Two ecosystems in one private day
Two ecosystems in one private day: a dry-forest waterfall in the morning, sloths and rainforest wildlife in the afternoon.
This full-day private tour takes you from the sunny dry forest of Guanacaste to the lush Tenorio Rainforest, with your own bilingual naturalist guide and private air-conditioned transport the whole way.
We start at Llanos de Cortés, a wide, curtain-like waterfall with a natural pool at its base, still within Guanacaste’s tropical dry forest. Swim, take photos or simply relax. It’s your private tour, so you stay as long as you like.
From there we drive about 40 minutes to Bijagua, in the Tenorio Rainforest. The change is dramatic: the air gets cooler, the forest turns green and dense, and the wildlife multiplies.
At a private nature reserve, your guide walks you along a short, easy trail, less than a mile, that still takes an hour and a half to two hours, simply because there is so much to see. Sloths resting in the canopy, red-eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs, toucans, monkeys, birds, butterflies and insects, all in one place, with your guide spotting and explaining every find.
We finish with a traditional Costa Rican lunch in Bijagua before heading back to your hotel. Want more? Add a visit to Río Celeste or a Chocolate & Coffee Experience, both in Bijagua.
Tropical dry forest
Llanos de Cortés, a wide curtain waterfall with a natural pool. Swim, take photos, stay as long as you like.
Tenorio Rainforest
Cooler air, dense green forest and a private reserve full of wildlife, plus a traditional lunch in town.
Wildlife in one short trail
Itinerary
- 7:00 AM
Hotel pickup
Your private bilingual naturalist guide and driver pick you up in an air-conditioned vehicle.
- Morning
Llanos de Cortés Waterfall
Swim in the natural pool, take photos and relax in the dry forest. Most guests stay 30 to 40 minutes, but it's your time.
Guanacaste
- +40 min
Drive to the Tenorio Rainforest
About 40 minutes from the waterfall to Bijagua, where the dry forest turns into green rainforest.
- 1.5–2 hrs
Sloth encounter in a private reserve
An easy walk of less than a mile, packed with wildlife: sloths, red-eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs, toucans, monkeys, birds, butterflies and insects.
Bijagua · Tenorio Rainforest
- Midday
Traditional Costa Rican lunch
Lunch in the town of Bijagua, in the Tenorio Rainforest.
- 4–5 PM
Return to your hotel
Back to where your day started.
On the trail with your guide
The Blue Sky difference
Private & personal
Just your group with a private guide and driver. Your pace, your plan.
Local & expert
Locally owned, with guides who know Guanacaste and where to find the good stuff.
Built around you
Flexible dates, hotel pickup and add-ons. We shape the day to your group.
What's included
- Private tour with your own bilingual naturalist guide
- Private air-conditioned transport with hotel pickup and drop-off
- Llanos de Cortés Waterfall entrance
- Private rainforest reserve entrance and guided walk
- Traditional Costa Rican lunch
- Bottled water
What to bring
- Comfortable clothes and closed shoes
- Swimsuit and towel
- Change of clothes
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Camera
- Sunglasses
- Light rain jacket
Optional add-ons
Río Celeste (Blue River)
Swim in the sky-blue Río Celeste at a private property near Bijagua, a short walk down a few steps to the river. Swimming is not allowed inside Tenorio Volcano National Park, so this is the place to get in the water. This is a different spot from the park's waterfall trail. Private access fee included. Plan 30 to 45 minutes at the river; it adds about 1 hour to the day.
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Chocolate & Coffee Experience
A 1 to 1.5-hour walk through a working cacao and coffee plantation in Bijagua. Follow coffee from seedling to harvest, fermentation and the different coffee types, and cacao from grafting and varieties to processing, with the story of cacao among the Maleku, the Indigenous people of this region. Ends with a tasting.
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Hanging Bridges
Cross about four hanging bridges through primary forest at Heliconias Lodge, on the slopes of Tenorio Volcano National Park. See the rainforest from the treetops, with chances to spot plants, birds and other wildlife. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours.
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