Has any one used Bill Beard in Costa Rica?

[er1n99]

I am leaving for Costa Rica in 3 days. I called Bill Beard's because they have the biggest internet presence. When I talked to the gal from the 1-800-number (who was very nice) she mentioned that if I was going to be in Guanacaste/Reserva Conchal/Playa Conchal, then I would be using AquaCenter. She quoted me pricing and whatnot.

I then went to the aquacenter website and booked there. They were a few bucks cheaper than Bill Beard's and you figure that you'll save a few dollars by buying directly from the guy whose boat you are going on.

I'm sure that if Bill Beard's is using them, we'll have a great trip. I hear that BB is the biggest tour operator in all of Costa Rica.

 

[bbeard]

Greeting From Costa Rica,
Yes, we do use Aqua Center in the Flamingo area and it is a great operation. The prices depends on which of the three hotels you use for your accommodations. We have a three star, four star and a five star hotel we use in the Flamingo area and the diving portion of the package is with Aqua Center. Bill Beard's handles all the reservations, payments, transportation and tours such as zip line canopy tours, white water river rafting, wildlife observation river floats, horseback riding, volcanoes, hot springs, etc. Bill Beard's puts the entire package together including air if you need it and it can all be done with one phone call or email to our Ft. Lauderdale office. In a nut shell, the price depends on the hotel and the activities you choose, the price for diving is static as we charge the rack rate, same as any other wholesaler.
Thanks and good diving
Bill Beard
http://www.BillBeardCostaRica.com

 

[bbeard]

Bill Beard's sends divers to all the operators in Costa Rica and our price is the same as we work on rack rate. We like to think that you are better off having Bill Beard's handle your vacation trip as we can help you avoid mistakes, save you money and get you more bang for your buck while not costing you any more. Rich Coast Diving handles all of our divers at Playa Hermosa and Playa Del Coco, Ocotal Divers handles Playa Ocotal and Aqua Center handles Flamingo but we handle all the arrangements and payments for accommodations, transportation, diving, tours, payments and all the loose ends allowing you to have a stress free vacation. This is our 39th year of scuba diving in Costa Rica. We started in 1970 from dug out canoes. All of the dive sites were named by divers while diving with Bill Beard's, a couple of them have been changed by newcomers but that's O.K. as we like to have new divers here. We offer everything from a recommended two star hotel to a beautiful five star resort on both the scuba diving and tour portion of your package.

Thank you for your interest and good diving.
Bill Beard's
Costa Rica Scuba Diving - Adventure Travel Diving Trips Tours

Bill Beards is good, but quite expensive. Try Rich Coast Diving or Ocotal Resort. They are both close, SAFE, and reasonable. Either way, you'll love the diving!

 

[bbeard]

I am leaving for Costa Rica in 3 days. I called Bill Beard's because they have the biggest internet presence. When I talked to the gal from the 1-800-number (who was very nice) she mentioned that if I was going to be in Guanacaste/Reserva Conchal/Playa Conchal, then I would be using AquaCenter. She quoted me pricing and whatnot.

I then went to the aquacenter website and booked there. They were a few bucks cheaper than Bill Beard's and you figure that you'll save a few dollars by buying directly from the guy whose boat you are going on.

I'm sure that if Bill Beard's is using them, we'll have a great trip. I hear that BB is the biggest tour operator in all of Costa Rica.

Dear er1n99,
We are really happy you made this post because it caused us to look at our price as it is supposed to be the same as the dive shop offers (Rack Rate) There was a discrepancy on our part that has been corrected.
We can't thank you enough as we are sure you know how important our reputation is.
Best regards,
Bill Beard
Costa Rica Scuba Diving - Adventure Travel Diving Trips Tours

 

[dweissnj]

I then went to the aquacenter website and booked there.... I'm sure that if Bill Beard's is using them, we'll have a great trip. I hear that BB is the biggest tour operator in all of Costa Rica.

I dive with Aquacenter all the time and they are a great operation. I just got back from trying out Pacific Coast Divers, also in Flamingo, and was also very impressed. I live part time at Conchal, so if you have any questions, let me know.