Caño Negro Boat Tour: Wildlife Exploration and Birdwatching in Costa Rica

Embark on a wildlife exploration and birdwatching adventure in Costa Rica’s unique Caño Negro. Discover diverse flora and fauna, including egrets, herons, monkeys, caimans, and more. Don’t forget to bring your own water bottle!

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge - Our tour starts in La Fortuna at 7:30 am. On the way to Caño Negro you will have the opportunity to learn about numerous agricultural plantations of Costa Rica such as yucca, papaya, pineapple, sugar cane and oranges.
    Then we will arrive at the “El Caiman” restaurant, where we will enjoy a welcome drink and snack,…
What's Included
  • Transportation included - refer to ¨Pickup information¨ for more details
  • Professional Driver/Guide provided
  • All taxes, fees, and handling charges covered
  • Complimentary snacks provided
  • Lunch included in the tour
  • No additional fuel surcharges
What's Not Included
  • Dinner
  • Gratuities
  • Bottled water
Additional Information

Unique Caño Negro is one of the most amazing trips for incredible birdwatching in Costa Rica.
Our tour starts in La Fortuna at 7:30 am. On the way to Caño Negro you will have the opportunity to learn about numerous agricultural plantations of Costa Rica such as yucca, papaya, pineapple, sugar cane and oranges.
Then we will arrive at the ‘El Caiman’…

Location
Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(203 Ratings)
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K3672jfkend
Feb 23, 2025
Monkeys, birds & Iguana Aboard - George & Ardil (driver) were more than great! These two not only got us to Cano Nergo safely, they were informative & entertaining along the way. We captured so many wildlife pictures & learned the behavior of each animal. Cristian joined us for the boat trip as well. David, the captain spotted for us and there was not a moment without the excitement of a new sighting.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brian_c
Feb 21, 2025
Great trip with wonderful guide Christian. - I booked this trip for my family and chose this company because of the great reviews and we were very satisfied with the trip. Communication from booking till pickup was excellent. Our driver was Audiel and our tour guide was Christian. Christian was an amazing guide and my whole family liked him and his stories and lessons on nature and animals very much. The boat ride was pleasant and we saw a lot of different animals with our eyes and Chris scope and Chris got us some good videos and photos using his scope. The captain of the boat was also great. At the end of the trip when we got dropped off at our house, Chris said that there’s a tree right around the corner where he would see Toucans occasionally and suggested that we check it out. We checked out the tree and saw two toucans. So that was an extra blessing thanks to Christian. I would highly recommend this trip to others.
Review provided by Viator
Anncathy
Feb 19, 2025
Amazing day trip in the Caño Negro Wetlands - Highly, highly recommend this trip through Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge. We were astounded at how many species we saw during our approximately 2-hour pontoon-boat trip on the Rio Frio, including 3 of Costa Rica’s 4 species of monkeys (and in one of the troops of black mantled howlers, we even saw an extremely rare orange howler); a caiman half-submerged in the river; and gigantic iguanas draped on tree branches. And you don’t have to be a serious birdwatcher to be wowed by the rare birds you’re seeing – like the perfectly disguised great potoo, whose coloration exactly mimics the tree trunks it hangs on. Our knowledgeable Canoa Aventura guide (Christian), and our boat driver (nicknamed “Eagle Eyes”) were great spotters, and took great pains to make sure everyone on the boat saw what they had spotted, repositioning the boat if necessary and allowing plenty of time for good looks and photos before moving on. The day included an enjoyable lunch of typical Tico dishes, and a chocolate tasting. The tour was well organized from start to finish, convincing us that we will definitely sign on for another Canoa Aventura adventure when we next return to Costa Rica.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jen_w
Feb 11, 2025
Great wildlife viewing - It is a long ride out to the river but you get to see some beautiful areas. The wildlife viewing on this trip was amazing. We saw so many birds, mammals and amphibians. The boat gets you closer to things than if you were just on a walking Tour. I highly reccomend the tour.
Review provided by Viator
Alisonz70
Jan 28, 2025
Awesome - Wow we lucked out today and saw so many animals. Tour guide and boat captain were amazing, lunch was delicious. We saw Great Potoo, Aningas, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, capuchins, Jesus christ lizard, caiman, regrets, cormorant, Mango swallows, amazon Kingfisher, trogon, long nosed bats, groovebilled Ani. Even saw the orange female howler monkey.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N2525avmonicav
Dec 20, 2024
Highly recommend- absolutely brilliant. - The whole experience was fantastic - from the drive to Cano negro to the boat tour and the delicious lunch. The best thing of it all was our guide - Crystal - she was tremendous, fun, extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. She told us about the plantations and lots of flora on the way to Cano Negro, we stopped on the way when she spotted sloths and iguanas and toucans, then in the boat her enthusiasm and clear passion for wildlife got us all engaged and feeling privileged to be a part of the trip. Nothing was too much to ask of Crystal who ensured we all had a terrific time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stacy_h
Feb 5, 2025
A good trip, but not great for bird watching - This was a good trip. It was well organized and the lunch and extra activities were great. The one thing I would say is that it's more suited for a casual day out and not actual wildlife watching, especially not bird watching. It was heavily advertised as a great place to see birds but the guide on our boat readily admitted she did not know much about birds and she really focused on finding monkeys. The boat driver was great, but in general, the knowledge of the guide was a little disappointing.
Review provided by Viator
Ashley_a
Jan 12, 2025
Beautiful views & close animal encounters! - The river was beautiful and the animals were incredible! We saw and were able to get fairly close to a caiman alligator, 3 types of monkeys, so many iguanas, bats, a basilisk, and many different birds. I felt like us passengers spotted more animals than the guides however, and you had to ask about the animals. They provided more information on the bus ride there. The drive to and from the river was scenic, and the van was decently comfortable considering. Fruit was provided when we arrived and lunch was very good, with a beautiful view of the river. The boat ride was less than 2 hours, even though it is advertised as 2.5 hours.
Review provided by Viator
Brigitteaj
Jan 25, 2025
It passes the time when you can't walk - My husband didn’t appreciate it at all because out of about 15 English-speaking people it’s the only one who understood Spanish and the guide didn’t bother to translate it into Spanish
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mezzze
Feb 12, 2025
Don’t waste your time and money - Don’t take these tours! They are not authentic and not really going into the „real“ cano negro park. You will only be transferred in a big group of up to 40 people in A bus and later in a boat. not having your personal guide. Try to go directly to Cano Negro Village instead and search for the local tour operators. These tours are much more personal and even cheaper as well. You will have a private boat including English speaking tour guide and boat capitain. THIS is the real experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
2 Adult
March 2025
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