Monkeys, Crocodile & Macaw, Oh My! - Spent today with Odyssey Tours & Travel exploring Puntarenas, Costa Rica, with knowledgeable & friendly guide Alex. Traveling on NCL Jade, chose to go onshore for a Viator excursion. Easy meet-up, new(ish) Mercedes van, 12 guest seats, we had 6, flexible and determined to please. Animals are fickle, and not always visible. We had exceptional encounters with White Face Monkeys and Macaws, crocodiles were not to be found (the site is currently under construction to provide an incredible upcoming experience over the water!) Alex & driver knew alternative locations to ensure wildlife sightings and picturesque scenery/ photos. Monkeys were plentiful and adorable. NOT a zoo, these are "wild", but clearly know where the next snack comes from! DO NOT FEED the Monkeys if you don't want them climbing on you. (Reminded me of feeding the Stingrays in the Caribbean). This was so much fun, if at least one of you is willing! Words cannot describe - we were all laughing as not 1, not 2, but 3 white-faced monkeys jumped on the broad shoulders of my body builder son, for a 1/4 of an orange slice. LOL (See pics) Driving between sites, or touring the main city, our guide entertained us with historical knowledge and species of birds monkeys, sloths and reptiles to look out for. A stop for local fresh fruit (pineapple & mango) and the bathroom was refreshing. Lunch at a local restaurant, up in the hills with a great view, was enjoyed by all. The pinnacle of our trip was an entire flock of Macaws in a high almond tree, near the beach. (Our trip up mountain was unsuccessful, thus we tried a local site). OMG!!! There were at least 20 Macaws, flying, perching, posing (?) So unexpected (and apparently rare to see so many together) we were all just mesmerized by these bright, spectacular birds. A final stop at a souvenir shop, & so much more. Local artisans carving and painting Costa Rican animals/symbols and much local fare. (Ever been to Buc-ees in Texas?!) The final highlight was a butterfly garden that included dozens of Costa Rican bright blue butterflies Blue Morpho and the Tiger Heliconian (see pic)s. Dropped us off right where we began at the dock/walkway leading to the cruise ship. So much, in half a day (5 hours-ish) for so little. Definitely worth it!

Excellent tour, highly recommend - We had a WONDERFUL time on this tour. The value for the price is really unbeatable. Ive been to Costa Rica before and we saw most of the highlights. Our tour guide, Alex, was very conversational and had a lot of info about the country and the wildlife. We even spotted a group of scarlet Macaws. I did wish to have a little bit more time at the souvenir shop at the end because it is also a butterfly garden so we spent a good amount of time with the butterflies rather than shopping. The pick up and drop off was easy and they keep track of your cruise ship in case of a port change.

Perfect tour - We had a great day with our tour guide Albert and only 6 other people. The minivan was even equipped with free wi-fi! First stop was to visit Capuchin monkeys. Albert gave us bananas to bribe them and soon they were crawling on our shoulders. Long beautiful drive up to a remote village, a quick stop at the crocodile bridge, a break for a beer at a cute little bar, and a stop at a butterfly garden/gift shop. Overall, it was a great day. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone.

Excellent tour with Vini (?) & a real bargain! - Excellent tour with Viní? who was our tour driver & guide who did a great job for the four of us on our tour. He modified the tour in a great way as the main bridge was down to one lane with construction so, with out assent, he drove slowly through rural areas still seeing the river and looking for wildlife. First stop, a monkey preserve with monkeys freely moving around from the adjacent woods. Second stop was a roadside fruit stand consuming samples of "water apple," mango, caimito, and cashew fruit (Marinon in Spanish). Then we drove through the countryside looking for macaws and toucans but without initial success We did however see Brama cows and an iguana. We then visited the town of Orotina and traveled up a bumpy dirt road to Rancho Vista Limonal restaurant for a 360°view of this area and snacks. Then went to El Garden, a large combo butterfly garden, restaurant & souvenir shop, where we sawd 2 scarlet macaws mating in the trees nearby. On the way back to our cruise ship we stopped along the river and saw a crocodile suddenly crawl out of it onto an island in the middle near an Igret. We also saw over 100 tiny, white sand crabs on the shore. A very varied tour with various discoveries.thst he worked hard to ensure we had a worthwhile visit.

Excellent tour with Vino (?) - Excellent tour with Viní? who was our tour driver & guide who did a great job for the four of us on our tour. First stop, a monkey preserve with monkeys freely moving around from the adjacent woods. Second stop was a roadside fruit stand consuming samples of "water apple," mango, caimito, and cashew fruit (Marinon in Spanish). Then we drove through the countryside looking for macaws and toucans but without initial success We did however see Brama cows and an iguana. We then visited the town of Orotina and traveled up a bumpy dirt road to Rancho Vista Limonal restaurant for a 360°view of this area and snacks. Then went to El Garden, a large combo butterfly garden, restaurant & souvenir shop, where we sawd 2 scarlet macaws mating in the trees nearby. On the way back to our cruise ship we stopped along the river and saw a crocodile suddenly crawl out of it onto an island in the middle near an Igret. We also saw over 100 tiny, white sand crabs on the shore. A very varied tour with various discoveries.thst he worked hard to ensure we had a worthwhile visit.

Enjoyable trip with a great guide. - Bini, our guide, have met us next to the gates of the terminal and told us about the plan of our excursion, invited us in a very comfortable A/C equipped van and drove us to monkey house, where we enjoyed watching clever monkeys under Bini’s caring guidance. Then we had been lucky to see birds during their mating period, crocodile showed of the river for us, we dropped to the fruit and vegetables market where we tried exotic fruits that were unique for us even in our California, as Kalmito -purple fruit, water apples, we tried coconut water, ceviche and more. Bini did his very best to show life in his town. It was a very enjoyable and comfortable trip for us. We highly recommend it.

Book with Confidence! You're in good hands wit Odyssey! - Alex and Alin made for a very personable tour. Offered plenty of valuable information in regards to Costa Rico's culture, wildlife, and agriculture. Town, culture, crocodiles, monkeys, butterflies, produce, and a stop for some authentic Costa Rican food with a breath taking scenery. Pura VIDA! Guaranteed

Nice job! - Viator rep was waiting for us outside the cruise gate as described on their website, we were a 1/2 hour early and so where they. Alex our guide was the Best also the driver, Allen! Very friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating, can't say enough. We stopped at all the major attractions in Puntarenas for just enough time to experience the area. Saw the oldest church, hung around with monkeys, saw crocodiles, birds, beautiful butterflies, had lunch and a little shopping, we did it all!

Good option for cruise ship passengers - Good experience and the tour guide was really informative. Great deal for those on a cruise ship when there wasn’t much to do in the main part of the port. We were traveling with our 6 yr old and for the most part, she had a good time. Specifically seeing the monkeys! Wish we had a little more time at the last stop which was at the souvenir shop, but we were already over the timeframe for the tour. Van was clean and had AC which was needed! Overall, a good option vs the cruise ship excursions and much cheaper!

Tour that didn't happen - I rated the tour with 1 star but not because it was a bad tour but because it didn't really happen and they have requested a review. Our tour guide, Hazel, was great and about 40 minutes or so into our tour when she received an urgent message indicating that she was to return us to the ship immediately. It turned out that the captain was concerned about some strong winds and how they were affecting the ship. He had requested tugs to help stabilize us at the pier. It took a little time to round up several of the the passengers but once that was accomplished we left pretty quickly. Based on the start of the tour, I believe that we were in for a great day. When/if we are again in Costa Rica we will give this another go.