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Puntarenas Shore Excursion: Rainforest Skywalk & Tarcoles River

Badge of ExcellencePuntarenas, Costa Rica

Rainforest Skywalk and Tarcoles River Eco Cruise

5 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover Costa Rica's enchanting Pacific rain forest from the air and water on this combo shore excursion from Puntarenas. Walk through the treetops on a series of hanging bridges at a private biological reserve, and then cruise down the Tarcoles River, home to a famous community of crocodiles. In between the eco adventures, enjoy time to shop and snack at a quaint replica of a Spanish colonial settlement.

Combo eco shore excursion from Puntarenas
Walk through the rain forest canopy on a suspended trail and hanging bridges
Observe native wildlife like monkeys and exotic birds
Make a shopping stop in the charming village of Santa Lucia
Cruise through a biological reserve on the Tarcoles River
Includes port pickup and drop-off and a fresh fruit snack
This tour is exclusive for cruise ship passengers. If you are not arriving by cruise ship please do not book this tour

What's Included

Professional naturalist tour guide
Air-conditioned vehicle
Rainforest Nature walk & hanging bridges
Tarcoles River Boat Tour for enjoy its rich wildlife
Tropical Fruits snack
Visit to souvenirs store

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

This tour is exclusive for cruise ship passengers. If you are not arriving by cruise ship please do not book this tour. Tour operate only when we have cruise ships in port. Pick up is at the main gate entrance of the pier. It is a very short walking distance from the cruise ship. Once at the entrance of the pier, you will see a Greenway Tours Guide holding a sign with your name. SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT PICKUP TIME All our pickup times are set to 8:00 AM by default. HOWEVER: If your ship arrives after 8:00 AM, the Pickup will be 30 minutes after ship arrival. You can book your tour and we will adjust the time accordingly with your ship arrival. If you ship is late, our staff will wait for you till the ship

Meeting point

Muellero Park
Parque de Los Cañones, P.º de los Turistas, Provincia de Puntarenas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Pick up is at the main entrance of the pier. Please walk to main gate

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Start time
.08:00 am

What To Expect

When your cruise ship docks at Puntarenas in the morning, meet a waiting driver and guide at the port and hop aboard an air-conditioned minivan for a scenic drive to the Villa Lapas private biological reserve. Here, be surrounded by the majesty of Costa Rica's unspoiled tropical and dry rain forest on the 1.5-mile (2.5-km) SkyWay walking trail. Cross three suspended bridges perched at 180 feet (56 meters) above the forest floor and each stretching an incredible 300 feet (91 meters) in length.

The bridges are built with the highest safety standards, and experienced guides will accompany you to ensure your safety and point out highlights of the enchanting jungle. As you trek, take in spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and keep an eye out for native wildlife like monkeys, anteaters, poison dart frogs, and hundreds of bird species.

After completing the SkyWay trail, take a break to relax and shop for unique souvenirs in the nearby village of Santa Lucia, a replica of a Spanish colonial settlement. Enjoy a snack of tropical fruit and iced tea here before transferring to the Tarcoles River, which snakes along the northern border of the Carara Biological Reserve. Take a river cruise along the biodiverse waterway, where you can watch one of the world’s largest wild crocodile populations basking in the sun.

Your tour concludes with drop-off back at the cruise terminal, where you can return to your waiting ship or spend some time strolling along the nearby boulevards of Puntarenas.

Carara National Park

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Tarcoles

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Puntarenas

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

El Jardin

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time

Infants must sit on laps
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour is exclusive for cruise ship passengers. If you are not arriving by cruise ship please do not book this tour
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 200 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.3

86 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 86 reviews

Good, knowledge tour guide Marcos. Answered all questions

Stewart_w, Jan 2025

Great experience. Great to see so much wiid life and the rain forest. The view and sound whete wonderful

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thank you for taking the time to share feedback following your recent tour with Greenway Tours. It is only through your valuable comments that we are able to excel and continue to deliver the extraordinary to our guests. It was a pleasure to read that you enjoyed your trip with us and I would like to personally thank you for sharing the positive aspects of your experience. On behalf of the team here at Greenway Tours, we look forward to welcoming you back soon.

Costa Rica rainforest and river

Danny_S, Oct 2024

Seeing the rainforest and crocs with a knowledgeable guide Paulo. We enjoyed the transportation and stops for this excursion.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you for your positive review about our tour and staff. We are so happy to hear that you enjoy your day with us.

Walk & Crocs

Blair_J, May 2024

Ronald the tour guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable. The rainforest walk was impressive .The boat ride with the crocodiles was impress. We would do it again

Response from Host, Jun 2024

We did enjoy the river...

Christina_K, May 2024

We did enjoy the river cruise. Our guide was very informative and entertaining. The hike through the jungle was during the day, so none of the animals/birds were visible.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Thank you for your positive review about our tour and staff. We are so happy to hear that you enjoy your day with us.

Rainforest SkyWalk and Evo boat tour

Bill_L, Apr 2024

We saw monkeys and other animals during our eco tour on Tarcoles river. Also enjoyed the Sky Walks in the rainforest.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Thank you for taking the time to review us. We're glad you enjoyed our product, and we appreciate your 5 stars review. We're extremely happy that you had a positive experience, and we're grateful for your feedback.

Sites great but travel terrible

Donald_R, Apr 2024

The minibus was terrible. Many of us could not fit in these sears. There was no legroom and we had to sit sideways - very uncomfortable and smashing the knees. Guides weee good but did not say much about life in Puntanedad unless specifically asked about something - like education system, races, food, government, etc.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

We always try to do our job in the best way, and we are sorry that you had this inconvenience today. We will try the best way to improve so that a situation of this type does not happen again.

Dry scenery and low river water

Arthur_l, Apr 2024

Stumbling on shaky steps Loud roar of boat’s motor Saw two alligators Saw two birds Little green scenery

Response from Host, Jun 2024

We apologize that our service did not satisfy your expectations. Our tour is operated in a naturalk area, a rainforest protected by a private company. We have rainy season and dry season. It is a fact of nature that it can not be controlled by us. Wildlife is free in their natural habitat.

Nice way to see some sites

John_L, Apr 2024

Great tour and great guide. Enjoyed the whole tour. Unfortunately very few crocodiles where seen as the river was very low and it was very hot. Plus a late start on this part of the tour as we had to wait for the tide to come in. But making us stop at a tourist restaurant and gift shop was a total rip off. Over priced merchandise. Got my shopping done at the port. Where you could get better deals. Just a heads-up. At the port go left from the ship. Where you will find better restaurants and cheaper souvenirs.

Just an very expensive walk, no pleasant surprises or animals, birds in sight.

YengChee_L, Apr 2024

Though the tour costd a bom，no drink and food provided during the walking just cheap juice and fruit after the walk. Really not worth it at all for this shabby treatment

Response from Host, Jun 2024

The items included in the tour are listed in the tour description and we offer them in a beautiful scenary and eco hotel. Not cheap juice and not bad fruits snack at all. Our service is very professional, with excellent transportation service, professional tour guides, excellent venues and prices much less that what is offered by cruise line. Sorry Sir, but we do not accept your comments and bad review.

Loved the crocodile viewing boat ride.

Karen_F, Apr 2024

Hike over suspension bridges was ok but felt somewhat unsafe at times. I was disappointed that we didn’t see any animals but understand that they are unpredictable. Crocodile cruise was just the right length and we saw 2 crocs and lots of birds! I enjoyed the trip and would recommend it over any of the shore excursions offered by our cruise line.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Thank you for taking the time to review us. We're glad you enjoyed our product, and we appreciate your 4 stars review. We're extremely happy that you had a positive experience, and we're grateful for your feedback.

Avoid Bad Value Too long and hot

John_G, Mar 2024

Bad value for $€£ Rainforest skywalk in dry season awful ..probably dangerous and slippery when it would be cool in wet season. Unnecessary (likely kickback for Greenway operator) at massive cafeteria/gift shop on return at end of hot day. All this exasperated by mini bus with no AC res rotten awful Cool to see Tarcoles River Crocs but all the rest bad AVOID find a local in town and do this only in and out in comfortable AC car

Response from Host, Apr 2024

We apologize that our service did not satisfy your expectations. Costa Rica dry season and with El Niño meteorolical fenomena affects the rain forest where we operate the tour. It is a situation totally out of our control. The stop at the restaurant is listed as part of your tour. If you did´t enjoy it, many other customers like it for try typical food, have a refreshment or a beer and buy some souvenirs. Sorry if you didn´t like it. The situation with the air conditioning was caused by a hose that was damaged that day and was repaired the same day. We are sorry that this situation had happened during your tour

Average excursion

Patrick_H, Mar 2024

Booked this shore excursion outside the cruise in hopes to avoid being on a coach bus with 40 other people and unfortunately that’s exactly what it was. Meeting at the end of the pier was smooth and the day went as promised. Our guide was very knowledgeable, spoke well and kept us well informed on what was coming up next and what we needed for each part of the excursion. First was the rainforest skywalk. Due to the large group we split into 2 smaller groups, each with a tour guide which was good; however still felt like too many people, many of whom moved much slower than us. At the site, there are actually 5 suspension bridges, but you only do the first 3 on the tour before using an emergency exit path to leave the trail early to go back to the bus. Most people skipped the third bridge as you went across it, then turned around and came immediately back. The trail was all downhill which was nice but we could have easily done the entire trail and all 5 bridges in a smaller group and within the same time frame. Second stop was at the jungle resort that owns the skywalk. A very nice juice and fruit plate were provided. It was very hot that day. The resort was lovely to walk around. Next stop was the crocodile boat tour which was a bit of a bust. Not quite an hour on the water and we saw one small and one quite large croc only. The large croc was very exciting but only saw its head pop up right beside the boat. Our guide was quite apologetic and we understood he doesn’t control wild animals. We then stopped at a large souvenir store before heading back to the ship. Again it was so hot the bus’s AC had a hard time keeping up and by the end everyone just wanted to get back to the ship. I think a smaller group/bus would have made for a better day.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

We always try to do our job in the best way, and we are sorry that you had this inconvenience today. We will try the best way to improve so that a situation of this type does not happen again.

Worth the time

Harry_K, Jan 2024

Our guide was very professional, friendly, and knowledgeable, encouraging us to ask questions. We did not get to see as many birds and animals as we had hoped, but nature is finicky and unreliable. Had we been determined to see specific wildlife, we would have gone to a zoo instead of on a nature walk and boat ride!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for sharing your experience. Hope to serve you again in the near future.

Great day in Puntarenas Rainforest

Lori_W, Nov 2023

We had a lovely day with our guide Ronald! We enjoyed our hike in the rainforest and learned a lot from him. The cruise was good and we did indeed see the crocs, and many beautiful birds. Good experience and value!

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you for your positive review about our tour. We appreciate your time posting it and I will pass your comment to Ronald, our tour guide

Skywalk and crocodiles

Carol_D, Nov 2023

The guide and driver did everything they could to give us a great day. They searched for coatimundi, macaw and birds of all kinds.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you for your positive review. We really appreciate it

Echo friendly in the planet.

Rita_T, Nov 2023

What a great experience to step into the nature to see the greens and animals. The tour is well organized from pick up at the cruise port to the end. Our driver drove safely. Our tour guy is enthusiastic and knowledgeable to explain the geography, the couture and products from the area. We realized that the residents in Puntarenas are echo friendly. They’ve try to protest against the environment and all the animals. We admire them sincerely. The tour guy tried hard to catch the animals from sky, water and lands to let us see the most from their homeland. Specially at the Crocodile farm. We saw at lease 12 large crocodiles. It was truly amazing to see their size and movement. We walk on and pass 3 hanging bridges. The whole trip was fun and memorable. It’s well worth the money specially for the cruise guests.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Hello Rita Thank you very much for your positive review. We really appreciate it

Nice variety of experiences

MARY_F, Oct 2023

Informative and knowledgeable guide, Alberto. Nice rainforest skybridge walk in spite of very minimal "wildlife sightings" this time of year but did see 2 frogs, ants carrying leaves, and a couple birds. River cruise to see crocodiles- short but nice to see a very large one. Initial bathroom stop location should be changed due to not water = no flush, no hand washing. Can also shorten stop at the end for shoping and bite to eat - late in the day.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you for your review. We really appreciate it

Oh, fantastic tour company

Stephen_H, May 2023

Our guys were wonderful. Someone was at the end of the pier to meet us and direct us to the van. The van was kept running AC on.. The driver had a clean vehicle. The drive to the first stop was easy and they made accommodations for anyone needing to use the restrooms before the river cruise.The river cruise was fantastic, except that we might’ve left a little late in the day, and the tide had been going out and we bottomed out With the propeller quite a bit but the captain of the boat handled it fine and got us to where the crocodiles were… the docks getting on and off the boat were a little bit sketchy but they were we’re fine. The skywalk was wonderful a lot more steps than in the description , there was a woman who realized there was a lot more walking and opted to stay at the hotel, where we stopped for a second bathroom break. Which was very convenient because that is where we ended up having our drink and fruit plate later after the skywalk. The skywalk was fun. The guide was looking for wildlife didn’t see much but did see some tree frogs. I am not a big fan of heights, but my wife is, and she loved walking through the rainforest. And now I will get to the only downside to the tour was the refreshment and fruit plate. It was bare minimum at best. the drinks were cold, but the fruit plate was warm. And the third part of the excursion was the shopping we stopped at a small market, which, lol all of the buses from the cruise ship that took people shopping. my wife and I felt a little rushed at this stop but our tour bus guide driver was very attentive to time and when the ship is leaving didn’t want to spend too much time shopping and missed the boat so it was a little rushed, but awe got back with plenty of time. I would rather be rushed at the Shopping spot, then encounter traffic on the way back and missed the boat.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Hot and Humid!!!

Craig_T, May 2023

The description of the rainforest walk was deceiving, It was basically up and down on concrete pad stairs through the the rainforest. I underestimated the heat and humidity so it was quite difficult for me being someone with Multiple Sclerosis. Nevertheless it was a great day and me and my wife really enjoyed the river cruise and seeing the croc’s.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Thanks for sharing your experience. Hope to serve you again in the near future.

EXCELLENT NATURE WALK AND RIVER RIDR

JAMES_K, May 2023

Welcomed as promised at the pier with signboard with our names. Boarded with 22 total, comfortable mid size bus, hosted by Ronald who held our attention for the 45 drive to restroom break before taking the forest walk over the suspension bridges in search of wildlife. After that 90 minutes. Break got Costa Rica coffee and fresh fruit and juices before heading to crocodile river trip where we spotted multiple crocs and various wildlife. Guides were excellent too helping to get everyone close up pictures. First leg lots of walking up and down hills. Safety rails on trail but not for faint of heart. Having said that I am 75 and pace was fine to allow me to keep up.

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