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Privacy Policy

This Policy applies to all external parties, tour operators, travel agencies, partners, wholesalers, customers, tourists, visitors to ARA Tours’ and its brands’ websites and social networks, subscribers of ARA Tours’ newsletters, reports, marketing materials, and any other channel whose personal information can be collected, stored and used by ARA Tours or its partners. This Policy also applies to ARA Tours’ management of personal information through its brands’ websites, such as Latinconnect ( www.latinconnect.com) and Selected Moments ( www.selectedmoments.com/costarica).

Policy

ARA Tours and its brands understand that the right of people to their privacy is important and must comply with data protection regulations.

The user is informed and consents to the processing of data provided during navigation on the website and information generated as a result of its use, including, where appropriate, international communications or information transfers.

If data provided refers to third-party natural persons other than the user, the latter must guarantee having obtained data and prior consent from the third parties to communicate their data. The user must inform the third party, in advance, the purposes of data processing, communications, and other terms provided in this Policy.

The user declares that they are 18 years or older. Data on minors provided during website navigation must be expressly authorized by a parent or guardian before its management and processing, according to this Policy; including, if applicable, data on health

The user guarantees the accuracy and truthfulness of the personal information provided and commits to keeping data updated.

The use of this website is subject to the Privacy and Personal Data Processing Policy, the Terms and Conditions of Use, and the Cookies Policy detailed below.

By accessing this website and using its contents, you agree to have read and accepted its policies and conditions.

Who is in charge of data processing?

Company name: ARA AGENCIA DE VIAJES INTERNACIONAL SOCIEDAD ANONIMA

Legal ID: 3-101-127419

Registered office address:

Contact information:

Where do ARA Tours and its brands collect personal information?

ARA Tours and its brands collect your personal information when you (as a user or organization) purchase or use our services, request information, register for an event, enrol in a seminar, request customer services, or communicate with us through any legal channel, and when reasonably necessary for matters directly related to the functions of ARA Tours under Data Protection regulations.

Personal information we collect and process from you:

  • Identity information such as your name, surname, passport number, the user ID or similar.
  • Contact information such as billing address, delivery address, email address and phone numbers.
  • Financial information, such as information related to payments.
  • Information about transactions, such as payments made by/to you and other details of purchased products and services.
  • Technology information, such as Internet Protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, location, operating system and platform, user ID, and cookies ID used to access our website and other web-based products.
  • Profile information, such as your username and password, purchases or orders, working place, interests, preferences, and comments and responses to our surveys.
  • Marketing and communications information, such as newsletters, preferences to receive commercial information from us and, when appropriate, your communication preferences.
  • Other kinds of information you may provide; for example, sent to us via email, etc.

How do we collect your personal information?

We use the following methods to collect your personal information:

a) Direct contact during our business. You may provide us with your contact information (name, phone, email, etc.) when you:

a.1) Participate in international tourism fairs, marketing exchanges, business tours or other interactions with our company during events and meetings.

a.2) Subscribe to our publications or newsletters.

a.3) Create an account on our websites.

a.4) Request information about your trip.

a.5) Respond to our surveys.

a.6) Provide feedback on our products or services.

a.7) Register in our webinars.

If you do not provide this information, you will not be able to interact or communicate with us or purchase our services.

b) Automatic interactions with our websites, in which we can automatically collect technical data about your equipment, navigations and patterns. We collect this personal information through cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. Please check our Cookies Policy to know more about our use of these technologies.

c) When you use third-party or public sources, from which we can receive your personal information, such as:

c.1) The employer of an organization or company with which we work.

c.2) A customer, supplier, business partner or other company with which we have a commercial or contractual relationship. The terms of our contract with your employer or organization may require that we process your personal information to fulfil our obligations or exercise our rights under that agreement.

c.3) Analysis providers such as Google INC or Facebook, outside the EU.

c.4) Contact, financial and transactional data from technical, payment and delivery service providers hosting our data inside and outside the EU.

c.5) Contact data of social network resources.

How do ARA Tours and its brands use your personal information?

ARA Tours processes your personal information for the purposes listed below, based on the need to process your information to pursue our legitimate interests as a tourism company and improve our services. We use your personal information for the following:

a) Configure and manage your account for all processes of reservations, operations and finances of the company.

b) Reserve tourism services with our suppliers.

c) Manage operations and logistics of contracted tourism services.

d) Chat rooms, Whastapp, messages and webinars – we can collect your personal information, records, IP addresses, etc. when you use our chat rooms, message boards, social network forums and others. Data is only used for internal analysis in order to improve the user’s experience and our service.

e) Direct marketing, such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and other email marketing processes (e.g. newsletters to circulate important information about our business, such as new products, availability, special deals, and any other basic information).

f) Personalization of your experience, according to your feedback and suggestions, through our tourism services and websites.

g) Marketing strategies and internal research to improve our services, including studies regarding the market change, customer needs, statistical reports, problem-solving, etc.

h) Make payments to tourism service providers such as hotels, car rentals, tour operators and other direct tourism services.

i) Prevent fraud and other criminal activities.

j) For reasons of network and information security so that we can take measures to protect your information against loss, damage, theft or unauthorized access.

k) General management, including mapping your queries, complaints or claims.

To whom do we share your information?

ARA Tours and its brands only share or disclose personal information when it is necessary to carry out our business operations and provide services in the best possible way. We may share your personal information with:

  • Tourism suppliers such as hotels, car rentals, local tour operators, private transport services, drivers and tour guides, and other suppliers involved in our regular commercial operations.
  • Our Latinconnect partners in our CAT channel.
  • Banks, payment processors and financial service providers.
  • Direct marketing service providers, such as email marketing or CRM platforms.
  • Government tax administration offices.
  • IT support and maintenance providers.

How do we protect your personal information?

ARA Tours uses appropriate technologies, policies, processes and procedures to protect your personal information. Our information security policies and procedures are closely aligned with widely accepted international standards and are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in legislation and business.

How long do we keep your personal information?

ARA Tours and its brands retain your personal information for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collect it, including compliance with legal, accounting and/or reporting requirements.

Your rights with respect to your personal information

ARA Tours and its brands respect your right to access and control your information, and we will respond to information requests. If applicable, we will correct, amend or delete your personal information. If you have any questions or requests regarding your personal information, please contact our Data Protection team via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We will be happy to receive your requests for the following:

  • Information on why, how and who processes your personal information.
  • Access to a copy of your personal information.
  • Correction or update of your personal information. You can update your information using the “Contact us” form available on our websites.
  • Elimination of your information due to legal or other requirements. For preferences such as “email marketing”, you can always click on the “Unsubscribe” link of our newsletters to stop receiving them. We will respect your decision according to our agreement and in compliance with our legal obligations.

Important: If you are dissatisfied with the way ARA Tours and our brands manage your personal information, you have the right to file a complaint with a data protection regulatory body in Costa Rica or the European Union, depending on the country where you work or live, or where your rights have been infringed. Here is a list of national authorities for personal information protection: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.

However, if you believe your personal information has been used or is being used in a way that does not comply with this agreement, please contact us before filing a complaint. We will try to solve any problems or concerns you may have.

Links to third-party websites

Our websites and social network pages contain links to third-party websites that are not subject to this Privacy Policy. We strongly recommend that you read the privacy policy of any of these websites you visit.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

ARA Tours and its brands may change this Privacy Policy at any time. We will notify you by email or by placing a copy of the modified Privacy Policy on our website.

Contact and legal information

If you have any questions or requests regarding your personal information, please write to the ARA Tours Data Protection Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact us here.

ARA Tours Testimonials-FeedBack

Feedback

  • Janaina & Dieter, Brazil

    The trip was wonderful! Your help was invaluable and without your choices it would not have been so good! I am very very satisfied and very happy with the choices you made!

    Thank you very much for everything!

    Janaina & Dieter, Brazil
  • Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo, Germany

    Hello dear Aline, many thanks to you for the great compilation and organization of the trip. We were able to spend eventful, interesting and wonderful days in Costa Rica and will keep them in good memory. A thank you also goes to the ARA Tours team, which was available 24/7 for problems and questions, which were solved and answered quickly and reliably. The punctuality of the transfers offered should also be emphasized. In summary, it was a wonderful holiday.

    Kind regards

    Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo, Germany
  • Carina & Thomas, Germany

    Hello dear Aline,
    Now we have arrived back at San Jose Airport after a great trip. Everything worked out great and the tour was just perfectly planned and organized. Thank you very much. We take a lot of positive memories with us.
    Best regards.

    Carina & Thomas, Germany
  • Yvonne, Switzerland

    The Costa Rica trip together with my family is already behind us - it was wonderful!!! Everything went smoothly from A to Z, we had a wonderful time, no incidents and wonderful experiences.
    We all enjoyed it very much; the nature is enormous, but also the warm-hearted people, the cleanliness, the food - we are very enthusiastic!
    At this point I would like to thank you very much for your support in the preparation, for all the bookings, clarifications and enquiries!!!
    We visited the waterfall in La Fortuna and had a great view of the Arenal. In Monteverde we did a Hanging Bridges and Zipline tour and in Nosara a surf course. In Finca Rosa Bianca we did the coffee tour, it was all great, fun and interesting 😊. All in all, we saw lots of animals, always ate well, enjoyed the beaches....even in rainy weather 😊. Often we were even glad that it was overcast, otherwise it would have been almost toouuu hot for us.
    So THANK YOU again so much for everything!!!!

    Yvonne, Switzerland
  • Christina, Switzerland

    Many thanks for the extensive support (before, during and after the trip) and the professional handling of our concerns. With your support we had a smooth and unforgettable vacation in Costa Rica! Our favorite hotels: Hotel Plaza Yara and the Poas Volcano Lodge - a dream!
    All the best
    Christina

    Christina, Switzerland
  • Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA

    Yay! I´m glad we are back on track. Thank you again for helping us with all these changes.
    I´m glad we choose ARA-you are amazing! Thanks for all your help! It made it a very memorable visit!

    Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA
  • Janka, The Netherlands

    Hi Eli & ARA Team,
    We have spoken to the guest and they are super enthusiastic about their Costa Rica roundtrip! Everything was well organized, nice hotels, nice mix of activities & beach and they have big compliments for you guys!!
    Many thanks for all the good work!! The guest highly appreciate it!!
    They had lunch nearby in Ara Ambigua Lodge, and they loved this place. Friendly staff and good food!
    Do you work with this accommodation? If so, we would love hear 😊
    Once again, heads off for this amazing trip!
    With warm regards

    Janka, The Netherlands
  • Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland

    Dear Priska
    Happily I write some words to you in English, so you can easily forward them also to Ara Tours, please. Thank you all, we spent a magic time in Costa Rica! Baumeler's and Ara Tours organisation and logistics were perfect, everything worked out even better than we expected. The tours were brilliant, we really enjoyed everything very very much!
    All the accomodation was absolutely wonderful... the setting, the quality, the food, with happy helpful friendly staff everywhere. It was a wonderful way to experience this beautiful country the way we did, on a private tour with personal guide and drivers. We saw and learnt sooo much - it would have been impossible to do so on our own.
    Especially we praise our brilliant guide Fernando Perez, we benefited so much from his truly wide knowledge and deep love for his Country which he passed on in lovely encouraging way. We even became friends and we will meet in Switzerland coming September! Also our driver Carlos Sandi was great, not only as a driver but also as a compagnion, animal spotter and photographer. Thank you!
    So.... now we just enjoy our last day...
    Sunny greetings, pura vida

    Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland
  • Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland

    Hello all
    Unfortunately, our wonderful trip is already over and everyday life has caught up with us again. We would like to thank you very much for everything. The trip was planned exactly according to our wishes and we have seen so many beautiful places.
    Thank you Stefanie!
    We have felt completely comfortable and top cared for by you. Via Whats App we got immediate answers to our questions, with the car everything worked out great. In all locations we were treated very warmly and nicely. It was just so indescribably beautiful, we will dream of the beautiful experiences for a long time. In any case, we will warmly recommend you and hope for a next time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    Best regards.

    Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland
  • Anita, Switzerland

    We have arrived safely in Switzerland and have already returned to work.
    It was a wonderful trip you put together for us.
    Your excellent service, as well as the 24 hour support service from ARA Tours, was truly outstanding.
    I have already recommended you several times and would book with you again and again. Thank you very much and keep me informed if there are any interesting offers.
    Best wishes.

    Anita, Switzerland
  • Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland

    Hello Pedro, our time in CR is coming to an end and we wanted to say "thank you very much for organizing a phenomenal week". Everything has been well organized and we have seen many beauties of nature. Thanks!

    Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland
  • Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands

    Thanks Jenny for the clear answer. We will make an appointment via the link you gave us.
    Today we visited National Parc Cabo Blanco. What an amazing park, so quiet for tourists, so full of animals, really lovely and therefore together with Monte Verde, Cahuita and Corcovado the park today, Cabo Blanco, scores high in our ranking of most beautiful parks of CR.These parks give us reason, together with the Pura Vida in CR, to come back soon. We'll keep in contact.

    Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands
  • Dominik, Germany

    Good day Jennifer
    As we have already told Simone, the stay at Lapa Rios is extremely enriching, thanks to the well planned planting and the untouched environment we see a lot of animals. Contrary to the plans before the stay, we do not want to visit more animals in captivity at the end. We will have a look at the few hours before we leave.
    We thank you and your team very much for the excellent advice and the permanent support! We can only recommend Ara Tours.
    Best regards.

    Dominik, Germany
  • Daniel, Jana & Theo, Germany

    A big thank to you, you saved our vacation!
    Communication already worked very well in Germany. The help from you, especially through Aline, should be mentioned here. This was fantastic from the first WhatsApp message to the last. We already know Costa Rica, so we knew what we wanted and what not. Ara Tours was an important point of contact for us. We are very grateful to Aline precisely because our actual travel agent cancelled our trip 36 hours before departure. She immediately organized everything for us. Whether the hotel in beautiful Punta Leona, the tours to the national parks, even the shuttle service with the great driver Guillerno Ortega has to be mentioned here. We are very grateful to you, dear Aline, but also to the entire Ara Tours team. You too made our almost 3-week trip to Costa Rica unforgettable again. We would love to come back and of course we will book through Ara Tours again.

    Daniel, Jana & Theo, Germany
  • Alexander & family, Switzerland

    Thank you, everything really worked out great. Super organization and at any time quick info / help / support from you!
    We liked it very much. The conclusion in Quepos was crowning. We liked the beach in the National Park Manuel Antonio very much. We would have liked to stay longer, but we take home many wonderful, unforgettable impressions. PURA VIDA!
    Many thanks to you Aline! We will gladly recommend you to others.

    Alexander & family, Switzerland
  • Neumann Family, Germany

    - The route was super planned, first on the beach time to arrive and then only from Monteverde with excursions inland etc. and at the end again beach - perfect!
    - Support from Ara Tours was VERY good!!! Through Whatsapp reachability the service was great, very quick answers / very flexible, good suggestions etc. Also with the doctor Ara Tours helped with translations by phone - that was really very, very good!
    - The home stay day was an absolute highlight - very authentic - so we got to know the locals REAL, the family was super friendly and very open and have talked about everything. Not at all touristy perceived.

    Neumann Family, Germany
  • Marine & Bruno, France

    Hello
    We would like to thank you personally for this beautiful trip that you organised for us and for the follow-up that you did throughout the stay. A big thank you also to Jennifer d'Ara tours! Thank you again and have a great week!

    Marine & Bruno, France
  • Walter, Switzerland

    We really appreciated your (almost) daily updates from Costa Rica on Covid and related issues. That was a highlight compared to other incoming agents worldwide! We thank you for your effort and wish you that you manage the coming time well and stay healthy.

    Walter, Switzerland
  • Ronald, Germany

    Our great compliments for keeping us informed every day on the developments. We wish you all the best and keep yourself and families in good health and mood during this unprecedented period!

    Ronald, Germany
  • Kathrin, Germany

    You are really super! It is impressive how you manage the crisis with your super flow of information and the great reversal. Hats off!

    Kathrin, Germany
  • Michael, Germany

    Hello, we were on a round trip in Costa Rica from 27.11., which was booked through BigXtra and organised by them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much. The tour was simply amazing! The support by Carlos was just great. We have done many trips before, but this one was an unforgettable experience thanks to Carlos. Carlos speaks very good German and was able to sensitively introduce us to Costa Rica, its incomparable nature and its great, friendly inhabitants. Pura Vida became for us a term for the attitude towards life in Costa Rica. Please say hello to Carlos from us and once again a huge thank you to him in the name of the whole group of 8. We wish him only the best for his future.

    Michael, Germany
  • Evelyne, Switzerland

    Wie just did a 4 week trip in Costa Rica which was organised from ARA tours and we really liked it - well done Ara Tours! We also had a guide - his name is Enrique. His German is really good and he knows a lot about Costa Rica and he showed us a lot of animals. We had a wonderful time with hime - thank you so much Enrique!

    Evelyne, Switzerland
  • Tanja, Germany

    perfect tour perfect tour guide pablo, everything very well organised 👍👍👍👍🇨🇷🇨🇨🇷 were thrilled

    Tanja, Germany
  • Ines, Germany

    Many thanks and great praise to our tour guide Mauricio and our bus driver Adrian! We felt very comfortable during the 2 weeks in Costa Rica. The wide-ranging knowledge of Mauricio and the super driving skills of Adrian were particularly admirable. Thanks to the eagle eyes of both of them, we had the opportunity to observe a variety of animals in Costa Rica. Thank you for everything!

    Ines, Germany
  • Sabine, Germany

    I can only recommend ARA Tours. Thanks again to Nicole for the great planning of the tour and the support. Our tour guide Peter Käser was simply incredible (a walking encyclopaedia) and always had an answer to all my questions about the flora and fauna and the history of CR. Our driver Julio carried my father on his hands, for which I am very grateful. CR is also worth a trip for wheelchair users at any time (with ARA Tours, of course).

    Sabine, Germany
  • Thieme Family, Germany

    We would like to thank you once again for organizing our trip [...] through the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Our special thanks go to our tour guide Enrique, who with his extensive knowledge of flora and fauna about his country brought it very close to us and made us want to come even a second time. We were very glad and happy to travel with him, as he was also very committed to our problems on site, in addition to his competent function as a tour guide.

    Thieme Family, Germany
  • Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria

    Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sensational effort! I do not know such a competent tour guide as with you really from nowhere else... and we have already traveled a lot... 🙏🏻🍀

    Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria
  • Katja, Germany

    I wanted to thank you again for the great Costa Rica trip. We flew back home very happy and with many great impressions. A compliment for the super organisation. Everything worked out perfectly (except for the handover of the rental car, which was force majeure...). So thank you again and I have already recommended you to friends:-)!

    Katja, Germany
  • Denise & Alain, Switzerland

    Thank you very much for your email and the tickets. We really appreciate how quickly and efficiently you deal with our requests each time!

    Denise & Alain, Switzerland
  • Philippe, Switzerland

    Hello Christine Thank you very much for this information. The support is super👍 many thanks Gruss

    Philippe, Switzerland
  • Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Otherwise, the planned trip was a complete success. Everything went well and the visits you organised were all very interesting. The visits you organised were all very interesting and gave us a great insight into the respective topics. The fact that the Ticos are very friendly and always ready to help was fully confirmed.

    Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Contact Information

    WhatsApp: +506-8893-3863
    Phone: +506-2232-0400
    Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Address

    Apdo 799 – 1007
    San José, Costa Rica

    Licenced by the Costa Rican Tourist Board: Lic ICT OT 294

    Liability insurance: Instituto Costarricense de Seguros (INS) Coverage: Territory of the Republic of Costa Rica

    Derechos Reservados - ARA Agencia de Viajes Internacional S.A © 2023