Rio Celeste + Park + Sloth Sanctuary + Chocolate Coffee

We had a wonderful experience on our Rio Celeste waterfall tour with Tony. He was professional, friendly, and made the entire day enjoyable. The Rio Celeste waterfall was absolutely stunning, and the la Cortes waterfall was beautiful as well. The traditional lunch provided was delicious and a perfect addition to the tour. The sloth tour was amazing—we saw incredible wildlife, and Tony shared interesting information throughout the day. The vehicle was very comfortable, and Tony was an excellent, safe driver. We highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area. Thank you, Tony, for such a memorable experience!

Our driver for the day Wilfredo was amazing, he was so sweet and kind and took an interest in us- he talked to us a lot and practiced his English and let us practice our Spanish. We didn't have time for all three things on the tour, we got to do the hike and the Sloth sanctuary but the hike took so long because there is a long line down stairs to get to the waterfall which you can't actually get to the water because it's too dangerous. The hike was medium difficulty for my friend and her child, but for me as a larger person it was a challenge but not impossible. There is only two spots to sit and rest on the whole hike. There were lots of other larger people out doing the hike too so it is doable but it's not for people have a difficult time moving. The lunch was amazing and the sloth sanctuary was incredible. We were lucky enough to get extremely close to one sloth who was near the ground. Our guide on the sloth tour was very kind when our kiddo got scared and did everything to make him feel comfortable even though he decided to bail. I finished the sloth tour solo and you get to go through a bridge that is elevated above ground and see all sorts of wildlife. Snakes, frogs, poisons flowers etc.. Overall we had a wonderful time but we wish we had time for the chocolate and butterfly portion as well.

+1

Must do! A little bit of everything! Swimming in the waterfall was so refreshing, we saw sloths, snakes, tapir, and toucans. Lunch was great and the coffee chocolate tour was the best way to end the day. Tony our driver was so accommodating and just lovely!

This was an amazing tour! Hiking to the waterfall was lovely and the visit to the sloth sanctuary was a highlight of our trip! We saw sloths, bright-colored frogs, yellow vipers, and flowers I had never seen! Following the rainforest, we went to a coffee and cacao farm, which was interesting and delicious! Afterwards, there was lunch at a butterfly exhibit, where we got to see the blue moth which is Costa Rica's national butterfly. So pretty! Suggestion would be to wear hiking or waterproof shoes and bring a rain jacket or poncho. It will rain because you are in a rainforest!

+5

This is a fantastic excursion! We had a private tour for just our family by Tony (our driver) and a lovely woman whose name I believe began with an A (she has 2 sons and was lovely). It is a bit of a ride from Playa Grande, but it is broken up nicely. Tony had to adjust for us because the hike to the waterfall at rio Celeste was blocked by downed trees from heavy rains the night before, so he took us to a different waterfall and then also to a part of the rio Celeste where we could swim in the fantastically blue water. The Bijagua coffee and chocolate tour was fantastic; our guide Jostin was great, and the whole experience taught us a lot. Then we had a delicious lunch at a restaurant attached to a butterfly garden and learned a lot while eating with our guides. The final stop was the sloth sanctuary - which was beyond words. Our young guide Albert asked about our favorite animals and then he did his best to find those - with sounds on his phone and some sort of eagle eye. He found us several vipers and colorful frogs, and he would grab our phones and get up close and take professional looking pics for us! The final sloth sighting was unbelievable - we could have reached out and touched him. We spent so much time watching - which is par for the course as he almost comically switched from one branch to the next in record slow time! We literally have selfies with the sloth. It was a full day experience in a comfortable air conditioned van with lovely guides and friendly people everywhere. Tony even stopped to get us fresh pineapple from a stand at one point. A fabulous way to see and do so much - it was a wonderful day.

We were a little concerned about the 2+ hour drive to Rio Celeste but it was more than worth it!! We were picked up in a nice roomy air conditioned van by Adriana and Harrison. They had a cooler of bottled water for our trip. Our first stop was the Rio Celeste water fall. It was a 30 minute hike to it and it was gorgeous! The temps are much cooler than Tamarindo so it was very pleasant. Warning - lots of steps down to the waterfall and back up. Next we had a delicious lunch and then on to the sloth sanctuary. We got lucky and saw a sloth that wa down low so we got a lot of great pics. We saw a tapir too! The last stop was the coffee and cacao farm - so interesting and the coffee was great. It was a long day but one of the best. We loved Adriana and Harrison. I highly recommend this excursion!!

Wilber was an amazing tour guide. We spent the whole day traveling around and learning about Costa Rica. My teenage boys actually enjoyed the coffee & cocoa tour, which is a small miracle.