Palo Verde Boat Safari

It was a good tour. Getting to and from the boat took the longest. Very nice scenery. The guide was knowledgeable as was the boat captin. The food was yummy!

Excellent boat safari tour! We saw crocodiles, monkeys, and several different types of birds. Our guide Harry taught us lots about the wildlife and where the different types of animals live in Costa Rica! Highly recommend!

Everything was Good but disappointing part was a short trip on the boat that lasted maybe max 45 min. I personally would be willing to skip lunch and pottery to get a chance to have more time with nature .. after all this trip was about that.

What an amazing experience! Filipe and Alberto were amazing guides who showed us monkeys and crocodiles as well as amazing beautiful birds! Well worth the money for a private boat tour. Also LUNCH WAS AMAZING!

We were well taken care of from our pickup to our drop off. The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly as well as observative, pointing out different animals and sights that we didn't see. The boat driver knew exactly where the crocodiles and other animals were and pulled as close as possible for us to get a good photo. The driver was also helpful and friendly. All in all a great experience!

I will be honest and say that I didn't go in to this tour expecting a lot. I had read mixed reviews. However, I found it to be exceptional. We had Frank as a driver and Kevin as a guide and they were both amazing. Kevin gave us so much helpful information about Costa Rica, and even stopped to buy us fruit at a stand when my MIL asked what it was! One caution: If you experience motion sickness, be sure to take your medicine and/or bring it along. The final road to the park is essentially a rocky riverbed and is really bumpy! They do provide lunch and it was fine. The pottery demonstration was fine too--I knew to expect it. It was an enjoyable way to spend the day and learn a lot. We also got to see crocodiles (babies and adults), monkeys (also babies and adults), lots of birds, bats and more.

The tour was really well. The boat captain did everything he could to see us the most wildlife possible and he allowed me to come up front to get pictures. Our guide was great with calling a local man to explain how the original tribe made pottery.

The experience was fantastic. I highly recommend. We saw about 30 crocodiles, 15 monkeys and many different birds. The monkey almost jumped in our boat! My 2.5 year old loved it too! Defintely possible for all ages 0-100. No fitness levels needed. Bring your camera!

Early start for the long drive to this location from our hotel. Driver was friendly and safe. Once arrived at the boat safari and loaded, our trip was somewhat chaos due to other tours getting on and off our boat after we had already left and done a portion of the tour on the river. We did see birds and monkeys and maybe that is why the boat driver only had us out for 45 minutes. We were expecting a longer boat ride of at least double that. Lunch was good. Very local food and cooked well. Return trip to hotel went as planned.

Local company to Tamarindo. Kevin our tour guide and Alberto our driver were great, stopping to see some interesting spots off the beaten track. Very informative. Boat driver knew all the spots for birds and wildlife along the way. Very authentic lunch, cooked by lovely local women. We thoroughly enjoyed our day.

Absolutely A+ experience. We booked 2 tours with them (a private sailing trip for a day and a day trip to Palo Verde National forest) as well as all of our Airport Transfers. All the tours were great, with really friendly staff and punctual drivers. The Palo Verde river cruise was particularly excellent, we saw tons of wild life and the whole family had a great time. They also were great at handling our changing itinerary with flights. Absolutely recommend them!

Great wildlife and plenty of birds and monkeys to see :) and the crocodiles and the lunch was very good! And Carlos was awesome! Very nice and had alot of good information and great guide :)

We had an amazing river tour with our guide Harry and driver Christian. Communication with them was wonderful and the ride and tour were seamless. Harry was so full of local and wildlife information and facts! Plus he could spot a tiny Kingfish bird in the trees from yards away! Our boat driver, Luis, was also amazing at maneuvering and spotting wildlife. Lunch provided by local women and crafts by local man were spot on. Thank you everyone so very much, made our trip complete!

The excursion was great. Everyone was so friendly and the food was delicious. I'm still amazed at how our guide spotted all of the hidden animals. Very impressive! A fun experience for all ages.

This was an excellent tour and gave us a wonderful taste of Costa Rican culture and wildlife. Our tour guide Kevin was extremely welcoming and knowledgeable about Costa Rican life and history. On our safari we saw a lot of wildlife including water birds, crocodiles, capuchin monkeys and large iguanas. Our boat captain Luis was wonderful as well. We enjoyed the lunch and pottery demonstration included in our trip. This was a most enjoyable day!

The captain of the boat and our tour guide made this a memorable trip. I am not a bird watcher, but enjoyed seeing birds and other wildlife on the tour. The best part was seeing an American crocodile and white-faced capuchin! The crocodile came right up to our boat. The lunch was simple and fresh. The restaurant gave us a glimpse of a true Costa Rican way of life. Pura Vida!

Our trip with driver David and Guide Julio was absolutely amazing. The drive was scenic and we learned a lot about Costa Rica. David spotted howlers on the way and pulled over so we could get pics. The actual boat tour was beautiful and relaxing. They are experts at spotting so much wildlife! As a wildlife photographer… it exceeded our expectations.

Our river tour with David and Julio was absolutely amazing! They stopped on the way to the river because we spotted Howler Monkeys and I got amazing pictures. The boat ride was so beautiful and peaceful. So much wildlife! Amazing how they can spot so many things. Julio Cesar was funny, professional and so knowledgeable. As a wildlife photographer, I checked off many species off my bucket list… including white faced monkeys and many birds. I highly recommend!

This tour was excellent! The boat tour on the river was fascinating. Cesar, our guide, was amazing at spotting animals for us to see and so good at getting us close so that we could take pictures and truly appreciate nature at its wildest. This is a family run business and everyone was warm and welcoming. Definitely watch the pottery session. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The drive takes you over some pretty rough roads but once you are there, you are in for a treat! Enjoy!

It was a great experience to hear information about Costa Rica from our guide Daniel. We went to see beautiful iguanas and had a chance to feed them, later we went on a boat trip to see wildlife including crocodile, after that we looked at sugarcane mill, heard about traditional pottery and had a great lunch. I wish I would have a little more time to look around at the pottery, it was amazing. Our driver Mayorka was great. He drove safely and helped us with pictures.

Great way to learn about the wildlife and ecosystem in the surrounding area when on vacation. The Guide and driver picked us up from our hotel and provided water during the trip. What ever you do bring bug spray as the mosquitos were really aggressive! The guide was fantastic and we were able to learn a lot!

This is a nice way to get out to the true nature of Costa Rica without driving forever from the pacific coast resorts near Guanacaste. The boat ride and wildlife were great. The stop for lunch was kinda questionable. There’s always the classic attempt To sell you stuff but the food was served outside with literal flea ridden dogs running around. Didn’t really seem appealing or hygienic. They should just skip the lunch and let people go straight back.

What a wonderful tour!! The river was so peaceful and we saw so many crocodiles and monkeys! There were beautiful birds everywhere, too. Our guide took pictures of all we saw with a professional camera and then sent them to us that day - which is included in the trip! We stopped for lunch and that was one of the highlights of my entire trip! The food was absolutely delicious and the owner is a lovely person! Our whole group loved the Costa Rician food prepared with produce they grow and all had really amazing flavors!!! I highly recommend this trip not only for the grand river excursion but for lunch!!!! What a marvelous restaurant!!!

Our family's second time to enjoy taking the Palo Verde Boat Safari. We were spending the week in the area with family and friends. Based on our previous experience (two years earlier) we convinced the entire group of 10 people to join us on the Bot Safari. Everybody agreed, overall it was the best adventure of the week. Friendly staff, great trip with well informed guide, followed by a super lunch. If you ever in the area, I strongly recommend that you take the Palo Verde Boat Safari.

Great trip on the Palo Verde boat cruise with informed guide as to crocs, birds, and wild life. Lunch, although good, provided very small portions of chicken with plentiful rice and beans. Rice pudding was good along with beverage. Stop at family owned pottery making market was very informative.

Amazing boat trip. Our guide Luis was so knowledgeable, as was the guide on the boat. We saw Capuchin monkeys, 2 troops with babies, red macaw, long nose bats, crocodiles, green iguanas, green herons, tiger herons, blue gray herons…. So may special moments. Definitely book this tour!

Besides the amazing views, our tour guide Diego and driver Alberto went above and beyond to make our tour memorable. Can't thank them enough! The included lunch was muy Bueno! Pura Vida!

Enjoyed our boat tour. Gabriel was a great tour guide and was very passionate about Costa Rica. He made sure we saw several birds, crocs, and iguanas. Food at the “ranch” was very good. Saw a pottery shop and tasted liquid sugar cane once pressed. Would have liked to have spent more time at the Ranch and maybe stopped along the way at sugar cane fields or other.

Our tour guide Diego and his colleague Diego were great. Diego was well informed about the birds and wildlife along the river. The boat captain was amazing at spotting well hidden creatures. The food at the restaurant was excellent.

This was a fabulous trip in many ways. First of all, they pick you up from most places along the Guanacaste coast, including rental houses. Secondly, you will see many species of birds plus crocodiles that would be very difficult to see (safely...) otherwise. And thirdly the guide (Manuel, in our case), was excellent - friendly, knowledgeable, flawless English.

Great Trip. Our Guide Manuel was very knowledgeable and Fun to explore with. Take this Trip and you will not be disappointed.

We got to see monkeys, alligators, and several kinds of birds. Our guide, Kevin, was very nice and knowledgeable and we felt safe with our driver. This was a great tour and we thoroughly enjoyed our morning.

This tour was just excellent from beginning to end. Our driver Alberto and guide Alejandro went above and beyond. I learned so much! Not just about all the amazing animals we got up close to, but we were treated to a whole talk about the history of the country and it just gave me so much context for the rest of our stay in this beautiful part of the world. Highly recommend this tour and can't give enough praise for our guide Alejandro who even helped me take some amazing pics with my new camera.

This was a fantastic tour! We traveled with young kids and grandparents. Everyone loved it! We saw so much wildlife - all kinds of birds, lots of crocs, and white faced capuchin monkeys that came right up to the boat! It was awesome!

We were thrilled by the sight of monkeys, birds, bats, and crocodiles during our visit. Thanks to Danny, and the skilled vehicle and boat operators, we learned and witnessed how various species coexisted. Monkeys playfully climbed onto our shoulders and heads, while a lone baby crocodile calmly floated on the water's surface amidst driftwood. Iguanas of all sizes snuggled against tree trunks, and bats blended seamlessly into the trees with their remarkable camouflage.

Really great tour. Angel our guide was really informative about everything we saw. The captain spotted so many birds, croc's, lizards, monkeys and bats! Really enjoyed it and would do it again. Went early. We also had the tortilla making and pottery making demonstrations and enjoyed a great lunch there.

Pick up efficient and on time with excellent drivers. Nice sized group. Sufficient pit stops. Excellent lunch. Superb boat driver and guide who educated us on the many birds, crocodiles, monkeys, flora and other features. Highly recommended.

Great tour guide. This was by far the best trip we have been on so far during our stay. We saw lots of wildlife, birds, monkeys and crocodiles. Tour guide was very informative. Highly recommend this trip

The boat ride was an excellent adventure. We saw a great variety of birds, also crocodiles, and monkeys. Our tour guide, Kevin, was incredible. So knowledgeable and so friendly. We'll tell all our friends how much we enjoyed our trip.

Our tour guide was great! Very knowledgeable able the animals spotted, he took great pictures, and he was quite funny. Everything started on time and the day flowed smoothly. The lunch provided was very good and great portions. Perfect day!

We loved this excursion! Our driver was very knowledgeable about the area. We couldn’t believe how close we got to the crocodiles. It was a bit scary but thrilling! Highly recommend!

Our guide was very informative. We enjoyed all the stops to see the wildlife, especially the crocodiles in which some came right up to the boat. The authentic Costa Rican lunch and pottery demonstration were nice to end the trip!

We had a great experience with our tour guide, Gino, and Native Way. Aside from being deeply knowledgeable about the area, Gino went out of his way to cater to our interests. When we told him we are bird lovers, he went out of his way to take us to a place where we might spot the Jabiru (largest bird in Costa Rica)…just our luck, we spotted one (they’re endangered). When we told him we love mangas, he made a special stop to get us the best mangas we’ve ever had. It was a great experience. Can’t recommend them enough.

Wonderful tour. Monkeys and crocodiles, birds and lizards galore. Lunch was way better than we expected

Richard I was a great driver and guide. We did see monkeys, crocodiles and birds. The meal was wonderful. The stop in Philadelphia park to see the iguanas very cool. But the drive versus what we saw so so. So mixed review. It’s a low key trip which many people will enjoy.

We were not impressed with our safari tour. We did see some animals and birds but based on the description, we expected a lot more. The meal was not as described, either. There was no choice of meat and no real drinks were provided. They served a punch of some kind, in a carafe, but if a traveler is concerned about water safety, it would be better to provide bottled water or canned soda. Also, the place we ate was not indoors, so it was very hot and humid. I did not do well with those conditions. Others may have no issue but my humidity tolerance is low. The drive to the river is very rough. Our tour van was not very comfortable and the air wasn't working right. All in all, I would not recommend this tour and found the price way too high for what you get.

Carlos was a wonderful guide. He and the boat captain were an excellent team, spotting many animals and birds, getting very close for viewing and photographing.

The boat trip is very interesting and made more so by our informative guide who was able to point out many animals to photograph many of which would have been hard to see if they were not pointed out as they are hidden in the trees.Among animals you will see are crocodiles,monkeys ,iguanas, bats and a variety of birds.The boat trip was followed by a traditional village lunch and a demonstration of pottery craft.

it’s a great trip to see wildlife in an otherwise arid area realize you are in a boat trip for 1 1/2 hours 1 1/2 hour drive to general transfer point the 45 min to boat 30 minutes to pottery exhibition , then 1 1/2 hours back It is an 8 hour trip not 5 worth it to see crocs and birds lunch was excellent our guide Victor was excellent with a great knowledge base