palo verde national park

it was an al day adventure. We took a small bus that took us through the city of Libera, and meandered our way past fields of sugar cane and crops of cantaloupe. We visited a house and given samples of traditional food, which we all had an opportunity to make our own tortilla. Later we would return for lunch. We went on a river cruise next. We were able so see such creatures as the American Crocodile, White faced and Howling monkeys, Various birds, and lizard in their natural habitat.When we finished the river cruise we went back to the house and were served a fantastic lunch. We boarded the bus, and started heading back. We stopped at a shop selling souvenirs, for those who wanted to bring something back. We then stopped at another, shop where they sold coffee. They had a machine that roasted the coffee and we learned about the process involved in making the different roasts. We also did a tour of the city and stopped at the oldest Catholic Church in the Country. It was made in the Adobe style, with some of the wall exposed so that you could actually see how it was made. We were also given time to go to a super market there, or wherever you wanted to go. within walking distance of a few blocks. We liked the excursion because this was a quick way to see some of the highlights of this beautiful country

Two of us took this tour from the sales reps at the beach (Unique tours?)at the Occidental Grand Papagayo. We were picked up a 8am. It was a small group of 8. We stopped to see some howler monkeys on the way, an oxen cart transporting lava sand from a river bed to truck transports, we took the river boat at the National Park and saw birds, crocodiles and monkeys. The monkeys climbed onto the boat. We had a costa rican lunch, pottery demonstration and a coffee demonstration and back to our hotel around 2pm. Excellent tour. Highly recommended.

My family and I visited this park a few weeks back, we booked through Andrew's Thumbs Up Tours Costa Rica and got a very good price for us 8. Mike was our tour guide and he was very knowledgeable, funny and loves his country very much. We saw a lot of waterfowl, reptiles and learned about the rainforest trees, we stopped for pottery and coffee on the way back and bought it for local prices thanks to Mike. P.S. pack some bug spray!www.thumbsuptours.comthumbsuptours@gmail.comwe payed $95 USD and got a private tour for us 8, included all entrances, stops, guide, transportation, sightseeing and we payed on the day of the tour.

Booked a 1/2 day tour with Swiss travel from the Riu Palace. It was a very enjoyable your. Stopped at a sugar cane plantation along the way which was very beautiful and a nice place to stretch along the way. Our tour guide Walter was wonderful! He really knows everything about Costa Rica ! Took a boat ride down the river. Saw crocodiles ,iguanas birds,even a pair of macaws . It was a great trip. We recommend this outing

Two couples (one retired the other almost retired) went in an air-conditioned van with Tamarindo Travel Transfer and Tours, guide Harold and driver Ronnie on what was one of our highlights (the other was our sunset cruise). We got an early start to beat the crowds and had a 90+ minute ride through the countryside, with informative discussions all the way on Costa Rica (schools, churches, agriculture, scenery, teak, sugar cane, fruit, etc.). The river was fantastic. We saw 10+ crocodiles and stopped and played with a colony of white faced monkeys climbing all over the boat (no feeding or touching if you're wise). There were also screecher monkeys, bats, different iguana species etc. The hour boat trip didn't go very far on the river but didn't have to. We followed with a good lunch at a local village, and stopped for a making pottery demo (no high pressure). Highly, highly recommend Harold and Tamarindo Travel.

My husband and I took the Palo Verde river tour in late February 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed it. We hired Guancaste Viajes & tours to pick us up at the Westin. It was about 2 1/2 hours each way over lots of bumpy roads through sugar cane planations to get to this delightful and remote spot. We saw iguanas, lots of large crocodiles, white faced monkeys, and lots of birds including a scarlet Macaw. The operation seems well run and safe. As part of the tour, we had an excellent Costa Rican lunch at the tour headquarters. This was the highlight of our 8 days in Costa Rica because we saw so much scenery and animals.

Very informative day trip....educational stops to and from location...our tour guide Ronald was very informative....we saw a lot of wildlife... iguanas, crocodiles, bats, white face monkeys walked right across us in the boat....it was a great day!!! a must see!

We originally booked a van tour to visit this national park, however when the guide arrived with a small car vs the promised van, we decided to venture here on our own. Let's just say it was an adventure. The rented GPS and the four wheel drive SUVs earned their keep. The GPS took us from Flamingo Bay through 2 - 1/2 hours of back country roads most of which happened to be gorgeous farm land growing sugar cane and rice. It was a little intimidating driving past the huge trucks transporting the cane to the processing plant...but well worth seeing. We made it to the park and the entry fee was $24 cash per couple... then we followed the trail a half hour until we came to a base camp which served as a biology school and visitor center. We arrived around 11 am, luckily, they were able to add us to the lunch served at noon for $14 per person and they were kind enough to call the boat company and they added us as well for $30 per person. We would have starved if we couldnt get the lunch as we didnt pack a lunch and there are no food options within an hours drive of the place. The lucky part is that they were in slow season and we got there at just the right time. I would not advise winging it like we did. .. We were just extremely lucky that it all worked out. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The school accepted credit cards which was also a huge blessing as many places only accept cash. I highly recommend renting a GPS and installing Google Earth on your phone as many roads do not exist on maps, and very few villages have signs to let you know where you are.

This tour took us into the country to see sugar cane down the river to see crocodile s, monkey s & lizards saw a lot of birds also great souvenirs.

My wife and I are both photographers and we loved this tour. We saw tiger herons, iguanas, snowy egrets, great egrets, blue heron to name a few. We would do this tour again.

We took a tour of "Palo Verde" arranged by the Hotel (Hacienda La Pacifica) in Canas along with a big group of Americans from different Papagayo Hotels (Swiss Tours). The tour was nice but it was NOT in Palo Verde National Park, instead it was a tour of the Bebedero River. So, when you make your arrangements be careful. Palo Verde is near to the town of Bagaces not in the town of Bebedero.

1) The wetland offers the opportunity to see different types of birds, crocodiles, lizards and monkeys. Anyone will enjoy this -specially kids-. There is no any type of service, so better to be prepared (bring food, water, sun block, mosquito repellent). 2) Regarding fees: we drove directly towards the dock expecting to arrange our trip right there where boats were located. Once at the dock, we were told the entrance fee were 9 USD + 40 USD for the trip and since I was aware fees could be around 25 USD I did complain letting know they were trying to overcharge us. - While being there, there was another couple from Germany interested in the trip. They were told about the 9+40 fee and since they agreed, we were told that "since they were paying 49USD each, we would only have to pay 39USD each". After a while of Spanish speaking (my native language) we could arrange the 39$ price for each... - Saddly, it is important to notice that there is not any official board showing prices at this place and since it is a popular attraction to visit, there are people working there taking advantage of tourists.

From Bagaces it is 28 km on a gravel/dirt road to the park entrance, plus an additional 10 km to the park ranger station. It is marked well enough, we had no trouble finding it. The accommodations are very basic (needs a bit of maintenance), but clean and comfortable enough, and the staff is very kind and accommodating. Our room had a fan, mosquito netting, and three sets of bunk beds which two of us shared. The cost is $13/night (as opposed to $98 at OTS dorm 2 km up the road), and the meals were great. There were lots of birds to see, and a delightful busload of college kids there (adorable, well mannered and friendly), and we shared the cost of the boat tour with them so it was inexpensive. We also tagged along on their bird viewing. It was enjoyable sitting in the rocking chairs on the patio enjoying the evening coolness and sunset. Driving out there is one confusing place in the road about half-way: at an intersection where irrigation water is falling into a large irrigation canal. It appears the main road bends around to the right, but that is a dead end road in 5 km. There is no sign at the intersection, but you must go straight up a little hill with a curve over the canal. Before the long drive back to San Jose we stopped for gas in Cañas, first big station on the west side of the highway -- mistake. They charged me more than the price of a full tank, when I came in with half a tank, and while I was distracted with a tire problem, cancelled the numbers on the pump and then told me it was broken. They also broke the stem in the air valve on one tire so we spent another half hour getting that fixed at a tire shop 1 km south. Recommend using gas stations on the east side of the highway.

A bit of a trek, but nice open areas with lounging iguanas and great birds. Bring your mosquito repellent!

We spent about 2 hours on the river through Tours Your Way (they are awesome, see them in Tripadvisor). We were picked up at 7 am in Coco, and after about 1.5 hours popped on to a boat on the Tempisque River, piloted by Felix. We chose Tours Your Way because we had a small child...and we had the boat to ourselves, without bothering anyone else. (We were back in Coco by 3 pm.) The best time of year to visit and see wildlife is October to March. Because Guanacaste is life California, dry and rainless, the river gets lower and lower as (our) late spring and summer months come. If someone promises a tour in April and on...think again. (Unless they have had significant rain.)We saw all of the attractions - monkeys, crocs, iguanas, birds of all kinds. The tour was just long enough to see nature but short enough for a small (5 year old) child to keep focused. Bring: sunscreen, long pants, long sleeved shirts, binoculars (or ask), hats, sunglasses, and maybe bug spray. Depending on the time of year, you may need it especially if you wish to protect yourself from the sun. The boats have a roof, but the sun still hits you. Bring cash (see below).Tours Your Way arranged a typical Costa Rican lunch for us after the tour in a small town on the way home. Lots of meat or vegetarian options. Also bring cash. Please tip well...people not just hope for but depend on it. We tipped our guide, our boat pilot, and the restaurant staff. Giving people to people is never to be regretted, especially for good service.