Palo Verde National Park Riverboat Tour
Highlights
- Watch iguanas, birds, capuchin and howler monkeys
- Learn about Costa Rican pottery
- Float down the largest river in Costa Rica
Facts
- Time length : 7 hours
- Pick up time : 8 a.m.
- Price : $103 per person, lunch included
- Note: : Water and snacks provided; transportation extra fee may apply depending where your hotel is located
Explore the jasmine flower-ridden waters of the Tempisque River in a riverboat minding your shoulders as capuchin and howler monkeys swing from their leafy hideaways inside the Palo Verde National Park.
read more closeOn your way to the Tempisque River, stop at a pottery shop in the town of Guaitil to see how the Chorotega tribe combines sands from the Nicoya Peninsula’s beaches with clay to create fine pottery like hand-spun vases, pots, bowls and table decorations, hand-painted with designs of hummingbirds denoting beauty and monkeys for good luck.
The Tempisque - Costa Rica's largest river - originates at the skirts of the Orosi Volcano, flows through Guanacaste 90 miles southeast and ends at the Gulf of Nicoya. The two-hour riverboat tour begins at a dock in Bolson on the lower basin by the western side of the river, and leads visitors through a picturesque three-mile loop along the edge of the Palo Verde National Park.
As your riverboat wades between both sides of the Tempisque riverbank, you may spot crocodiles lurking beneath green and black iguanas dangling on tree branches over the water's surface. In an almost heroic act, watch your boat captain throw roots of jasmine flowers plucked from the river to the crocodiles, alluring them closer to you and away from the iguanas.
Meanwhile, many of the forest's 340 species of birds like cattle egrets, great kiskadees, black-headed trogons, and blue herons alight tree branches and soar across the sky above.
Round out the journey and head into the town of Ortega for a family-style meal featuring wood-fired chicken and steak, and sides of cheese curds, plantain chips, white rice, black and salad.
Wrap up the meal, and join your fellow tourists again for a ride back to your hotel.
Departure & Return
- Departure point : Tour departs from all major hotels in Guanacaste
- Departure time : Hotel pickup is between 20 and 120 minutes before tour start time depending on hotel location
- Return details : Tour returns to original departure point between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.