Sloth Watching Wildlife Tour in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Recommended by 99% of travelers
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La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- 2 to 3 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Though renowned for its wildlife, spotting the Arenal and La Fortuna area's favorite animal residents can be notoriously tricky. Tour a number of locations where wildlife sightings are all but guaranteed on this Arenal wildlife tour—expect to see sloths, toucans, dart frogs, and more with the help of your guide. Tour includes use of spotting scope and hotel pickup and drop-off.
- Arenal and La Fortuna area wildlife tour
- Opportunities to see sloths, frogs, toucans, and more
- Guide helps you spot the animals you most want to see
- Use of spotting scope included to better your viewing opportunities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Naturalist, bilingual guide
- Spotting scope and binoculars
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Food and drinks, unless specified
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Itinerary
1
Callidryas Tours - Costa Rica.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- A maximum of 9 people per booking
- For snacks, please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Kindly note that breakfast or are not included in the 09:30 a.m schedule
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 9 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
This tour was absolutely incredible from start to finish. Our guide Arón was not only extremely knowledgeable, but also clearly passionate about sloths, nature, and the wildlife of Costa Rica. You could truly feel how much he cared — and that made all the difference!
I learned so much about sloths, their habits, and their importance to the ecosystem. Instead of just seeing animals, we really got to appreciate them. The guide’s enthusiasm was contagious, and I left with a newfound respect for Costa Rica’s biodiversity.
If you’re visiting Costa Rica, do NOT miss this experience. It’s educational, heartwarming, and a beautiful reminder of how magical nature can be!
Reviews
4.9
based on 1,018 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Roy was a fantastic and super knowledgable guide and our driver Javier was great at spotting the sloths and birds! We were super lucky to see two and three toed sloths and some amazing birds including toucans! Roy was happy to answer all my questions and was keen to make sure we were seeing the animals in an ethical way in their natural habitat. Highly recommend!
We learned a lot about sloths and were lucky to see both a male and female interact through guide’s scope. We saw about 5 through the scope on a sunny day.
The activity took us to several locations around La Fortuna where our very experienced guide Aaron was able to find numerous 2-toed and 3-toed sloths. Aaron is a fantastic guide, extremely friendly and passionate about wildlife and conservation, and with a deep knowledge of sloths and their very important place in evolution. The activity finished at a local open restaurants where we were given beautiful fruits and juices.
Our guy knew exactly where to find the sloths. She took plenty of photos to include the sloths and Family❤️. He also captured video. The images were high-quality and shared amongst everyone in the group. Definitely recommend. Also planted out interesting birds and plants.
Guides did a great job of finding sloths. They were both very personable and professional. The breakfast was unexpected. The small group increaaed interaction with the guide.
Great experience. The staff were very knowledgeable. A must do tour. We were very excited and glad we did it.
This was hands down the best tour ever. Seeing sloths was one of the main things I wanted to do in Costa Rica and our guide helped us to see a total of 9 sloths! We saw 8 three-toed sloths including a mother with her baby, and one two-toed sloth which is apparently rare to find because they move around to frequently. The guides got us an AWESOME video on my phone of a sloth climbing up a tree! We also got up close and personal with a Toucan, several amazing birds, and a bat. Hands down the best tour we did in La Fortuna!!
The Sloth Watching Wildlife Tour in La Fortuna was truly a very memorable experiences. It’s one thing to hope you might spot wildlife in Costa Rica, it’s another to actually see multiple sloths in their natural habitat, along with a wide variety of beautiful birds, all thanks to an expert guide who knows exactly where to look.
Karina, our guide, was absolutely exceptional. Her knowledge goes far beyond just spotting wildlife — she shared fascinating insights about the behavior of sloths, the surrounding ecosystem, and even the history of La Fortuna and Costa Rica as a whole. You can immediately tell how passionate she is about what she does, and it makes the entire experience feel richer and more meaningful. She has an incredible eye, spotting things you would walk right past without even realizing they’re there.
Alex, our driver, was also wonderful - professional, friendly, and made everything smooth and easy from start to finish.
What really sets this tour apart is how immersive and well-paced it is. You’re not rushed, and there’s time to truly observe, ask questions, and appreciate the surroundings. The use of spotting scopes makes a huge difference as well, allowing you to see the sloths and birds up close in a way that would otherwise be impossible.
Seeing several sloths in the wild was absolutely magical, and the variety of birdlife added even more to the experience. It felt authentic, educational, and genuinely special, not just another tourist activity, but something you’ll actually remember.
If you’re in La Fortuna, this tour is an absolute must. It’s the perfect combination of nature, learning, and unforgettable moments.
It was an amazing experience. We just happened to be the only ones booked for our day so we got a private tour. Our guide, Arron was awesome, as was our driver, Manuel. We saw both species, a male, a female with a baby and two juveniles. Manuel has a magical ability to spot sloths from a distance and Arron was so personable and knowledgeable. We were lucky enough to see a mama and baby come all the way to the ground, not 10 feet in front of us, to do her business. 10/10 would recommend to everyone.
Awesome guides and so great to go looking for wildlife in their natural habitat instead of at a park. We saw both species of sloths, toucans, frogs, lizards and more! The guides always set up the microscope so we got a close look, which was awesome!! Very satisfied with this tour, would recommend.
Roberto and Ricardo (Ritchie) were an awesome sloth spotting team! When we booked , we assumed this tour would take place in a park or a reserve, but these two experts take you around La Fortuna, to places where they have been tracking sloths and their movements for years, like in the trees behind a hotel, for example. We also saw other wildlife, including a toucan. Highly recommended.
Super fun! We saw two kinds of sloths, toucans, howler monkeys, frogs, and lots of other birds. The guides really try to get the best angles and views of the animals. It rained half of the time. They had umbrellas for us and we were all comfortable in sandals/crocs.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you so much for your awesome review!
We’re thrilled to hear you had such a fun experience and got to see so much wildlife—from different types of sloths to toucans, howler monkeys, frogs, and more! Our guides always do their best to find the perfect views, so it’s great to know you appreciated that.
Even with a bit of rain, we’re glad you stayed comfortable and enjoyed the tour—that’s all part of the rainforest adventure!
Guides were great, easy access to all sights. So good at finding the animals quickly. Saw toucans and other cool animals too.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you so much for your great review!
We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the experience and that our guides helped make everything easy and fun while spotting wildlife. It’s always exciting when guests get to see toucans and other amazing animals along the way!
We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to have you join us again for another adventure in nature.
The experience was great. Our tour guide was super informative. We were able to see multiple sloths. As well as two active ones moving on the trees. It was such a great experience. I would recommend.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review!
We’re delighted to hear you had such a great experience and that your guide made it even more enjoyable with all the information shared. Seeing multiple sloths—especially two active ones moving through the trees—is truly something special!
We really appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you again for another unforgettable adventure.
Richie and Javier were great. Richie is an encyclopedia of sloth information, and both their ability to spot Sloths in a tree is amazing. It's also nice to see the sloth in their natural habitat target then could up in a zoo. No sloth selfies, but a great overall experience.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review!
We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your experience with Richie and Javier. They are both truly passionate about wildlife, and your words mean a lot to them. We’re especially happy that you appreciated seeing sloths in their natural habitat—we believe that’s the most authentic and respectful way to experience them.
Thank you as well for recognizing our no-selfie approach, which is all about putting the animals’ well-being first
We hope to welcome you back for another adventure in the future!
Wonderful way to see sloths in their own habitat. The guide Daron was great. We never would have found sloths without him. We even saw a baby
Our guides were all very professional and knowledgeable. Impressed that they could spot the sloths in less than ten minutes! We saw brown sloths, Hoffman sloths, and toucans . Great experience!
We found quite a few sloths and our guide was very knowledgeable. It was quite nice to see some sloths away from the crowds!
The tour guides Ricoardo and his partner were fantastic. They are very humble and thoughtful. They knew where to go and set their cameras to show us the sloths. We were lucky to be able to see both 2 and 3 finger sloths. For the 3 finger sloth, we saw both female sloth in action with the baby and the male sloths. Ricardo was explaining us about the sloths while we were in the van. I would highly recommend Ricardo and his partner for the sloth tour. We also saw an orange frog with blue legs and toucans on our tour. What a great experience.
We had a great guide that found sloths right away. We got amazing pictures from our phones via his monocular. Also visible from the naked eye. He was very informative and the experience was great!
Our guide and driver were very knowledgeable about sloths and ensured we all got amazing views of them at several spots along the tour. Our guide explained the critical role sloths have played in distributing food sources around the world throughout the millennia. Who knew?
Tour delivered! Highlight was baby sloth and mama! Saw other sloths as well. Guide knowledgeable and accommodating. Even had a short stop to take pics of Arenal volcano since ir was quite visible at that moment in time. It’s usually covered in fog and clouds.
We did the 6am tour and it was absolutely fantastic! We had a nice small group and Dauren found so many sloths for us to take a peak at. We also were able to see toucans and monkeys, and Dauren took many photos and videos for us through his scope. He is so experienced and so talented at finding wildlife, we had a fantastic time and the whole experience was very special. Thank you for the incredible tour!
This experience was awesome. Ricardo and Freddy were excellent tour guides and showed us several places where sloths were. They were very knowledgeable and spoke English so we were able to understand. Would absolutely recommend this tour!
Our Arenal wildlife tour was an absolutely unforgettable experience, exceeding all expectations! Our guide, Byron, was exceptional—he was incredibly informative and passionate, using his expert knowledge to help us spot a huge array of wildlife, including so many sloths!! We had such a fantastic time and saw more sloths than we ever could have imagined, plus the provided breakfast was delicious. We can't recommend this tour highly enough!
We were two adults and two teenage boys. We were taken to a private land after picking up four other tourists. The guide stopped our van at the side of the road and showed us a few sloths in the distance. Mission accomplished.
My only gripe is that the entire experience felt a little forced. The sloths were behind clearly demarcated fences on private land. I understand that tourists are paying hundreds of dollars to see sloths, and Costa Ricans have to make sure American and European tourists see the sloths for this expensive experience to be worth the money, but magically “finding” all of these solitary animals hanging out together in the same private parcel of land right behind a metal fence was a bit much. Of course, we only saw 2-3 of them on private land, which was far better than seeing 10-15 of them in the same “trail” or “park,” which is even more ridiculous and completely unethical. Indeed, this was not that bad and did not feel like a zoo experience.
Finally, the snack at the end of the tour was a complete waste of time. Other tours serve snacks at remote family farms, and I am happy to make some time to stop by such places and support eco-tourism, but the place we stopped by for snacks on this tour was a very large commercial restaurant with dozens of tour buses zooming in and out of the parking lot. It was unnecessary.
Excellent and informative guide and very helpful driver who enabled us to see several
Sloths and interesting birds. Guide used his scope to help us take really good photos of the sloths.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
“Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re glad you enjoyed the tour and were able to see sloths and birds and get great photos through the guide’s scope. We appreciate your visit!”
It was one of the best animal tours that we have taken. We had an expert guide, Aaron. He not only pointed out many sloths, but also many baby sloths, toucans, bats and other animals. He was a wealth of knowledge and answered all of our questions. He also provided us all the pictures of the sloths that were taken through his scope and they were spectacular! I would recommend this tour 100%!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
“Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear you had such a great experience with Aaron and enjoyed seeing so many animals. We’re glad you loved the photos as well. We truly appreciate your recommendation!”
Edson knew exactly where to go. We saw 9 sloths, including a young one that climbed down to the bottom of the tree right in front of us!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
“Thank you so much for your review! We’re thrilled you enjoyed the tour with Edson and got to see so many sloths—especially the young one up close! We truly appreciate your visit.”
NOT IN A SLOTH ENCLOSURE! This was super important to us if we were going to take a tour - there's too many "tours" in the area taking you into enclosed spaces where sloths are trapped. This tour literally drives around to public spaces in La Fortuna to find you sloths that you'd never find yourself. It was awesome - we saw about 6 sloths, an iguana, monkeys, even a toucan. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and the van with AC was very nice between locations. Highly recommended
Response from Host, Dec 2025
“Thank you so much for your review! We’re thrilled that you enjoyed the experience and appreciated our commitment to seeing wildlife only in their natural habitat. We’re glad you spotted so many animals and had a great time with our guide. Thank you for the recommendation!”
Member Pricing
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$58.90
per personWas $62.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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