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Palo Verde National Park: Discover Costa Rica's Wetlands on Half-Day River Safari
4.3
31 Ratings
Liberia
Embark on a thrilling half-day river safari in Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica’s wetlands. Spot diverse wildlife, enjoy a delicious lunch, and explore Coco Beach town.
Embark on a thrilling half-day river safari in Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica’s wetlands. Spot diverse wildlife, enjoy a delicious lunch, and explore Coco Beach town.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Palo Verde National Park - Immerse yourself in the ‘marshlands’ of Costa Rica with this Half Day Excursion.\n\nEmbark on a 2-hour journey along the Tempisque River, nestled within the confines of the Palo Verde National Park, a gem in the heart of Guanacaste Province. This adventure offers a chance to witness an array of wildlife, including…
- Palo Verde National Park - Immerse yourself in the ‘marshlands’ of Costa Rica with this Half Day Excursion.\n\nEmbark on a 2-hour journey along the Tempisque River, nestled within the confines of the Palo Verde National Park, a gem in the heart of Guanacaste Province. This adventure offers a chance to witness an array of wildlife, including white-faced capuchins, bellowing howler monkeys, nimble spider monkeys, oversized iguanas, and approachable crocodiles perfect for photography. Bird enthusiasts can revel in sightings of roseate spoonbills, storks, hawks, jaribus, parrots, macaws, and the elusive tiger heron. Post-cruise, savor a traditional lunch prepared on wood-fired stoves, delivering the true essence of Costa Rican cuisine. Post-meal, experience a Chorotega handicraft demonstration, observing the preservation of indigenous Chorotega pottery techniques. The excursion is topped off with a coffee tasting session and a visit to the coastal town of Coco Beach, where you can indulge in local market shopping. An optional detour to Guatil Traditional Town is available. Note: This tour can be tailored to include only the River Boat experience.
What's Included
-
- Lunch included
-
- Lunch included
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Drinks
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Drinks
Additional Information
Embark on a Half Day Journey through Costa Rica’s “wetlands”
This voyage steers you along the Tempisque River within a reserved sanctuary named Palo Verde National Park for 90 minutes. This is a must-visit in Guanacaste Province, allowing you the chance to encounter an array of wildlife including white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, large…
Embark on a Half Day Journey through Costa Rica’s “wetlands”
This voyage steers you along the Tempisque River within a reserved sanctuary named Palo Verde National Park for 90 minutes. This is a must-visit in Guanacaste Province, allowing you the chance to encounter an array of wildlife including white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, large iguanas, crocodiles (with opportunities for close-up photos), roseate spoonbills, storks, hawks, jaribus, parrots, macaws, tiger herons, etc… Following the boating adventure, we relish a traditional lunch, prepared over wood-burning stoves by the local women, letting you savor the true taste of Costa Rican cuisine. Post-lunch, we showcase a Chorotega handicraft presentation and give you a glimpse into the indigenous Chorotega style of clay artistry. As part of the tour, we also offer coffee tasting, before heading to Coco Beach town. Here, you will have leisure time to shop at local markets or explore the surrounding area.
- Dress code is smart casual
- Dress code is smart casual
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Location
Liberia
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(31 Ratings)
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345nahirc
Mar 26, 2025
Beautiful walks thanks to Marcos!! - In January I travelled from Argentina with my family. We did a tour with Marcos, amazing!! We toured many places, it was punctual, charismatic, we felt safe at all times, which to go with children and adult people meant a lot, we had an amazing time. We met Costa Rica in part thanks to everyone he knew and told us, as well as the beautiful places he took us. Heartfelt, super recommended
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S2962nnjenniferd
Mar 24, 2025
Beautiful day with Marcos - With our guide Marcos R we had a wonderful day! Swimming in a waterfall. See the sloths in their natural habitat. Toxic frogs in the jungle. Finish it off with a great meal at a local restaurant. Anyway great guide. Great activity!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Prsanti
May 7, 2024
Worth every penny - Our tour guide Alex, was so welcoming and interested in us having a good time; that this was easily the best activity I’ve ever been on. He was friendly, welcoming, funny and inviting to his culture that I could not have had any other opportunity to experience. He was not only knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the river cruise, but made stops to and from pointing out native things that people have used or been accustomed to ready to go. Like natural plant remedies, where to find animals in their native habitat without disturbing them. Knew of local restaurants for native dishes. He even waited for us without a time limit or complaint for souvenirs and taking part on local customs like processing sugar canes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robertianrae
Dec 30, 2023
Excellent again. - For the second consecutive year, after such a good experience in 2022, we opted to book our tours with Alex on the Beach, at the Monkey Bar (where we went often!).
Our first tour was a river boat cruise along the River Tempisque, in the Palo Verde National Park. Our guides for this tour were Alejandra (the driver) and Daniel, who were both superb; genuinely enthusiastic, and extremely knowledgeable about wildlife, and Costa Rica in general.
We saw crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, ospreys (Alejandra managed to video one in flight with a fish), herons, fish, bats, and numerous other birds. Excellent experience!
We then went to the rainforest, at Spring Paradise Bijagua, where our guide was David. He was again extremely enthusiastic about his job, and amazing at spotting well concealed and camouflaged wildlife! Though it rained heavily for part of the time that we were there, it did not spoil the experience; we bought a couple of ponchos!
We saw tree vipers, red eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs, sloths, hummingbirds, and various other birds. David even took photographs with my 'phone for us, using his binoculars as a telephoto lens! Again, thanks David!
We then went to see a chocolate and coffee plantation, and saw the process from tree/plant, to end product, which we sampled. We initially thought that this would be boring, but it was the exact opposite! There were various other plants to see, including bananas.
The second tour that we booked was a private (as the "booze cruise" isn't for us!) sunset cruise in the Gulf of Papagayo. The boat was crewed by Michael and "B", and we were again accompanied by Alejandra. We were picked up on the beach outside our hotel (the Riu Palace Guanacaste) at 3.00pm.
We toured around "Monkey Island", various beaches, where we saw racoons/coatis, and stopped for my wife to do some snorkelling. We also had dolphins swimming alongside the boat, so close that we could have touched them. "B" also rigged a fishing rod up to let me catch my first Spanish Mackerel! We were supplied with soft drinks, beer, and fresh pineapple.
The sunset on the way back to the hotel was spectacular.
We would not hesitate to recommend Alex on the Beach for your tours if you are staying in the area.
Thanks again to our guides, Alejandra, Daniel (many thanks for the books!), David, Michael, and "B", and to Alex for arranging it all.
See you next year hopefully!
Robert (Ian) and Denise.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stefkarp
May 6, 2023
Great day with Alex in Liberia - Such an amazing trip - we spent the day with Alex and he took us all around Guanacaste. He is very friendly and knowledgeable. He did a great job of explaining the culture, the geography and the wildlife we saw along the way.
The day we spent with him was the best part of the trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daniaq1442qn
Jul 24, 2022
Geno (Hino) - Gino (Hino) was an excellent pairing for my husband and I and our our couple friends. He provided excellent information on Costa Rica, the environment and anything we asked him. On the way to the river tour, he went out of his way to take us to a beautiful waterfall. On our way to the sloth sanctuary, he called ahead to make sure we were lead by a knowledgeable staff member (Fatima was amazing and took the most killer pictures). Lastly, we toured the rainforest and looked for toucans. Gino was never in a rush and was always concerned about showing us the best time. His enthusiasm and humor was contagious! He was always asking if we wanted a picture and knew where the nest places to take pictures were (he took an amazing pano of us next to a 600 year old tree; see attached) If anyone comes to Guanacaste and plans to do a day excursion, request this guy - you won't regret it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
877mindim
Mar 12, 2021
Jesus the Super Star!! - We were so LUCKY to meet Jesus, from Alex on the Beach! Jesus made our vacation out of this world. He was so easy to work with and spoke great English. He took us anywhere, everywhere and then some! He took care of everything. As a traveler in a foreign country he was a godsend. He was able to translate for us when needed and inform our large group of all of the aspects that make Costa Rica what it is. I have limited mobility, and Jesus was at my side through it all making sure I could see it all. He did this even on his own personal time! I will forever be great full to him. Now back in the States, I still keep in contact with him. I can not wait to return to Costa Rica, and meet up with him again. He truly will make your entire vacation a dream. He has access to anything and everything you are hoping to do and see there, and is widely known in their travel industry, which in itself is a big bonus as you will receive star treatment, without the cost! Jesus from Alex on the Beach is an ABSOLUTE MUST when traveling in Costa Rica!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Designer1000
Jan 19, 2020
Wonderful tours thru Alex on the Beach - First day at the Andaz in the Papagayo region and young man named Ever came up to us to tell us he could help us with anything we wanted.
He became our man, we are a group of 6 and he put together great tours for us and was just lovely and attentive
He chartered us a boat for fishing and our husbands caught 3 large delicious tuna's. The trip was a highlight of our trip. He took us to the Palo Verde Safari Park for a private boat ride (trip was amazing, highly recommend), to dinner in Coco Beach, a driver to the Arenal area where we were staying and a trip back to the airport.
I would highly recommend them, they made our vacation memorable and quite easy. His prices were quite reasonable compared to the hotel. Thank you Ever!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Havin_fun_w_family
Sep 29, 2023
A relaxing and interesting river trip - Fernando worked with us on our time since getting there on time was problematic. We probably chose a less than optimal time to go since it was September and not winter in the north when many birds migrate south, but we saw some monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, and a few birds. The trip is an interesting introduction to wildlife in Guanacaste, and we found the typical lunch very tasty. Fernando is a knowledgeable guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Honestfreddiep
Nov 13, 2019
ALEX ON THE BEACH - SHOULD BE CALLED CON-MEN ON THE BEACH - We have just returned from Riu Grancastle where we booked a trip with Alex. The Rep made numerous promises about what would be included and we were advised we needed to leave early (7.30am) to get to the river to ensure we saw all the wildlife.
We got to the River about Noon. This was after stopping off at a waterfall that was promised late afternoon so we could cool down after the boat trip. The waterfall was a waste of time as you could not walk underneath it nor swim (as promised) because the water was too shallow.
Other travellers on our coach had been promised different things, coffee plantation, craft fair and a sea-boat trip back from Coco beach. None of these were included and people were very angry. We were also advised that a cool box with water, soft drinks would be supplied in the bus. But despite there being a cool box, no ice or drinks were included.
Whilst the River Trip was really good, this could have been enjoyed in less than a half-day trip. We were informed the river was just over an hour away from Hotel and waterfall 15-mins extra distance. Whereas we spent NINE-hours away from the Hotel for a 2-hour boat ride! Most of the time on a cramped mini bus.
Obviously 12-people wanted to compain and seek refunds.Funnily enough we did not see 'Alex' on the beach for the next 4-days after our return to convey the complaints that we had been CONNED and to seek compensation!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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