Pure Nature Safari Float – Peaceful Wildlife Watching from La Fortuna

When it comes to wildlife tours from La Fortuna, the Pure Nature Safari Float tour has quickly climbed to the top of my list of things to do in La Fortuna.

Safari floats are a great way to enjoy nature at its best, as you float down a slow moving river surrounded by rainforest.

If you’re ready to book this tour, check our Pure Nature Safari Float booking page that includes our discount.

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Pure Nature Safari Float Tour

The Pure Nature Safari Float tour from La Fortuna is an excellent option for those looking for a more exclusive wildlife watching experience.

• ~5 hour tour with morning and afternoon schedules available
• Operated by only one tour company: Jacamar Naturalist Tours, which we have a discount for in our Pure Nature Safari Float booking page
• On a inflatable river raft.
• Max 5-6 guests in a raft plus a guide, depending on the weight of the group members.
• Minimum age is 4.
• Requires a minimum of 3 adults booking the tour to operate.
• Includes round trip transportation from La Fortuna, bilingual English and Spanish guides, local snacks and bottled water.
• Possible animals to see: herons, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white face monkeys, two toed sloths, three toed sloths, kingfishers, caimans, crocodiles, bats, iguanas, otters, lizards, hawks.
• ~ 1 hour drive from La Fortuna to the river put in location

Pure Nature Safari Float Tour

We arrived in Guatuso for the start of the rafting trip in the backyard of a local’s home, which sits on the bank of Rio Frio.

My first time, I went with a family of four so our group was small. It was just the five of us plus our guide so it really felt like we were only a very exclusive tour.

The other times, we were a total of three rafts.

Start of the Pure Nature Safari Float Tour

This nature safari isn’t like others, it’s on a raft instead of a boat with an engine and we were the only ones on the river.

Our guide did the majority of the paddling, navigating the calm waters to get us as close as possible to the wildlife.

With engines, you can’t get into the tight corners as you would with a small raft.

So there we were, the 6 of us on a raft, floating down this small but peaceful river when no more than 2 minutes after we pushed off, our guide pointed to the trees for our first wildlife encounter.

This juvenile three toed sloth was climbing down a tree right above our heads! Our guide got us into the right position so we could see him in full view as he clambered down.

As sloths only touch ground to go potty once a week, we caught him right in the act. We watched him climb down until he disappeared out of view into the bushes.

We hadn’t even been on the river for more than 5 minutes and we already saw one of my favorite animals in Costa Rica – the sloth!

From that point and on, I couldn’t wait to see what other exciting wildlife encounters we’d have.

We floated down the river, quietly admiring its natural beauty and wondering what other animals called these waters home. And we found out soon enough.

Wildlife on the River

We saw adult, baby and juvenile Jesus Christ lizards scampering on the water, male green iguanas in orange breeding colorations, a huge troop of white face and howler monkeys flying from tree to tree, an otter slyly slinking into the water, a caiman sunbathing and tons of birds including kingfishers, trogons and anhingas.

No matter how boat rides I’ve done before, Costa Rica still awes and impresses me!

Great Tour for Wildlife and Nature Lovers

The Pure Nature Safari Float is truly a wonderful tour for wildlife and nature lovers. It’s great for families as well, with kids who love animals.

The first time I did this tour, I was on a boat with a family with two young girls, around 8 and 10 years old.

By the end of the float, they were pointing out monkeys and iguanas!

They kept asking what everything was and would listen intently to our guide as he explained to them about each animal and their special characteristics.

Snacks at the End of the Tour

After about two hours floating down the river, we reached our get out spot.

Then we got onto the bus, and Jacamar drove us to a local’s house not too far away to give us fruit juice and snacks, a nice way to end the day before we headed back to La Fortuna.

The local family who lives there lives in a humble traditional house along the river bank, still living off the land.

They gave us homemade cheese, hand made corn tortilla, plantain chips and fried beans.

We also refreshed ourselves with freshly squeezed juice and some delicious coffee. Yum!

Pure Nature Safari Float Tour Video

You can watch a video of this exact tour below! Video is from 2018 but it is the same.

Other Things to Know About the Pure Nature Safari Float

• You can bring a small backpack on the raft, preferably waterproof in the rainy season
• Bring a good zoom lens for your camera! If you’re not a photographer, we HIGHLY recommend bringing your own pair of binoculars.
• ~1 hour drive from La Fortuna per direction.
• It is really hot and humid so bring sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen.
• I wore long hiking pants and KEEN sandals, but definitely bring mosquito repellent if you’re wearing shorts.
• Float time is around 2 hours on the river.

Tour Company and Discount

Our tour operator partner in La Fortuna is the only company that operates the safari float on this specific section of the river.

Book the Pure Nature Safari Float with our discount in the link!

Other similar tours

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Los Chiles is a tour down a river in the refuge at the Los Chiles sector, on a covered motor boat. 3/4 day tour with lunch included. Book the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Los Chiles with our discount in the link.

If you’re in Manuel Antonio and would like to do a similar boat tour, check out the Damas Island Mangrove. You can go on a boat tour or kayak through the mangroves to see wildlife.

Read about other things to do in La Fortuna below!

La Fortuna waterfall: Beautiful waterfall in the rainforest. Easily accessible though requires over 400 steps to get to the bottom.

Horseback riding La Fortuna: Ride through valleys and rainforests for beautiful views.

Arenal Combo tour: 4 in 1 combination tour. Includes hanging bridges, La Fortuna waterfall, volcano hike and hot springs.

Balsa River rafting: Easy Class 2 and 3 white water rafting, only 30 minutes from Fortuna.

Penas Blancas safari float (similar to this one but closer to La Fortuna)