Descubra Manuel Antonio a pie

Unfortunately, the way this tour ended significantly soured what was otherwise a decent experience. The tour was listed as $0, as many FreeTour experiences are. The evening before the tour, our guide, Derek, messaged me to say that he expected no less than $20 per person, that most people tip $20–$50, and that the “average” tip is $20. There were two of us, and we paid the equivalent of $31 USD in local currency at the end of the tour. He refused to accept colón coins. He then became upset and said that by agreeing to his WhatsApp message we had agreed to pay $40 total. We have taken many tours through this platform over the years, including both free and paid tours. When a tour requires a fixed payment, that amount is clearly stated and paid in advance through the platform. This was not the case here. At the start of the tour, Derek mentioned that another group would be joining us and explicitly asked us not to tell them about “our deal.” This made us uncomfortable and suggested inconsistent pricing between guests. To be clear, the tour itself was informative and comparable in quality to many others we’ve taken. Derek was pleasant throughout the tour, but his demeanor changed noticeably when we did not pay the amount he expected. He also told the group that he was taking photos during the tour and would share them afterward. When we followed up two days later, his response was simply: “Are you serious?” Overall, this experience felt like an attempt to pressure guests into paying a specific amount on a tour advertised as tip‑based. That approach detracts from trust and from what could otherwise have been a positive experience