National parks
and wildlife

How to use this guide

This selection is for anyone staying on the Guanacaste coast who wants to give one or two days to wildlife. There are two landscapes. Rivers and wetlands: Palo Verde National Park and Tempisque boat trip and the Corobicí or Tenorio river float, both near Cañas, and the Tamarindo Estuary boat tour, next to the beach. And dry forest: Santa Rosa National Park and La Casona, 36 km north of Liberia, its more remote Murciélago sector, and Diriá National Park, south of Santa Cruz.

Palo Verde and the river float each take a full day from the beach: the Palo Verde tour lasts about 7 hours door to door and the float 6 to 8. Pick one. Palo Verde is at its best in the dry season, from February to April, when birds gather in the wetland. Short of time or money, the Tamarindo estuary covers the wildlife in about 2 hours for about $50. Santa Rosa makes another day out from Liberia; leave the Murciélago sector and Diriá for when you have time to spare.

The Leatherback turtle night tour at Las Baulas only runs in nesting season, roughly October to February, with a licensed guide. Few leatherbacks nest today and you may not see any; out of season, the alternative is the olive ridley arribadas at Ostional. Conchal Wildlife Refuge only opens Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00 to 12:00, arranged in advance by phone or email: if that does not fit, spend the morning on Playa Conchal.

Tips

• Palo Verde's entrance fee can only be paid by card. Inside, the 540 m La Roca trail leads to a lookout, and in the rainy season a 4x4 is advisable.
• On the Tamarindo estuary the departure time depends on the tide: the tour is better at high tide.
• For the leatherbacks, wear long trousers against mosquitoes and leave white torches behind: only red-filtered light is allowed, no photos are taken and groups are of up to 15.
• Santa Rosa is booked at reservaciones.acguanacaste.ac.cr and is closed on Tuesdays. The Indio Desnudo trail, next to La Casona, has rest bays every 100 metres and slopes under 10%.
• The Murciélago sector is remote: carry water and fuel. For Diriá, the last 6 km are gravel and cross the Diriá river, so four-wheel drive is advisable.