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Hacienda El Viejo

Experience the best of Guanacaste culture and nature when booking any Hacienda El Viejo tours and enjoy their wildlife watching river boat ride, cultural experience, birdwatching in wetlands tour, beer tasting and rum tour.

Duration
2-5 Hours
Transportation
Optional
Certified
Tour Guide
Mytanfeet
Customer Service

Description

Immerse yourself in the wetlands at Hacienda El Viejo, a private wildlife refuge of 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) located at the edges of Palo Verde National Park and the Tempisque River, a RAMSAR site home to beautiful wildlife.

Book any of the Hacienda El Viejo tours to experience the best of Guanacaste nature and cultulre.

Wildlife watching river boat tour: The boat tour goes down the Tempisque River to see animals in their natural habitat.

Cultural tour: Learn about traditional Guanacaste farming practices and home life, including a hands on tortilla making lesson and dance practice.

Rum tour: Discover the art of making rum on this tour, using Hacienda El Viejo's very own organic sugar cane. Includes a tasting and rum creation.

Beer tasting: Taste different kinds of house beer, made by Hacienda El Viejo's own on-site brewery, using water from the Nicoya Peninsula, one of the original Blue Zones.

Birding in Wetlands: With your trusty guide, look for prized wetlands and river birds in their private reserve to see herons, ducks, and much more. 

You can opt to add lunch, which is a traditional, farm to table, Costa Rican lunch, taken place in a historic casona, home to one of Costa Rica's ex presidents and a National Heritage site.

Choose any combination of the activities they offer, up to 4 activities on the full day pass. All tours have a duration of 1.5 hours. 

Tour highlights

  • Exclusive river boat ride in Hacienda El Viejo's own private wildlife refuge.
  • Opportunities to see animals like white face monkeys, howler monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, caimans, bats, kingfishers and herons on the boat ride.
  • Cultural experience includes hands on tortilla making class, coffee and local snacks tasting, and sugar can presentation.
  • Birding activity is a custom experience - you can walk or drive with the opportunity to find and photograph specific birds.
  • Rum tour includes sugar cane presentation, tasting and rum creation with an opportunity to purchase your creation.
  • Beer tasting includes a flight of 4 beers.

Watch the tour video

What is included?

Included

  • Entrance fee
  • Spanish and English bilingual guides
  • Parking (free)
  • Lunch, coffee, juice

Before you go

Additional Information

  • Confirmation will be given upon tour booking, which must be prepaid in full to book.
  • 4x4 not required in dry season, high clearance car recommended in rainy season.
  • No minimum age limit.
  • Requires a minimum of 2 adults to operate a tour.
  • Transportation can be added for an extra fee.

What to Bring

  • Comfortable clothes.
  • Rain jacket.
  • Binoculars, camera.
  • Sunscreen, hat and insect repellent.

Request this tour

We offer a 7% discount for adults and children for any of the Hacienda El Viejo tours. Our prices are quoted in USD and include all taxes and we never charge booking fees. What you see is exactly what you'll pay. While other websites might show lower initial prices, they often add taxes and fees at the end, Mytanfeet believes in transparent pricing from the start.

If you can't see the booking form below, please try refreshing the page or contact us for assistance.

Your questions answered

Where is Hacienda El Viejo located?

Hacienda El Viejo is located in the Guanacaste province, 1 hour from the Guanacaste Airport (LIR airport code). Click here to go to Google Maps.

Do you recommend Hacienda El Viejo tours for seniors with mobility issues? What about little kids?

Yes! The boat tour is very easy as you just sit on a covered river boat with plastic seat backs and there is a dock and ramp to walk down to the boat.

The cultural experience is fully outdoors, but under a covered space with sitting areas. For the cultural experience, you can sit for most of it it needed. Little walking required, as the cultural tour takes place very close to the operation center.

The beer tasting is sitting the whole time, no walking required. The rum tour requires little walking, and the second half you can sit indoors.

There is no minimum age requirement for any of the tours, but we recommend the boat tour for kids and the cultural experience since kids can't participate in the rum or beer tasting and the rest of the tour is information, so it may be boring for them. The birding experience can be very cool for older kids who are interested in birds.

Are any activities indoor?

Yes. The beer tasting is indoors and the building has air conditioning. The rum experience is half outdoors in a small farm and half indoors in an air conditioned building.

The boat tour, cultural experience and birding tour are completely outdoors.

What is the road like?

The road is largely paved, as much of it is on a main highway. However, once you turn off the main road from the town of Filadelfia, it turns into a dirt road.

There aren't any mountains to drive up or elevation climbs, but we highly recommend a high clearance car in the dry season for the most comfort. A 4x4 can give extra comfort and security in the rainy season. If you need transportation, please write a note in the comment section your hotel and we will get back to you with prices with transportation.

Is there free parking?

Yes, there is free parking at the Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands park.I am a solo traveler. Can I do the tours?The activities require a minimum of 2 people. The only option for solo travelers are for them to pay for 2 spots as they require a minimum of 2 people to operate tours.What languages are available?Spanish and English.When is the best time to do the boat tour?For wildlife, mornings are the best time for birds but there is a possibility to see wildlife any time of the day. In March and April, it gets very hot around midday, so we generally recommend the boat tour in the morning or the last schedule in the afternoon.Are there vegetarian/vegan options available?Yes! Just put a note in the special request section you would like this option.

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