Palo Verde National Park is an extremely important area in Costa Rica as it encompasses over 45,000 acres (18,210 hectares) of the Tempisque Conservation area, protecting one of the most endangered ecosystems in Central America, tropical dry forest.
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Palo Verde National Park: Why It’s Great for Wildlife
Besides the tropical dry forest, there are 15 different kinds of habitats from mangroves to swamps in Palo Verde, all home to thousands of animals throughout the year.
During rainy season (May through November), the Tempisque river overflows, creating the perfect habitat for the wildlife to spend their winter months.
Palo Verde National Park is an incredible spot to see birds and reptiles, thanks to the protected Tempisque River and valley.
Palo Verde National Park Location
The Palo Verde National Park is in the Guanacaste province, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Guanacaste Airport.
The Palo Verde River Boat Tour
For those that want to see wildlife in Guanacaste, the Palo Verde National Park river boat tour is one of the best.
It’s fun, does not require any walking or strenuous activity and just a little over a half day so you can be cruising down the river in the morning and watching the sunset at the beach a few hours later.
The Palo Verde river boat boat tour is about 1.5 hours long, going down the Tempisque River in a 20-25 seater covered motorized river boat.
The Palo Verde National Park boat tour is an excellent half day trip from Playas del Coco, Tamarindo, Gulf of Papagayo, Flamingo, Potrero, Conchal and Liberia.
It’s also a great tour for families and senior citizens have limited mobility but want to see wildlife and nature as there is no strenuous activity involved.
There is minimal walking, as you just need to walk from the shuttle to the boat down the ramp. The guide and boat captain can assist if anyone needs help down the ramp.
Book the Palo Verde river boat tour here! We can arrange it with or without transportation.
Palo Verde National Park Animals
Here are some photos of the Palo Verde river boat tour and animals we saw.
The most common animals you will see on the Palo Verde National Park boat tour are iguanas, crocodiles, white face monkey, howler monkey, herons and birds.
Our Experiences
We have done the Palo Verde river boat tour 4 times during different times of the year.
March is a great time to see migratory birds and crocodiles. We went during low tide and there are a lot of crocodiles during low tide.
We have also went in November. During this time, we saw a ton more monkeys and iguanas. In May and August, we saw lots of crocodiles and baby crocodiles but not quite as many birds.
You do not see sloths in Palo Verde National Park as they do not live in dry tropical forest.
If you want to see sloths, you should book this rainforest and sloth tour from Guanacaste. You’ll walk through a tropical rainforest hanging bridges trail and then a private reserve for a short sloth walk.
Book the Guanacaste rainforest sloth tour here.
Palo Verde River Boat Tour Video
We made a video of our private Palo Verde river boat tour which you can watch below!
This video was taken in March, peak of dry season.
Things to Know About the Palo Verde Boat Tours
For the Palo Verde National Park boat tour, definitely bring your camera with a telephoto zoom lens.
A light jacket (during rainy season in case), binoculars, a wildlife field guide if you want, sunscreen with at least SPF 50, a hat, and bug repellent is a must.
The best time to go to Palo Verde National Park is during summer (December – April) but you can go any time of the year.
December through April is especially nice because all the migratory birds are in Costa Rica. Outside this time frame, you can still see local birds, monkeys, and reptiles like baby crocodiles, iguanas, etc.
Palo Verde National Park Boat Tours without Transportation
The national park itself does not offer guided boat tours.
There are locals with their own boats, waiting at the boat dock but they speak very limited English and aren’t naturalist guides so you will need to hire a guide separately.
If you want to drive to the park on your own and just hire a guide, we can help you arrange a private guide. How it works is that you meet the guide in Filadelfia and go together to the national park for the boat tour.
After the boat tour is complete, you’ll go with them to have a local lunch and then go on your separate ways.
Book Your Palo Verde National Park Boat Tour!
If you do not have your own transportation, you should book a tour with round trip transportation, entrance fee, lunch and bilingual naturalist guide included.
Click the link to book the Palo Verde river boat tour with transportation or without.
Want to read about other national parks in Costa Rica? Here you go!
Manuel Antonio National Park: A popular national park in the Central Pacific with white sand beaches, hiking trails and lots of wildlife. About 3 hours from San Jose.
Barra Honda National Park: A national park in Nicoya that protects dry tropical forest and has a plethora of caves. You can go hiking or take a guided caving tour.
Arenal Volcano National Park: Popular national park in the Northern lowlands, near La Fortuna city. Has the Arenal Volcano and rainforest. Great hiking and views of the volcano and Lake Arenal.
Poas Volcano National Park: Home to Poas Volano, one of the largest volcano craters. Newly reopened in 2018. Short walk to the volcano crater, reservations required. About a 1.5 hour drive from San Jose.
Tortuguero National Park: One of the best national parks for wildlife, especially turtles and birds. No road access as it is made up of rainforest covered sandbars and canals. Must go via plane or boat.
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Esther Levy says
I stumbled on this great site and was so pleased that I did. We recently spent 8 days in Costa Rica, and the help from MyTanFeet was invaluable. We booked a car through them (Adobe), and a trip to Palo Verde (boat tour) with a fabulous guide (Randall) who pointed out sites and animals of interest on the way to the boat and throughout the boat trip. The MyTanFeet folks were responsive to all my questions, often within hours. I recommend them very highly!
Sammi says
Hi Esther, thanks for your comment and feedback! We’re very happy that everything went well and you had a great time. It was our pleasure to assist you.
Laura says
Hi Sammie!
I’ve been reading several of your articles about the Palo Verde/Tempisque River tours, either with Palo Verdo Boat Tours in Ortega or with Hacienda El Viejo.
One option I was considering is to visit and take the boat tour with Palo Verde en route from Tamarindo to Arenal, since we will have a car. My concern is obviously having luggage in the car, and can’t find information on where we would park and if it would be safe for the luggage. If not, then obviously I’d need to adjust my plans to do a day trip and back from Tamarindo. I’d rather not have a lot of backtracking with the cost of gas these days, but would rather do that than leave luggage in the car in an unsecured location.
Thank you for you guidance, and all of the blogs and articles you’ve put so much time into!
Sammi says
Hi Laura, we just sent you an email with more information, you can also book your tour with Hacienda El Viejo and get a discount for it here: https://mytanfeet.com/special-deals/hacienda-el-viejo-booking-page/
christine says
Hi! First and foremost, thank you so much for putting together this blog post/website. I’d share this with friends and family without a doubt. It’s going to be my first trip to Costa Rica and staying at the El Mangroove for 5 day. What would be your recommendations of must see or do, other than the Rincon de la Viega National Park? Also do you recommend signing up with a guided tour to visit these destinations? I know there is an inquiry that you provide for services does it include roundtrip transportation to and from the hotel? Thank you so much for your time and advice
Sammi says
Hello Christine, we sent you an email with information.
Julia says
If you book a boat tour with a guide, but wish to drive there, where do you meet the guide and the boat?
Sammi says
In this case, you need to hire a guide first and the guide will make the arrangements to hire the boat because the boats stationed at Palo Verde do not automatically have guides, they are just boat drivers. Normally how this works is to hire a freelance guide, meet in Filadelfia and then follow the guide in your car to the park to do the tour.
Steve And Jana Miller says
We are interested in the Palo Verde boat tour but would drive ourselves. Can you hook us up with a guide?
Sammi says
Yes! Just sent you an email.