Double Kayak Bioluminescence Tour in Costa Rica
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
- 1 hour 45 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
What's Included
- Equipment, kayaks, Paddles, Life Jackets, Waterproof bag. Guide
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Bioluminescence Costa RicaProvincia de Puntarenas, Paquera, La Nicoyana, Costa Rica
We are located 100 metros from the ferry port facing the ferry will be to the right playa el Relleno in front of Parking don Dago.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.5:30 pm
What To Expect
1
Bioluminescence Costa Rica
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Rajiv_A
It was a wonderful experience. Our tour guide was Mr. Johanny. He did an excellent job; very friendly, patient, and funny. We had never kayaked before. He taught us how to kayak and made us feel comfortable, even in the dark. We end up kayaking for 90 minutes. We highly recommend this experience. It is very easy to take a 3 pm ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera, do the activity, and take the 8 pm ferry back to Puntarenas. This is worth the money. There is not much else to do in Pauqera.
Reviews
4.6
based on 41 reviews
Rajiv_A, Mar 2026
It was a wonderful experience. Our tour guide was Mr. Johanny. He did an excellent job; very friendly, patient, and funny. We had never kayaked before. He taught us how to kayak and made us feel comfortable, even in the dark. We end up kayaking for 90 minutes. We highly recommend this experience. It is very easy to take a 3 pm ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera, do the activity, and take the 8 pm ferry back to Puntarenas. This is worth the money. There is not much else to do in Pauqera.
Stephanie_G, Jan 2026
This is a night tour and the darker the night, the better it is for seeing the bioluminescence. That means it will probably be hard to see your guide and the other kayaks if you don't pay attention and stick close to your guide. Our guide was fantastic about helping us see the bioluminescence and telling us about it. He made it a magical experience and it's the most fun my husband and I have had playing in water since we were little kids! The bioluminescence sparkled like diamonds or stars. Totally worth the price and would do it again and again! I used this tour as research for a potential Fitness Retreat as the owner of my own private personal training studio in the U.S. We found it to be a good upper body workout while not feeling like exercise because you were so focused on experiencing the magic of the bioluminescence.
Katelynn_H, Dec 2025
Absolutely phenomenal! Impossible to describe. You must try it. We felt very safe and well taken care of with this company. Heading out on the ocean at night with an 8 & 9 year old was a bit worrisome for me, but once we got going I realized it was for not. Felt comfortable and relaxed as we paddled out to a sheltered bay and swam with the bioluminesence for at least half an hour. Kids had a blast. Like glitter in the water. So awesome. Our guides were very knowledgeable and careful with all the patrons and we would definitely book again.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
thank you so much
Janine_B, Nov 2025
Absolutely incredible experience. The bioluminescence was magical and the tour guide was great. Highly recommended tour.
Tyler_D, Jun 2025
This was one of the coolest things I've ever done! Getting out of the kayak in waist high water and playing around waving my arms, legs, and shirt in the water was magical to see the glowing water!
I liked dipping my hand in the water, pulling it out, and letting the water run down my arm because I could see it closer and it looked like little sparks twinkling down my arm.
It was also really cool to watch the water for fish swimming by because you could see them glowing under the water when they got closer to you and the surface and when they jumped out of the water to catch a bug to eat, the splash made the water glow too. We only saw a few fish swimming by, but still amazing since I wasn't expecting that.
Paddling towards darker places near the shore made it much better to see the bioluminescence.
If you can, try to give yourself extra days to reschedule in case the weather is not good. We got lucky and had ideal conditions during the rainy season.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
thank you so much.
Shawn_G, Jun 2025
Beautiful, relaxing kayaking trip during sunset on calm waters.
Being that it was almost a full moon, we didn't see a lot of bioluminescence, but we did see some and our guide made every effort to find and show us what we could see.
I would only book it during a new moon.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
thank you
Lydia_B, May 2025
A very unique experience, kayaking through the dark. The guides were excellent at keeping our group together while teaching us about the phenomenon of bioluminescence. By being in kayaks instead of riding out in a larger boat to simply view the bioluminescence, we were able to activate the "stars in the dark waters" with our hands and paddles. It was a thrill we will long remember.
Only one caveat: bioluminescence is a natural occurrence and is unpredictable in its intensity. Do not expect the guides to produce spectacular displays every single night. That said, we would do it again!
Response from Host, May 2025
thank you so much
Caroline_F, Mar 2025
Absolutely one of the best experiences of my entire life!!!!! I would highly, highly recommend it. Remember to wear a bathing suit so that you can get in the water and play. And wear a black t-shirt so that you can scoop the algae up close. We made bioluminescent angels in the water by fanning our arms and legs out. It was magical! I felt like a fairy.
Our guides were very knowledgeable and passionate about the phenomenon. Even though they see it every day, it’s always like the first time.
Thomas_F, Feb 2025
Must-do!! We loved starting the activity with the sunset and then slowly getting into the night and seeing the bioluminescence starting to appear! The guide was very friendly and trying to give the best experience for everyone.
Camille_P, Feb 2025
My mom and I booked this and we were inexperienced and unbalanced on the boat and struggling. The nice guide tethered (towed) us to the bioluminescent area, gave us great information and opportunities to see the glowing bioluminescence. He suggested we switch positions on the kayak and give it another go and *voila*! It fixed all of our problems and we were able to kayak all the way back on our own. They were so patient and helpful with us and made sure everyone in the group got their questions answers and got to spend time in the water playing with it. It was so interesting and would suggest it to anyone. Great view of the stars on a clear night too! Just make sure you tell them if you aren’t experienced. Wear water shoes. I would suggest a swimsuit.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
thank you
Pat_S, Jan 2025
Alexander has a very cool kayak tour. Lots to see in the dark. He also went above and beyond helping us get food reservations and a cake arranged for my sister’s birthday.
Response from Host, Jan 2025
thank you so much
Betsy_C, Oct 2024
This was a very cool experience. The only thing we would have changed would be to go at a later tour time so it was darker sooner.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
thank you.
Kylie_O, Sep 2024
My boyfriend and I had a great time! We were a little worried because it was pouring, but our guides went the extra mile to make sure we were able to see the bioluminescence safely. I would absolutely recommend this experience.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
thanks so much for taking the time.
Brian_M, Aug 2024
The bioluminescence themselves are really worth seeing and the fireflies in the air are beautiful, but I wouldn’t recommend our guide, he rarely spoke throughout the entire tour and when he did you could barely hear him, I would look for another guide next time
Response from Host, Aug 2024
hi, very glad that you like the bioluminescence, our give knows the right spots with the higtest concentrations and have lot of experience on this tour.
sorry that you did not hear him, we try to give the best experience and all the information to our clients we understand your possition.
i wish to see your reservation to see if you really took the tour with us? as we always asked after the tour how was the experience and we do not have this report and we can not find your reservation eather.
David_S, Jul 2024
Seeing the Bioluminiscene in the water around you feels like magic is happening. The Guys were very friendly and competent
Response from Host, Aug 2024
thank you so much
Mark_S, May 2024
Our guide was amazing with the kids. He was patient and friendly, and made the tour more memorable ✨️ the bioluminescent is something my daughter has wanted to see for a long time. She loved it.
Jodee_G, Mar 2024
How cool was this?!! It was our first experience seeing bioluminescence and I was mesmerized by it. Our guide was a little too soft spoken, but very kind, very attentive, and clearly focused on making sure we had a great experience. The paddling was easy, not at all difficult, even for us rookies. We did the tour at sunset so we went out when there was still a little bit of light and it was pretty neat to be out paddling in the coves in the dark. If you haven't seen bioluminescence, I would highly recommend this tour! I gave a rating of 4 instead of 5 because, 1) it would have been nice if we would have received more information about where to part and where, exactly, to meet in an email after booking (we got a little bit of direction, but not enough), and 2) the place we launched from was not awesome with lots of debris washing up on a boat ramp which you had to wade through to get in the kayak and then pretty rocky where we got out.
Magda_P, Mar 2024
Lovely and knowledgable guide, very accommodating and flexible. Amazing experience swimming and kayaking at night with the bioluminescence! Incredible!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
thank you
Oliviaa_R, Jan 2024
We loved our experience and were so glad we booked with this company! They were extremely kind and had everything we needed including wet bags and phone bags. You also get a lovely sunset kayak ride! Tour was about 2 hours of kayaking going around a small island and our guide showed us the areas with the best bioluminescence. Note that your pants may get wet so dress accordingly.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
thank you
Jessica_M, Jan 2024
Highly recommend this tour! The team providing the service was professional and kind, and they went above and beyond to show us the bioluminescence experience! We couldn’t believe what we saw! It felt very magical!
Response from Host, Jan 2024
thanks so much for taking the time and sharing it.
Samuel_M, Mar 2026
Objectively wonderful. Just magic. Have your swimsuit and diving goggles with you if possible to make the most of the experience.
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Melanie_G, Dec 2025
Our guide Amy was very helpful and friendly, but we expected more. On the one hand, it took us forever to take off, on the other hand, there were far too many kayaks in the water. This led to collisions and confusion. Everyone was very nice there, but the experience is really modest - if you have experienced it somewhere else like us.
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Response from Host, Jan 2026
thank you so much, we normally have 5 kayaks per guide and start amound 545pm to 6pm. to finish at 730pm.
JuanLuis_P, Jul 2025
A great experience, accompanied by a great professional team who share their charisma and good attitude.
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Response from Host, Jan 2026
thank you so much
From $35.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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