A great way to experience a wonderful location! - This tour was incredible!! I had never been in a cave, and this was a wonderful first experience. Our guide, Gonzalo (apologies if I spelled wrong!), and our driver were incredibly helpful and considerate from start to finish, making us feel safe and comfortable, even when some of our group had moments of claustrophobia (but don't worry - the narrowest parts of the cavern are optional!). Our guide picked us up from our hotel for the drive from La Fortuna, which was super helpful given the 40 min distance and how windy the roads were (we had someone prone to motion sickness in our group and our guide and driver were super helpful and let us pull over for a break midway, which helped a lot). Gonzalo was super clear in describing what we could expect from the tour and when we would have options to do or skip narrower sections. He was very knowledgeable about the wildlife we saw (mainly bats, spiders, a millipede), and also some of the very cool structures within the 30-million year old system, such as the "papaya" and "the alter." Our group split, with 4 out of the 6 of us doing the very narrow "birth canal" and two sitting out, and it was no problem - we were all within safe hearing distance of our guide the whole time. The helmets and headlamps provided worked great, and Gonzalo was great about helping us take photos along the way. The tour is wet and messy, so I strongly recommend wearing clothes you don't care about (the tour will provide rubber boots if you don't have water shoes). Afterwards, showers are available, and they provided us with water, beer, and fresh pineapple and watermelon (best pineapple I've ever had). Gonzalo also made sure we got a before and after photo with the cave entrance to commemorate the trip. A real highlight of our visit to the area, and I strongly recommend if you want to explore and beautiful and unique location with a tour company who has thought of everything you'll need for your comfort and safety!

Would highly recommend the adventure - Albert, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable of the underground Venado caves. He answered all our questions w enthusiasm. On target w what to expect so no surprises & very patient. It was an unforgettable experience.

Amazing experience and company! - The underground Venado cave tour was honestly amazing to me. I am a person who loves the mountains and mysterious things and this adventure called to me more than anything else. I wish it could have been hours longer-I would explore all day! My guide and driver picked me up from my hostel and immediately I felt welcomed, safe, and super comfortable. The shuttle was very clean and spacious, and the guide (I am so sorry for forgetting his name) was very informative and liked to chat if you wanted to learn things along the way. One of the things I respected most abut this tour was Ecoterra’s respect for the cave. They were very careful to explain that we come in and come out without damaging or taking anything from the cave and not leaving a footprint so to speak. I can appreciate this very much. I felt very safe during the experience, even when crawling through tight spaces and going down steep caverns. Do not doubt your ability to do any of the tunnels because the guide will instruct you and support you 100% of the way. I recommend this tour for families with kids who have a desire to explore and who aren’t afraid of being claustrophobic or bats. You will see bats and some creepy crawlies and many calcium deposits that feel magical. Don’t be afraid of being attacked by a bat or any bugs- this will not happen in this environment. After the tour, Ecoterra also provided a very clean towel to wash up with and the facilities that you are at are clean and don’t feel gross at all. Very well kept area and they served us fruit snacks and water afterwards- which was delicious and abundant! Please book this adventure through Ecoterra, you will not forget it.

Unforgettable experience 150m into the ground! - My husband and I went on a tour to the Venado Caves Underground with our tour guide Mainor. We booked with our hotel and were lucky to be able to embark on the experience just two days later, leaving at 7:20 in the morning. Ecoterra provided us with water shoes which ended up being very useful for this tour! It is also useful to bring a change of clothes. You should expect to get very wet and to have to get on your knees and crawl through small spaces. If neither of these activities sounds appealing to you, I recommend that you pass on this experience. In the dark, 150m underground into a privately owned land with a large cave, your tour guide will take you through crevices large and small and talk to you about the wonders of this cave. Mainor was excellent in setting our expectations and picking a route that was appropriate for our ability level and desires. The tour could be relatively strenuous or relatively comfortable depending on your group's fitness level and desires. We ended up going into relatively uncharted territory, climbing down some passageways and through some challenging spaces. If you are lucky, you will get to go through the "birth canal" passage which is exactly as it sounds! Along the way, Mainor got into details about the stalactites and stalagmite formations all around, and the geologic history of the cave. There was much wildlife to see, including 7 species of bats, quite a few species of spiders (several tarantulas and tailless whip scorpions), a large crab, a lizard, several catfish, the most massive cockroach I have ever laid my eyes on, and a bunch of cool looking crickets. For every sight that we saw and question we had, Mainor was prepared with much more information than I'd ever expect. He was absolutely outstanding! Throughout the tour, Mainor provided very detailed instructions on how to pass through every difficult passageway, whether that was a climb, descent, or a crawl. Unfortunately we had an incident where Mainor was "spotting" my husband as he descended through a relatively steep passageway, and my husband thought he was slipping (he wasn't) and donkey kicked Mainor in the jaw :(. Everyone was fine and we feel terribly about the donkey kick to the jaw, but Mainor dusted it off and kept pushing onwards with the tour. Sorry again, Mainor! The tour ended and there were showers for us to use as well as towels provided by the tour company. We also got a nice treat of fresh fruit, cookies, and water at the end. Mainor also took photos of us with his waterproof camera throughout the tour, and was able to send us the photos immediately through a wifi connection enabled on the bus. Thanks again for the incredible experience, Ecoterra and Mainor! I would do this tour again 10 times!

Very very health risk tour - I was just discharged from the hospital after 12 days. I got very sick on this tour with histoplasmosis. Yes from the bats. I am under the care of an infectious disease doctor. This tour needs major warning posted so folks could be alerted of the respiratory health dangers. We were there on January 7th. Not even a dust mask was provided.