Privé Nationaal Park Rio Celeste & Luiaardreservaat

An absolutely brilliant Rio Celeste tour with Elvis on 6 December 2022. Elvis is the perfect tour guide and the promised sights exceeded my expectations. The walk through the rainforest in Tenorio National Park was truly memorable… We saw a viper en route… fortunately he was asleep and Elvis was brave enough to take a photo. The blue waterfall is indeed spectacular.And you MUST MUST MUST taste the pineapple for sale at the stall in the car park as you emerge from Tenorio…ask the vendor to shake the Costa Rican salt/spice mixture onto the cubed pineapple. It somehow enhances the flavour of the pineapple. Wow, I will never forget how it tasted! Lunch was delicious – super fresh food in a restaurant with floor-to-ceiling glass that made it feel like you were eating in the rainforest. Elvis is the perfect host, very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna, great company, and …best of all, he has a magical ability to spot sloths, toucans and all sorts of wildlife from afar..As an example, before we had even reached the National Park (in his lovely, comfortable air conditioned 4 x 4), he had shown me a rainbow toucan, and had treated me to the spectacle of a sloth engaging in his daily exercise routine. This tour was amazing - easily the best day of my trip to Costa Rica.

The wife and I had such a wonderful trip on this tour. Our guide, Javier, was very friendly and his knowledge about the area and wildlife, particularly birds, was unmatched. He took the time to spot the birds and other wildlife. He could identify birds by sight and sound and had an app to make bird calls to attract them into view. Javier could even mimic some calls himself! He helped us take great pictures as well. Now, I'm not sure what the capacity on this tour is, but for this day, my wife and I were the only ones, so it was a private. We were picked up from our hotel at 7:30 am and driven about 2 hours through the Guanacaste region. Javier led us first to Rio Celeste, which was a beautiful blue (as advertised). We saw many birds, lizards, and even a little snake along the hike/walk. After finishing the hiking portion, we were driven to have a delicious lunch next to the sloth reserve. The staff there then guided us around the grounds where we saw a few sloths (including an adorable 2 week old!), some howler monkeys, a porcupine, a couple different species of frog, and a wonderful butterfly sanctuary. After this part of the tour, Javier returned us back to the hotel just in time for sunset! Everyone involved on the tour was so friendly and knowledgeable. We learned so much about the region and wildlife. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone as it was well worth the price!

We had such a great time. We were picked up by Hugo in a very spacious 4WD just for the 2 of us, we expected the classic tourist van. Hugo made sure we were comfortable and engaged with us when we wanted and left us to talk at the same time. He was incredibly knowledgable about all aspects of Costa Rica and the eco system here. I learnt a lot from him during the journey. We arrived at Rio Celeste in good time. After Hugo handled all the permits we started the hike. We saw the beautiful river, enjoyed a hike all under the wisdom of Hugo telling us about the plants, eco system of the rainforest and any animals we saw. He explained the reason the water is so blue here as well as answering all the questions we threw at him! We saw the river in all its glory as well as the most beautiful waterfall. Afterwards we had a well deserved lunch at the Finca Verde. Enjoyed one of the tastiest juices ive had here in Costa Rica while watching Toucans from our dinner table eating left over fruit in the gardens. Then we were introduced to Brandon. What a guide! He was very knowledgable about the finca, the animals and all to do with it. Answering question after question and continually surprising us with the animals he spotted for us. We saw sloths, birds, frogs, butterflies and met Ramon the boa. Such a fun day out! On the way home Hugo made sure we had everything we needed and chatted to us consistently informing us of our surroundings and Costa Rican ways. 10/10 recommend. This is a great tour for couples or small families who want privacy and a more personal service.