This well-rounded tour is the perfect way for nature lovers to experience the best of Costa Rica's outdoor beauty. Enjoy a scenic boated on the Rio Frio with departure near the border of Nicaragua. Cruise through the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge and see the incredible biodiversity that makes this nation to unique. You'll have up close encounters with birds, snakes, herons and other animals, as well as various species of monkeys and sloths.

Day Trip to Caño Negro
Experience one of the nation's most biologically diverse wildlife reserves
Spend a day having up close encounters with nature
Enjoy expert commentary from a professional guide
Round-trip hotel transport and lunch included

What's Included

Bottled water
Lunch
Snacks
Beverages
Local taxes
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Aventuras Arenal
500 metros al sur del Polideportivo de La Fortuna Contiguo al puente de la Habana, Barrio Pilo, Provincia de Alajuela, La Fortuna, 21007, Costa Rica
White and blue building before the bridge ove the Habana river.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 am

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

- Si su hotel no está en la lista, contáctenos (+506) 2479 9133 - Si su hotel no está en la lista, pueden aplicar cargos extra por transporte

What To Expect

Nature lovers will enjoy a day traveling along the Rio Frio in the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge--widely considered one of the most biologically diverse parts of Costa Rica. You'll see migratory birds, a variety of monkey species, lizards and more.

Your friendly driver will collect you from your hotel and transport you in air-conditioned comfort to Los Chiles, about 1.5 hours away. This dynamic village near the Nicaraguan border is the starting point for your river exploration. The 2.5-hour floating safari through topical rain forest is led by a professional bilingual guide who will point out colorful bird species, a variety of monkeys and other wildlife unique to the area. After seeing one of the nation's most biologically diverse environments, you'll settle in for a traditional lunch that includes local coffee, fresh fruit and natural juices at the Rio Frio Restaurant.

Los Chiles

Day Trip to Caño Negro Including Río Frio Boat Experience from La Fortuna

8 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Infant seats available
Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
Children must be accompanied by an adult
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
Binoculars and camera suggested
Sun lotion
Mosquito repellent
Stroller accessible
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Reviews

4.5

42 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 42 reviews

Great Experience Right upon Entering Tour Bus until The End!

Gail_B, Feb 2023

Great experience, knowledgeable guides, small group, wonderful lunch! We seen more birds than we expected and were given a list by our guide to ensure we could match our pictures with the names. Our boat captain was very knowledgeable of the Rio Frio and spotted so many things we would have missed. Many Caymans, 2 & 3 toed sloths and 3 different kinds of monkeys. Thank you Andreas and David for a wonderful day!!

Great tour

Arlette_R, June 2022

Pickup was on time and the ride there was long but comfortable. We all saw lots of monkeys and the lunch that was provided was delicious.

Animals everywhere!

Mary_K, May 2022

Our trip was absolutely amazing! Roy was a wonderful guide and helped us see all kinds of beautiful wildlife. He was very knowledgeable about the Costa Rican agriculture and pointed out sugar cane farms, cattle auctions, bull fighting arenas, and pineapple farms along the way. The tour down the river was wonderful! Roy took amazing photos and shared them with all of us after the tour. We saw sloths, three kinds of monkey, and more birds and caymans than we could count. Amazing experience!

Knowledgeable guides,...

Bill_P, Feb 2022

Knowledgeable guides, lots to see, shared his photos with us. Did not see sugar cane/cocoa farm other trip saw.

Highly recommend this excursion.

Steven_C, Apr 2021

Nestor and Chili (I hope my memory has that correct) were great guides and knowledgeable about the flora and fauna but more importantly made the trip personable and rewarding. Definitely recommend going with them to Caño Negro if you want to see species you only get to see here.

Kids friendly

Farina_A, Apr 2021

Lovely trip , very relaxing and our guide Javier was amazing . Highly recommended after long hikes .

Don’t miss this trip.

Pam_F, Mar 2021

Our guide, Roy, was so knowledgeable about all of the animals & birds, plants, trees, etc , that we saw. He also educated us about the Costa Rican people & way of life. I feel like I have been to Costa Rica now rather than just passing through.

Best tour in Costa Rica

Heather_N, Mar 2020

This was the most amazing trip we did better than Tortuguero the guild and driver were amazing we saw so much loved it

Three of us booked this trip as our...

percy t, Feb 2018

Three of us booked this trip as our final day outing adventure in Costa Rica. Because we were staying at a VRBO, we asked the tour company Arenal Adventures to pick us up at the Arenal Country Inn, a 500 meter walk from our rental. They were right on time, with a large tour bus that was 75 full so, room for us to stretch out. The tour description is pretty clear that you have a 90 minute bus ride to the los banos and coffee break stop, with that same 90 minutes back. Our tour guide was fluent in English and had a nice 20 minute talk with jokes. There's a restaurant along the way that usually has dozens of large iguanas in the trees, and he pointed them out as well. All the Rio Frio tour boats take off from one dock area and head upstream for a few miles at a slow pace. The boats are covered with easy access though you need to be able to handle a half dozen steep and sometimes wet steps. The amount of wildlife is fantastic, and our guide was first rate in spotting and sharing with us. Most of the animals are used to the tour boats, so we could come within a few meters of the banks and the trees and hang out watching monkeys, caimans the local alligator, herons, kingfishers, more iguanas, basilisks and sloths. Although there were half a dozen tour boats operating, they all had a system to stay far away from each other while still getting plenty of wildlife viewing in. After the two hour cruise, we had a nice almuerza de Tico, with arroz con pollo y frios. Overall, one of our less aerobic outings, but a nice way to end our trip.

This was ok if u need a relaxed type...

Kelly_H, Aug 2016

This was ok if u need a relaxed type of tour after a high intensity one. The cruise was nice and our tour guide Victor pointed out lots of birds and animals. I recommend that you take a high powered DSL camera with zoom lens to be able to take pictures of the animals, they are so far up in the trees

Excellent tour. Our guide, Victor...

Catherine H, Feb 2016

Excellent tour. Our guide, Victor, as well as the bus driver and boat driver were fantastic at spotting wildlife mainly birds, but also bats, reptiles and monkeys. I would highly recommend this tour.