Welcome to Puntarenas! A sliver of land eight kilometres long but only a few hundred metres wide, this Costa Rican port city's name translates as 'sand point,' and offers travelers sunny skies, seaside breezes and stunning sunsets.

Take a private Puntarenas tour and explore this Pacific pearl with a local guide.

If you're docking at Caldera, your guide can arrange a custom tour that includes a visit to the maritime museum, the city's old quarter and a unique black-sand beach. Those with time to explore further afield can ride a rainforest tram, sip fresh-roasted coffee beans on a plantation tour or tour the cloud forest of Monteverde.

Befitting a coastal city, you can hop in a private boat for some high-energy reel-'em-in sport fishing, or a lazy afternoon cruise to Tortuga Island. Come dinner time you'll be spoiled for choice, with open-air restaurants serving the catch of the day while you savor a tumbler of <i>Guaro</i>, the local liquor.

Puntarenas

Enjoy a true adventure exploring one of the largest rivers we have in Costa Rica and with one of the biggest crocodile populations. Tarcoles is very famous worldwide already thanks to documentaries on Animal Planet and National Geographic and on many YouTube videos, even the late crocodile hunter from Australia, Steve Irwin was in this river.

The boats are very comfortable and safe, covered with a rooftop for sun or rain protection. The idea is to sit, keep your cameras ready as the boatman explores the river looking for as many crocodiles as possible.

Besides crocodiles, you can see different species of birds that are always around, as Tarcoles River is considered an important bird-watching spot. Iguanas, and the famous Basilisk or Jesus Christ Lizards are around.

After the river tour, we will make a visit for shopping at a famous souvenir shop, which belongs to a cooperative of local artisans known for their folk art paintings and wood carvings.

The comfortable boats we use for the tour

Discover Río Tárcoles. Huge Crocs & Amazing Fauna

Crocodile River Boat Tour

We all like chocolate, but, do you know the role that the "Food of Gods" played among our natives? I invite you to discover Cocoa's journey from ancient times to our days.

Our adventure will take us through small rural villages and around the beautiful mountains of Carara National Park, which is known for its abundance of the majestic Scarlet Macaws.

The cocoa farm we are visiting on this tour, is also a good chance to see colorful scarlet macaws in the wild. This wonderful place was carefully designed having sustainability and harmony with nature as key elements. Here, you will get to know the whole process of Cacao "from seed to cup and chocolate bar" and its fascinating history. You will also enjoy a delicious and healthy lunch with fresh ingredients from the farm's "smart" gardens, all of this, while admiring the lush tropical flora, colorful birds and other animals that might be around.

I truly recommend this experience. Join me on this tour and you see you will not regret it :)

Have a lunch surrounded by nature and balance.

Take your family and enjoy with them of this experience.

Explore a Sustainable Cocoa Farm &amp; Bird Sanctuary

Scarlet Macaws &amp; Chocolate Half Day Tour

In Tilaran mountain range, about 1500 (4900 ft) meters above sea level, there is a famous forest called Monteverde.

This cloud forest reserve is a wonderful place, where, while hiking, you can hear a lot of different birds including "the superstar" the Resplendent Quetzal, especially during the season of breeding. You will be enchanted by this magical evergreen area, that wherever we look at, there will always be something interesting to talk about and admire.

Monteverde reserve is a place recognized worldwide for its great biodiversity, where no doubt, you will have an amazing experience discovering the treasures of the forest.

Enjoy one of the Most Famous & Magical Natural Habitat

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Carara Rainforest Wildlife Watching Tours

Hello dear friends!
I would like to invite you to visit the Carara national park, on the central Pacific coast of wonderful Costa Rica! A magnificent nature experience awaits you! This is one of the most biodiverse forests in the world due to its location where the northern dry forest meets the southern tropical rainforest, it has great facilities for naturalist hikes. The main attractions here are the hundreds of bird species, gigantic crocodiles and Scarlet macaws along the river flows in the area.

This tour is compliant with the Animal Welfare Policy of ToursBylocals.

one of the most attractive flowers during the dry season in the costarican pacific coast

Puntarenas Land of Crocodiles & Scarlet Macaws

Monteverde Cloudforest Natural Lifetime-Experience

Monteverde is located in the astonishing tropical mountains in Central America. Even when you probably already know this, experiencing it will be unforgettable, our destinations are the best in the world for cloud forest immersion, photography, wildlife watching experiences, volcano exploration, adventure/adrenaline tours, and for travel and living due to the peaceful and healing environment that makes us unique! Come and see it through local eyes. . .

Costa Rica Personalized Tours with Professional Guide

• Learn about the inner workings of Costa Rica ecosystems and culture through,

• Visiting places that are off the beaten path

• Get a personalized tour for you, your friends, and family.

• Customize your full visit to wonderful Monteverde with multiple destinations

• Visit and learn about the Tropical Cloud Forest

This tour is compliant with the Animal Welfare Policy of ToursBylocals.

Private Naturalist exploration! in the heart of the CloudForest ...

The Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, just 2-3 hours away driving from the pacific beaches, about 4-5 thousand feet of elevation, great views on the way, the backbone between Caribean and Pacific side of the country and home for many many different species of birds, butterflys and plants such as orchids some of them only found in this location. Home for which is considered the most beautiful bird of the Americas for not to say of the world "Resplanted Quetzal". Of course you will explore culture and life style in the rural areas of Costa Rica as well. Coffee plantations, Cocoa plantations, they got their own cheese and delicious ice cream factory and friendly local people. Lets take a walk through the cloud forest, see how this community has been protecting and using our resourses and try our traditional meals and have an wonderful experience.

Pura Vida!!

Cattle pastures as we drive up the mountains to our destination. Cattle raising has been the most important economy in this region. On the way you will be able to see the central and part of northern pacific coast.

Coaties or Coatimundies group. A friendly and curious mammal.

Into the Cloud Forest located between Pacific and Caribbean Slope of Costa Rica.

Cloud Forest, The Most Beatiful Bird of the America's Home

Monteverde: A Magic Land. Private tour

Jaco Beach - Carara Eco-friendly Private Tour

Come to enjoy, very close to your comfortable hotel room, you can find one of the best wildlife watching costarican tours, the Carara rainforest awaits for you, this is the best wildlife watching tour in the region, and has very abundant biodiversity, due to its protected land. Some of its more conspicuous members are white-faced monkies, howler monkies, bats, green iguanas, snakes, coastline birds, nocturnal birds, agoutis, coatis, ospreys, kites, eagles, falcons, vultures, hundreds of interesting tree and plant species, and many more.
This is a naturalist trip designed to get the closest possible to wild animals, the activity takes place in the Carara rainforest.

This tour is compliant with the Animal Welfare Policy of ToursBylocals.

Herradura tropical rain forest hiking tours

If you are visiting Costa Rica and want to become one with nature, this is the ideal tour for you. Join me on this adventure and see some of the most interesting interactions and associations of natural species in the amazing rainforest.

Discover how the capuchin monkey interacts with other dwellers of the forest. We will look up at the forest's canopy in search of the beautiful Scarlet Macaws while learning about their feeding habits and nesting of macaws.

And if we look down you will see the non-stop leaf-cutting ants in big colonies, and they are not the only type of ants in the forest that work hand in hand with other species of flora.

You will also learn about our culture and indigenous roots. I will explain about our native groups who once inhabited these lands, their customs and relation with nature.

Monkeys taking a shower on one of those hot days

"Terciopelo", or Fer de lance pit-viper, You will be happy with a local guide leading you. Let's take a walk and learn who prey

Explore the rainforest & discover the secrets of this tropical jewel

Carara National Park Private Tour

When it gets dark in the forest, there is a different activity that plunges us into inevitable suspense, knowing that it hides around us. It is a unique experience. We will walk and discover many interesting things.

Come and join me looking for animals at night, hearing different insects and other surprises.

Explore the Magical Forest & Discover its Amazing Nocturnal Creatures

Monteverde Night Tour

Hello there, I am a costarican naturalist tour guide, who enjoys, showing people the natural tropical low mountain rainforest, in a safe and peaceful manner, Monteverde has many forested hiking trails, the biodiversity is enormous, from unique creatures found only here, as lots of orchid species, or as widespread as the emblematic Jaguar.
Together, we can go anywhere, in this amazing cloud forest playground for nature lovers!

This tour is compliant with the Animal Welfare Policy of ToursBylocals.

La Fortuna Waterfall, one of the most beautiful places in CR

Zoom to the most active Volcano in Costa Rica, Arenal!

Hanging Bridges have been very useful to show the biodiversity hidden up in the forest canopy!

The Oropel (golden skin) snake, preparing an ambush to catch a prey!

The Two-Toed Sloths are common residents up in the highlands, where they breed!

During the day, Tree Frogs can be found in any place that provides shade and shelter!

Epiphytic (plants living on other plants) plants can fully load trees up in the Cloud forest!

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is threatened by farming and urbanization projects!

Tropical gardens and gaps in the forest allows people to do bird and wildlife watching in a easier way!!

I will clean up the earth, let's get started...

I am taking a nap, I wish it would be windier...

Eat your fruit, there's nothing better for your health!

Giant Ficus, Strangler Fig Tree, from the inside out!

Have you ever seen a fairy? Monteverde cloud forest 6am

Monterverde continental divide, pacific side!

A walk in the mist of a subreal wild world

Puntarenas-Monteverde Cloud Forest

Once you land in paradise, your vacations will take you to have great lifetime adventures, experiencing the best Costa Rica has to offer. One day tours to explore hidden villages, rainforest trails, pristine waterfalls, tropical rivers, peaceful beaches; can be arranged anywhere in the most biodiverse land on earth.
The best options to spend a day if you stay by Jaco or Herradura Bay are the Carara rainforest national park and Bijagual mountains at 30 minutes drive, then Manuel Antonio national park at one hour drive and Damas Island mangrove forest canals, we can spend as long as 4 hours hiking looking for wildlife at their natural habitat.

This tour is compliant with the Animal Welfare Policy of ToursBylocals.

Manuel Antonio Rain forest Adventures

Los Sueños Wildlife Watching Tour

Hello amigos, would you like to spend a while with living dinosaurs? Let's see how this species lives, who shares their habitat with them in a very peaceful environment. Let's see what other creatures hide in the mangrove forest and what they do to survive.

Believe me! you are going to enjoy this adventure with your family and friends. Grab your binocs and let's explore the tropics, there are many secrets hidden behind all those leaves. And then, let's see what lives in the mature forest part of Carara National Park, and see monkeys, sloth among many other species,

Experience a day surrounded by crocodiles in their natural habitat.

Carara National Park Crocodile stories

This amazing place is a transitional forest between tropical wet forest and cloud forest that the reason why a lot of people like to visit and find a different ecosystem where animals like birds, coatis, monkeys, and others could be in this area.
This place can be visited both in the morning and in the afternoon since it is a privileged place for the observation of different flora and fauna that exists in the area.

Discover a haven for birdwatchers & nature lovers

Curicancha Reserve Tour

Carara National Park is located between the dry and the rain forest. This region is known as the Central Pacific of Costa Rica and it is here where many species not only birds but also plants, anphibians and reptiles usually found in their own habitats come together increasing the biodiversity in general.

This is the home of some species very difficult to find in other regijntry before.

This forest is very dense and trails are easy too walk. The walk takes 3-4 hours and it is very easy to walk.

This place is not only famous for bird watching but also has a great Pre-Columbian and contemporary indigenous cultural history.

Black-throated trogon, a resplandent quetzal cousin.

Carara National Park, where the rain forest dwellers and the dry forests merge.

Birding in Costa Rica

At only 7 km (4 miles) from the Center of Santa Elena, there is a very particular place where you will have an amazing experience as we will explore the forest through hanging bridges over the top of the trees.
You will have the opportunity to observe a wide variety of beautiful birds, monkeys, and other animals, as well as a lot of different types of awesome plants that live in the treetops.

From the bridges the views are amazing, you can easily be looking at the wonderful evergreen vast forest and from one moment to the next, you might see the clouds coming into, making the forest disappear between the mist. Such an amazing sensation!

Join me on the hanging bridges tour above the Monteverde Cloud Forest's canopy, where we will have the chance to enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna from a completely different perspective.

The gonna be the price for the hanging bridges entrance fee per extra person

Puntarenas tours

Explore with 15 tours and 4 guides.

Priscilla A.

$ 450 (USD)

Kike C.

$ 610 (USD)

Elier Z.

$ 290 (USD)

Henry G.

$ 890 (USD)

Henry G.

$ 690 (USD)

Kike C.

$ 740 (USD)

Henry G.

$ 740 (USD)

Kike C.

$ 1,005 (USD)

Elier Z.

$ 258 (USD)

Henry G.

$ 890 (USD)

Henry G.

$ 790 (USD)

Kike C.

$ 650 (USD)

Elier Z.

$ 230 (USD)

Kike C.

$ 890 (USD)

Elier Z.

$ 350 (USD)

Meet your local guides in Puntarenas

Customize your tour

Puntarenas tours

Things to do in Puntarenas