Palo Verde Boat tour - The tour was EXCEPTIONAL!!! Wow, what an amazing day on the boat ride. Alex was professional, friendly, and humorous. Would strongly recommend the boat tour. Not often you will see... read more white-faced monkeys .

  Great River Safari  - Great trip. All the staff was going crazy. We saw large crocodiles, white faced monkeys, many bird species. It is a nice River Safari. You get to see both tropical... read more dry forest and mangroves in the lower areas of the river.

  A trip to remember  - Highly recommend going on this boat tour. We had such a memorable experience on and off the boat. The tour guides were so knowledgeable of the area and animals we... read more saw on the boat. We also enjoyed a delicious homemade lunch afterwards which I definitely recommend including as part of your experience. They were so welcoming and generous. They found out that it was our daughter’s 6th birthday and ended up baking her a cake. We all sang and ate cake. Overall it was beautiful day with genuine people!!

  DO THIS!!  - The best experience my family had here. My aunt booked it, and I’m so happy we came. There wasn’t only a boat tour, but a tortilla making tutorial and a... read more pottery tutorial. The boat tour of course, then a homemade meal!

  Amazing boat and pottery experience with excellent food  - 5/5 - I wish I could rate this higher. I had gotten breakfast, pottery exhibit & boat tour, and lunch.

Pottery exhibit: It was a great experience where we... read more got to touch many of the ingredients and really got to see what the pot making process is like. I usually don’t have interest in this kinda stuff but I found it fascinating and actually paid attention.

Food: Both breakfast and lunch were amazing! Everything was delicious and was very authentic in the preparation, according to my Costa Rican friend. When we spoke to them, they told us that they grow many of the ingredients. Local, organic, and delicious - you have to get the food when you visit the tour (amazing lemon juice!!!)

Tour: Obviously the main objective of the trip - I’ve done boat tours in Florida, Tortuguero, and other places but the amount of animals I saw here was beyond compare. Crocodiles (20+, including babies), howling monkeys, herons, iguanas, and so on. The boat was comfortable and I stayed dry, despite the light drizzle and water splashing, and the tour guides were fantastic at sighting animals and explaining them to us. I had such an amazing time and I will definitely be coming back to do this again.

  Fantastic crocodiles views  - We saw many crocodiles, birds, iguanas and monkeys.
As a cherry on top, lunch was absolutely delish

  Best ever!!! - I have never experienced a better tour. Ruben and Mary, the hosts couldn’t have been more gracious. Or your guide, Francisco and the boat operator Caesar were knowledgeable, informative and... read more just fun to be with. You’ll see all the wildlife you could expect. Wonderful!!

  Best wildlife viewing experience we had in Costa Rica!  - We had an amazing day with Palo Verde Boat Tours! Arrived 20 minutes before set tour time. Check-in process went very smoothly. Started with a cultural... read more tour, learning about how corn tortillas are made. Also learned about cashew roasting in the traditional ways. Then off for a 10 minute drive to the boat launch with our guide, Angel. What incredible wildlife viewing we had . from all kinds of birds to crocodiles to white-faced monkeys and howler monkeys .. We even stopped enroute to the boat to see a macaw bird in a tree (supposedly not very common). The trip down the river was very enjoyable too. Upon return to the tour office/family home in Ortega, we were treated to an incredibly delicious Costa Rican meal served sit down style (not buffet) with some lovely personalized touches like a chalkboard greeting to welcome us to our table. After a delicious lunch, we enjoyed learning about pottery making from a local artisan. The drive to Ortega is an adventure in and of itself on some very rough roads. But the tour and welcoming hospitality of this family-run business is definitely worth the drive! A highlight of our two weeks in Costa Rica!

  One of the Best Days You'll Have  - Incredible tour from an incredible small business.
First of all, the lunch is the best meal you'll have all trip. This is not a sack lunch, this is a pure... read more organic, pure fresh, cooked on the spot feast. The lady who cooks throws down so hard - the tamarind chicken is insane. The salsa is phenomenal. If they opened a restaurant we'd eat there every night we have left.

The boat tour was so so so good. White-faced monkeys 3 ft from you in a tree, crocodiles against the boat, iguanas everywhere and every bird you can imagine. We also saw a Coati in the brush.

Francisco and Antonio were the best. They're funny and informative. They went out of their way to have fun with the kids on the boat and generally made the whole thing a great experience.

We're staying directly on the ocean but I think this was probably the best day we've had in Playa Hermosa.

I cannot recommend this enough.

  Great tour and local lunch  - Great tour we saw howler and white faced monkey, a lot of bird and crocs. Nice local family run business that is very friendly. Don’t miss... read more out on lunch family said it was the best tasting local meal they have had so far and I would agree. Highly recommend!

  Don’t miss out!  - Such an amazing experience! We loved the personal family owned connection. The tour was amazing. Angel was our tour guide and Tonio was our captain. We saw so much wildlife... read more and got close up with a crocodile!!! The Costa Rican lunch was exceptional and we loved meeting with Josue and watching his pottery making. We cannot recommend this enough! - Ashley Fruechte and family

  Amazing Tour!  - Amazing experience and excellent food!
Wonderful cooperative of local guides, cooks and demonstrations!

  Boat trip and overall experience - It was a great experience overall, we first got some knowledge about the origins of tortillas and pottery, everyone in the crew was very helpful and very kind. The boat... read more trip itself was also amazing. Our boat guide knew a lot and talked about every detail of the animals, it was great. Would definitely recommend.

  Wonderful staff!  - The facility and the staff were fantastic. The boat ride was fine, but during rainy season, you need to have lower expectations. The lunch was the best... read more meal we have had in Costa Rica!

  Best way to experience palo verde  - Beautiful experience. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating. Boat is covered and watee is provided. Saw plenty of wildlife, had a fabulous lunch and got a glimpse of life... read more in the rural areas near Ortega. If you want to experience a jungle boat tour, don't sleep on this one.

  Amazing and worth the drive!!  - We had a wonderful time and our tour guide, Cesar, was fantastic! He had an eye for spotting all sorts of amazing things (beautiful birds, gigantic crocodiles and baby ones... read more too, bats nestled in a tree, iguanas unlimited, and the best of all - the 🐒 monkeys. But then when you don’t think it can get any better ..you come back to an amazing and delicious lunch prepared by the family. We would highly recommend this tour. It’s worth the drive.