• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
MytanFeet

MytanFeet

Costa Rica Travel Information

  • Home
  • Start
  • About
  • Blog
  • Deals
  • Contact
    • Work with us

Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands: Wildlife Watching and Costa Rican Culture in Guanacaste

January 13, 2022 By Sammi 15 Comments

As Yeison and I walked towards the Hacienda El Viejo cultural tour, a woman dressed in a beautiful green and white dress greeted us with a huge smile on her face. Muy buenos dias mis amigos! 

Hola! We smiled and answered back. She waited for us to sit down on the bench and get ourselves situated. Holding the corners of her lustrous skirt out, she waved to us and did a little twirl.

Pura vida! Do you know pura vida? Pura vida is what we say in Costa Rica for hello, goodbye or anything good! It’s like our national saying. So tell me, how are we today?

Pura vida! I enthusiastically responded, grinning back. Eso! Now we are in a Costa Rica mode! She exclaimed.

Juana, or Juanita as she said we could call her, then gave us a short introduction to what we were about to experience on the cultural tour. I listened carefully to one of the most animated and pleasant presentations I’ve ever had and I could tell we were going to enjoy one of the best things to do in Guanacaste, Costa Rica with Juanita as our guide!

If you’re staying in Guanacaste and are looking for a day excursion that offers nature, wildlife, culture and food, then a visit to Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands has to be on your list. Read on or scroll to the bottom of our post to book this tour.

Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands

First, here are some things to know about Hacienda El Viejo.

It is a Costa Rican family owned property with a large sugar cane plantation and their own private wildlife reserve bordering the Palo Verde National Park. Their reserve of 5000 acres protects part of the Tempisque River and one of the most important and endangered ecosystems in the world: the tropical dry forest. It’s home to the one of the largest numbers of migratory birds in Central America as well as iguanas, crocodiles, bats, monkeys and many more animals.

Hacienda El Viejo wetlands entrance

The hacienda (estate in English) offers 3 different activities for tourists: cultural tour, wildlife observation boat ride and rum making. Visitors can experience the best of Guanacaste all in one day at the Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands!

El Viejo Cultural Tour

Now let’s start with their cultural tour. This 1 hour tour allows visitors to experience traditional Guanacaste farm life. They’ll learn about sugar cane, the ox powered trapiche (sugar cane mill), old fashioned kitchen and traditional Guanacaste house.

Not only that, they’ll get to try their hand at making tortillas and sampling tasty Costa Rican coffee and local treats!

One of the reasons why Costa Rica is such a beloved tourist destination is the locals. With such kind, gregarious and laid back locals proud to share and show off their country, learning about Costa Rican culture is a must for any visitor.

Hacienda El Viejo wetlands cultural tour
One of the vaqueros (cowboys) on Hacienda El Viejo

We had a blast pressing sugar cane through the trapiche, making friends with Curro the ox, pressing tortillas by hand and enjoying a cup of coffee. Not one second of this tour dulled or bored us, Juanita kept us well entertained and informed on this interactive tour. I could tell how excited they were to see visitors learning about their culture and having fun doing it!

Hacienda EL Viejo cultural tour
Learning how to press sugar cane
Hacienda El Viejo tortillas
She is the master at making perfectly round tortillas!
Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands coffee and tortillas
Juanita making us coffee

The Hacienda El Viejo cultural tour is a fun tour for all ages, especially kids as it opens up their eyes to different cultures and traditions. And let’s be real, what kid doesn’t like seeing an ox up close, eating their own tortillas and snacking on as much sugar as possible?

Now for those who want to see animals and nature, their wildlife observation boat tour is pretty amazing and a must do in Guanacaste!

Hacienda El Viejo Wildlife Observation Boat Tour and Animals

Boating down the Tempisque river immerses guests in the dry tropical forest so they can see just how important it is despite not having that typical “jungle’ look. One of the best things is that Hacienda El Viejo runs their own wildlife observation boat tours with maximum 5-6 boats. With only a few boats, you get the most intimate experience on the river!

On our boating tour, we went in August during low tide. We didn’t see as many birds since all the migratory birds are up in North America during this time of year though. The best times to see migratory birds are December – April but we still saw a couple of tiger herons and kingfishers.

However, the animal that took the spotlight during our tour was the crocodile due to the low tide. Boy did we get a really nice close up view of those big guys!

Here are some photos we took of animals we saw on the Hacienda El Viejo boat tour.

Hacienda El Viejo wildlife
This crocodile looks like he’s smiling for the camera
Hacienda El Viejo wildlife
Two more crocodiles
Hacienda El Viejo wildlife
Kingfisher
bat
El Viejo boat tour crocodile
Another big crocodile, probably the biggest we saw that day
crocodile at El Viejo
Yeison getting a really good look at a big crocodile
baby crocodiles seen on the El Viejo boat tour
baby crocodiles!

Due to the low tide, we saw SO many crocodiles. I honestly stopped counting after 20! It was incredible to see them so close in their natural habitat.

El Viejo Vs Palo Verde National Park Boat Tour

If you’re wondering if you should do a boat tour in Palo Verde National Park or Hacienda El Viejo, here are some things to know about both.

  • Palo Verde National Park itself doesn’t offer boat tours. You will need to book with a tour operator who runs boat tours down this river. If you just show up to the river on your own, you may find some locals offering to rent a boat but they are not guides nor do they speak much English. Therefore it won’t be a full tour. If you go to Hacienda El Viejo, they have their own boats and bilingual guides.
  • It is the same river. Both boat tours go down the Tempisque River.
  • Both offer great opportunities to see wildlife. Hacienda El Viejo reserve protects 5000 acres and Palo Verde National Park protects 45,000 acres!
  • Less boats at Hacienda El Viejo. Because many tour companies go to the national park for boat tours, it can get pretty crowded during high season. That is one big downside to going to the national park. If you go to Hacienda El Viejo, they have 5-6 boats max at a time.

Our personal recommendation.

We have done both the Palo Verde National Park and Hacienda El Viejo boat tour twice. Both were excellent and we saw lots of wildlife at each one.

However, I would personally recommend Hacienda El Viejo if you want to incorporate some more activities (cultural or rum tour) and if you don’t want to be around a ton of other boats. Hacienda El Viejo is much more laid back, tranquil and calm since it is their own reserve and they take only their guests, not all the tour operators in Costa Rica.

But Palo Verde National Park is an excellent place to do a wildlife safari tour if that is what you’re only interested in.

Hacienda El Viejo Rum Tour

Now let’s move on to a really great tour for adults – a rum tour! Hacienda El Viejo produces their own rum from the organic sugar cane grown on the estate! Sugar cane is an extremely important crop of Guanacaste so it made perfect sense that they would create a rum from it.

Our guide, Richard first showed us a sugar cane plant and gave us some information about it. As one of the largest producers of sugar cane in Costa Rica, they definitely knew this plant inside and out.

Rum tour at Hacienda El Viejo
Learning about sugar cane

I loved how they took us through the entire rum making process, first showing us the plant and how they grow and cultivate it. Like the cultural tour, they showed us a sugar cane mill (a modern electric one) to extract the delicious juice. Then we went through the distilling process which led us to their rum storage.

Hacienda El Viejo rum storage rickhouse
The rum storage

We got to smell the various aged rums in the oak barrels which was fascinating. The 1 hour tour ended with a delicious cocktail.

El Viejo rum tour
Waiting for our flavors to settle to add to the rum

Lunch and Casona

Our visit to Hacienda El Viejo included a traditional Costa Rican lunch at their casona, or traditional house owned by ex-Costa Rican and Nicaraguan presidents. The house is like a little museum, with photos of the local families and property from when they first built it. You can feel the history with every step as you wander through the casona!

hacienda el viejo wetlands lunch
Traditional Costa Rican lunch

Overall, we had a wonderful time at Hacienda El Viejo and couldn’t have asked for a better way to experience Guanacaste culture, nature, wildlife and people. For anyone who wants to experience Costa Rican culture, specifically Guanacaste culture, this is the best place for it!

Video

Here’s a video we made of our time at El Viejo.

Book Your Tour to El Viejo Wetlands

Please fill out the form below to book your tour.

Hacienda El Viejo

  • Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands

    These tours do not include transportation, please Click here to go to Google Maps.
  • We require 24 hour notice as the park is running by reservations only and we have to check availability
    MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • A description and prices of the tour will appear below. All rates include fruit, juice and coffee or tea. All tours require a minimum of 2 people. These prices are valid until June 30, 2022.

  • Enjoy a wildlife watching experience down the Tempisque river in the Hacienda El Viejo private reserve. See crocodiles, iguanas, bats, monkeys, birds and more animals on this guided 1.5 hour boat tour.

    $49.35 per adult, $34.55 per child

  • Enjoy a wildlife watching experience down the Tempisque river in the Hacienda El Viejo private reserve. See crocodiles, iguanas, bats, monkeys, birds and more animals on this guided 1.5 hour boat tour.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $61.59 per adult, $43.11 per child

  • Enjoy a wildlife watching experience down the Tempisque river in the Hacienda El Viejo private reserve. See crocodiles, iguanas, bats, monkeys, birds and more animals on this guided 1.5 hour boat tour.

    On the 1.5 hour cultural tour, learn how Costa Ricans press sugar cane using an ox powered sugar cane mill, sample sugar cane, visit a traditional Guanacaste house, learn how to make handmade tortillas and sample Costa Rican coffee and snacks.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $81.09 per adult, $56.76 per child.
  • Please choose time for boat tour.
  • Please choose time for cultural tour.

  • Enjoy a wildlife watching experience down the Tempisque river in the Hacienda El Viejo private reserve. See crocodiles, iguanas, bats, monkeys, birds and more animals on this guided 1.5 hour boat tour.

    For the 1 hour rum tour, you will learn about the entire process of turning their organic sugar cane into aged rum. You'll get to sample different ages rum at the end and refresh yourself with a delicious cocktail.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $81.09 per adult, $56.76 per child.
  • Please choose boat tour time.

  • Tour starts at 9 AM.

    Enjoy a wildlife watching experience down the Tempisque river in the Hacienda El Viejo private reserve. See crocodiles, iguanas, bats, monkeys, birds and more animals on this guided 1.5 hour boat tour.

    On the 1.5 hour cultural tour, learn how Costa Ricans press sugar cane using an ox powered sugar cane mill, sample sugar cane, visit a traditional Guanacaste house, learn how to make handmade tortillas and sample Costa Rican coffee and snacks.

    For the 1 hour rum tour, you will learn about the entire process of turning their organic sugar cane into aged rum. You'll get to sample different ages rum at the end and refresh yourself with a delicious cocktail.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $94.09 per adult, $65.86 per child

  • On the 1.5 hour cultural tour, learn how Costa Ricans press sugar cane using an ox powered sugar cane mill, sample sugar cane, visit a traditional Guanacaste house, learn how to make handmade tortillas and sample Costa Rican coffee and snacks.

    $49.35 per adult, $34.55 per child

  • On the 1.5 hour cultural tour, learn how Costa Ricans press sugar cane using an ox powered sugar cane mill, sample sugar cane, visit a traditional Guanacaste house, learn how to make handmade tortillas and sample Costa Rican coffee and snacks.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $61.59 per adult, $43.11 per child

  • On the 1.5 hour cultural tour, learn how Costa Ricans press sugar cane using an ox powered sugar cane mill, sample sugar cane, visit a traditional Guanacaste house, learn how to make handmade tortillas and sample Costa Rican coffee and snacks.

    For the 1 hour rum tour, you will learn about the entire process of turning their organic sugar cane into aged rum. You'll get to sample different ages rum at the end and refresh yourself with a delicious cocktail.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $81.09 per adult, $56.76 per child.
  • Please choose time for cultural tour. Lunch begins at 12 PM.

  • For the 1 hour rum tour, you will learn about the entire process of turning their organic sugar cane into aged rum. You'll get to sample different ages rum at the end and refresh yourself with a delicious cocktail.

    $49.35 per adult, $34.55 per child

  • For the 1 hour rum tour, you will learn about the entire process of turning their organic sugar cane into aged rum. You'll get to sample different ages rum at the end and refresh yourself with a delicious cocktail.

    Lunch is traditional Costa Rica casado (rice, beans, salad, plantains and fish/chicken/beef/vegetarian).

    $61.59 per adult, $43.11 per child
  • Guest Information

  • Please write in this box the name of your hotel and town you are staying at.

    Please note they don't pick up or drop off at Airbnbs, if you are staying at a vacation rental, please enter the closest hotel to your location for transportation.

  • They require a minimum of 2 adults to operate any tour.
  • Please enter the names of each adult starting from the 11th.
  • Enter the name and age of each child starting from the 11th.
  • Payment and Cancellation Policies

    All prices quoted in USD. Activities must be prepaid in full to book them and we will send you an invoice to pay via Paypal or credit card. We don't accept echecks

    After you submit your booking request, we will get in contact with you within the next 24 hours. If you have any questions, please email us at web@mytanfeet.com.

    Mytanfeet is a registered Costa Rican company. We are a 100% Costa Rican travel consulting company based in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

    Strict Cancellation Policy

    Cancellation must be made a full 24 hours prior to the service otherwise a penalty of 100% will be applied. No refunds for no shows. Customers will also receive a full refund or credit in case of operator cancellation due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. If tour is cancelled after 180 days since payment was completed, the refund is given by Paypal only. All cancellations must be sent in writing and must receive confirmation in writing for it to be considered as in effect.

Filed Under: Activities and tours Costa Rica

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TRACEY DICKIE says

    December 14, 2021

    pura vida,

    we will be in you beautiful province from Dec 25-31 and would like to book a tour of all three activities. could you please email me dates and prices. thank you

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      December 16, 2021

      Hi Tracey, please fill out the form on this page here: https://mytanfeet.com/special-deals/hacienda-el-viejo-booking-page/

      Reply
  2. Mark Hayes says

    December 6, 2020

    Great. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      December 6, 2020

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  3. Mark Hayes says

    December 5, 2020

    We are going to be in Conchal over Christmas. Is the Hacienda El Viejo still offering boat tours this December?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      December 5, 2020

      Yes! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Sammi says

    January 27, 2020

    Hi Karen, you can check for prices at Hacienda El Viejo here (and request to book as well).

    For the Boating in Playas del Coco tours, you can fill out the form and we’ll send you an email with a quote.

    Reply
  5. Karen says

    January 27, 2020

    We are in Ocotal for 3 weeks and friends are coming to visit us this week . We are looking for day trips within 1 hr to 1:15 hr trips. We have a car. Looking into the boat trip and Rum your for 4 people. Where do I find prices for those tours? Thank you

    Reply
  6. Ken says

    January 25, 2020

    I’m staying in Tamarindo the week of February 16-22 . . . Do you think I am more likely to see monkeys at Tamarindo Estuary, Palo Verde, Hacienda El Viejo,or some other place in that area?
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      January 26, 2020

      You will see monkeys at all places!

      Reply
  7. Carol Gorenc says

    January 20, 2020

    Hello
    After reading your report, we are looking at a boat tour at Hacienda El Viejo. Can you tell me if the boats have a cover to protect you from the sun? Also, how many people does the boat accommodate?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      January 20, 2020

      Hi Carol, they do have covered riverboats for the boat tour, each boat holds around 20 people or so.

      Reply
  8. Ginette says

    August 22, 2019

    My family is much into birding… we are staying in Play Ocotal during our stay at the end of December, and were wondering if best to go to palo verde national park with our rented car or to Hacienda el vierjo wetlands instead?

    Are local bird guides available at park to take you on trail and help identify birds? Should we do hacienda el vierjo wetlands instead?
    Should we do a boat tour or do trails?
    Is the staff on boat tours knowledgeable about birds?

    We noticed that some tours offer to pick you up…we are guessing this would take much longer since they are picking up at various locations … but we are wondering if roads to get to destination are ok with a sedan…

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      August 22, 2019

      Hi Ginette, I just sent you an email about it 🙂

      Reply
  9. Kalyan Panja says

    August 17, 2019

    What a quaint looking little wonderland! Sounds like a great place to base yourself along Costa Rica. These are such neat info and photos!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Primary Sidebar

About Mytanfeet

Hi! We are Yeison and Samantha

Mytanfeet is full of local tips, detailed guides, photos, videos and maps to help you plan the perfect ​trip to Costa Rica.

Our Costa Rica City Guides

Tamarindo Costa Rica Travel Guide


Costa Rica Destinations Map

Special rent a car rates for Mytanfeet readers

Check Rates or Reserve


Get Exclusive Costa Rica Travel Tips and our Free Travel Guide Straight to You!

Yes, send me the tips

Footer

About

Who are we ?
Contact us
Our Instagram
Copyright & Disclaimer

Travel

Start here
Destination Map
Join our YouTube Channel

Exclusive deals

Car rental discount and freebies
7% off Arenal tours
White water Rafting special
See all our exclusive deals

Mytanfeet LLC Copyright© 2013 - 2022 - Thank you for supporting our Travel Blog!