Spectacular Palo Verde Eco-tour & Blue Zone Adventure

The tour exceeded our expectations. We love the country side and the different kinds of animals that we saw. Our guide Guillermo was extremely professional, knowledgeable and helpful. We arrived late for the pick up but he stayed and waited until we arrived. The experience was exceptional and unforgettable.

This was our best excursion. Our tour guide was the best. If you are taking this tour I would recommend Maymo to be your tour guide. He is very knowledgeable and friendly. We had the best time with him. We requested him for all of our tours.

Our guide Herbert was amazing!! Our day started with him spotting McCall birds and stopping so we could photograph them! It’s ended with him finding us tons of iguanas that we could stop and take photos of. Everything in between the water ride and spotting all of the animals on the river was amazing. Definitely highly recommend.!!

A nice excursion for those who do not want to do a lot of walking while at the same time getting to see some for wildlife of the area. Our tour guide was excellent and took his time explaining things about the country and its history.

Excellent tour guide Guillermo. Very knowledgeable about the area. Boat tour about 1.5 hrs and various stops to and from the river finding a large variety of local wildlife including white faced monkeys and their babies, crocs, iguanas, blue heron, holler monkeys. Boat manouvered close to the shoreline to allow us to see the wildlife.

Couple took the 6 hour Palo Verde tour with Nesmer as the driver and Jonathan as the guide on Dec 2nd. On the drive there they shared a lot of information on Costa Rica. A stop at Filidelphia allowed us to stretch our legs and view several iguanas, they even provided lettuce to attract the iguanas from the trees for a private photo shoot. Boat tour up the river was well run and our Costour guides along with Palo Verde staff and other guide worked together to locate a wide variety of wildlife. We stayed on the river in search of white faced Monkies near the end and Nesmer spotted a group and a photo shoot followed. Lunch proved by Palo Verde staff was absolutely wonderful, chicken, rice, beans, salad, plaintains, green bean dish, banana ceviche and dessert. Jonathan also provided us several photos to add to our collection. Highly recommended! We also used Costours for our airport transfers. Thanks Costours!

Our guide Nesmer did a fantastic job of making sure that our group got the most of this day. We encountered Capuchin Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, Crocodiles (up close), a variety of birds, lizards, bats and iguanas. We followed that up with a delicious lunch including chicken, salad, plantain, fried cheese, sautéed veggies, beans, rice, dragonfruit juice and coconut/dragonfruit sorbet. Our new friend Willie then demonstrated how local pottery is created. This was the easily best day of our week long vacation. Highly recommend requesting Nesmer as a guide. He’s funny, affable and knowledgeable.

From start to finish this tour was organized and very enjoyable. Our guide (I believe his name was Umberto) was what made the experience so memorable. His attention to detail and his willingness to accommodate all our needs was incredible. Thanks for the great adventure.

I can't say enough good things about this tour company. We did 2 tours with them, the Palo Verde boat ride and the Rincon de la Vieja Combo. Both were excellent. Alberto was our guide both times. He is knowledgeable, interesting, and fun and knows how to move things at a good tempo. He was a delight to meet and learn about his life! Kevin, the owner, was also with us on the first day. He's also great and we really enjoyed getting to know him and learn about his life too. I would absolutely book another tour with this company and encourage anyone to do the same! Really fun, varies, and interesting!

Amazing experience and 100% would recommend. Every part of the trip was well thought out and the guide went above and beyond to make the experience flawless. We got to see a number of cool animals including birds, crocodiles, monkey, oxen’s…highly recommend. I would do this tour again in the future!

The experience was so amazing. We got very nice videos and photos. I will be bringing my kids with us next time. Contour made this experience unforgettable.

Our grandchildren, ages 8, 9, 10, & 11, loved seeing a host of birds, monkeys, and crocs. So fun! Lunch and refreshments were great, too, in a beautiful and interesting river retreat. Wonderful guides and drivers.

Punctual and knowledgeable, Gabriel was a good driver and a wonderful guide. He showed us so many animals and local stops for reasonably priced souvenirs.

We were blown away by our trip to the river. Memo, our AMAZING Driver and guide took us to see locals diving for buckets of mineral rich soils that were hauled by gorgeous oxen. We were offered fresh cantaloupe by a fellow on the way and Memo drove us through his small village on the way to Palo Verde. We learned SO MUCH. Once at the very “ Green” River we were helped onto a comfortable covered boat with Manuel as our Captain and Andres as our “ Naturalist’s guide” We saw amazing birds, lizards, crocodiles and bats native to the region. We were told by Memo that nature has no guarantees but I can assure that the river ride was green and fresh and simply beautiful A high point was seeing 3 of the 4 species of monkeys in Costa Rica. This was “ highly unusual” according to all guides but Manuel was truly an “ animal whisperer” so howler, spider and capuchin monkeys all came to hang out! The capuchins ( like Marcel from Friends) were inches away as Manuel chatted to the wee creatures with adorable porcelain looking faces. Great photo ops for sure Lunch at a family owned restaurant offered a chance to see Maria make tortillas over a wood fire. Delicious juice from the area was cold and plentiful with tortilla, rice, beans, fire barbecued chicken and a salad made from another local fruit was all sensational and plentiful served “ family style”. Dragonfruit and coconut ice cream finished off the meal. SO TASTY! Clean bathrooms and great coffee at this spot too. All included. There were some lovely unique souvenirs at very reasonable prices tucked away in a corner for our interest but no pressure to buy A local potter was teaching us his craft and small pieces were available but again NO PRESSURE Memo made sure our very comfy, high quality van was cool and he told us several times that he was there at our service and we should be worry free! We thank Kevin for booking this trip and we could not get over the personalized, quick and kind service provided We have requested Memo for another tour tomorrow. Once again Kevin has planned an itinerary that is personal and thoughtful. We can’t wait to see Memo again. Service was beyond our wildest expectations Thank you from our huge Canadian Hearts COSTOURS are FIRST CLASS all the way!

I enjoyed watching the wild Animals,like birds,monkeys and especially the crocodiles,I’m glad I booked this tour,we have fun.and the foods was good.

Great family experience! Welcoming, friendly and offered a fun and safe adventure. We saw Monkeys, crocodiles, iguanas, all kinds of birds and baby bats! So awesome! The kids loved it. After the tour we were welcomed for a delicious authentic lunch! The chicken, tortilla, rice and beans were so good. Then we had a pottery lesson from the artist himself. Definitely recommend!

The boat tour was great and the food was delicious. We loved the dragon fruit juice. On the boat tour we saw monkeys, a lot of birds and crocodiles. After the tour they brought us back to the main building and we ate some really good food consisting of rice, beans and chicken. I highly recommend this company.

We loved this trip! Seeing the monkeys and other wildlife was incredible. Our tour guide was amazing and was willing to stop at different locations for us. The lunch was awesome and we loved seeing the pottery. Highly recommend!

The family who has owned this business for over 20 years is warm and welcoming. The guides are patient and knowledgeable. The food is locally sourced, fresh, and delicious. We saw many animals on the boat ride.

What a delightful tour! Our guide, Isabella, was like a biologist, describing the names and traits of every type of flora and fauna we encountered. After an hour's drive from Coco we stopped at the Palo Verde Tour's soda for juice, coffee and a bathroom break. Then on to the riverside with Isabella giving us a running account of everything we saw. Each kind of iguana, the monkeys, birds, trees and bushes. Then into the boat off a dock, nice touch, with Captain "Eagle Eye" Antonio. And he did have an eagle eye for the croc's basking on the banks, the many, many different kinds of birds, with Isabella chipping in and helping with the spotting...trilingually! We even saw a couple of Water Buffalo. When the extensive boat tour was over it was back to the soda for the best Casado lunch I've ever had. Hand made tortillas, the corn ground on the spot, chicken cooked over the same open fire as the tortillas. Beans, salad and squash, homemade plantain chips and to finish, handmade sorbet with homemade tamarindo sauce. Oh, I forgot, their own hot sauce with the lunch. All of this within the cost of the tour. An amazing day. Thanks Pepito and Isabella. We'll be back with Costours in Playas del Coco.

If you are on the fence about this tour - I'm here to tell you to jump off and plunge into this amazing adventure. Everything from the greeting when we first arrived to our tour guide and driver on the actual boat tour, to the traditional Costa Rican lunch was A+. Our kids (age ten and eight) love it, my wife and I loved it and my mother in law loved it. We saw Croc's up close, we saw monkeys and iguanas, not to mention the various birds that lined the river banks. This is a first class operation and I cannot recommend it enough.

This was our 2nd tour we took with Costour. We were in Costa Rica for 3 weeks and did the other tour before getting married with some of our friends that came to our wedding. We liked it so much we decided to do another with them on the start of our honeymoon. Pepito was our guide again and it ended up just being my husband and I on the tour. He stopped and showed us the "Sandmen" working in the river. Men that are sand mining the river using carts and Oxen for the use of making concrete housing and other uses. It was really interesting. We went on our tour on the river and saw several crocodiles which was exciting. Saw both White face and Howler monkeys, lots of iguanas and tons of birds. Being the end of Feb it was nice and hot so the weather was great. Pepito took us to lunch at a cute little place in a village I believe was called Ortega, but could be wrong. We got to pull a cashew fruit off a tree and try it with lunch. Definitely an acquired taste. One bite and it sucks all the moisture out of your mouth. Lol The food was great as usual and afterwards they gave us homemade passion fruit with mint ice cream. Soooo good! We got back in the van to head out and Pepito with a mischievous look on his face started digging into a small cooler. I laughed and commented on his look and he pulled out a couple of wine glasses and some Moscato. His wife Carolyn (sp) and him had packed it up for us to celebrate newly being married there. It was so sweet! Such a thoughtful touch for them to do that. Things like that go a long way. 😊 He stopped and let us take picts a few times on the way home. I like how he doesn't rush to get to the tour and rush to take you back home. You can tell he likes what he does. We went on another tour earlier in our trip with another outfit and it was to go there and back and I couldn't even tell you the guys name. We will definitely be back to tour with him again in the future. We liked him so much I gave him a big hug when he dropped us off. Thanks Pepito & Carolyn

Punctuality, professionalism and excellence is the name of the Tour guide, however, you can call him GUILLERMO. He is FIVE STARS Amazing! He stopped along the way whenever there was an unusual photo op, and took his time in explaining to us (English and Spanish) what it was what we were seeing, where did all begin, why it was done the way it was, and the pride and passion for what he does shines through. The boat tour down the Tempisque River was explained in details, and he would point out to every creature that we saw, their roots, their habits, and even why crocodiles keep their mouth open when sunbathing giving the appearance of a smile. We even got to see an iguana with TWO tails! The boat ride is nice and easy thanks to Captain Manuel who also maneuvered the boat for great pictures, and as if saving the best thing for last, after the boat tour, GUILLERMO took us to the Palo Verde Restaurant, enjoying local cuisine at its best. The black beans were to die for, even my Cuban Grandmother would have approved. This was an amazing tour. DO NOT MISS!

We had a great tour today with our fabulous guide/driver Rodman. From the moment he picked us up this morning to the time he dropped us off at end of tour we had a wonderful time. He was so knowledgeable and very happy to answer our questions. He pointed out various attractions on the way to the boat tour. He even made a short unscheduled stop so someone could take a picture of a street name. The boat tour itself was so much fun. One never knows what animals we are going to see. The amount of birds is amazing and some of them are absolutely gorgeous and colourful. Seeing the crocodile with his mouth wide open, and he looked like a statue, was treat. The best part was the white faced monkeys. Afterwards we had a lovely Costa Rican traditional lunch. Yummy and then time to go home. A wonderful time was had by all. Thank you Costours and Radom.

This was great day tour-not just the cool river crusie where you will see aweosme crocdiles and monkeys and iguanas-But you have authentic lunch in a village-great day-do it!

Chose Costour to book our trip to Palo Verde Boat Tour. It was terrific ! We were a family of 4 adults and 3 children. Our guides, Pepito and Renaldo, made us feel like family. We stopped to listen to howler monkeys, stopped to show us a cashew tree, and stopped to watch men at work with oxen. All before we reached our destination. The Boat Tour was great. We saw crocodiles one the shore and in the water, white faced monkeys, many many birds, iguanas , bats. After the tour , they took us back to the family restaurant for lunch. We had plates and plates of authentic local food that was delicious. I would recommend Costour for your next trip. Professional, knowledgeable and treat you like family

Alex Monjarre of The Park4You Travel arranged a custom tour for our group of six from Playas Del Coco combining the Palo Verde River Cruise, the sloth and animal/nature sanctuary at Tenorio Volcano and Llanos de Cortez Waterfall; and...Palo Verde was definitely the highlight! Up close and personal is the theme while cruising the river in a pontoon boat and enjoying a beverage or two! Crocs, blue herrings, Iguanas and Howler Monkeys were all sighted along with black neck stilts, a bare throat tiger herron, a green kingfisher and long nosed bats, all along the shores of the Bebedero River! This was an awesome day enjoying Costa Rica nature; and at a very reasonable price per person, especially when compared to individual excursion prices!

We have gone on this tour twice and it was amazing both times, I cannot recommend it enough. Both times we have been there they introduced us to most of their family(they are all super nice), and served an amazing authentic tico meal. This time we were there, we saw so many animals and got REALLY up close with them. We got so close to a crocodile I thought it would bite our hands off if we stuck them out. The best part was seeing the white faced monkeys, they posed for pictures and played together. I got some amazing pictures.

Found their website through trip advisor and booked direct with tour operator since we had our own transportation. Drove to their office location using google maps as our guide, which was extremely accurate. Once at their office and all tourists arrived for our time slot, we caravanned to the river which was about a 15 minute drive. Once at the river we each paid a park entry fee of $9/person. Then the fun began. We got on the boat. All were required to where life jackets. Then we went up and down the river for 90 minutes and saw everything as promised. White face monkeys howler monkeys, crocodiles, all kinds of beautiful birds, lizards, iguanas and thankfully no snakes! Manuel was an awesome boat driver and got us within 10 feet of the white face monkeys. Francisco was our guide and was very knowledgeable about the river habitat. Once done, we drove back to the office for an excellent typical Costa Rican lunch. Our tour started late but they made sure we got what we paid for. This is our 10th trip to Costa Rica and this is a must see!

We had a blast with Jorge on the Palo Verde Boat Tour! He picked us up at our place, entertained us on the hour and half long drive, and knew all about the wildlife on the river. The lunch served after the tour was also fantastic, and the pottery demonstration was interesting. Jorge speaks English, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, has a great sense of humor, and knows everything about the area. We would recommend this tour to anyone!

Tour guide picked us up on time and with a spotless van in Coco. On the way to Palo Verde, we stopped to watch the Ticos who work with oxen at the riverbeds collecting volcanic soil. The river boat ride was really interesting and there were only four people on it with two guides. We saw alligators, huge iguanas resting in trees, white faced monkeys, fruit bats and many species of birds. The lunch following was fantastic!

I took this tour last week from Playa del Coco. Tour guide Yves and Georgy were great tour guides and have lots of knowledge of the area, and nature. They have a great passion and appreciation for Costa Rica and the people. I would highly reccomend this tour. You will learn so much more about Costa Rica then expected. I also enjoyed the lunch as it was delcious, full of flavour, and very authentic. I joined this tour as a single, but everyone was friendly and we had a good group. Thx to Costour for the experience and I will definitley be taking a couple more from them on my next visit.

Our shuttle took us 90 minutes to get from Playa de Cocos to the river, but our driver, Guillermo, was a very good guide, and full of information about what we were seeing. The river boat driver, knew just where to see the crocodiles and a great many birds, and Guillermo (Mamo)filled us in about the wildlife. I'm sure the white faced monkey knew he should pose for a perfect picture! On the way back we stopped to see a family of howler monkeys just beside the road - what a noise! We had lunch at a typical outside restaurant in the town of Ortega - vey pretty atmosphere.

We were picked up at our hotel and had Geremo the guide to ourselves. Shared the boat with another 3 people so we had 2 guides, the driver and 5 tourists (nice personalized service and very knowledgeable guides) We saw crocodiles, howler monkeys, iguanas and an assortment of birds and big bugs. Lunch was served at a local restaurant in the small town of Ortega and it was authentic and delicious. Over all a good value for the 5 1/2 hour long trip.

Great day out with Yves. He always includes extra special attention to detail, he's a great story teller, and you'll learn so much more about Costa Rica than you expected!

We bookedthis tour for ourselves and our friends. All I can say is "Outstanding". Our tour guides name was Mamo and we feel like he went out of his way to show us, not only a wonderful boat tour, but some very interesting ngs about the culture here. We had been on this tour several years ago with a different tour company which didn't hold a candle to this new experience. Mamo stopped along the river to show us some of the local culture. We watched as some of the local people were working in the river with their oxen to gather sand. He explained in detail how this was important and very hard work. These sandmen and women gather sand to be used as an ingredient for making cement. Most of the construction here in CR is built with cement. We then coasted along open fields of melon, rice and sugar cane watching the local farming community work. That was all before we even arrived to load onto the boat. The boat tour was fascinating and Mamo and the boat captain made sure we saw everything from floral to fauna and all was explained in detail. In the end our guests couldn't stop talking about what an amazing time they had.

Booking the tour was easy and efficient through email with Yves, with responses coming within a few hours and fees paid in cash upon pickup. We had seen many tour groups during our stay, so we were expecting a van with 10-12 people. But we were thrilled to have a "VIP" tour with just the two of us and guide Rodman. Rodman was at our pick up point, conveniently just a 5 minute walk from our condo, right on time and greeted us with a warm and friendly smile. The primary rule of 'don't be shy' gave us Rodman's undivided attention to our rapid fire questions about everything from local economy to weather to a typical day for Costa Ricans and more. A special treat was stopping to see the "sandman" operation of a zero emissions process to collect sand from the river bottom and haul it via wagon and oxen to the yard. Gave us a new appreciation for all the concrete in buildings and roads. The second treat was excellent Costa Rican coffee and cookies prior to the boat tour. At this time, the restaurant host took our lunch order (chicken, fish or beef). This was also the ever-important banjo stop. No facilities at the boat launch. The VIP feeling continued as we were 2 of 4 visitors on the boat with 3 tour guides and el captain. Captain Felix has obviously spent much time learning the call from the howler monkeys! He was so attentive to making sure everyone had time to take as many photos as they wanted before he moved on. He was also very careful with the boat motor to avoid disturbing the animals. We saw many different bird species and dozens of crocs. The captain and guides worked very hard to make sure we had the best experience. After the tour, we returned to the coffee stop for a very tasty traditional lunch. We continued to feel like VIPs when Rodman ate lunch with us to continue the conversation. It seemed the other two tour groups also in the restaurant sat separate to their guides. Lunch was great with rice, beans, meats, vegetables, salad and a nice finish with ice cream. The return trip was a slightly different route, so added to the experience. We would definitely recommend touring with Costour. The unpaved roads to Palo Verde are not suited for anything less than a 4x4. The tour started at 7:30am and we were back about 1:30pm. Thank you Rodman and Costour for a tremendous experience!

I LOVE this tour! Pepito is a wonderful guide. Very knowledgeable and accommodating. Every aspect was well planned out and enjoyable. Prompt pickup, comfortable transportation and of course our lovely Pepito! If you are in the area do yourself a favour and book a tour with Costour. Dependable, honest, friendly and good rates.

We just spend 6 days in Costa Rica and during that time we experienced the best time with the best tour guide we have yet to know. Not like we have not used guides in NYC, Quebec, BC, and throughout Europe. However, we did not know what it meant to have a guide. Yves has redefined the concepts of tour guides for us. He was not a guide, but a friend. With in a few hours he became one of our dearest friends. He worked with me a month in advance to plan out personal tours to meet our needs. Our first few days included restaurants, to a boat adventure, to beach adventures and romantic sunsets, to BBQ on the beach one day complete with a large pod of dolphins. Day three a private dinner on the beach complete with private entertainment ending with our own private Fireworks display in the sky. Day four a trip to a volcano and exclusive hot spring bath as well as a mud bath. Followed by a lunch by a beautiful waterfall. Day five a private wild river tour complete with crocodiles and exotic birds as well as other wildlife. We stopped along the way to sample the local vegetation and he had the nicest little restaurant with friends in every village. Each day was more exciting than the last. Yves went out of his way to ensure that our comfort and our expectations were exceeded in each and every moment. It was the little things he did and the fact he had a back up plan that amazed us. He knew where to go and who to talk to in order for us to have a private tour like no other. He even managed to talk to the monkeys for us to get a great photos. This man and his company are exceptional ambassadors of the country. After meeting him we are considering moving there! We are making plans to go back. If we could convince him and his wife, we would invite him to be our tour guide in Portugal and Spain. It was the time of our life thanks to you! Thanks Yves and Pepito!!!!!

Friendly, knowledgeable tour guides. Picked up and returned to resort in clean and comfortable vehicles. The best tour guides I have ever experienced. I highly recommend using this tour company when booking excursions in Costa Rica. Thank you for an amazing adventure. We got to see crocodiles up close, and so many other wildlife!. It was an incredible experience.

<p>Such a great experience! Pepito (the owner) and Alejandro (our guide) were both amazing. They gave us great information about everything we saw along the way. We learned so much about the region and the culture too. We saw all the animals we had expected to see... crocodiles, iguanas, monkeys, etc.</p>

We scheduled our tour and the van was early to pick us up. The tour guide turned out to be the owner Yves. He was amazing and kept us informed and entertained during the entire tour. Yves stopped at different locations all day long and accommodated all of our requests. The 4 of us on the tour thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!! We would recommend Yves and his company Costour to anyone visiting Costa Rica! Thanks Yves for a great time!!!

Alberto, our guide, introduced us to the secret Costa Rica: the howler monkeys, the sand mining of the river, the typical traditional meal the artisan pottery, and of course the navigation on the river, meeting with crocodiles ... An unforgettable day!

Costour: I wanted to thank you for your professionalism and efficiency throughout our stay in Costa Rica! Your accessibility was very reassuring! Nice excursion to Palo Verde! Looking forward to doing business with you again on our next trip to Costa Rica!

We loved this outing. Nature was there for us. PALO VERDE is a great way to discover biodiversity. A big special thank you to Pepito who helped us with the preparations for our trip to Costa Rica. His Pepito Live video clips on YouTube were an incredible source of information in our choice to come and visit Costa Rica. Gracias.

Great day with our Pepito guide. First of all, very careful, always on time and with his contagious good humor. Generous of information and sharing of experiences, we had beautiful moments and were immersed in the daily life of Costa Ricans thanks to "surprise" stops. Pepito makes a difference and shares his passion for the country and its people. The visit is complete and the boat tour on the river is really charming and even a little "zen". but be careful, if it is Manu who is your captain, the latter is sometimes a little teasing .. in short, smile guaranteed! thanks to Pepito for a beautiful day. Everything was perfect. Thank you and hasta Luego!

What a great week we spent with Costour! We sailed to Palo Verde, discovered sloths, Cortes Falls, Oropendula Falls and thermal baths with this company. Yves “Pépito” is an enthusiast who introduced us to Costa Rica. Oscar one of his guides speaks French well and is very friendly. They also took the trouble to make a few detours in passing to make us discover places unknown to tourists. They were committed to the success of the activities we did. Don't miss Oropendula Falls and its turquoise waters!

Guide Oscar de Costour picked us up at our condominium to accompany us on this magnificent boat trip on the Tempisque River. Before doing this boat tour, we stopped to see sand transporters for the manufacture of mortar that is used to build houses. On the boat we saw some species of birds, bats, monkeys and crocodiles. The typical meal was delicious. We enjoyed this excursion in French.

Superb excursion where we saw plenty of beautiful animals in their natural habitat: crocodile, bald capuchins, several beautiful birds, several iguanas, etc. Captain Manuel and our guide Isabelle well spotted the animals. Manuel made sure we had time to take pictures. Isabelle does not hesitate to stop along the way to see other animals, which allowed us to see a superb Ara!! Very good dinner prepared with love, the ticos are so nice!