Private Puntarenas Highlights Tour: Experience Costa Rica's Wildlife, Culture, and Cuisine
5.0
2 Ratings
Puntarenas
Experience the best of Puntarenas, Costa Rica on this private tour. Explore rainforests, spot wildlife, taste local cuisine, and learn about the country's culture and natural resources.
Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Puntarenas - Puntarenas is one of the most important tourism regions in Costa Rica. Its coastline is full of islands, inlets, beaches, and very beautiful natural treasures, all which make it an excellent tourist destination. There is a multitude of attractions based around the beaches, as well as protected areas, both land based and around its islands. The city of Puntarenas is rich in history, traditions and customs. Historically, it was the most important port in the Costa Rican Pacific, through which the main exports that allowed the development of the country during the 19th century and part of the 20th century took place.
    Our tour includes a bus City Tour around the highlights of this important port including the Faro, market, Catolic Church and Paseo de los Turistas Bulevard. In this area we will touring for about 30 minutes
  • Carara National Park - Located 1 hour away from the Puntarenas pier, Carara is a National Park located near the Tarcoles River. It is a big extension of protected land. During Our tour we will walk in the neighbord private property of Villa Lapas, which limit with the park. At this private reserve you will walk along the private trails and hanging bridges. We do not enter to Carara Park, just pass in front on the way to Villa Lapas.
    After the nature walk in the hanging bridges, you will have 30 minutes time for explore the beautiful gardens on your own and taste a tropical fruits plate included in the tour. Or if you prefer, you can try the local beer at the restaurant of the complex, with beautiful view of the rainforest and the river.
  • Crocodile Man Tour The Original - Located at only 15 minutes from Villa Lapas, you will enjoy a pleasant boat tour with a professional naturalist tour guide and enjoy its rich and abundant wildlife. It is a habitat for American crocodiles, while the marshes located at the river’s mouth have many waterfowl and wading birds. Among the many herons and egrets are the boatbill and bare-throated tiger heron, and other birds found here include double-striped thick-knee, mangrove warbler and American pygmy kingfisher. The total list known of birds well exceeds 320 species including the little known Guacalillo Canals. The avian biodiversity is substantial including rare birds such as Agami Heron, Rufous-necked Woodrail, Jabiru, Yellow-billed Cotinga and recently found an Orinoco Goose. It’s also home of Howler and White-faced Capuchin Monkeys. Less commonly seen are Silky Anteater, Sloths, Grinson, Jaguarundi, River Otter and Northern Tamandua
  • El Jardin - El Jardin de Orotina is a beautiful complex where tourists will find the best souvenirs for bring home. It offers an excellent restaurant as well with a delicious buffet with typical Costa Rican meals.

This complex is located on the way back to the Puntarenas pier. Once we finish with this last stop, a 60 minutes driver will bring you back to the ship.

What's Included
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • 1 hour boat tour in Tarcoles River
  • Nature Walk at Villa Lapas Hanging Bridges and Trails
  • Visit to El Jardin Souvenir Store & Restaurant
  • Private Professional guide and Driver
  • Fresh Fruit Snack
Additional Information

This is the ultimate tour for experiencing the best of Puntarenas in one day, provided exclusively on a private basis.

Our tour highlights some of Puntarenas’ top attractions, making it the ideal choice for cruise ship passengers who are visiting the area for the first time.

Benefit from our bespoke service, a private savvy tour guide and a driver, as you discover the Villa Lapas Rainforest Reserve and its suspension bridges. Embark on a boat trip on the Tarcoles River and marvel at the diverse wildlife, including massive crocodiles, monkeys, scarlet macaws, waterfowl and more.

Later, savour the local cuisine and pick up some Costa Rican keepsakes at El Jardin, an enchanting complex where you can find rocking chairs, oxcarts, cuddly sloths and many more treasures all in one location.

During the 2-hour scenic drive through the countryside, our knowledgeable tour guide will impart insights about our country’s culture, economy, education and natural resources. With our tour guides, you’re sure to fall head over heels for our stunning country.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • This tour is exclusive for cruise ship passengers. If you are not arriving by cruise ship please do not book this tour
  • At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
  • Travel time is added on the total time duration.
Location
Muellero Park
Paseo de los Turistas
We pick up all passengers at the cruise ship terminal in Puntarenas or Puerto Caldera
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(2 Ratings)
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1 star
Cathy_h
Mar 14, 2024
Ariel and Angel are your go-to team! - The best part of our excursion was our tour guide Ariel and our driver Angel! They made this a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend it, especially if you can request them! They provided a van which allowed the four of us plenty of room and comfort for our half day excursion. We went on a moderate hike and Ariel was able to provide meaningful information about the area as well as the country at all times. We stopped at a hotel for some excellent refreshing water and fruit. We saw a toucan and a pair of Macaws which eagle-eyed Angel was able to pick out for us. The property was stunning and a nice stop. Ariel and Angel made sure to find several locations for beautiful Macaw viewing. Our last stop was one of the best souvenir shops I've ever experienced with some of the best gifts, chocolate and coffee around. It felt as though their main priority was to make our tour the best we could have. And needless to say, they succeeded immensly!
Review provided by Viator
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May 2024
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