John was born in Costa Rica, and graduated from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. He’s been married to his wife Lisa for 28 years and they have three sons in college. He enjoys exploring new places and countries and bringing back ideas which can be implemented at the office. He feels very fortunate to have such a great staff at Costa Rica Sun Tours, which allows him to look for and get involved with new projects all the time. He likes nature and outdoor activities, squash and racquet sports. His favorite destinations in Costa Rica are Corcovado National Park, Tiskita and Arenal.

Arlene Sandi- General Manager
My passion is to live each moment of my life a 100%. I share my life with 3 incredible men: two fabulous sons and a partner who is my true soul mate. Not even mentioning our dog, Moki. Together we have traveled to many places in and outside of Costa Rica in search for good food and getting to know different cultures.I was born and raised in a great, enormous family full of history and surprises. Currently I am about to finish my second career in law, which means I have to read a lot of books and partially I am even doing an internship in immigrations. helping to solve legal situations of immigrants in our country. Most of my time I am dedicating to Costa Rica Sun Tours, though, where I am celebrating my 21st anniversary this year. 21 years of learning and sharing the different experiences that one enjoys roaming Costa Rica. My position gives me the opportunity to be involved in every detail that makes a visit of our country a unique experience. Hence the reason for my first sentence…

Renato confesses that he has always been hyperactive and explains that is why he is always causing mischief among his coworkers at the office. He indicates that he has an aptitude for numbers and is the reason why he chose to work in accounting at Sun Tours, a position he has held for ten years. He is married to his “best friend” Karina, and they have two young children: 3 year-old Dylan and recently-born Daniela, who doesn’t allow them to get much sleep! When Renato had free time, he enjoyed going to beaches, cooling off in a river by a waterfall, relaxing in hot springs, and enjoying a tasty meal with a cold beer at a roadside restaurant with friends. His favorite vacation is the annual two-day mountain bike tour around Lake Arenal in north-central Costa Rica. Renato also has a passion for dogs. He has three at home, and he rescued a little one from the street which is now the office mascot, “Pantufla”. When Pantufla was lost for a few days, Renato was the one who searched hardest to (successfully!) find her. Renato may cause mischief now and then, but we tolerate it because we all know he has a very big heart.

Dalia works quietly and diligently in the accounting office. She enjoys working in tourism, because it gives her the opportunity to learn about and travel to interesting places in Costa Rica. In her spare time she enjoys a good movie of terror and suspense, but most of her free time she dedicates to her daughter and to teaching a student with learning difficulties. Her favorite place in Costa Rica is Monteverde, which she loves.

Rolando was born in the community of Tibás near San Jose and now lives nearby in the town of Moravia. He is an accountant with 23 years of experience in the tourism industry. Over the years he has visited the United States, Guatemala, Panama, Germany, Colombia, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Spain. He enjoys cooking, listening to music and travelling. He has 4 children. Within Costa Rica his favorite place to visit is Guanacaste and its beautiful beaches, and outside the country he enjoys traveling in the United States. He is currently studying Mandarin, likely in preparation for his next trip!

Clara has been working in tourism in Costa Rica since 1989. She has worked in hotel reservations, worked in supplies, and operated a small lodge in the rural community of New Arenal where she lived for three years. Her pastimes include reading (especially about Costa Rica), listening to all types of music, hiking, and bird watching. (She maintains the office birdfeeder stocked with bananas). Her two favorite places in Costa Rica are the wilderness canals and coastal forests of Tortuguero National Park; and the Arenal area because of its beautiful mountains, forests, rivers, waterfalls, hot springs, lake and active volcano Arenal.

Chris was born in the picturesque rural community of Turrialba in eastern Costa Rica (Turrialba is famous for its white water rivers popular for rafting and kayaking). Chris is married, and he and his wife Sue are the happy parents of three children: Fabian and their ”two princesses” Maria Laura y Mariana. Chris likes listening to music, watching a good film on TV with his family, and eating popcorn. Chris states: “Come visit Costa Rica, I am sure you will enjoy it.”

Although Leo now spends much of his time overseeing tasks in Sales and the Operations department, by popular demand he still travels out in the field a lot as one of Costa Rica’s premier naturalist tour leaders. This amiable and highly-respected travel leader enjoys giving nature tours to student groups, family tours, and naturalist groups. His travels outside Costa Rica include several national parks in the United States, the Andes and the Amazon in Ecuador, Panama, and a polar bear expedition in Churchill, Canada. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing his guitar, and learning photography.

Marco has been in the tourism field since 1989 and enjoys his work because it enables him to create vacations for travelers whereby they will learn about Costa Rica and its culture. Most of his free time is spent with his wife and two children, although he also works in his community as a member of the local Neighbor’s Association. At home he and his family recycle paper, plastic and glass as part of their daily life. Over the years, Marco has traveled to several different cities in the US, and in Europe including London and Paris. He feels particularly fortunate to have travelled around Germany during the 2006 World Cup. Within Costa Rica, Marco’s favorite region is the south Caribbean area because of its unique food, its distinct type of music and special “vibe.”

Stephan was born and raised in Germany and is married to Jenny, his Costa Rican wife. After visiting and traveling throughout Costa Rica with her for more than 8 years, he became enchanted with the country and its people and decided to move here permanently with Jenny in 2002. Knowing what he liked most about this wonderful country, and enjoying traveling and relating his travel experiences with others, it was only natural that he entered the tourism industry as a Costa Rica sales specialist. He says he always enjoys getting out and seeing wildlife and encountering new species he has never seen before. Stephen is always excited about sharing his favorite places with other travelers and he strives to create a “dream vacation” in every itinerary he makes for his customers.

Jeison’s specialty is family and group tours, with emphasis on tours that include visits to Costa Rica’s warm “Sun Coast” of Guanacaste. Jeison states he became an expert on Guanacaste because of its forests, wildlife and especially because it has the best beaches of the country! (Guanacaste has a six-month sunny dry season and numerous beautiful beaches secluded in coves and bays along its long, undulating coastline). Jeison is a family man who enjoys spending his free time with his wife Maria and their new baby daughter Samantha, who is just learning to take her first steps. Jeison and Maria also intend to teach her sound environmental practices, so she will grow up to help take care of our planet. Way to go Jeison!

Armando Díaz has been working in the tourism industry for more than 20 years. He has worked in hotels, travel agencies and passenger cruise ships traveling the entire Caribbean, the North American Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Hawaii, Alaska and some countries in Europe. He says he feels blessed to work in tourism, as it is “one of the best jobs in the world” where you learn about a lot of places, people, and make a lot of friends. One of his favorite parts of his job is receiving an e-mail, a call or a post card from a client saying how wonderful their vacation was. This makes him feel really happy for them. When asked what were his favorite places in Costa Rica he replied Monteverde, the south Caribbean (beautiful beaches and the region’s food is delicious), and the Osa Peninsula in the southern Pacific. The latter he described as “one of the greatest treasures of Costa Rica, real jungle, lots of wildlife, beautiful pristine beaches”. We couldn’t agree more.

Priscilla graduated in business administration and tourism from the Colegio Universitario de Cartago and has been in sales with Sun Tours since Aug. 2006. She likes to plan vacations for clients that show the many wonders of this country. Her favorite area in Costa Rica is Arenal because of all the activities that one can do there and because it has an amazing active volcano! During her free time she enjoys a good book and spending time with her dog. She also loves to eat sushi!

Alexis has worked for 9 years in tourism, he is married and has 3 children. His pastimes include reading biographies of interesting people, playing chess, preparing and eating sushi and Japanese cuisine, playing soccer and baseball. He enjoys spending most of his free time in the company of his wife and children.

Karol grew up near coffee fields in the town of Tres Rios, and is theeldest of seven siblings. Both she and her husband work in the tourism industry here. She feels very privileged to live in Costa Rica, because of its abundance of incredible natural beauty. When asked what her favorite place is in the country, she felt hard put to decide because of all the fascinating places there are, but indicated that she is particularly fond of the remote Golfo Dulce area near Corcovado National Park. “It is amazing what the area offers; beaches, ocean and rainforests in one place, and wildlife such as sloths, snakes, sea turtles, dolphins, incredible numbers of birds, and much more. It is a special, magical place where I always want to return.”

Not only does Alex keep busy installing and maintaining our office equipment, but he also doubles as our adventure tour guide. He is a passionate outdoorsman and for nearly 15 years has led nature, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, canyoning and rappeling tours all over Costa Rica. In addition, in his spare time he has competed with adventure teams in Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama, and has led friends on grueling hikes up to the peak of ChirrIpo-the highest peak in Costa Rica-several times. Families with children love him for his enthusiasm and caring personality! We are proud to have such an active and passionate tour leader and technological expert on our team!

Esteban lives in the mountain community of San Pedro de Poás de Alajuela, which he points out is below the flanks of an active volcano with one of the biggest craters in the world! In his four years working in tourism in Costa Rica, he has grown to appreciate the incredible natural beauty this nation offers. In his spare time he enjoys a good “pickup” soccer game, and whenever possible, to take a trip out into the countryside to enjoy seeing the incredible Costa Rican flora and fauna.

Liz was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica and holds a B.A. degree in Tourism, has taken various English courses, recently finished her Master in Business Administration and is currently studying Marketing. She has been working at Sun Tours for over 13 years. When she has a chance, she likes to go to the beach. Her favorites are Manuel Antonio and Montezuma on the Pacific coast, and those on the south Caribbean side. In addition to this, she likes visiting Arenal Volcano where she has enjoyed its “magical” explosions. She loves to travel. She has visited some countries in Europe and has also been to North America. Besides studying, her spare time activities include reading, scrapbooking, and learning about the culture of other countries. However she spends most of her free time with her family and friends. She promotes environmental practices with her family and in her community by recycling plastic and glass bottles, and by participating in a new community project that is recycling milk carton cardboard to be used by a local school to make recycled desks.

Pao studied tourism at the Hispanoamericana University and loves her career! She currently lives in Heredia with her two brothers Keylin and Allan. She enjoys learning about new places, meeting new people and photography which she feels is the best medium for telling a story. She enjoys helping others (a feature indispensible in her job!), reading, and learning about history. She has traveled to the United States and visited California and New Jersey and traveled widely within Costa Rica. She is very enthusiastic about her new job at Sun Tours and working in tourism!

Marta is a person who considers it is very important to work hard, be responsible, and to have open communications with everyone around her. She has three children. She has traveled to Colombia and visited San Andres and Baranquilla, and to Mexico which she enjoyed very much. In her free time she enjoys helping others who need it, and for this reason she works as a volunteer in a hospital.