Published on May, 2021
In May we returned to Guanacaste and again hired the amazing brothers of ATV Beach Tours. This time for a river estuary tour in the Palo Verde National Park. Hands down, this was one of THE best experiences we have ever had in our entire lives.
My husband, older son (age 14) and younger son (age 10), were guided by Jason and we saw sooooooo many animals. Our city eyes would have never spotted most of them, but Jason patiently pointed each one out and even had a full-color guide to share the official name and photo of each one to help us out.
On the road we saw coati, ring-tailed squirrels, Howler monkeys, and Iguanas.
Along the river we saw an Anteater sleeping in a tree over the river, many Green and brown basilisks (Jesus lizards), Long nose bats sleeping on the underside of tree branch over the river. We a had close-up (and safe) experience with a solo male white-faced Capuchin monkey that delighted us all, and also saw a huge troop/family of other Capuchins who were more shy but came close enough for us to see the human like features on their faces.
We saw many beautiful birds including Bare-Throated Tiger Heron, white Ibis and snow egret... and we saw.... Crocodiles!!! Oh my goodness they are massive and scary, and the experienced pilot of our boat knew just where to guide the boat so we could see them up close.
On the return drive we stopped at Iguana Park in a small town and Jason showed us the hundreds of iguanas all over in trees and bushes, just like squirrels back home.
If you spend any money on a wildlife experience while in Guanacaste, this is the tour for you. We have travelled all over the world and this was easily one of the top 10 days of our lives!
