Hosts

Your tour is structured by Tony & Celeste Horpel of Pickleball Costa Rica. Tony is a USAPA Ambassador for Costa Rica. Their courts are located just outside of San Ramon in the province of Alajuela, nestled in the cool Central Highlands of the rural coffee and agricultural region. They created the 1st pickleball club in Costa Rica and it is their intent to spread the sport of pickleball throughout the country.

This is a very fun, personalized pickleball trip created for those wanting a pickleball vacation in Costa Rica enabling people to tour some of Costa Rica AND play pickleball. Tony and Celeste know! They are pickleball addicts too.

Check out the testimonials (found on top menu bar of each page) and video on our home page. Also, click the blue link (just below) if you haven't seen this review from 16-time National Pickleball Champion, Jennifer Lucore. 

click blue portion to see the 2 available videos starting with our Pickleball Tour with Jennifer Lucore 

Tour Price

Price:

                 Tour price: This will now depend on prices charged as Costa Rica opens up in the future.

                Single Supplement:  Not sure yet.

               A deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. (It is refundable for 2 weeks after the initial deposit). It is also refundable if we are unable to secure the minimum required number of guests.

•          ALL INCLUSIVE: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and snacks, and alcohol all day.

              8 DAYS, 7 NIGHTS 

             Open play any time including evenings with lighted courts. 

             Time for (optional) tours of your choice, using the many activities, pools and beaches at the hotel, or just relaxing

What's Included?

INCLUDED IN YOUR TOUR PRICE: 

      All inclusive meals, snacks and alcohol on days 2 thru 8.  (Day 1 is a travel day, with guests arriving at various times).   

      7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners. See bold symbols of B, L, D just under each day.

      All transportation throughout the country. 

      Seven nights accommodations,      

      Daily morning pickleball clinics with Claudia Fontana and play available morning and evening.

LEAVE ROOM IN YOUR BAGS FOR:

      A Pickleball Costa Rica coffee mug.

      A  one lb. bag of rich, shade-grown, gourmet coffee grown in our area.

      A Pickleball Costa Rica T-shirt.

NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR TOUR PRICE:

      Day 1 meals, as this is a travel day, with guests coming in at various times of the day.

      Airfare to/from Costa Rica

      (Optional) tours. 

      All hotel charges apart from what has been included in this itinerary is your responsibility. During registration, you will provide a credit card for miscellaneous charges.

•  Tipping:  Please tip waiters/waitresses, room maids, drivers and your guides when on tours.  See details below.
• For your information, waitresses, maids, etc., make about $3.00/hr. Usually, a 10% tip is automatically added to any service bill.  That tip is split between all employees in the restaurant inclucing the cooks, so tips don't go far.  If you would like to add more to the 10% tip, it is always greatly appreciated.
•  Tipping Maids:You will find an envelope in your room for the maid's tips. It is customary to put about $2-$3/day in the envelope for the maids.  
•  Costa Rica's Airport Departure Tax of $29. Almost all airlines include this tax in your ticket. Please verify your airline has taken care of this. If it is not part of your ticket price, you must pay it at the airport at the time of your departure.  The agents at the baggage-check in counter will verify it for you.

THINGS YOU WILL DO AND SEE:

       Time to unwind in this beautiful place.

       Lots of time for (Optional) tours or hotel activities of your choice.  (See the list of the many available hotel activities and sports on the HOTEL tab above).

       See scarlet macaws in the trees and the sky.

       Families of monkeys

       Meet sweet, welcoming people.

       Experience the delicious Costa Rican fare.

       Marvel at the beautiful Costa Rican sunsets.

       Wander the beach.

       You can rent surf boards and boogie boards.

       And of course, we will have daily clinics and time to play pickleball any time of day if you are willing!  Pickleball play will be on four outdoor, lighted, pickleball courts.

Hotel

Optional Tours

Chocolate Tour Chocolate Tour

IDEAS FOR (OPTIONAL) TOURS IN THE AREA - (choose and make reservations EARLY, as January and February are the busiest months.

Zipline canopy tour, 18 hole golf course nearby, morning or afternoon, sunset catamaran cruises, SubWing, horseback riding on the beach or in the forest, sport fishing, Guided nature tours at Carara National Park, whale and dolphin watching, waterfall safari, Manuel Antonio National Park Tour, souvenir shop in a tourist town a short taxi or shuttle ride away, sea turtle nesting tour, cultural Tour: San Jose cultural dinner with live music, city lights with Costa Rican traditional dancers, hiking, snorkeling, famous Sarchi artisans tour, wildlife refuge tour, Tortuga Island, and much more.

* The tours on this list here will be from early a.m. up to 7 or 9 p.m.:

        Coffee tour, chocolate tour, river rafting, hot springs, Arenal Volcano, Rio Celeste hike and waterfall.

The hotel has a variety of tours available with transportation or you may choose some well-known tour companies below, or use your own).

SOME OTHER TOUR COMPANIES:  Tell them the name of our hotel.

• https://www.graylinecostarica.com/costa-rica-one-day-tours
  

• Viator Tours 1 (702) 648-5873
  Book online: https://www.viator.com/Costa-Rica

• Vista Los Suenos Adventure Park  1 (800) 406-6280

       email;     website;  www.vlscr.com

• King Tours 1 (800) 213-7091
  www.kingtours.com/Tours-Reservations-Costa-Rica.html
  

More Information

MORE INFORMATION 

 SUBJECTS COVERED ON THIS PAGE   

(PLEASE READ EACH SUBJECT CAREFULLY BEFORE BOOKING FLIGHTS!)

       DECIDING ON DEPARTURE TIMES & BOOKING FLIGHTS, TO AND FROM SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA  / AIRPORT CODE       

       ARRIVAL INTO COSTA RICA  /  LEAVING COSTA RICA

       TRAVEL INSURANCE (including trip cancellation) is highly recommended

       IMPORTANT PASSPORT INFORMATION

       CREDIT CARD USE -  PREPARATION / INSTRUCTIONS:

DECIDING ON DEPARTURE TIMES & BOOKING FLIGHTS TO AND FROM SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA / AIRPORT CODE: Please read carefully. 

If you have any questions regarding the information below, please call us before you book flights. 

Airport code:  SJO for San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport.

When you are choosing your routes and flights, please take into account several things below.  They will make your trip MUCH more pleasant if you choose to take our information to heart.

• Because of Covid-19, airports world-wide, require that you arrive at the airport for international flights  4 hrs. prior to the flight's departure time. 
• Remember to add in drive time to the airport.
• If for example,  you choose a flight that leaves at 6 a.m. (wherever you are), and it takes you, say, 1 hr. to drive to the airport, you will need to leave home (or your hotel) at 1 a.m to arrive at the airport at 2 a.m.,  which is on time, (4 hrs. early).
• FYI;  Drive time to the  SJO airport from our last location is 1 hour and 45 min.  So please take that into consideration when planning your  early morning trip back home.
• FYI #2:  We don't know about other airports, but we have heard several times that if you aren't there on time, SJO will give away your seats to others in line if the flight is full.

 ARRIVAL INTO COSTA RICA: Please read carefully.

Because people fly in from all over, and on different flights at different times of day, you will stay at the Country Inn and Suites by Radisson the night of your arrival. 

• Airport shuttle and breakfast the following morning are provided.  (We have found that guests are happier and these logistics work better than any other schedule we've previously planned). 
• This night is included in the cost of the tour. 
• There is a restaurant at the hotel, as well as choices within walking distance for lunch and dinners.  If you come a few days earlier, daily breakfasts are included in the price of your extra days there.
• We will pick our guests up at the designated hotel at 8:30 a.m. and leave from there for a scheduled tour, and ultimately, arrive at our hotel at around 3 p.m.
• If for some reason you choose not to stay at this hotel, you will need to provide your own transportation to the Country Inn and Suites by Radisson arriving by 8:15 a.m. 
• Our Departure from the hotel the next morning is at 8:30 a.m.

LEAVING COSTA RICA:  Please read carefully.

 Our last day of the tour provides transport to San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport. We will have two transport times to the airport;

• one for arrival of the earliest of the early morning departures leaving around the same time,
• and one for the earliest of the 2nd group (later flights) leaving Costa Rica.

TRAVEL INSURANCE (including trip cancellation) is highly recommended.  Please read carefully.

•  It rarely happens, but road and weather conditions, as well as earthquakes and volcanoes can close roads for hours if not days in some cases.
• If we are stopped or delayed, for any reason, from arriving at our destination, or you have a health problem or are involved in an accident and you have no cancellation or accident insurance, we will not be liable to pay for any expenses to change flights missed, change hotels to another location (as well as having paid for a hotel we cannot get to).
• By paying for, and committing to this tour, you are agreeing that this responsibility is yours and that we are in no way expected to provide payment for anything other than our originally scheduled plans and expenses. You are fully covered for bodily injury by our contracted Costa Rican transportation service.
• See "Terms and Conditions" under "Tours" tab for additional information.

IMPORTANT PASSPORT INFORMATION: Please read carefully.

•  When planning a trip, most countries require that a passport be valid for more than six months beyond the completion date of the tour, (including days you might stay past our tour). 
• Please check your passport to make certain you have that extra time left on your passport. 
• Costa Rica is very strict about this!  If you are joining the group somewhat last-minute, DO NOT MAKE RESERVATIONS until you have checked to see that you have 6 months past the last day of our tour.

CREDIT CARD USE -  PREPARATION /  INSTRUCTIONS:  Please read carefully.  

If you plan to use your credit card in Costa Rica, remember to contact your bank to let them know the dates you will be traveling.  If you forget, you will find that you are unable to use your card.

Coach

Tour Clinic Coach, Claudia Fontana

From her varsity competition in three sports in both high school, college and throughout her 30 years of teaching and now into retirement, Claudia has proved that she has always been a serious "athlete!" This lady has been dedicated to teaching and promoting physical education, health, and dance while, at the same time, specializing in adaptive Phys. Ed for the physically challenged. She has a very impressive track record teaching grades k-12, along with being inducted into her high school athletic Hall of Fame. She coached both varsity volleyball and softball for 25 years and was awarded three times "Coach of the Year."

Some of the positions she's held besides teacher and varsity coach are:

• Health & P.E. Dept. Chairperson - 10 yrs
• Department Staff Facilitator of curriculum testing & enhancement programs. - 6 yrs.
• Designer of Individual P.E. programs for grades k-12 - 17 yrs
• Speaker for local school districts and university level educators for adapted & Phys Ed. programming.  
• National Certified Adapted Phys. Educator
• Her love, and promotion of pickleball started in 2000 when she first taught a pickleball curriculum at the high school level. She is the author of the bestselling training manual on Pickleball, Pickleball CPR Drills – Coaching Pickleball Readiness. Claudia is a sharp woman with a love for teaching and fun.