Costa Rica

I was very happy I booked this trip with Armin. He took very good care of me and ensured that I got the most out of my Chirripo experience. The 4 day itenarary allowed us to go at a gentle pace and enjoy the beauty and wildlife around us. Highly recommended experience.

We had an excellent time with on our tour with Armin, who is a great professional with extensive mountain experience. Thanks a lot for the great time, we really enjoyed a lot!!!

This whole experience was one of ease and adventure. Armin kept great communication through the booking/permit process. Once at the Hotel Pelicano, I was well taken care of. The accommodations were amazing and the food, delicious!! I feel extremely grateful for my guide, Wilson, who grew up and lives here. His knowledge of the area added a great value to my experience. He seems to have a passion for birds and continuously stopped to listen and identify the bird song and then educate me. I enjoyed this very much. I came to love the sound of the black-faced solitaire. Often, my head was down, watching my feet and if not for Wilson pointing things out I may have missed a lot. What an adventure! I highly recommend this trek!! Thank you so much Armin & Wilson❤️

This was by far the most strenuous trek I have ever attempted, but thanks to Armin’s leadership and encouragement I was able to rise to the challenge. Make no mistake, this one is hard - especially the 2nd day (12 hour hike from Paso de los Indios to Uran, Chirripo and ending at Crestones base camp). The day starts out in the dark and freezing cold and there are limited opportunities to replenish food and water. This is not a problem as long as you are prepared (read the itinerary closely and ask as many questions in advance as you need to understand what to expect). In spite of any technical difficulty and physical discomfort, I 100% recommend this hike. The scenery was breathtaking and the opportunity to hike in peace and solitude amongst the highest points of land was truly amazing. Thank you Armin and Explore-Share for making this happen.

The Tour with Armin to the peaks of Uran and Chirripo was quite unique. A wonderful experience that I will never forget. The view from Uran and Chirripo was fantastic and made you forget all the efforts needed for the ascent. If you like the mountains and hiking, you will love it. Armin is a perfect tour guide. He has a lot of experience and many interesting stories. Armin was always there, when I needed help. The communication and organization was also really good. All in all, I can definitely recommend the tour with Armin.

It was no space available in the Chirripo hut, and Armin gave us the option to try the Uran mountain, that is like 'next door' :) The service was fantastic - people are super nice, food is completely awesome. And, I was able to finish the climb just thanks to Armin - he led the group in very comfortable pace.

Overall fantastic trip. We actually went up Cerro Uran because Cerro Chirripo was fully booked during the Dec / Jan season. I appreciated that Armin made this suggestion to switch, so we were able to get a similar experience despite booking late (2-3 weeks in advance). His pre-departure instructions were pretty clear and comprehensive, so we had appropriate cold weather clothing. We could have used a little more clarity on the accommodations. The link says only 1 stay at the base camp shelter, but it actually also included the night before in Herradura. So I didn’t need to book the hotel at Pelicano the night before (but Pelicano gave us a 50% refund). I also would have appreciated if he let us know he would not be our guide. I liked our guide Veronika, but was surprised by it when we arrived. So ask in advance, if you care who your specific guide is. Veronika was lovely, was flexible on pace (so we ascended to the summit the first day to see the sunset, while all her precious groups waited until the next day to see the sunrise). Only thing to note is that her English is not strong, so we didn’t have much conversation and it wasn’t clear what the morning plan was (we would have liked to ascend again in the morning for sunrise but we ended up going straight down). The hike itself was beautiful, great weather and surprisingly comfortable shelter (porcelain toilet, thin mattresses, slippers to walk around the shelter with, shower but no hot water so we did not partake).

Cerro chirripo is a great trek. Armin did a wonderful job organizing both the details of the trip and setting a very good pace. He also gave terrific service getting me to the next point in my trip. The accomodations both at the base at the pelican and the hut exceeded my expectations. The food at the pelican is amazing and features farm products from the property. If you have a chance at the pelican to sit with Wilson who has a great eye for spotting local birds Don't hesitate to book Armin for this trip or any other.

From the very beginning we knew Armin could be trusted to: A. help us to the top of the tall Mountain safely B. help us enjoy the journey and C. Come back from our trip with wonderful memories and a lifetime of photos and stories. We hope to have Armin help us our next trips, he is really THAT GOOD. Thank you Armin!!! Rae and Stu

The Hotel El Pelícano is undoubtedly an excellent option for those who want to connect with nature, relax and of course climb the majestic Cerro Chirripó!! On 7/3/19, my husband and I stayed at the hotel since we would climb the Chirripó on 3/8/19. They were very friendly, even on the 8th at 3:45 a.m. we were left at the entrance of the park. As we did not manage to have breakfast at the hotel, we were offered to change breakfast for a snack that was packed and we took the walk! The next day we went down, they brought us to the park entrance and took us back to the hotel!! Where we stay again! It was a spectacular experience and even more in this beautiful hotel where you feel a connection with nature, birdsong and tranquility! The food was very good and the prices very accessible. I would definitely return to this beautiful place! We appreciate the treatment we got!

We spent three incredible days on the trail with Armin trekking to the summit of Cerro Chirrippo. His knowledge of the ecosystems we traversed provided our group great insight into the fauna, birds and animals of Costa Rica. Along the trail, conversation was easy given his many experiences throughout the world. The weather was perfect throughout the trip. The hut was more than adequate and the food was authentic Costa Rican. I would highly recommend any trip with Armin and we look forward to some type of adventure in the future.

We made a self planned trip to Chile and Argentina to climb Volcan San Jose and Aconcagua. While we are fairly experienced climbers and mountaineers at lower elevations we had Armin as our guide for Aconcagua. He was our insurance for our lack of high altitude experience and organizer with the local support agency. It was a very nice experience. Armin for the most part let us run around on our own as we wanted and only reigned us in when he thought it appropriate. When he forced us to make a rest day in camp at about 5500m altitude to improve our acclimation we were not happy because we thought we were strong and wanted to continue. The photos of our faces in camp that rest day and the fact that I barely remember the day as I was falling asleep all the time tells me that he was very right and we needed rest. He did exactly what we wanted from him; protect us from our own enthusiasm and inexperience. Two days later we all reached the summit. It never felt like having a guide that was calling the shots but like traveling, trekking, and climbing with a very experienced friend. Thanks Armin, "pura vida"!

We made 3 individually organised trips with Armin in Costa Rica and Panama. What we like is especially the combination of mountaineering, trekking and enjoying the nature. We know Armin as a responsible, flexibel and patient guide. He met our expectations, not only because of his professional manner, his knowledge of the country and the Spanish language. With his Austrian charme and his wide-ranging interest about the country with all its facets, we had a lot of amusing evenings and interesting discussions. We can recommend Armin for mountain tours as well as for observing the rarely seen green macaw in the rainforest :-).