Travel by Jen Reviews 6

Our Costa Rica vacation booked through Travel by Jen (via Travelzoo) turned out to be a great trip overall. The destinations included Arenal, Tamarindo, Monteverde, and San José, and once we were there, we truly enjoyed the experience. Costa Rica is an incredible place, and the itinerary itself offered a lot to love.

We did run into some challenges along the way, mainly related to communication and a few logistical issues that caused stress before and during part of the trip. That portion of the experience was frustrating at times.

However, I want to recognize that Cody made a sincere effort throughout and was clearly trying to help us navigate the situation. Most importantly, Danielle stepped in and ultimately resolved the reimbursement issue, ensuring that everything was handled fairly and professionally. Her follow-through made a meaningful difference and helped restore our confidence.

While there is room for improvement when it comes to communication, we appreciate that Travel by Jen honored their commitments in the end. The remainder of our trip was very enjoyable, and we are thankful for the effort put in to make things right.

Thank you to the team — especially Danielle — for seeing this through.

I had a very difficult and stressful experience with Travel by Jen (also known as Jet Set Vacations).

I booked and paid in full on September 22, 2025 for a Costa Rica trip for four people, including two ocean-view rooms at Hotel Costa Verde. When I arrived in Costa Rica on November 22, 2025, the hotel informed me at the front desk that no reservation existed under my name.

The hotel explained that my reservation had been cancelled due to non-payment by Travel by Jen, despite the fact that I had already paid the agency in full. As a result, the two ocean-view rooms I reserved were no longer available, and I was forced to pay out of pocket upon arrival—a very unpleasant way to start a vacation.

The front desk staff also stated that they have ongoing issues with Travel by Jen related to non-payment and indicated the agency allegedly owed “tens of thousands of dollars.”

Based on my experience, once Travel by Jen has your money, they are extremely difficult to deal with, and their failure to pay vendors can directly impact travelers. I strongly recommend exercising caution before booking with this agency.

Honesty, respect for all but especially us senior citizens is needed by this travel agency. Nick Paone (our alleged travel agent) is a piece of work and after our horrible Costa Rica trip back in March 2025; I’ve reached out during and after the trip and still no resolve and it’s April.26th, 2025. I made contact via numerous email messages to Nick, as soon as we arrived in Costa Rica, all during our stay there. We were supplied with a compact vehicle instead of a well needed Jeep (like other more privileged customers of Travel by Jen that we meet there at the car rental location). There’s nothing but winding roads and mountainous terrain and that vehicle barely made it. We were told it our be like paradise; not the places we were sent to. In spite of the journal I sent him during our horrific experience, no appropriate action taken to eased our pain. We were involved in a road rage incident right in front of the hotel, in spite the fact that Nick assured us that it was totally safe. When we returned, the complaint continued because it was as if they swept it all under the rug (so to speak). He told me my concerns were forwarded to customer service and it was out of his hands. Well customer service is the co-owner Jennifer (from the Travel by Jen namesake). I explained every single I’ll-experience we encountered to her, and of course she tried to justify every single problem we brought to her/ their attention with ~ she was just there earlier this year, end of last year and it was all fine and dandy”. Not where we were placed; we had to move to 3 different rooms and the last room, kept us up every single night due to the plumbing noises and the AC unit sounded like a helicopter hovering over us.

We also wasn’t aware of having to drive over 12 hours driving, paying at least 10 tolls and parking fees.

We’ve been waiting and I sent emails illustrating how many times I had to reach out to Nick as if we were being ignored (which I know for certain, we were). It’s been approximately 31 days to date, we’ve been back and we are still waiting. Listen, the only time we began actually getting their attention was when I filed a formal dispute with my credit card company. Then they responded immediately all of a sudden with threats of lawsuit. They design their contracts to trap/ trick customers, forcing us to have no recourse but wait on them, to resolve said situations that arise.

We would NEVER EVER use Travel by Jen (did I say NEVER?) again. You have the absolute right to file a dispute with your credit card company; just document everything even their threats after you make your dispute. If your experience isn’t as advertised (or what was told to you by your travel agent) then it is “Service received was not as advertised”.

They had the nerve to tell us, “we get what we paid for” (guess that means, disrespect, idle threats of being sued for exercising your rights and being ignored with unresolved issues). THEY ARE A TOTAL NIGHTMARE.

They had the nerve to tell us, “we get what we paid for” (guess that means, disrespect, idle threats of being sued for exercising your rights and being ignored with unresolved issues). THEY ARE A TOTAL NIGHTMARE.

Had a trip to Costa Rica, planning the trip was ok. Once the trip was paid for and we needed added assistance, customer service was terrible. Could never get a response from them, no matter how many telephone messages or emails were sent. Would never do business with them again.

They followed up rather repeatedly when my holiday was soon to start. They made sure I was ready and gave me information and numbers to call when I travel.
The lodgings were great, they did a good job.

Thank you Samantha and the travel by Jen staff. The trip was wonderful and the accommodations were top notch, the people of Costa Rica are amazing. Will definitely use this company for my travel needs!