Everything you need before booking: how reservations and checkouts work, what prices include, cancellations and changes, transport and pickups, and how our photography workshops run.
Pick your experience, choose your date, travellers and modality (private or group), and continue to checkout. If your date is more than 36 hours away and the experience is guided by our own team, you can complete a direct checkout right away. Otherwise you send a request and our local team confirms availability in writing, usually the same day.
A request charges nothing: you send your dates and we reply with availability and a payment link. A direct checkout authorises your card immediately and your spot is confirmed; we only capture the payment once the service is verified. Third-party parks, Manuel Antonio National Park and Boca Tapada always work as requests.
Book 36 hours or more ahead to pay online instantly; between 12 and 36 hours you send a request that we validate before any charge; under 12 hours, message us on WhatsApp. Boca Tapada needs at least 72 hours. In high season (December–April and July–August) popular mornings sell out one to three weeks ahead, so booking early is the safest way to get the guide and time slot you want.
Yes. Add each experience to your itinerary and check out once. You can also share the itinerary summary with your travel companions before paying, and add transfers between hotels or airports in the same order.
A private tour runs only with your party, at your pace, and is the better choice for photography, birding and families with young children. A Small Group is a shared departure at a fixed time (max 10, min 2 adults) with a lower price per person. Both are led by the same local naturalist guides.
Online we accept credit and debit cards through Stripe and PayPal, on a secure checkout. We never store your card details. When our team prepares your trip by hand, we send you a payment link with the same breakdown you see on the site.
Yes. Public prices are all-in: they already include 13% Costa Rican VAT and the 3% card processing fee, shown together as taxes and fees. There are no hidden extras added at the end of checkout.
On a direct checkout your card is authorised at booking and captured by our team once the service is verified. On a request nothing is charged until you open the payment link we send you. You always receive a receipt by email after the capture.
No. Children from 5 to 10 pay 70% of the adult rate and infants from 0 to 4 pay 20%. Ages are entered during checkout so the total is calculated automatically.
It depends on the season of your tour date. Green Season (May–June, August–Dec 14): full refund minus the 5% processing fee up to 24 hours before; non-refundable after that. Peak Season (Dec 15–April, July): full refund minus 5% up to 72 hours before, 50% minus 5% between 72 and 48 hours, non-refundable under 48 hours. Transport has its own policy. Full details on our Policies page.
Yes, and it is usually the better option. Rescheduling is free when you ask within your refund window and there is availability; outside that window it is not guaranteed. There are no rescheduling fees. Rescheduling depends on guide and park availability, so the earlier you ask, the more options you have.
Rain is part of the rainforest and most tours run normally — wildlife is often more active before and after a shower. We only cancel for genuinely unsafe conditions such as flooding or storms, and in that case you choose a free reschedule or 100% credit valid 12 months. There are no cash refunds for weather.
No, and no honest operator can guarantee them. What we do guarantee is a local naturalist guide, a professional spotting scope and routes chosen for the season, the weather and the time of day — the factors that actually decide how much you see.
Transport is always quoted separately, by hotel and zone, so you only pay for the distance you actually use. That keeps prices honest for guests staying in La Fortuna town and for those out towards Lake Arenal. Your pickup time and meeting point are confirmed in writing before the tour.
Yes. We run private transfers from San José (SJO) and Liberia (LIR) to La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde and the Caribbean, with flight-number tracking and a driver waiting in arrivals. Prices are per vehicle and include taxes and fees.
Your pickup time is usually about 30 minutes before the tour starts. Please be ready in the lobby 10 minutes before your pickup time, and birding departures often leave before sunrise. Your confirmed pickup time, driver and vehicle are shown in your client portal and repeated in your confirmation email, SMS and calendar invitation.
Closed walking shoes, a light rain jacket, insect repellent, water and a hat. Bring binoculars if you own them — we always carry a professional spotting scope. For night walks, a phone is enough; the guide brings the lights.
Yes. Our team is made up of certified Costa Rican naturalist guides who live and work in the Arenal area, and tours are guided in English or Spanish — you choose the language when you book.
Many are. Bogarín Trail, Ecocentro Danaus and the hanging bridges are flat and short, which makes them comfortable for children and for guests who walk slowly. Waterfall stairs and Boca Tapada expeditions are more demanding. Tell us your needs and we will match the route.
On photography-focused experiences your guide shares a selection of images after the tour at no extra cost. On regular tours photos depend on conditions, but our guides usually capture scope shots of the day highlights and send them by WhatsApp or email.
Multi-day workshops always start as a request. We review dates, season and availability and reply with a full proposal, itinerary and payment ladder. Nothing is charged until you confirm the program in writing.
Workshops and expeditions use a milestone schedule: a deposit to hold your place, then the balance due well before departure. Your exact dates and amounts appear in your client portal, and reminders are sent automatically as each milestone approaches.
These experiences are guided by our own team: 36 hours or more ahead, you can confirm right away.
