Published on Jan, 2025

The hike to LaLeona waterfall is intense but worth it! The lazy river was relaxing and then to cliff jump after got your heart rate up! The final waterfall was amazing!

Published on Jan, 2025

Great alot of walking but worth it . The waterfalls were asome.. we had a great guild for the local experience

Published on Jan, 2025

Our guide was Raul and he was fantastic. He picked us up on time, and was very friendly and engaging. He shared an incredible amount of information about Costa Rica, the environment, and indigenous plants, animals, and the ecosystem. First, he took us tubing at a local river. After we finished the float, Raul spotted a family of Howler Monkeys above us in the trees. The alpha male was sounding with that deep growl they make that gives them their name. We then hike down the river to a deep pool for some cliff diving. Raul also spotted some beautiful green vine snakes along the way. We then went to La Leona and were joined a second guide named Alberto; he was also great. They drove us up to the trail head and we hiked through the forest eventually reaching the river that opens up to La Leona waterfall. You can’t help but feel like you’re in an Indiana Jones adventure. When you arrive at the opening to La Leona you pull yourself through the river against the current via a guide rope. At the end of the guide rope you pull yourself out of the water and use small rebar rungs to traverse the final +/- 20’ to the pool below La Leona. It’s a bit of a challenge, but very worth it. La Leona is spectacular and the experience vindicates all the effort it took to get there. On the way back, our guides spotted a beautiful baby viper. Although they are venomous, they’re extremely docile and very much avoid humans. We then had lunch in the local pueblo of Curumbe. After lunch, we drove to a remove waterfall named Llanas del Cortez. The walk to the waterfall was pretty easy and the falls were incredible. The water is relatively shallow and we were able to walk out in the pool below the falls to within about 100’. We were exhausted when it was over and woke up sore the next day, but it was a fantastic experience and we would do it all again in a heartbeat. This tour is for the adventurous traveler, not for those who prefer to sit on the beach at an all-inclusive and sip free drinks. This is real native Costa Rica as it should be experienced.

Published on Jan, 2025

This was our first visit to Costa Rica, so we were eager to set up some excursions to see the sights and learn as much as we could about the region. This tour did not disappoint, and our guide, Raul, was a huge part of that. He picked us up promptly at 7:30, and led us on an 11 hour adventure of a lifetime. One tough thing about Costa Rica is that you spend ALOT of time in a vehicle getting to points of interest. Raul made this an educational opportunity, and shared so many interesting facts, stories, and observations about his culture, the various parts of Costa Rica, wildlife, and pretty much anything we wanted to learn. He did all of this while easily being the safest driver that we encountered during our stay, lol. As for the adventure itself… I should preface this by saying I have a few fears, including water and heights. My husband thought this sounded more “my speed” because it involved floating down a lazy river. It did indeed, and it was a beautiful, relaxing experience. The water is a cool shade of blue, and devoid of any aquatic life (aka no crocodiles or piranha…bonus). I do wish this segment could have lasted a little longer, but we will always remember it because Raul was fabulous about taking photos and video for us with my phone. From here we did some easy hiking to explore a still section of the river where you could do cliff jumping (my husband was brave enough to try it!). There was also a little cave you could swim into but we didn’t do that part (water phobia). We finished up this location by doing some easy hiking to observe a gorgeous waterfall from the top. That’s where the relaxing piece ended…. Our next stop proved to be both exhilarating and terrifying (for me, anyway). We met up with our additional guide, Stephen, and embarked with a group on a hike to swim inside a cave with a waterfall. Sounded innocuous enough… we were given life jackets and told that we would have to hold onto a rope to work against the current to get into the cave. Despite my water issues, I felt empowered by the life vest, and Stephen was very helpful and encouraging. I will say that the hike to our destination was not trivial… I’m a fairly fit person, so endurance wasn’t an issue, however, be warned that the footing is extremely treacherous- lots of wet rocks to navigate, ladders up and down cliff sides, and bat caves to crawl through…. And that’s just to get to the real fun. We arrived in a cavern with several other people, and received instruction about how we were going to get inside the waterfall cave. This part is MUCH harder than anticipated… not gonna lie- I was terrified. You basically have to scale along a rope against the current hanging upside down like a sloth… that part I actually handled pretty well and was proud of myself. The trouble was, when you reach the end of the rope, they throw you a boogie board, which you’re supposed to grab while they pull you up the side of a huge rock… the last thing to defeat in order to get into the waterfall cave….well, let’s just say that rock is SUPER slippery, and my feet had no purchase to help me pull myself up. It took four lovely young men (including Stephen and Raul), to help finally get me up and over that rock… at which point I was having nothing short of a panic attack…. Anyway, when we reached the other side, the waterfall was beautiful to behold. Again, wish we could have spent more time on that side after all the work it took to get there… I was kind of hoping for some type of Eden-esque beach that we could throw ourselves onto for a few hours, but nope… had to go back… over the rock (decidedly easier this direction), and then let the current propel you back to the starting point. Somehow the treacherous hike back didn’t seem quite so scary after all that, lol. They rewarded us with a delicious authentic Costa Rican lunch at a local cafe, which we inhaled as it was nearly 2:00 at this point (note to self, if you do this tour, pack a snack and eat it before you attempt to find the hidden waterfall- you will need energy). From there, we were taken to one last beautiful waterfall, and got to view it from the bottom and the top. Raul was gracious enough to take my camera out of a ledge and get some insane photos and video from above (I wasn’t going close to the edge…remember, heights phobia?). He then navigated our way back to the hotel, all the while giving us more valuable education. His mantra was “Face your fears”, which I definitely did on this tour. So if you’re looking to see some beautiful sights, learn lots of great stuff about Costa Rica, and maybe even face your fears, this tour is for you!

Published on Dec, 2024

We had an AMAZING time- Alberto was a great guide and was very knowledgeable in the culture, agriculture and area. This private excursion was very unique, personable and so much fun! Incredible waterfalls and excellent lunch. Highly recommend