Tamarindo Estuary Tour

Some friends and I booked this experience last minute at 11pm the night before our chosen date to do the activity and they were still able to accommodate us. Communication from the trip provider was extremely good. We knew exactly where to be, at the right time and with the correct things, with multiple timings offered to suit our plans for the day. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and would ensure that the boat was positioned at locations so that we were able to get the best photos of the wildlife we saw. I would say it was extremely crocodile focused, however for those who do not have crocodiles or animals like that in their country, or who have children, it was an amazing experience as we were able to get so close to them. We were offered free bottles of water throughout and a very generous portion of pineapple midway through the trip. Considering all of this, I believe it was reasonably priced for the 1.5hr trip we experienced.

We really enjoyed our Tamarindo Estuary Tour! We took our two boys, 18 and 15, and even if it wasn't the high-flying / thrill-type activity we did later in the week, we all had a great time and learned a lot, all while enjoying the beautiful scenery and wildlife. Our guide was super knowledgeable, explaining the ecology of Costa Rica with great enthusiasm and good humour. He did a great job searching for wildlife for us (despite doing a mid-day tour when the animals tend to be resting, we still saw two crocodiles, along with iguanas, crabs, and various birds). Pick-up from our condo was easy and communication from the tour organizers was superb. This makes a great "starter" activity when you first arrive in Tamarindo to help you get a lay of the land - would definitely recommend!

This may have been a one-off, but our entire family (and at least two other groups on the boat) were deeply uncomfortable on the boat tour. Our guide, Juan Carlos, acted erratically, did not properly brief a couple who couldn't swim on safety/floatation precautions, talked to himself, and at one point left the boat for 15 minutes to "look for monkeys." At the end of the tour, he even took the freshwater craft OUT into the OCEAN, leaving all of us shaken. On top of this abnormal behavior, he did not deliver an effective tour, and instead monologued quickly about random series of facts. He also said that he was "unfortunately" from Costa Rica, which detracted from our enjoyment of the natural scenery and the overall experience. Our group didn't care that we barely saw animals; we cared about the guide's strange behavior, unsafe choices, and disregard for the comfort of all passengers.

Pickup was easy, guide was great - we saw 3 crocodiles, 4 howler monkeys, lots of mangrove crabs, and several species of herons. Much value for money! 5/5 to the team behind the trip. A slight minus of doing a croc trip in the Tamarindo area, is that the authorities translocates all larger crocodiles to other areas, to reduce the extremely slim chance of croc-tourist attacks. Dont exspect to see fully grown 4 m American crocs in this area of Costa Rica.

Our guide was excellent, John Carlos.

My husband and I were in Costa Rica for about two weeks, and this tour was in our top three favorites activities of the trip. We scheduled through Christian. He was very communicative and responsive. Based on his suggestion, we took an early 7:30 am tour that was less crowded, and we are so glad. Our guide on the boat, Juan Carlos, was very knowledgeable, and we saw quite a bit of wildlife including crocodiles, monkeys, and birds. Only downside was that the bathroom at the meet-up location was not so great. But the tour experience was awesome and we highly recommend it.

We had an extremely knowledgeable guide Juan Carlos who shared much about Costa Rico’s eco preservation as well as the animals we were seeing in the estuary- crocodiles, hawks, warblers, ibis, etc. Even though it was a hot day, it was very pleasant in the covered open air boat. There was a nice breeze and shaded over hang in the estuary. The cold water and fresh pineapple was an added bonus. Well worth the trip into the mangroves especially if you are looking for different animals.

It was great! Definitely take shoes you don’t mind getting wet since we did have to step in the water to get in the boat. We were able to see Crocodiles birds monkeys and crabs! Carlos was also an amazing guide and showed he genuinely cared for the animals and environment of this tour.

We had a great time! We got to see several crocodiles, a raccoon, several birds, howler monkeys. Our guide was great. Would definitely recommend!!

We had a great time on this tour, we saw crocodiles, monkeys, lots of birds and a shark! Our guide was super knowledgeable about the estuary and Costa Rica and we learnt a lot.