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

MytanFeet

Costa Rica Travel Blog

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

Palo Verde National Park – One of the Best for Wildlife Watching

October 18, 2018 By Sammi 35 Comments

Palo Verde National Park is an extremely important area in Costa Rica as it encompasses over 45,000 acres (18210 hectares) of the Tempisque Conservation area and one of the most endangered ecosystems in Central America, tropical dry forest.

Furthermore, 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 the Tempisque river overflows, creating the perfect habitat for the wildlife to spend their winter months.

If you want to see wildlife in Guanacaste, Palo Verde National Park is one of the best places. Check out our guide for tips on visiting and if you’d like to book this tour, please contact us! (We have a 10% discount for Palo Verde day tours). This post has been updated January 2020.

What do you want to read about first? Click the section to skip to it.

  • Boat Tour
  • Animals
  • Directions and Location
  • Entrance Fee/Park Hours
  • What To Bring

Palo Verde National Park Boat Tour

The best way to experience the national park is by taking a guided boat tour down the river to go wildlife watching. The boat tour is about 2 hours long, going down the Tempisque River in a 20-25 seat motor boat.

Palo Verde National Park boat tour
Boat ride down the Tempisque River in Palo Verde National Park

The Palo Verde National Park boat tour is an excellent day trip from Playas del Coco, Tamarindo, Gulf of Papagayo, Conchal and Liberia. It’s also a great tour for families and senior citizens who may have trouble walking long distances but want to see wildlife and nature.

The first time we did this tour was with my parents and grandmother who really enjoyed it as she just got to sit back and relax!

Palo Verde National Park Animals

Here are some photos of the tour and animals.

Palo Verde National Park boat tour
Palo Verde National Park boat ride
Family of bats
Bats
baby crocodiles
Baby crocodiles
Boat billed heron
Boat billed heron
Iguana
Iguana
Baby iguanas
Baby iguanas
Howler monkey
Palo Verde National Park wildlife – Howler Monkey

We have done this tour a few times and enjoyed every single time. For anyone who wants to see wildlife in Guanacaste, this is one of the best options.

Palo Verde National Park Boat Tours

If you don’t have transportation and need recommendations for a tour company, feel free to contact us and get our discount. Tours run around $90-120 USD per person which includes roundtrip transportation, lunch, bilingual guide and refreshments.

If you have a car and don’t want to book a full tour with transportation

The national park itself does not offer boat tours, you will have to book one with a tour company if you’d like a proper guided tour.

For those who go to the park by themselves, you will find some locals at the river entrance who will offer to take you on a boat ride. However, this isn’t a full tour – it’s just a boat ride (most of the boat drivers don’t speak English) so you won’t have a guide pointing out animals or sharing information. The most will be the boat driver pointing out some monkeys or iguanas close by.

Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands

If you have a car and want to take a boat tour down the river in a more intimate and exclusive environment, we recommend going to Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands instead. El Viejo wetlands is an hacienda or local farm that offers boat tours down the Tempisque River in their own private wildlife reserve that borders this national park. They also offer lunch, a rum tour and cultural tour. Their facilities are very nice and offer a great cultural experience in Guanacaste.

Palo Verde National Park Location

Here is the Palo Verde National Park map.

Palo Verde National Park is in the Guanacaste province, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area. Palo Verde is 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Liberia Airport.

Entrance Fee/Park Hours

The Palo Verde National Park entrance fee is $12 USD per person.

Palo Verde National Park is open Tues through Sunday from 7AM to 4PM.

What To Bring and Other Things to Know

For the Palo Verde National Park boat tour, definitely your camera! DSLR would be perfect for this trip to capture those great shots and bring the telephoto zoom lens. A light jacket (during rainy season in case), binoculars if you have one to get a close up view, a wildlife field guide if you want, sunscreen and bug repellent.

The best time to go to Palo Verde National Park is during summer (December – April). This is because all the migratory birds are in Costa Rica so you will see way more birds. If you visit after May, you won’t see as many birds but you can see baby reptiles.

The Tempisque Valley and river is also home to the largest bird in Costa Rica, the jabiru. There are only around 75 left in the country and we were able to see a family at the El Viejo wetlands. So if you are an avid birdwatcher, Palo Verde is a place you must visit in Costa Rica!

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 they are rainforest covered sandbars and canals. Must go via plane or boat.

Filed Under: Costa Rica National Park

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sammi says

    December 4, 2020

    You can try to contact them and see if they will be open for your dates, they’ve been posting on Instagram. You can also message them on IG as they’re pretty active on there.

    I would recommend to hire a private guide that can take you around Palo Verde National Park to the best spots to see the birds. We’ve also visited Hacienda EL Viejo for their boat ride down their private reserve that also has the Tempisque River. We also went on a short walk to a spot on their property where they have a very impressive pond area with hundreds of waterfowl including the jabirus.

    Reply
  2. Len says

    November 30, 2020

    It appears that Hotel Rancho Humo Estancia is temporarily closed since 2020/03. I could find a number of boat tours online but none caters my interests of watching wetland waterfowls. Is there any recommendation? I’ll rent an SUV to reach Palo Verde. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Catherine says

    February 12, 2020

    Good evening, We are planning our trip to CR set for November 2020. We only have 7 nights and land at Liberia at 6pm. We know we want 3-4 nights at a beach location minimum. I wonder if we do NOT go to Arenal, amazing as it is, and instead get our rain forest, wetlands, nature hike experience on a long day trip to Palo Verde or someplace else you recommend. Or a one over-night. The 3 hour drive from Tamarino beach area to Arenal might be difficult for us so I welcome other ideas.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      February 13, 2020

      Hi Catherine, the forest in Arenal and Palo Verde are completely different. La Fortuna is tropical rain forest, Palo Verde has dry tropical forest so it is different nature. Both nice but different. November is towards the end of our rainy season though so Guanacaste (where Palo Verde is) will look very green for being dry rainforest, normally in summer it is dry and yellow but at the end of rainy season, it will be green.

      Reply
  4. N. Rizvi says

    July 7, 2019

    Hello,

    We did the Hacienda El Viejo tour two days ago – we enjoyed it and it is as you described it above. For those wishing to go: This place is outside the park and in fact 1.5 hours away from the Palo Verde Park itself. The tour goes up the river that forms a boundary with the park. They charged us for the price of the park ticket in their tour which we were not able to get to as it was too far away. Palo Verde boat tours is also outside the park and does not charge this fee.

    Reply
  5. Colette says

    April 23, 2019

    Found your website by chance searching for a day-trip from the W at Reserva Conchal and we took your recommendations and went to do the boat tour at El Viejo Wetlands with our rental car. None of our Costa Rica Travel Guide Books mentioned this, but it was really fantastic and we hugely enjoyed the tour. Many thanks it was an awesome experience.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      April 24, 2019

      Glad you had a great time! They run a very nice operation there.

      Reply
  6. Dany-Martin Leclaire says

    February 24, 2019

    Hello, I will be in Sámara next week and thinkink of staying extras days for birding and take pictures of wild Life. Is there any guided tour for this. Not necessarly on boat but i prefer land so i could get closer to take pictures.
    Regards

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      February 24, 2019

      Hi Dany, I’d recommend talking to Samara Info Center and see if they can set you up with a guided walking tour of Palo Verde National Park. Most people go on the boat but they can see if they can arrange a tour on land.

      Reply
  7. Kent says

    December 11, 2018

    Hi again. I am a little confused. We are staying in Huacas area during part of our time in CR in feb. We have our own transportation, do you recommend that we drive to El Viejo wetlands and do that tour vs the park tour? I’m thinking maybe you are recommending the park tour as a package including transport to and from, but if we have our own vehicle to just drive to the wetland? Either way, I am definitely interested in checking one or both of these out during our week in Guancaste. We are starting with 5 days in La Fortuna, then Huacas/ Basilito then quepos for a week each. cant wait!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      December 11, 2018

      Hi Kent, yes so at the national park, the park itself doesn’t offer guided boat tours. They have some locals who own a boat and will drive you around the river but they aren’t guides so you won’t have anyone pointing out animals or sharing information about the animals. So if you have a car and do want an actual guided tour, then it is better to go to El Viejo and do a guided boat tour there. If you don’t really care and just want to ride down the river, you can go with the locals at the park (they usually leave by noon or so).

      Reply
  8. Rob Rice says

    September 16, 2018

    Hi!
    I may have made a mistake today (Sept 16, 2018), but I will share my story in the hopes that it may help others. Perhaps things are different during rainy season.
    Using the GPS coordinates on the map on this message board I did get to the entrance of Palo Verde National Park. The cost for foreigners is now $12.00. The gentleman taking the fee did not speak English, but when I asked about a river boat cruise, he pulled out a map and drew a line to the river (I believe he said it was 18 km away). The dirt road was quite rough in spots, but being careful with my small rental car I was able to make it to the river. However, along the way I did not notice a “biological station” or did I see one on the map (I did see turtles, iguanas, cranes, deer, and what looked like wild boar). When I got to the dock as directed there is a sign that notes “Dear Visitor National Park Service Has No Boat Tours.” As I noted above, perhaps I misunderstood the messages, but it appeared to me if you showed up in the morning one would be able to take a river cruise. Not complaining, I found this site extremely useful and informative, just hoping to give back and maybe help others.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      September 17, 2018

      Hi Rob! Thanks for your feedback. You do need to get to the national park before 1 PM to catch a boat since that is when the last boat is and it is dependent upon availability if you don’t have reservations with a tour company. There are other places to go on a boat cruise on the same river (not in the national park) so probably the gentlemen pointed you to one of those places (El Viejo is another one). I’m glad at least you were able to see some animals, we appreciate your feedback!

      Reply
  9. Eva says

    March 5, 2018

    I’m confused about where to find the boat tours. This suggests you can go right into the park, another site says boat tours start in Puerto Humo outside the park. Could you explain? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      March 5, 2018

      There are several places to do boat tours down Rio Tempisque. You can do it in the national park or there are other private boat docks like El Viejo. I’m not sure about Puerto Humo but I know when you are in the park, you can hire a boat.

      Reply
      • Eva says

        March 6, 2018

        Perfect – thank you. We will follow your directions to get to the biological station and go from there.

        Reply
  10. Leah says

    September 30, 2017

    Sorry – one more question: Is there anywhere to stay near Palo Verde? We were hoping to do one day at Catarata Llanos de Cortes, spend the night somewhere nearby, and then do a boat tour in Palo Verde the next day.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      September 30, 2017

      Not really… Palo Verde is in a local town called Filadelfia and there’s not really anything there. Liberia would be a good option though, close to both.

      Reply
  11. Leah says

    September 30, 2017

    I’m really interested in seeing the Guatil indigenous village! Is this something that tours offer, or is it something I have to find myself? Any other info or tips about this? Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      September 30, 2017

      Hi Leah! Most of the tour companies combine the Palo Verde and Guatil visit together so you can ask them if they have any tours running for the day you want to go. It’s a popular tour so there’s a good chance to join one if you’re a solo traveler as most companies require a minimum of 2 -3 people for this tour.

      Reply
  12. yeison says

    June 7, 2017

    Hello Dyana, Another activity that you can do is to visit the Catarata Llaonos de Cortes Waterfall. It is very nice and great for children since it’s a beautiful waterfall with lots of places to have a picnic and enjoy. The only thing is that it is about a 1 hour drivef rom Playas del Coco but you can book a tour or rent a car which we recommend. You can stay at the waterfall for a whole day or half day. If you’d like to rent a car, we have an exclusive discount for our readers which includes free delivery and pick up at Playas del Coco. You can make a reservation or quote here: Costa Rica car rental discount.

    Reply
  13. Dyana says

    June 6, 2017

    I’m going in a couple of days with my family! I have one son (3years) and daughter (1 year) what would you recommend beside going to the beach? we will be near Playa Panama and Playa Cocos. Thank you very much for your recommendations!

    Reply
  14. Caroline says

    January 17, 2017

    Thanks for a great website.
    Are there hiking Maps somewhere online for this park?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      January 17, 2017

      There isn’t but most people take the boat ride as the hiking trails are fairly short and not well maintained. You can ask for a map at the park entrance office

      Reply
  15. Mike says

    March 9, 2016

    Going down in June, the rainy season. Can you recommend a specific tour company? Ant other tips?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      March 9, 2016

      Yes! Randall from Shaman tours is excellent, I went with my parents and grandmother with him to Palo Verde and he’s super knowledgeable and an excellent naturalist guide. You can email him here to inquire about tours and book with him: shamantours@live.com

      Reply
  16. yeison says

    January 4, 2015

    You will find boats ready to go most of the times, you just have to show up but you need to go in the morning, they stop running boat tours in the afternoon.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      April 30, 2016

      Where is the best place to find a tour?

      Reply
      • Sammi says

        April 30, 2016

        You can show up at the national park and hire a boat there, but if you don’t have your own transportation you’ll need to book a shuttle or go with a tour company.

        Reply
  17. Joan says

    January 4, 2015

    Hi There – Last year we drove on our own to Palo Verde and got a boat tour. The cost of the boat tour was $15 us. I would like to do that again but can not find out what time the boats leave the dock. Would you know where I could find a departure time ?
    Thanks

    Reply
  18. Daniel says

    November 21, 2014

    Everyone seems to be quoting in USD but I would imagine they take their local currencies too 🙂 Do most places have prices in both as I don’t plan on bringing USD with me, would that be a problem?

    Also regarding the Palo Verde NP, how are the tours organized? Can I find a tour in the park upon arrival or do I need to book a guide with someone outside of the park who will take me on the tour of the park. Also is there any decent hiking trails in the park to see the wild life?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      November 21, 2014

      Hi Daniel! Yep you can pay with colones or USD and you can ask them how much it will be in both currencies. You can book the Palo Verde tour with a tour company beforehand if you like and they will take care of the transportation and be your guide. We went with a tour company since we wanted transportation and a knowledgeable guide but I think you can go there yourself and book a boat. I’d suggest booking a tour since boat tours only run certain time of day and can fill up fast during high season. There are quite a few hiking trails in the park, but I’d check beforehand if you’re going in rainy season since it can get flooded with the river rising. It’s a great place to see tons of birds and wildlife!

      Reply
      • Daniel says

        November 21, 2014

        Thank you for quick reply. Is there any tour companies that you would recommend?

        Reply
  19. Rachel M says

    October 18, 2013

    Nice article. BTW, do they charge different entrance fee rates between foreigners and locals in Costa Rica?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      October 18, 2013

      Yep! It’s $10 for foreigners and I think $1 or $2 for residents/citizens, they do this for all national parks too.

      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
Sponsored Ads
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
Copyright & Disclaimer

Travel

Get $20+ Airbnb credit
Start here
Destination Map
Join our YouTube Channel

Exclusive deals

Save up 20% on Car Rentals
7% off Arenal tours
White water Rafting special
See all our exclusive deals

Mytanfeet LLC Copyright© 2013 - 2021 - Thank you for supporting our Travel Blog!

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