Palo Verde Gite in Barca, Ortega

We really enjoyed our experience at Palo Verde Boat Tours. This is a well run family business that provides an authentic local experience. We did the 11 am tour and had lunch after. I recommend that everyone who does the tour books the lunch. It’s worth it! Probably the most authentic local food we had the whole trip. Patricia and her team work really hard to make the visit worthwhile. Access is vis gravel road once you leave the main highway. There are a few kilometres (miles) of road that are a little rougher - not terrible at all - more than worth it! Not something that should detract from the experience. 4WD not required.

This tour was incredible, the guides were so friendly, knowledgeable, showed us a lot of wildlife in the Tempisque river, they took good care of us and made us an incredible lunch. Very serene boat ride. 10/10 recommend!

We took a private tour at the end of July 2026, with my family and a friend and his family. We had 3 kids, the youngest being 7 and everyone had a great time. We drove from Playa Conchal the morning of the tour and Waze was very accurate (took about an hour and 20 minutes to get there). The drive was fairly easy with a couple of short sections of dirt roads. The tour started with some juice, coffee and a tortilla making demonstration (that was super interesting). We then drove down to the boat in our own vehicles (about a 10 minute drive) and met our boat driver. About a minute away from the dock we saw our first Basilisk (one of many), which was just the beginning of seeing many birds and animals. Our guide Ruben, was amazing and still have no idea how he saw all the animals that we did. Our boat driver also found many animals as well (don't have his name). The laser pointer really helped us to locate the animals as everything blends into the environment really, really well. We saw many cool birds, bats, crocodiles, iguanas, basilisks and monkeys. Toward the end of the tour, they let our kids drive the boat which they had fun doing. We then returned to the office/kitchen and had lunch. All the other reviews are spot on as the food was fantastic!! We then got to watch a demonstration on pottery and that too was very interesting and informative, we learned a lot! The whole experience was about 3 and a half hours and we enjoyed every minute of it. Everyone we interacted with was really friendly, helpful and a pleasure to be around. We would highly recommend this tour and can't say enough good things about them!!

+7

One of my favorite tours, I have gone there 3 times and I am always amazed for its beauty and nature. Lunch is delicious and service is great! the tour itself last 1 hour and 30 minute in a bout. I recommend bringing sunblock.

+8

The people and the site are wonderful.

I rarely write reviews but this truly deserves to be known. What an incredible time our family of 5 adults had! We were greeted so warmly and with local treats including fresh dragon fruit juice and one of the hosts cut one for all to share. There was also local coffee for those who wanted. A fantastic demonstration of the centuries old Guaitil pottery making and teaching of the history followed. We bought a few special pieces to bring home. We then took our car to the boat that is covered so the sun isn't beating down directly. Our guides were so knowledgeable and pointed out everything from bats, birds to many crocodiles. The highlight was the monkeys who seemed as curious about us as we were them. After just enough time on the water, we headed back to the base where we were treated to an amazing meal prepared in indigenous,. outdoor style. We were told that the family prepared the meal and is aided by community of neighbors who sell to them what they grow and prepare. We had homemade tortillas, incredible chicken and vegetables, cooked potatoes, slaw type salad, beans and rice, homemade salsa. For dessert we had dragon fruit ice cream. We were alongside another family with 3 young children around the age of 4, 5 and 6 and a grandparent. The family who owns and operates the business is so, so kind and lovely.

Great boat trip and the restaurant we had lunch at was amazing

The tour was EXCEPTIONAL!!! Wow, what an amazing day on the boat ride. Alex was professional, friendly, and humorous. Would strongly recommend the boat tour. Not often you will see white-faced monkeys 😊😊.

+2

Great trip. All the staff was going crazy. We saw large crocodiles, white faced monkeys, many bird species. It is a nice River Safari. You get to see both tropical dry forest and mangroves in the lower areas of the river.

Highly recommend going on this boat tour. We had such a memorable experience on and off the boat. The tour guides were so knowledgeable of the area and animals we saw on the boat. We also enjoyed a delicious homemade lunch afterwards which I definitely recommend including as part of your experience. They were so welcoming and generous. They found out that it was our daughter’s 6th birthday and ended up baking her a cake. We all sang and ate cake. Overall it was beautiful day with genuine people!!