for Olman and Tropical Shuttle for the wonderful experience. Olman treated me like a family member. I felt very safe with him. He had water for me when I got to the shuttle. We talked the whole way and he made several stops for me to get money and food. It truly was a wonderful experience. Grateful to have met him and to have booked with this company. Highly recommend both when visiting Costa Rica. Will be using them every time I come back.
I’ve used Tropical Shuttle several times & can’t recommend it enough!! So so so amazing. My last ride I had the pleasure of Jose being my driver. We had wonderful conversations, it made the drive much better.
Very happy with the punctual and professional service from the airport to Coco beach for our party of 7. The shuttle waited for us for a very long time at the airport due to a baggage delay. Just be aware that there likely won't be car seats even if you request them.
Easy to book, (shared or private shuttle), they were very fast in helping via whatsapp, very nice and friendly drivers. Booked them several times during my stay in Costa Rica.
Amazing service and loved how caring and supportive my driver Taylor was. Thank you!!
Good company.
Muy mala experiencia con Tropical Tours Shuttles. Servicio totalmente deficiente y peligroso. El conductor llegó con más de una hora de retraso y fue imposible contactar con la empresa por teléfono. El vehículo llegó ya lleno, con exceso de pasajeros y equipaje, obligándonos a viajar en condiciones inseguras. Durante el trayecto, el coche estaba claramente sobrecargado, con equipajes sin sujeción moviéndose peligrosamente. El vehículo incluso sufrió una avería en ruta, lo que provocó aún más retraso. El segundo conductor condujo a gran velocidad incluso bajo lluvia intensa, poniendo en riesgo a todos los pasajeros (casi aquaplaning en varias ocasiones). Llegamos al aeropuerto con más de dos horas de retraso, únicamente por la mala gestión de la empresa. Además, he solicitado un reembolso y, pese a haber enviado un correo de seguimiento, no he recibido ninguna respuesta por parte de la empresa. Este servicio demuestra una clara sobreventa y una negligencia grave en materia de seguridad. No lo recomiendo en absoluto. Factura: 19607 ID Number: 0011153
I used Tropical Tours to travel from the Liberia airport to Nosara and back. They were very helpful and allowed me to book less than 24 hours in advance. The service was friendly, on time, and competitively priced. I would highly recommend this shuttle service!
They do a solid job overall, but fair warning, email communication in English isn’t exactly their strong suit. Totally get that it’s Costa Rica, but let’s just say Google Translate became my best friend… and I may have lost a few strands of hair along the way. The drivers themselves are a mixed bag! Some are absolute gems, others seem to think they’re auditioning for Fast & Furious. That said, once I’m actually picked up, I can relax knowing I’ll get where I need to go. We’ve used them four times now, so clearly they’re doing something right… just maybe pack a little patience (and a translation app) with your booking.
So prompt and responsive. Had a few last minute changes and everything went smoothly.
DO NOT BOOK!!! Unbelievable. They drove us 2.5 hours in the wrong direction to take a different bus. A two hour drive managed to take 6.5. For the same price as any other tour that just takes you exactly where you asked to go. I would have happily taken the local commuter bus and paid a tenth of the price.
Tropical Tours was a great service. The customer service and booking process leading up to the shuttle was clear, timely, and supportive. I had a unique pickup time and travel distance (230am and 2.5 hour drive respectively) and TT was on time and got me to my destination promptly with no issues. My driver was friendly and accommodating and reached out to me ahead of time to chicken everything and allowed me to ask questions via WhatsApp. The cost was a little high, but considering my alternatives, they were still the best option. I would definitely use them again and would highly recommend them to others.
Eduardo was a delightful driver Even with a flat tire we arrived with plenty of time to make our flight Thank You
The organization felt quite chaotic - I had to wait around 20-25 minutes for the shuttle to tamarindo the in the morning, which was frustrating. After we switched vehicles, the second driver spent the entire ride whistling, which was very distracting and honestly quite annoying over such a long period.
Flawless experience being transported from Liberia airport to Nosara
My wife and I took a private shuttle from Santa Teresa to San Jose and the entire trip was seamless. The first shuttle driver met us at our hotel and took us to the ferry where he purchased tickets for us. Our second driver was waiting for us when we got off the ferry. Both drivers and vehicles were timely and very professional. I would not hesitate to use Tropical Tours again.
Our shuttle was easy to book online. The driver was lovely and the shuttle was very comfortable. Highly recommend:)
Very reliable with friendly drivers.
Shuttle bus was 35 minutes late without any communication and excuse. The driver looked very tired and hit a speed bump at 60kmh, damaged the direction and 30 secs later went off the road because of it and almost made an accident.
Very good !
So friendly. On time. Smooth process. No issues.
I chose to ride with tropical tours twice when I stayed in Costa Rica. Both drivers were very friendly and efficient in getting me to my destination. Would highly recommend them.
Je suis très satisfaite de mon trajet de Montezuma à Samara avec Tropical Tours Shuttle. J'ai changé 3 fois de véhicule très facilement. Tout le timing était parfait et les explications bien claires. Merci beaucoup à toute l'équipe.
We had a very excellent driver Marvin
It was good! I was a little skeptical because I hadn't taken a shuttle in Costa Rica before, but they handled a pickup location change super easily and got us to the airport in a really good amount of time. For reference I got picked up from Santa Teresa on the earlier shuttle (my time was 6:45) and we got to the airport around 12:30 which was faster than I expected
Trois navettes privées utilisées dans un court voyage de 12 jours. Toujours à l’heure, bons véhicules et facile pour la communication. Meilleure décision pour un voyage sans stress et moins cher quand on connaît les frais d’assurance auto au Costa Rica.
Punctual, clean, modern and friendly
Really, really, poor experience. Shuttle was 45 minutes late, I was stressed hard about missing my flight. One of the drivers was falling asleep at the wheel & drove into a culvert on the right side. We were all certain a crash/flipover was eminent. HIGHLY, HIGHLY A V O I D this shuttle company. There are many others that are FAR more professional. A V O I D. H A R D P A S S..!!!!
excelente servicio!!!! super disponibles, tuve que cancelar un viaje y no tuve problemas, una compania excelente para Costa Rica!
Tropical Tours shuttle was so easy to book and deal with! They gave prompt helpful responses and were very affordable! I would highly recommend them for your travel needs within Costa Rica. Muchos Gracias Tropical Tours!
Excelente servicio, responsables, y seguro. Personal muy amable. Muy buena experiencia. Muchas gracias. Pura Vida!
I have used tropical tours for the past few years. They continue to provide excellent service and create an outstanding customer experience.
Seamless service, excellent communication. I traveled from Manzanillo (Puntarenas) to Tamarindo (Guanacaste). Since I live outside of the shared shuttle pick up area, they arranged a taxi for me (for an extra charge) to get me to the shuttle van. I had the number for the driver the night before, the driver arrived early and got me to the shuttle pick up point before the van arrived. It was so easy and smooth! I highly recommend. Communication via WhatsApp was also very easy & efficient, in both English & Spanish.
Clean Van, safe driver, on time
Sehr gut organisiert und zuverlässig.
We used their private shuttle to get to and from Tamarindo from Liberia. Very easy to locate them when we arrived at the airport in Liberia, just outside. The drivers were friendly and we felt safe. they offered stops to pick up groceries or stop at fruit stands! Would recommend!
We had a shared ride from San Jose to Santa Theresa. The pick up was prompt. The driver was very friendly. Our van was comfortable and clean. Our trip was 3 stages, van, ferry, van. Finding our second van was easy, the driver had our picture and names. Great, friendly service. Excellent drivers.
My partner, my baby and I travel twice with Tropical Tours Shuttles across the Nicoya peninsula. It's was a great experience. Our driver Henry was always on time and very kind throughout the trips. We felt very safe and had lots of fun during river crossing. The communication with the company office via Whatsapp was equally pleasant, easy and fast. Highly recommended!
Great service. We used them twice during our time in Costa Rica. Once from San Jose to Cabuya and the second from Cabuya to Uvita. Both times were brilliant friendly service and Punctual. Everything went as planned and there was no waiting around in-between transfers from shuttle to shuttle. Thanks for making our time in Costa Rica so easy!
Super service, sécuritaire et confortable! Nos chauffeurs ont été très courtois, ils nous ont fait découvrir d'excellents restos sur la route et proposés plusieurs endroits à visiter et activités à faire.
Excellent reliable and reasonable rates
