Caño Negro Wildlife Tour: Costa Rica's Best Bird Watching and Exotic Animal Spotting
4.7
52 Ratings
Cano Negro

The Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is renowned as one of the premier bird observation locations in the continent. Besides a plethora of avian species, Caño Negro also houses a variety of fascinating wildlife such as sloths, three monkey species, caimans, lizards, bats, and a diversity of wetland-native flora.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Cano Negro - The Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is one of the best sites on the continent for bird watching. In addition to an
    the abundance of birds, Caño Negro is also home to many exciting animals, such as sloth, three types of monkeys,
    caimans, lizards, bats, and a variety of flora native to the wetlands.
    Our tour to this beautiful region leaves from La Fortuna and travels approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes to Los
    Chiles, a rustic village just three kilometers from the Nicaraguan border. Then we begin our boat ride to the
    wetlands. On the way up, you will see many bird and animal species. Around noon we will stop along the river
    for a typical Costa Rican lunch before heading back to Los Chiles to take the bus back to La Fortuna.
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Professional guide
  • Bottled water
  • Lunch
Additional Information
  • Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Location
Cano Negro
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(52 Ratings)
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520keithw520
Feb 23, 2024
Kudos to Cana Negra by Boat - The very best tour we have been on with reference to birds and animals in comfort of large boat. Our guide Jason and the boat captain? Augusto were 5 star at least They displayed a passion for their art and were very patient when pointing out difficult to see birds etc My partner a professional photographer was taken back by the quality and quantity of photographic opportunities The lunch was awesome and a traditional Costa Rican meal
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Terral_a
Feb 15, 2024
Awesome - Great trip down the river and close to Nacaragua border. Great guide and boat operator. We saw a ton of birds, caiman, monkeys etc. We were picked up from our hotel in Fortuna. I would highly recommend this trip.
Review provided by Viator
Smasonrn
Feb 15, 2024
Amazing Ecotour - We did the Cano Negro Tour with Hugo as our guide. Our pick up at our hotel was prompt. The van was a Rav 4, and although it was spotless, we needed an ATV for the last 30 minutes of our drive. The road was definitely a skeletal adjustment! On the way, our guide Hugo spotted a Yellow Throated Toucan, howler monkeys and a sloth! He used he tripod and telescope / binoculars to help us see and get great pics with our cell phones. Note to self: upgrade to phone with better camera before the next trip! We had for refreshments at the home of Dona Wendy and then boarded a flat bottom boat for the river part of our excursion. We say white faced capuchin and spider monkeys, more species of birds than I can count, crocodiles, iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards, bats…a wonderful experience! This was followed by a very well prepared lunch at the home of Dona Wendy. The food was delicious. Back on the bumpy road for our return trip, we got an in depth education on volcanoes for a great perspective of the Arenal Volcano. Honestly, it made the car ride so much more enjoyable! This tour was a 10 out of 10. We loved it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrewsmark460
Jan 18, 2024
Cano negro by boat los chiles - Amazing trip and guide saw lots of animals such as birds monkeys lizards ant eaters had lunch at 4 sisters amazing
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Love2travel1013
Nov 25, 2023
Great company offering something for everyone. Very professional. - Very knowledgeable guides. We would not have been able to spot all the animals they did without them. We saw 3 types of monkeys, a sloth, all sorts of birds and reptiles. If you like nature, I would recommend Jacamar as their guides are experts. Melany and Gustavo were wonderful. We paid a little extra for a private tour and had our own van and boat. The van was pristine and they had snacks and drinks for us. My daughter asked to stop for different snacks and they were very nice about it and stopped us at a market. The tour included a traditional Costa Rican lunch and I like that it wasn’t at a touristy restaurant, but rather at a quaint spot. We also did zip lining with Jacamar the following day and it was a completely different experience as it was more of an adventure tour. I was impressed with how well staffed they were and how smoothly it went considering the amount of guests. There was a great ratio of staff to guests and the most well organized zip lining tour I have done. I would recommend Jacamar.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adam
Apr 19, 2024
Well... - You'll see plenty of wild life on this tour compared to other tourist ventures. The boat ride is nice enough. Lunch is underwhelming.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fatima
Apr 3, 2024
Monkeys Galore on Cano Negro - By far the most animal sightings we had in this trip! We got to see the country side. The boat captain just knew where to spot the monkey- we saw so many of them! The trip was a 2 hour drive close to Nicaragua border but definitely worth it! The time on the river was amazing! The lunch at the end was decent too but cherry on top was the random sloth sighting as we got closer back to Arenal!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y4032jzkevins
Dec 13, 2023
Amazing tour - Awesome tour, great guides, spectacular boat driver. Saw lots of animals. Food was amazing, best soup ever. Thank you
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I7065vxmarkr
Mar 24, 2024
Not as advertised. - This trip was totally misrepresented to us. Although this tour says it is a full day trip, our trip with Jacamar was billed as a half day trip. I would have never done it knowing it was a full day. Out of 8 hours, we were only on the river seeing wildlife for a little over an hour. It took 2.5 hours to get to the river from our hotel. The river tour itself was cool but not as spectacular as I had expected. We saw lots of monkeys and the crocodiles we saw could barely be seen. They didn't look like much more than logs floating on top of the river. From there, we traveled to a ranch where we had a traditional lunch. The food was good but not very plentiful after sitting in vans and a boat for well over 4 hours. They next stopped at a traditional pottery shop which was a total waste of time. Heading back to the hotel, they took us 45 minutes out of our way to drop off another group. I had expected to be back at our hotel around noon and spend the afternoon on the beach but we barely caught the sunset.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ericcn1519fl
Mar 14, 2024
Great tour, scam price. - TLDR: We were charged 800 USD for a 400 USD private tour, and given a tour that should have cost us 240, or even as little as 180 if booked with their frequent discounts. Jacamar then gaslit and delayed the refund until it was necessary to cancel the payment with the credit card company. Jacamar Naturalist Tours are willing to scam vulnerable people. My mum, upon reading guide books, was very keen to ensure that she went on the best possible tour that went all the way into the wetlands and not the cheaper tour that skirted around the edges. To that end she paid 800 USD for 3 people to go on the boat tour. I didn't question it at the time, but on the tour there were 2 additional people and this seemed definitely like we had paid for a private tour price and been given a group tour. The 2 people had paid 100 USD each. I went on the Jacamar website after and saw that their tours are typically 80 USD per person, and can be as low as 60 USD per person if they are giving a discount (which they often are if you book the day before and they need to fill up). Their private tour was listed at 400 USD. Giving the kindest interpretation of events, they double charged us, and if I had booked the tour myself - they had quadruple charged us. So, I let my mum take the lead in talking to them and asking for a refund - giving them the benefit of the doubt that this was all a huge misunderstanding or mistake. At first, they tried to gaslight her into thinking that the price was correct. After about a week of back and forth, they finally admitted to it being the wrong price and agreed to refund the difference of 500 USD. After a month of back and forth they had still not done so, despite repeatedly claiming that they would, and so my mum finally got the credit card company to cancel the charges with the now substantial weight of email proof about the issue.
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