Rio Celeste Vandring från Arenal - National Park Guidad tur

We took a private, all-day tour to Rio Celeste with Canoa Adventures. Our guide, Alex, told us the hike is typically about 3 hours, but our family managed to finish it in just under 2.5 hours. It was raining crazy hard through the rainforest, which definitely made the trail a bit muddy. There were also sections that were steep with stairs, but there were plenty of handrails to hold onto for extra grip. It wasn't overly difficult, especially if you wear the right shoes and are prepared for a true rainforest hike. Alex was outstanding; he was incredibly knowledgeable and made sure everyone in our family (we are a family of 5) was safe the entire time. We even saw some green viper snakes hanging out in the plants! We also want to mention our driver (sorry, we forgot his name!), who was very safe and got us there early to beat the crowds. A total adventure!

Rio Celeste is beautiful, but our guide made the experience awful. Our guide was Christian, and he was a complete narcissist. He just loves to hear himself talk and give life lessons instead of talking about the wildlife or actually guiding us. Most of the time, he is completely ahead of the group or somewhere else. He didn’t explain at all why the river was the color it was or the different animals. Instead, he tries to sound smart and talk about life when all we want to do is learn about the environment. The other annoying thing is this tour can be done in maybe 6 hours at the most, but for some reason, it took us nine hours, and it felt like we barely did anything. I recommend doing a self-guided tour because taking a guide was pointless in our case.

We took three tours with Canoa Aventura over three days: Rio Celeste Hiking, Arenal Hiking and just the Raft Safari. The tours were all well organized, the guides competent and punctual. All tours offered what was promised. Highly recommended.

Andres from Canoa Aventura made this hike such a memorable trip. We actually booked this excursion from our hotel, which partnered with Canoa Aventura. Had we known about all the amazing reviews of Canoa Aventura, we probably would have booked MORE excursions because everything sounds awesome! Andres was so friendly, kind, knowledgeable, and he made my husbands dream of seeing a sloth come true! Haha. He has such a keen eye and spotted animals we didn't even notice. The hike was intense in some parts, but he was patient and made sure we were comfortable. Highly recommend Canoa Aventura and Andres!

This is one of the best tours I have taken. The scenery was unbelievably beautiful and David and the other guides were friendly and informative. I highly recommend this tour!

Our guide Joshua was very knowledgeable about the wildlife on the river and a skilful navigator. Good coffee, hot chocolate etc afterwards with Tanya

Our tour guide, Greivin?SP was hands down the best tour guide. His love for nature was so noticeable by the way he described each stop we took. He listened to our initial statement of wanting to hike and not stop at every single bird (past experience with other guides). He answered all of the questions without being annoyed, even if they were silly. He made us comfortable & at home with him. We were fortunate to have gotten him as our guide to Rio Celeste. We learned so much interesting information throughout the hike. Rio Celeste was beautiful and was such an unforgettable hike. He took us to a small restaurant close by, where I ate the best meal of our whole trip; I was basically licking the plate with how excellent the Pollo a la plancha was. In the future, we will for sure seek him out as our guide.

We did the tour with Edwin, it was fantastic. The transfer has been super distracting with all the explanations of the country and the area that Edwin has made us. The excursion to the celestial river has been super beautiful and it is appreciated to have someone to explain the flora, fauna and history of the place. We ate very well in a local restaurant where we have made a demonstration of traditional coffee... good.

This was an amazing experience. We highly recommend this trip. Greyving was our tour guide and he was the best!! One of the best tour guides we have ever had...seriously. My wife and I are both in our 50’s and we are not in the best shape. Greyving was patient and took his time explaining everything to us: the fauna, the animals and any questions we had. He even went out of his way to make sure we saw sloths, monkeys, toucans, etc. And he even stopped at a native souvenir shop to help us get authentic hand made crafts, because he heard my wife talking about it. He didn’t have to do that. There are some steep parts to the hike, but the views are amazing worth the time getting there. Lunch is homemade, authentic food. The lemonade is the best I have ever tasted. I recommend this to any person wanting some once-in-a-lifetime views and don’t mind sweating a little to get it. If you have a chance ask for Greyving...he is the best. Tym and Vonda Bonilla

Very professional and friendly from beginning to end. We had the tour just for ourselves. The pick up was done without any delay. The guide was very friendly and helpful. Upon arrival to Rio Celeste it started raining quite hard, but that did not stop us. It actually gave the whole tour a very nice and realistic feeling. The explanations were very accurate and the walk was extremely enjoyable. The lunch at the Soda was amazing, owner and her daughter were extremely friendly and super approachable, and the traditional rice with chicken was simply exquisite. The only but, to say any, is that the road to get there from La Fortuna can be a very bumpy at times, but that’s nobody’s fault. 10 out 10 points.