Top Central Valley Kid-Friendly Tours

The Costa Rican jungle is home to a number of unique species, many of which come out at night. This nighttime jungle tour visits the forests of La Fortuna for a guided walk. Learn about various jungle species from your naturalist guide and get tips for photographing the nocturnal creatures. Animals you may see include frogs, sloths, bats, and reptiles. Note that gratuities are not included.

See how La Fortuna transforms after sunset with this guided walking tour. Your guide will take you and your party into a natural area, where you'll learn about local crepuscular and nocturnal creatures and maybe see some yourself, such as owls, snakes, and colorful frogs—if you’re lucky, you may even spot a red-eyed tree frog.

Observe Costa Rica's bountiful wildlife from the hanging bridges of Mistico Park in Arenal. Trek along ground-level forest trails and suspended walkways in this private, family-owned nature reserve that’s home to a vast array of birdlife, monkeys, reptiles, and tropical plants. Learn about the area’s rich biodiversity from a naturalist guide as you explore different levels of the rainforest, from floor to canopy, and enjoy commanding views of Arenal Volcano.

Get out of the city and experience Costa Rica’s rich wildlife heritage with this half day private tour to the Toucan Rescue Ranch. What started out as a rescue facility for toucans has expanded to include other charismatic species such as sloths, monkeys, parrots, and owls. Learn all about them from the dedicated staff committed to their care.

Home to over 100 species of animals, five waterfalls, and a cloud forest the Wildlife Refuge La Paz Waterfall Gardens is bursting with biodiversity. Visit, explore, learn, and even hike among the sloths, monkeys, tropical birds, pumas, ocelots, and more who call Costa Rica’s most visited private ecological reserve home. Take in the incredible plant life like wild orchids on this full-day tour from San Jose with lunch included.

Safely immerse yourself in Costa Rican nature and wildlife on a 7-hour tour to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Leave the busy streets of San Jose behind in comfortable air-conditioned transportation from your hotel. Discover more than 100 species at the sanctuary, including titi monkeys, 2-toed sloths, pumas, and toucans. You can even feed hummingbirds by hand. Have your camera ready for the cloud forest, waterfalls, and aviary.

Combine three adventurous activities in a single tour: a hike to Arental Volcano, visit to the Hanging Bridges, and exploration of La Fortuna Waterfall. This full-day tour from La Fortuna, perfect for nature lovers, includes hiking and swimming amidst Costa Rica's beautiful natural scenery. Hotel pickup and drop-off included.

Take a walk through the rainforest canopy on a tour of the hanging bridges surrounding Arenal Volcano. Many species of Costa Rican wildlife like monkeys, sloths, and frogs live up in the trees, so these suspended walkways give you a bird’s-eye perspective of Arenal’s amazing ecosystem. The mostly flat aerial hike is gentle enough for most ages and abilities, so the whole family can experience the wonder of the rainforest.

Get a taste of Costa Rica’s famed biodiversity without straying too far from the city with this all-access day pass to La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park. Prebooked entry saves you from waiting around in long ticket lines, so you have even more time to explore its attractions. Choose whether to tackle family-friendly hiking trails through the cloud forest, visit a rescued jungle cat educational program, or spend time at the site's numerous specialty wildlife exhibits.

Discover one of Costa Rica’s most popular animals, the sloth, on this tour from La Fortuna. Join a small group and take a hike through secondary rain forest to search for these friendly creatures. Learn about the mammal from your guide and keep your eyes peeled for other fauna and flora.

You don’t need to venture deep into the rain forest to see Costa Rica’s spectacular wildlife on this guided nature walk in a La Fortuna nature center. On this tour, a guide accompanies you on an easy, kid-friendly walk through the forest, pointing out wildlife like sloths, birds, and tree frogs along the way.

Learn about Costa Rica’s most remarkable creatures on a 1.5-hour tour of a La Fortuna wildlife rescue center. Explore the center with a naturalist guide, get a glimpse at some of the center’s cutest inhabitants, and see how conservation efforts are saving vulnerable species from development and poaching.

See Costa Rica’s iconic La Paz waterfall during this full-day guided, tour with animal sanctuary visit and an eco-boat ride down the famous Sarapiqui River. Get up close and personal with toucans and monkeys and learn about the five waterfalls, flowers, and rainforest within the sanctuary. Afterward, absorb the biodiversity on a relaxing boat trip down the Sarapiqui river ecosystem surrounded by wildlife in the water and on land.

This half day tour will walk you through nature, and over six hanging suspension bridges, where your guide will tell you all about the flora and fauna of the canopy of the forest. Look out for monkeys, sloths, snakes, birds, and all kinds of insects on this walk. The course is about 1.9mi (3km) long, so wear some comfy shoes.

Get to know the Peñas Blancas River ecosystem with a naturalist boat captain. Glide through the tranquil forest and spot arboreal and aquatic animals like monkeys, sloths, iguanas, turtles, and alligators, along with birds such as herons, cormorants, American darters, and passerines. Keep an eye out for the basilisk lizard, known for walking on water. Drift beneath ficus, luehea, and kapok trees, where dense foliage creates shaded tunnels rich with lianas and epiphytes.

Observe sloths in their natural habitat on this guided tour in La Fortuna. Naturalist guides will help you identify spots where sloths hang out and will provide scope equipment to help you take up-close photos. You’ll also get the chance to see different species of birds, snakes, spiders, and frogs such as the red-eyed tree frog and the blue-jeans frog, which looks like it’s wearing a pair of pants.

This small group tour takes you on a peaceful float down the Penas Blancas River where you’ll end up reaching the impressive La Fortuna Waterfall Reserve. The tour starts with a convenient hotel pickup (from selected hotels), then you’ll float, paddle, take an optional hike, and enjoy an included lunch, all organized by your guide, so you can just enjoy the day out.

Join the rain forest’s late night crowd on this nocturnal wildlife tour at Arenal Mundo Aventura. Use lanterns to light your way down a trail and catch sight of animals like the red-eyed tree frog, pit vipers, and mottled owls—your guide points them out along the way so you don’t miss a thing.

Get a closer look at Costa Rica’s weird, wild, and wonderful creatures on a tour of the Arenal Natura Ecological Park near La Fortuna. Trek along rain forest trails with a naturalist guide to explore different habitats, from the country’s largest frog garden to a crocodile lake and turtle pond where prehistoric-looking reptiles lurk below the surface. You can also admire more eye-catching species like colorful butterflies and delicate orchids on this eco-tour that’s perfect for all ages.

Wildlife enthusiasts love this tour of Arenal’s only frog sanctuary. Tour the wildlife sanctuary at night for chances to see rare and colorful tropical frogs in their natural habitat; a guide leads the way and helps you spot frogs and other creatures that only come out at night. Tours even include pickup and drop-off from La Fortuna so you don’t have to worry about driving at night.

Discover La Paz Waterfall Gardens on this all-day guided tour. The popular natural attraction boasts five waterfalls, a cloud forest, rainforest, an aviary and butterfly observatory, and more, plus capuchin and black-handed spider monkeys and plenty of educational animal exhibits with jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and margays. Plus, visit the largest coffee plantation in Costa Rica and learn about its production.

Take a tranquil journey through Costa Rica's amazingly biodiverse rain forest on this half-day safari float down the Peñas Blancas River near La Fortuna. Paddle through the calm waters without a motor so you can appreciate the many sounds of the jungle and observe wildlife like sloths, turtles, birds, and monkeys without disturbing them. Travel with a professional guide, who will point out passing plant and animal species and enhance your appreciation of the incredible ecosystem.

One of the most popular activities in La Fortuna, a guided hanging bridges tour is a fool-proof way to spot wildlife and learn more about the Costa Rican rain forest. This nighttime hanging bridges tour in Mistico Park puts a twist on the classic excursion by introducing you to the forest's nocturnal residents, such as honey bears, barn owls, and over 4,500 species of nocturnal butterflies (twice the number of daytime butterflies!). This tour includes pickup and drop-off from some centrally located La Fortuna hotels.