Wildlife Tour to Natuwa Rescue Center - Small Group
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- 4 to 5 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- All Fees and Taxes
- WiFi on board
- Bilingual tour guide
- Entrance Fee to Puntarenas Natuwa Rescue Center
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.
Itinerary
1
Natuwa Wildlife Santuary
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Puntarenas
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Esparza (Pass By)
Puntarenas (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.9
based on 7 reviews
Anne_P, May 2026
My husband and I were on a cruise and booked this private tour of the Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary. We paid $199 each. We booked through Viator, and the tour provider was Syl Travel. It was to include a driver who spoke English and a private guide at Natuwa Center. It also was to include a stop for an authentic Costa Rican lunch (cost not included) with the final stop for a city tour "where you’ll visit the local fish market, the town’s oldest church, and the famous Puntarenas ferry before returning to your cruise." We were supposed to be met at our port by a guide in a red shirt holding a sign with our name. Not one of those things happened.
Here was our experience - At 7 am, we found a Syl representative in a red shirt (no signage) and asked about our tour. She sent us to the end of the pier and said a taxi would be waiting. We did not see a taxi and eventually found another Syl rep who after about 10 minutes was able to flag a taxi and sent us to Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary. The driver spoke limited English and was not a tour guide.
At Natuwa, they had no record of us or our tour. After 20 minutes and "phone calls" the center staff worked us into a group tour of part of the center and had our taxi driver take us around the rest. On the way back to our ship, there was no narration of the history of the area, stop for lunch, or city tour, all of which were listed as included on the booking.
I saw a couple reviews online before our trip where people reported similar experiences, but was hoping that those were isolated instances, however it seems to occur all too often.
I contacted Viator to ask for a partial refund ($200) to align the cost with other group tours that included just transportation and admission to Natuwa since that was all we received, but Syl Travel only refunded $100.02. When I contacted Viator again to ask for additional compensation that I thought was reasonable, they submitted it to Syl Travel who denied any additonal compensation. "Our refund calculations are based on fixed operational costs and overhead expenses required to maintain our services, rather than individual assessments. While we appreciate the traveler's feedback, these costs are non-recoverable.
Consequently, we are unable to authorize any additional funds. We appreciate your understanding and consider this matter closed."
I am also disappointed in the response from Viator, which was basically a form letter stating they would share our concern with the tour provider, and then later, a simple reply quoting from Syl Travel that no further compensation would be paid. AND they continue to offer tours from that tour provider on their site! I expected more from a company that has a reputation for being a reliable, trusted source of tours. I am sure that Syl Travel will be responding to this post with public apologies, platitudes, and surprise for our poor experience as they did to other posts from dissatisfied customers, however, privately they never expressed any regret or concern for our experience or compensated appropriately.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your experience with our Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary tour. We sincerely regret that parts of your tour did not meet your expectations and understand your frustration.
We would like to apologize for the confusion at the pier and the inconvenience caused by the delay in coordinating your transportation. While our representative was present at the port to assist arriving guests, we understand that the meeting process was not as smooth or organized as it should have been.
Regarding the experience at Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary, we acknowledge that the communication and coordination with the sanctuary did not occur as planned. Although the sanctuary staff ultimately accommodated your visit and ensured you were able to enjoy the wildlife experience, we understand that this did not reflect the private guided experience described in the booking.
We also recognize your disappointment concerning the missed lunch stop, city tour, and onboard narration during transportation. These elements are intended to be part of the complete experience, and we regret that operational circumstances on that day affected the delivery of the itinerary as expected.
As part of our efforts to address your concerns, a partial refund was processed through Viator. We understand that you feel this resolution did not fully reflect your experience, and while operational costs limited our ability to provide additional compensation, we genuinely value your feedback and have reviewed your comments internally with our operations team to help improve future coordination and guest communication.
Providing memorable and reliable experiences to our guests is extremely important to us, and we are sorry that we did not deliver the level of service you anticipated during your visit to Costa Rica.
We appreciate your feedback and wish you safe and pleasant travels in the future.
Kind regards,
Syl Travel Team
Michael_M, Apr 2026
We had a great experience with Larry our tour guide and Berto our driver on our private tour to the Natuwa nature center from the cruise port. There was no communication from team team prior and messages through Viator and email were unanswered, but I was able to quickly confirm the tour and pickup details the day prior by messaging the company using their phone number listed on their website through WhatsApp.
Larry was awaiting us at the pier with a sign with our name, and gave us plenty of context and history during our 45 minute drive from
the Puntarenas port. He’s multilingual and there weren’t any communication issues. He even grabbed us some fresh mangoes on the way. We had a private guided tour for our group only at the nature center with one of their guides, including a visit to the sloth garden. On the way back to the ship, we passed a small town and had lunch with some very fresh seafood. Larry and Berto were great at helping watch after our grandparents in their 80s who came along.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you very much for your detailed feedback.
We’re truly pleased to hear that you had a great experience with Larry and Berto during your private tour to the Natuwa Nature Center. It’s wonderful to know that Larry’s knowledge, multilingual skills, and thoughtful gestures—like stopping for fresh mangoes—helped make your day both enjoyable and memorable. We’re also glad the visit to the sloth garden and your private guided experience at the center met your expectations.
At the same time, we sincerely apologize for the lack of communication prior to your tour. This is not the standard we aim to provide, and your comments have been shared with our team to ensure we improve our response times across Viator and email channels. We do appreciate your initiative in reaching out via WhatsApp so we could promptly confirm your arrangements.
It’s especially meaningful to hear that Larry and Berto took such good care of your grandparents—ensuring comfort and attention for all members of your group is very important to us.
Thank you again for choosing us during your visit to Puntarenas. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future.
abishop, Feb 2025
We had a very friendly English speaking tour guide with a driver. The roads are bumpy as is to be expected as you go out in the rural area to the center. These animals are brought to the center for many reasons and given a home for life. We really wanted to see sloths and I was concerned they would be behind bars as some animals are but it is not so. It is a very green natural place that you follow the guide through. We were lucky to see many moving sloths this trip including two orphaned young sloths who were brought in a few months ago. The naturalist said there were 12 sloths total right now but they are allowed more than that because of the amount of land. The van tour guide then took us to a fruit stand as we asked. She offered to stop at other places but we were hot and decided to have lunch at the hotel. I hope you have as amazing a trip as we did.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you for sharing your experience! We're delighted to hear that you had a friendly and knowledgeable guide and that you enjoyed seeing so many sloths in their natural environment. It's wonderful that you had the chance to witness young orphaned sloths being cared for, and we truly appreciate your understanding of the bumpy rural roads—it’s all part of the adventure!
We’re also glad your guide accommodated your requests, making your tour even more personalized. Thank you for choosing us, and we hope to welcome you on another amazing trip in the future!
Safe travels! 🌿🦥✨
From $199.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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