Wildlife Tours in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is renowned for its incredible biodiversity and is home to a wide variety of tropical animals. Its diverse ecosystems include rainforests, cloud forests, mangroves, and coastal areas.
The wildlife of Costa Rica comprises a huge range of native species. Hundreds of these species are endemic, meaning they exist nowhere else on Earth. These include frogs, snakes, lizards, finches, hummingbirds, gophers, mice, and cichlids, among many more.
Costa Rica offers a wide selection of wildlife tours, from two-hour trips to 15-day coast to coast tours.
Read on to find out more about the top single-day wildlife tours:
Manuel Antonio Park Guided Tour
Although it is the country’s smallest national park, the stunning beauty and diversity of wildlife is unmatched. Manuel Antonio Park Guided Tour contains a charming combination of beaches and a rainforest which is home to sloths, toucans, iguanas, hummingbirds, the rare and adorable squirrel monkeys, and many more.
You will be accompanied by a guide whose trained eye and familiarity with the park will enable them to point out animals and other sights that you would likely miss if you were on your own. The guide will also have a spotting scope so you can get up-close views of all the wildlife.
Group size: max 10-15 people per guide
Duration: 2.5 h
Language: English, Spanish
Access to wheelchairs
Admission for children 3 – 13: 57 USD / 40 USD Low season
Admission for adults 13+: 70 USD / 60 USD Low season
Rio Celeste Hiking and Sloth Tour
Take an adventurous hike in Tenorio Volcano National Park to see one of Costa Rica’s most famous natural wonders – Rio Celeste. You will also visit Finca Verde, an organic farm and animal shelter where you will see sloths, frogs and more.
The tour starts with a two-hour hike through the rainforest and along the Celeste River to really get up close and personal with the divine hue of turquoise that characterizes its water. This is where you will also see sloths and other wildlife. Then, after the hike, you will stop at a local restaurant for a plentiful Costa Rican style lunch!
Group size: max 10-15 people per guide
Duration: 12 h
Language: English, Spanish
Admission for children 0 – 12: 108 USD
Admission for adults 12+: 128 USD
Corcovado Sirena Station Tour
Experience one of Costa Rica’s most wild and unspoiled national parks on a full-day tour to Corcovado. A guided tour is the best way to access the rugged and remote terrain.
The wildlife guide knows all the best places to see tapirs, monkeys, peccaries, and other amazing animals in their natural habitat. Also included in the trip is a scenic boat ride along the coast of the Osa Peninsula.
Group size: max 6 people per guide
Duration: 7-8 h
Language: English, Spanish
Admission: 120 USD
Night Walking Tours
When the sun goes down, nature’s concert begins, with the wildlife starring as its instrumentalists. Walking on safe trails, these guided tours will take you on a magical experience through the nocturnal forest in search of the night-active fauna characteristic of the area.
The most commonly observed animals are tree frogs, nocturnal birds, snakes, spiders, and scorpions. If you’re lucky, you may even spot a few nocturnal mammals such as anteaters, coatis, raccoons, deer, ocelots, opossums, armadillos, kinkajous, and sloths. On these tours, you can also get to know more about the flora that sustains the forest’s life.
Take advantage of your guide’s experience and take some beautiful photographs aided by the UV light and flashlights provided.
Some of the best night walking tours can be experienced here:
La Fortuna: https://nighttourlafortuna.com/
Manuel Antonio Park: https://manuelantoniopark.com/educational-jungle-night-walk/
Monteverde Cloud Forest: https://cloudforestmonteverde.com/night-walk/
Group size: max 8 people per guide
Duration: 2 h
Live guide: English, Spanish
Admission: 31 – 56 USD
Bird Watching Tours
Costa Rica is every bird watcher’s dream, with some 820 reported species. Few places on Earth boast so many different birds in such a small area.
The elusive tropical birds of Costa Rica are best spotted in the morning, so we recommend you get up early to spot toucans, parrots, oropendolas, colorful tanagers, wild parakeets, Royal Flycatchers, White-fronted Nunbirds, Cinnamon Woodpeckers and more. Your guide will help you spot these species and discuss the details of each variety with you.
Some of the best bird watching places can be found here:
Manuel Antonio: https://tucanestours.com/birdwatching-birding-private-tour/
Monteverde Cloud Forest https://monteverdetravel.com/birdwatching-tour-monteverde/
Braulio Carrillo: https://rainforestadventure.com/bird-watching-tour
Carara National Park: https://www.manuelantoniopark.com/tour-carara-national-park-birding
Group size: 6 people per guide
Duration: 6-8 h
Live guide: English, Spanish
Admission: 90 – 250 USD
These are just a few examples of the tours and incredible tropical animals you can see while traveling in Costa Rica. A vast network of national parks, reserves, and protected areas, covering around 25% of its land, makes the country a veritable paradise for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers alike.
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