 |
| Trips to Manuel Antonio Beach
with Albee Adventures promise to show visitors
Costa Rica's special character. |
| Courtesy Albee Adventures |
Ms. Alexandra Lacayo Baronoff, now the president
of Albee Adventures Inc., has a life story most
of us would like have for ourselves: “I visited
New York in 1989, fell in love with it, and needed
to find something to do,” said Lacayo as she
began recounting her fairy-tale-like account. And
what she became was nothing less than a respected
specialist on Costa Rican national parks, working
on their behalf in the United Nations.
“Soon after I started working on this issue I
realized that so much was to be done,” said Lacayo,
and that “there was so much lacking when it came
to worldwide and American knowledge on Costa Rica
and its special character. This is why I established
my company in 1997.” Today, Albee Adventures
is the only travel agency in New York to specialize
in niche products catering to high-end customers who
dream of visiting Costa Rica. The packages she offers
are all customized. Lacayo herself defines her company
as a “boutique operator.”
Her clients range anywhere from 28 to 50 years of
age. A few of them are families. They all share several
common traits: they are extremely demanding, wealthy,
upper-middle-class people.
The policy of Albee Adventures is that no request
is too difficult to be fulfilled. “If someone
asks: does that specific hotel have a coffee maker?
If it doesn’t – we will buy one. In the
past we have organized helicopter landings on the
beach, and more than once we have sent kosher food
from New York to Costa Rica,” says Lacayo, proudly
presenting her unique services.
However, even if the company’s services reach
extreme extents, Ms. Lacayo wants to remind any tourist
wishing to visit her amazing country, that Costa Rican
luxury is always combined with elements of naturalism
and environmental sustainability. “Sometimes
it almost feels as if tourists expect that they can
see monkeys by pressing a button. I am sure this could
be done in one way or another, but we don’t want
our country to become another Disneyland. We need
more conscious tourists.”
Lacayo says that prices in Costa Rica can surely be
high, but that once one realizes how difficult it
is to get even ordinary, daily items from the capital
San José to remote destinations, it becomes
more understandable. Of course, in Costa Rica, one
pays also for the uniqueness – of having a beach
to oneself and a piece of primary forest in one backyard.
In addition to caring services, exclusivity and deep
understanding of the Costa Rican tourist industry,
what else does Albee Adventures offer? Some of the
company’s most popular products are sports fishing,
golf, weddings and family packages, says Ms. Lacayo.
These products are very important also for the country,
and bring more added value and a sense of uniqueness.
So, where can one enjoy these products? According
to Albee Adventures, “Costa Rica is a small mountainous
country on the narrow Central American isthmus. It
is so small that one could even cross from the Atlantic
to the Pacific in only a few hours. But why hurry?
There is so much to see in between.” Therefore,
take the map of Costa Rica or a brochure, choose the
location, and let Albee Adventures take you there! |
