Maximize your port day in Puntarenas with this jam-packed combo tour that introduces you to the best of the Gulf of Nicoya. Drive through the Costa Rican countryside to a nature reserve, explore the rain forest canopy on hanging bridges, and spot crocs on a cruise down the Tarcoles River. Check out local culture with shopping stops at a replica Spanish Village and fun souvenir store, and finish with a city sightseeing tour.

Combo shore excursion from Puntarenas
Experience the best of the Gulf on Nicoya with a diverse itinerary
Pass farming villages and sugar plantations on a drive through the Costa Rican countryside
Explore the rain forest on a hanging bridges tour at a nature reserve
Shop for souvenirs at a recreated Spanish colonial village
See wild crocodiles on a cruise down the Tarcoles River
Stress-free way to make the most of your day at port

What's Included

Professional guide
Air-conditioned vehicle
Fresh Fruit Snack
1 hour boat tour in Tarcoles River
Nature Walk at Villa Lapas Hanging Bridges and Trails
Visit to El Jardin Souvenir Store & Restaurant

Gratuities
Alcoholic Beverages
Lunch

Meeting And Pickup

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

Meeting point

Muellero Park
Parque de Los Cañones, P.º de los Turistas, Provincia de Puntarenas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
We pick up all passengers at the cruise ship terminal in Puntarenas or Puerto Caldera

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 am

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

This tour is exclusive for cruise ship passengers. If you are not arriving by cruise ship please do not book this tour. Tour operate only when we have cruise ships in port. Pick up is at the main gate entrance of the pier. It is a very short walking distance from the cruise ship. Once at the entrance of the pier, you will see a Greenway Tours Guide holding a sign with your name. SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT PICKUP TIME All our pickup times are set to 8:00 AM by default. HOWEVER: If your ship arrives after 8:00 AM, the Pickup will be 30 minutes after ship arrival. You can book your tour and we will adjust the time accordingly with your ship arrival. If you ship is late, our staff will wait for you till the ship dock and allow you disembark. We operate all our tours accordingly with the ship´s arrival.

What To Expect

When your cruise ship docks at the port of Puntarenas, meet your driver and guide at the pier, and climb aboard an air-conditioned bus with room for up to 20 passengers. Travel through the Costa Rican countryside past traditional farming villages and mango and citrus plantations to reach Villa Lapas. Straddling the country’s unique tropical and dry forest ecosystems, this nature reserve is home to hundreds of bird species plus an array of other wildlife like raccoons, monkeys, anteaters, and poison dart frogs. Explore this incredible biodiversity on a SkyWay tour along suspended bridges and walkways.

Head next to Santa Lucia, a replica of a Spanish colonial settlement nestled against a river and the rain forest. Enjoy free time here to shop for local goods like gourmet coffee and small painted oxcarts. Refresh with a snack of fresh fruit and iced tea here before continuing on to the Tarcoles River.

Hop aboard a river boat for a cruise down the waterway famous for its population of large American crocodiles. Keep an eye out for the jaw-snapping crocs and soak up scenic views along the northern border of the Carara Biological Reserve.

After the boat tour, you’ll have a chance to pick up more souvenirs at the El Jardin store and restaurant and get a glimpse into coastal culture with a short sightseeing tour of Puntarenas city. Your tour concludes with drop-off back at the cruise pier.

Puntarenas (Pass By)

Tarcoles, Costa Rica

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

El Jardin

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Carara National Park

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time

Infants must sit on laps
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour is exclusive for cruise ship passengers. If you are not arriving by cruise ship please do not book this tour
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 300 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.

Featured review

KarenK_C

Tour was great!! Gravien was so informative, interesting and fun! Our driver was great as well. Highly recommend. Was on the cruise ship and did not like any of the excursions they offered. So glad we took this one. Lots of fun things to see and do

Reviews

4.5

31 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 31 reviews

Great experience

Steve_S, May 2023

Great driver and guide. All in All great experience. Both did a great job. We were a party of 5 and all enjoyed it. Our bus had 28 people and was easy to Hear the guide

My tour guide and driver were great BUT, the tour was not explained to me adequately when I booked

Linda_D, Apr 2023

When I booked, It was not explained to me that I needed to pick from 3 different excursions, Zip Line (which you don't have to climb ladders to get to), a walking tour that was on the difficult side, or ride through the forest in a wagon pulled by a tractor. I realize that Viator cannot guarantee us seeing animals, but they were few and far between. Our guide Ronald tried his best do everything in his power to keep us happy.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you for your review. You have booked the tour Puntarenas Highlights and this is what you got. You don´t have to choose between 3 other experiences. When we have few customers, that can be transported in a mini bus for 20 people, we combine experiences because they are operated in the same area. This was your case. On this date we had few passengers for the zipline. Our guide Ronald brought them to the reserve where we operate this tour and they were attended by our specialized guides on this type of adventure. The wagon tour is a tour for customers with limited movility and it is operated at the same reserve of Villa Lapas, where we have the hanging bridges. Oncve we get there, we just esplit the group and the local guides take care of this activity. Them, if you were booked for the Puntarenas Highligthts, the description states that you go with Ronald to the hanging bridges. So nothing to explain about to chose between 3 options. You were on the tour you signed up. A biological reserve have wildlife species. Animals are free and for this reason it is not guarantee that our customers will see them.

book this trip!!

Karen_n, Apr 2023

Really well organized, a small group of 20, with two excellent guides, so groups of 10. Kept us informed and did everything to enhance the experience. would highly recommend it.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you for your positive review

Beto was our guide....

Dale_R, Dec 2022

Beto was our guide. Knowledgeable and humorous. Driver Ronald was professional and safe. Good pacing for all ages.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Hi. Thank you for your positive review. We appreciate your time in posting it.

Loved it!

debbiehinchey, Feb 2020

Awesome experience!!! This was our favorite part of the whole trip! Biggest Crocs I’ve ever seen...so cool 😎

Rainy day in Costa Rica

Trek35254572989, Dec 2019

cold water "snack"" was refreshing!! Five hour tours should either provide lunch or allow for time to eat

Response from Host, Dec 2019

Thank you for your review. If you can provide the name of your tour we can check your complaint. However, in our tours descriptions it is clear that we do not include lunch, but we include in all our tours a fresh fruits snack, water and Ice Tea. Besides this, all our tours includes stops at restaurants and souvenirs where you are able to purchase some food. So, we don´t understad your negative comment about this issue. Regards,

Big Disappointment

Neil_E, Nov 2019

We waited where told for your tour after disembarking our cruise ship. No one showed up. We called the local vendor. He said to go to the end of the pier and wait for someone. We waited over 45 minutes. We called again and were told our tour had been cancelled. No notice from the vendor or Viator. After returning home I contacted Viator and did receive a refund, but I lost an hour of time waiting for someone who did not keep their appointment and lost out on what I had contracted for.

Response from Host, Nov 2019

We are sorry for the inconvenience you experience on this date. Unfortunately the tours departure without you because for any reason your name was not in the list and the guides didn´t wait for you. I explain this to you over the phone and that at that time was too late for connect you with the groups because they were far away and it was when I apologize and offer the full refund for the tour. This normally do not happens to us, but unfortunately happens this day and our guides didn´t have your reservation. We are so sorry for the inconvenience.

excellent tour

mn k, Nov 2019

this tour is well worth it when you cruise ship is only at port for 6-7 hours. watch out for mosquitos!!

Response from Host, Nov 2019

Thank you very much for your positive review. WE really appreciate it

Fun and interesting first look at Costa Rica

Jayson_M, Mar 2019

Guide was good and knowledgable. Nice assortment of activities Problems; no lunch or edibles and all participants were given the same 6 for 1 tour. Most did not pay for that tour. They paid less. I paid by far the most. Obviously, I got the least value. That does not make me pleased

Rudy knew his city. All the...

ChristinaA_K, Feb 2018

Rudy knew his city. All the locations he took us too seemed to waiting for Rudy and provided top-of-the-line service

Response from Host, May 2020

Hello We really appreciate your positive review about our services and tour. We hope to serve you again in the near future. Regards

Tour guide, Miguel, was very...

Bosco_H, Feb 2018

Tour guide, Miguel, was very knowledgeable about Costa Rica, the environment, birds and plants. Really enjoyed seeing exotic birds flying around in their natural habitat. Boat tour was great and saw crocodile and many shore birds.

Response from Host, May 2020

Hello We really appreciate your positive review about our services and tour. We hope to serve you again in the near future. Regards

Tour was great!! Gravien was so...

KarenK_C, Feb 2018

Response from Host, May 2020

Hello We really appreciate your positive review about our services and tour. We hope to serve you again in the near future. Regards

Greenway Tours was excellent Walk in...

Martin_H, Jan 2018

Greenway Tours was excellent Walk in the Clouds very informative re: Rainforests of Costa Rica and Central America the Crocodile portion was unbelievable the boat pilot got out with pieces of fish and actually walked up to a 6 foot female who leaped out of the water to grab her meal - the pilot survived, of course, by jumping out of the way of those large teeth. Obviously, he was no beginner with the crocs. Awesome tour!

Response from Host, May 2020

Hello We really appreciate your positive review about our services and tour. We hope to serve you again in the near future. Regards

Well worth the , we had a great...

Thomas J, Dec 2017

Well worth the , we had a great time. The boat guide was the high point in the way he got so close you could touch a crocodile.

This was a really enjoyable trip...

Anna M C, Dec 2017

This was a really enjoyable trip. Guide very informative and knowledgeable showed many species of flora and fauna. We liked the river boat trip and the encounter with the crocodiles.

While the tour itself was excellent...

susan s, Dec 2017

While the tour itself was excellent, our tour guide was disappointing in that we were left sitting on our bus for 45 minutes before leaving despite fact that all scheduled passengers were ready. No explanation offered for delay and guide needed reminders when we got to our destination 1 hour away that the bus passengers needed to use the restrooms immediately. The trip to Antigua was most interesting, except that we had to walk on narrow sidewalks in disrepair, and our guide was at the head of a long line and did not caution people re: potential dangers. The trip to the mineral springs spa was delightful, and a pleasant end to a tiring day.

The guide was late to the port so we...

Carolyn L, Apr 2017

The guide was late to the port so we had to walk quite a way to his van. The pier was filled with tour busses from the cruise line or other tour companies. The tour confirmation stated it was good for all activity levels. No so! The walk through the rainforest was horrible for a person with mobility issues. There were at least 1-200 uneven concrete block steps going down through parts of the rainforest over about a 1 km distance. Anyone with any issues should not take this part of the tour but wait on the bus! The rest of the tour was fine, the guide knowledgeable and spoke English well. The tour on the Tarcoles River with the crocodiles was fascinating. When the driver saw animals along side the road he stopped so we could all get out for photos.

We really enjoy our tour. Seeing the...

Steven S, Jan 2017

We really enjoy our tour. Seeing the crocs and other wildlife was awesome. Tour guide was great.

Nicely packaged tour that covered...

Thomas J, Dec 2016

Nicely packaged tour that covered the highlights that were of interest to our group. Guide was well informed and shared his knowledge freely and in an interesting manner.

Really enjoyed this trip. Our guide...

Rosemary_G, Nov 2016

Really enjoyed this trip. Our guide, Alberto, met us on the cruise pier and we were one of the first groups away from the ship. There were 4 of us travelling in the minibus - great! The first highlight was the river cruise were we saw a variety of birds and many crocodiles sunning themselves on different parts of the riverbank. The boat driver took us over to the riverbank and we were right beside a very large crocodile half submerged in the river! The second highlight was the walk through the rainforest, starting higher up the hillside and descending down a pathway and over 2 very interesting bridges.