Carara National Park Tour

Geohanna was our wonderful guide for Carara national Park in Costa Rica. Her knowledge of the animals plants and insects in the park is immense. We visited two sections of the park. One is Primary Forest in the other is Secondary Forest. The primary forest tour is also accessible for people with walking difficulties or in wheelchairs.

It is in this park that we have seen the most animals. Tour accompanied by Mauricio who was very charming and available. He made efforts to speak to us in French. Be careful, the visit to the park is in two stages, a first visit at the main entrance and another through an entrance located a little further by the road. That's where we saw the macaws and monkeys. Essential guide. As with all parks, by the way. Very quiet compared to Manuel Antonio who is crowded with visitors.

We trusted Mauricio to take our family on three private tours (Carara NP, Rio Tarcoles, & Manuel Antonio). We were a big group with an infant child. He was indeed fantastic at Carara and on the river; however, we did find it odd that he wanted all the money (which he insisted must be in $USD) in advance of the Manuel Antonio tour. The day before we left for Miguel Antonio, he informed me that he couldn’t return from the Caribbean side and assigned an associate (Fabien). We meet him in the morning and, lo and behold, there are two others on our tour and it was no longer private. These folks were there to drink all day and didn’t even have binoculars. The guide was nice but we knew more birds than him and the only things we saw either we found or other guides pointed out to him. Needless to say, it was a day ruined by thievery… an outright scam.

Super cool... And super recommended guide Jairo Sanchez.. We saw many animals, it was a very nice experience for the children too.

We saw a sloth, two coatis, a venomous spearhead snake, two birds and that's it. No monkeys or macaws and very few birds which are supposed to make the park famous. The release was at 8 a.m. Our guide, Antonio, told us that the reason there were so few animals was because the wind was too strong, which was not that strong. To get to the trail entrance, 5 of us piled into Antonio's car, a car with a faulty transmission, which was quite dangerous. In short, nothing impressive considering the costs.

Mauricio is an excellent bird guide. He found so many unusual birds that we would have missed. He speaks very good English. He knows so much about the carara forest, having worked there for over 25 years. He organised transport for us too as we're travelling without a car. We had an excellent morning. We contacted him directly on 8889 6061 and had a quick reply.

It is worth every penny to hire a guide. We would not have seen much without our excellent guide Mauricio. He would spot something and then have us look through his telescope. After we looked, he would take our phones and photograph through the lens of his telescope. We wound up with amazing photos. Mauricio speaks Spanish, English, German and French. And those are just the languages we heard him speak. To book him as you guide call him directly at 506 8889 6061. You will not be disappointed.

Of all the National Parks we visited in Costa Rica, this one was the only disappointing park. The trails were marginal and were near a busy road and we saw very few animals or birds. Areas of the hike were muddy and slippery. If you go to it be sure to wear proper shoes.

Great trip with Maurice. He is super knowledgeable about all the species encountered in the park. Furthermore, he also drove around with us outside the park to spot some animals which we did not have a chance to see during the park walk.

Mauritius plunged us off the trail and gave us beautiful details of Costa Rican nature. He has a seasoned eye to flush out animals where they can't be seen. I recommend this guide if you want a slightly more unusual adventure. Personally we are a French couple we speak a little English and Spanish but it was not binding because the guide speaks well English and a little French and they called us to wander through its long view to contemplate the wild animals.