Get an up-close look at Costa Rica's hidden natural wonders on this Rio Celeste and Llanos de Cortes waterfall tour. Follow an expert local guide through breathtaking scenery, rugged trails, and truly beautiful attractions. This is the perfect way to explore outside the city and see what makes Costa Rica a top attraction for nature lovers.

Tour of Rio Celeste and Llanos de Cortes Waterfall
Experience the beauty of Costa Rica's natural landscapes
Follow a local guide through stunning rugged terrain
Round-trip hotel transport and lunch included

What's Included

National park fees
Lunch
Driver/guide
Professional bilingual guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Gratuities
Round Trip Transport from Andaz, Planet Hollywood, Fours Seasons $50 per booking
Round Trip Transport from Las Catalinas $50 per booking

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

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Pickup points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Tour Picks up from: JW Marriott/Pinilla, Tamarindo, Langosta, Grande, Conchal, Flamingo, RIU Guanacaste/Palace, Playas del Coco, Playa Hermosa (Occidental Papagyo, Villas Sol, Condovac), Playa Panama (Secrets Papagayo, Mangroove) Fours Seasons, Andaz, Planet Hollywood, Dreams Las Mareas (extra fee). Contact us for other areas. SELF DRIVE OPTION: Meet Guide at 9:00 am @ Llanos Del Cortes or 11:00 AM @ Tenorio National Park

What To Expect

Your day of waterfall-swimming, hiking, and wildlife starts with pickup at selected locations in northwest Costa Rica. For travelers with their own transport, a self-drive option saves time in transit—simply meet the group at Llanos de Cortez Waterfall or Tenorio Volcano National Park.

The first stop is Llanos de Cortez Waterfall, where have you’ll an hour to swim and enjoy the scenic spot. Then, take a moderate 2-hour hike at Tenorio Volcano National Park, following the brilliant blue Celeste River and pausing for the second swimming opportunity of the day.

Next, head to a sloth and frog sanctuary on an organic farm; an included guided walk showcases the property’s diverse plants and animals. Enjoy a provided farm lunch featuring super-fresh Costa Rican flavors, then finish the day with return transfer to your pickup location.

Cataratas Llanos de Cortes

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Rio Celeste

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Jungle Life Costa Rica - Rainforest Tours

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Bijagua de Upala

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Tamarindo Beach (Pass By)

Native's Way (Pass By)

Playa Langosta (Pass By)

Playa Conchal (Pass By)

Playa Matapalo (Pass By)

Tamarindo (Pass By)

Playas del Coco (Pass By)

Playa Panama (Pass By)

Playa Flamingo (Pass By)

Playa Hermosa (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
If your hotel is not listed, contact us for quoting
Due to a new requirement issued by the Ministry of Tourism and the National Park Systems of Costa Rica, we need each person to send us the following information: Full Name on Passport, Passport number, Passport issuing country. You must carry a picture of your passport with you on your tour!
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

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

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

miaredd1

Tour was AMAZING!!! All three stops were unbelievably beautiful. Daphne and Jose were very pleasant and super informative. Highly recommend taking this tour. The hike to Rio Celeste was a little strenuous and 250 steps down to the falls. It was totally worth it!!!

Reviews

4.5

739 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 739 reviews

Amazing full day tour

Nisha_G, Apr 2024

Great and on time from start to finish. I was collected from my hotel, we made our way to breakfast, so ensure you bring money with you. We then proceeded to waterfall number 1 where you are able to go swimming. There are changing rooms there. We then went to the second waterfall which has 250 steps that you climb down, but then back up! All worth it! We then went for lunch before heading to a sanctuary where we saw 4 sloths!!

A perfect combo package to spend your day!

Hayden_S, Apr 2024

This full day of activities was worth every penny. Transportation was easy and comfortable, the sloths/animals were fun to see, the waterfalls were truly breathtaking, and the hike was just perfect for our day!

Try It!

Laurence_G, Apr 2024

What a wonderful tour! Kevin was a great tour guide. The scenery was beautiful, and Kevin was very knowledgeable about everything. We learned a lot. The walking up and down challenged the glutes, but Kevin was patient with all of us. Lots of bus riding, though, so bring a book!

Wonderful tour of rainforest and sanctuary!

Mary_B, Apr 2024

Great communication. Kenneth picked us up exactly when and where they indicated. He was very informative the whole day. We swam by the water fall and hiked into the rainforest. Saw monkeys, sloths, frogs, snakes and birds. The sanctuary guide was great! Lunch was super good. The trip was exactly as stated in the description and we took exactly what they suggested and it worked out great!

Tour was not as described

Jamie_C, Apr 2024

Our tour group was with Native Way Tour Group. They sent a car to pick us up at Planet Hollywood for 50.00 and we drove 30 minutes and met up with the other group at a restaurant. Then we boarded their van for Lanos de Cortes Waterfall. This was a nice stop to cool off in a waterfall. Then we drove to Rio Celeste trail. We walked on a trail looking at foliage. Only saw a spider and a couple of snakes. Took too much time looking at spiders/snakes and not much time at the beautiful waterfall. The tour description states you will walk on a trail to see 2 rivers merge into blue water and then have the opportunity to swim. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN. Went from the Rio Celese to Sloth Sanctuary which was just another walk around a trail hoping to see animals. We did see a sloth but really only visible through the guide's spotting scope. Lunch was delicious.

Not worth the money.

Steven_C, Apr 2024

Very bad experience. Had to reschedule due to my son having to go to the doctor. I was told it would be $5 per person, which was fine. Then afterwards, I was told it was $50 per person. The trip itself was not great. A lot of sitting and dropping off others. On the way back, you sit and wait for other vans to come back before they take you home.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hi Steven! We understand that personal illness is an unforeseen circumstance, however in order to maintain quality service and consistency to all clients and suppliers, we have a very specific protocol that we follow. We were willing to make an exception and let you rebook to a different for an additonal fee considering you texted us the day of the tour at 6:05am. The whole point of the rebooking fee is to be able to cover the expenses already paid for you the date you originally booked for, it is not a made-up number. There's no way we could have offered a $5 rebooking fee when the national park entrance ticket itself is $12 + Tax per person and your booking was for 4 people. Yes, shared tours involved picking up and dropping off other people on the way. We would recommend booking the private option is this is something you would like to avoid. We hope you understand and consider all factors that go in to providing all parties involved with the best service possible.

Intimate tour with multiple stops

Yufen_C, Apr 2024

This was a really nice and intimate tour with four people in a small van. Our tour guide was amazing in making all the right stops, keeping to time, and pointing out wildlife along the way. We ended visiting one small waterfall, doing the rain forest hike to Rio Celeste, having lunch at a cute local place, visiting the sanctuary, a bakery, and then a souvenir shop.

Costa Rican Eco-Adventure: Exploring Waterfalls, Rainforests, and Sloths

Dianne_B, Apr 2024

This was a great trip to explore the Llanos de Cortes waterfalls, the Tenorio volcano national park and rain forest and finally a sloth sanctuary. We wanted to learn about Costa Rica and see its flora and fauna in addition to having a beach spring break vacation with the family. Our guide, Harry, was amazingly knowledgeable about everything in the park, and our driver, Alex, got us back and forth safely through a lot of traffic. Harry's English is great which was helpful in being able to explain about the flora and fauna of the national park and the rain forest. At the sloth sanctuary we were able to see two- and three toed sloths, which was great. Also saw poison frogs and many birds. The guide at the sanctuary, Wilton, was also amazingly knowledgeable. All in all a great tour to learn about Costa Rica's beautiful natural resources which is a source of great pride for Costa Ricans.

Great tour- we suggest

Jeff_L, Mar 2024

Our family of 6 had a great time on this trip. The first waterfall we went to was the one where we could swim. We took great pictures to start and ate the breakfast we brought a us under a tree on our towels. The lunch was delicious. The second waterfall was beautiful- and a nice walk/hike to get there. It wasn’t easy- but wasn’t hard either. We had plenty of time and never was rushed. Our guide was Alejandro- and he was so smart and knowledgeable. He knew about everything- climate, birds, animals, birds, history.

Breathtakingly Beautiful

Monica_S, Mar 2024

The most beautiful experience in Costa Rica! Seeing their animals in the rain forest, the gorgeous waterfalls, and authentic Costa Rican food. This tour was beautiful.

Spectacular Waterfalls & Wildlife

Shauna_N, Mar 2024

Our family of three absolutely loved this excursion. Daphne was a great host. The hikes were easy, but hope you like stairs! to incredible waterfalls and a delicious lunch. Also can’t say enough good things about the guides at the sloth tour. They were absolutely amazing and I got the best photos of the critters (butterflies, birds, sloth) thanks to them. Due to the fact that it’s a very busy season, Daphne made a smart decision and took us to the wildlife tour first, then to Rio, Celeste. It was perfect, and we were there before all the crowds. Great tour, full day. The only drawback was it was a lot of driving that we weren’t expecting, but in the end it was totally worth it.

Some of the greatest sites of Costa Rica

Daniel_N, Mar 2024

The guides are essential for spotting and observing wildlife. Our guide was terrific. Highly recommended.

unprofessional guide

Lauren_P, Mar 2024

From the moment the trip started, we were either rushed or ignored. The guide seemed more invested in his girlfriend then he did in the passengers. The entire trip we were rushed form one stop to the next, the most time we spent at a location was probably at the gift store. That is not what I felt was appropriate.

Waterfalls are worth it

Abbie_A, Mar 2024

This was a fun excursion but had some room for improvements. Our guide was very knowledgeable and did a great job of pointing things out on our hike. The hike itself is more intense than the description leads one to believe. Everyone in our group was able to keep up, but the elevation is such that if you had younger children or any sort of physical limitation I would not recommend it. Lunch was a nice opportunity to try some local cuisine. The Sloth Sanctuary was rushed and a bit of a let down. We had 30 minutes, and the guide quickly walked us through some trees pointing at the animals. It felt more like a zoo than being in nature. Lastly, our transportation was lacking any sort of air conditioning, which made for a long hot day. Also, second gear appeared to have significant issues. We stalled several times and at one point everyone had to get out of the van so it could make it up a smallish hill and then we piled back in.

Great nature walk but limited sloths

Janet_S, Mar 2024

Our tour guide Kevin P was amazing and attentive and prepared us well for waterfall hike. It did not disappoint, and rainforest was amazing, Kevin knows his plant life and animals well! The disappointment was the sloth sanctuary- the guides were wonderful but only 7 sloths and we saw 3 from very far away-need high power binoculars which the guides used. I saw more up close at at side of local roads and at other sanctuaries in Costa Rica.

Awesome Tour

Nicole_B, Mar 2024

Be prepared for a long day! We enjoyed each excursion on this trip. I wish we had a little more time in the sloth sanctuary, though; we could have searched for animals all day. Enthusiastic guides at Jungle Life made it very special. Rio Celeste was beautiful and the National Park rain forest was amazing. Enjoyed the lunch spot and food/drink offerings. We were happy the trip ended with swimming at Llanos de Cortes. Our Native’s Way tour guide, Daphne, was great! Very knowledgeable and organized. We appreciated everything she showed us and that she took photos of everyone and was very patient. Would recommend this trip.

Must see

Jan_H, Mar 2024

Beautiful waterfalls, knowledgeable guide, wonderful lunch, private tour is the way to go, 250 steps down and back up for Rio Celeste - hiking poles were helpful

Great day!

joanna_m, Mar 2024

The guide was great. It was a perfect day and well paced. Loved swimming in the waterfall, seeing sloths at the sanctuary and the rain forest hike was easier than I thought, we sampled local pineapple from a fruit stand at the trailhead. It was a great day!

Great time !

Adner_B, Mar 2024

I had a great time. Everything was great. Really enjoyed walking down and up the stairs to watch the second waterfall. Great cardio workout !! We stopped a lot to eat ,buy souvenirs , use the restroom which is great! Enjoyed waking in the rainforest in the rain and observing plants and animals in their natural habitat. The butterflies was awesome. The sloths was cute . I pray God’s blessings over the tour guide . He had to leave for an emergency situation at the very end of the tour. He was great , phenomenal tour guide , witty and very knowledgeable. He got swag too with his matching eyeglasses and shirt 😎

Great day trip

Amy_C, Mar 2024

Waterfalls are beautiful, sloth sanctuary was amazing. Our guide Nicole was knowledgeable and kind. The tour is all day so be prepared!

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