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San Carlos Coastline Tour: Marine Biologist Guided
5.0
31 Ratings
San Carlos
Embark on a captivating San Carlos coastline tour guided by a marine biologist. Discover the natural history of the area, observe dolphins, spot nesting bird species, and enjoy a delicious ceviche in a secluded cove.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Bahia San Carlos - We will boat through the turquoise waters of Bahia San Carlos, the namesake of the town. The boat tour will start in the mangrove estuary known as Esterito, located in the northern end of the Bahia San Carlos. The estuary contains extensive growths of mangroves including the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle. A wide diversity of marine birds can be observed in the estuary feeding amongst the mangroves. As we motor across the bay your guide will point out local coastal attractions, such as the secluded beaches of Caracol, El tomate, and El Acuario.
What's Included
- Use of field guides to identify wildlife
- Use of snorkeling equipment
- Lunch
- Use of waterproof binoculars
Additional Information
Our distinct excursion unfolds on the traditional 24-foot Mexican panga ‘Pipiripau’, partnered with a professional Marine Biologist who will provide insights about the region’s wildlife and ecological history. We begin our journey from the picturesque mangrove estuary of Esterito, situated at Bahia San Carlos’ northern tip. Our path veers towards Bahia San Francisco with the objective of spotting a local grouping of Bottlenose Dolphins often noted indulging in games and hunting near the coast. On route, we embark upon untouched islands serving as habitats for diverse bird life, including the Blue-footed Boobies and Brown Pelicans. We anchor at the serene and hidden Shangri-La cove pre-return to savor homemade ceviche, absorbing the day’s experiences and findings. Subject to the weather, take a dip or delve underwater with snorkeling!
- NOTE: 2 person minimum/tour. Please contact your host before any tour to confirm weather conditions. Custom tours ($50/hr, 3hr minimum) are available!
- If you easily get seasick it is highly recommended to take medication such as Difenidol an hour before the tour.
Location
Educational adventure tours of San Carlos
Choya
Head west along the main road of San Carlos (Blvd. Beltrones) towards the iconic mountain known as Tetakawi. Take a right at the roundabout by the Santo Valle supermarket towards the Bahia San Carlos. Take a right onto a dirt road just before crossing the little bridge.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(31 Ratings)
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784minniem
Jul 18, 2024
Must do this tour for a one of a kind San Carlos experience. - Best tour ever!!!!! It was beautiful, fun and the ceviche was delicious! You will have a blast!!!! Make sure you use the restroom before your tour. There are no restrooms on board. Wear your bathing suit and water shoes because you will get wet. We saw dolphins and it was breathtaking!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alberto_v
Jul 16, 2024
Super fun! - Super fun and educational at the same time. We loved the snorkeling part of the tour and we learned a lot about the local environment and wild life.
Review provided by Viator
Joshua_g
Jul 8, 2024
Super duper fun time much like. - It was a very rewarding and educational experience. He is the dolphin whisperer, we had just given up on seeing dolphin when he did a great dolphin call and they appeared out of nowhere! What a guy, if he doesn’t know something he will surely let you know he doesn’t know. Very humble and has a great laugh. We loved this excursion and would recommend it to anyone visiting San Carlos. Ask him about the church.
Review provided by Viator
X2222lmtinag
Jul 7, 2024
highly recommend - I recently took a cruise tour in San Carlos, and it was an exceptional experience! Mike led us on a fascinating tour where we saw dolphins 🐬 and blue-footed boobies 🐦. He also organized snorkeling 🤿 and treated us to delicious ceviche 🐠. Throughout the tour, we learned a lot about the local marine life. It was an educational and enjoyable experience that I highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tatiana_g
May 31, 2024
Best experience in San Carlos! - This boat trip was my favorite experience in San Carlos. The host was very informative, attentive, and easy to communicate with (both English & Spanish). We saw so many tropical fishes with snorkeling. Best part was witnessing a pod of dolphins. We would absolutely do this tour again. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Garon_b
May 3, 2024
Highlight of an amazing trip - Michael is an absolutely lovely human being and incredibly knowledgeable and patient and fun to hang out with! I'm hoping to bring my young adult kids back soon and do these trips with him again as there was so much to learn about. Highlights of our trip as we did both the hike and the boat Day excursions with Michael.
Review provided by Viator
W8115wvbruceb
Apr 23, 2024
A great tour and highly recommend! - Tour guide and captain Michael was great. We saw beautiful scenery along the coast, which gave us perspective of the ecology and coastline of San Carlos. He was friendly, interesting and informative. We saw pods of dolphins, amazing variety of birds and their habitat. The tour, and time on the water was just right. The delicious lunch of ceviche at the finish of the tour was stellar. Very well worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eike
Mar 21, 2024
Knowledgeable, flexible and all-around great guide! - Any tour with Michael will be worth it! So knowledgeable and genuinely excited about showing us the local wildlife!
We had to reschedule because of the weather, which was no problem.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amanda_l
Feb 18, 2024
Fun, education, culture! - We were here in the winter and it was one of the most magical things we’ve ever experienced. First of all, you get to ride in a hand-made traditional boat. Second, you get to hear the perspective of a multi-lingual college professor of marine-biology on one of the most bio-diverse places in North America.
Micheal is like having a way cooler David Attenborough take you on an adventure. I never thought I’d see blue footed boobies this side of the Tropic of Cancer, but here we are. This experience is not to be missed.
Micheal also helped us so much with our Spanish. My husband and I are intermediate-level Spanish speakers. Michael let us practice with him. He was very patient.
P.S. We also loved his hiking experience! We got some exercise while we learned about plants, birds, geology, and more.
Review provided by Viator
527jeaninew
Feb 1, 2024
Islands of San Carlos - The same 3 of us who did the hike went on the boat. As others have said it the water was beautiful the ride fantastic and snorkeling was the best. And the Ceviche was wonderful.
Should I come back I will spend another day with him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
