Carara National Park
Carara National Park
4.5
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Carara National Park is south of the Rio Tarcoles and 15 km north of Jaco Dentral. It boasts of a large population of breeding scarlet macaws, capuchin monkeys, anteaters, parrots, aracaris, kingfishers old growth forest and is a transistional forest supporting both Amazonian and Mesoamerican habitats.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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See what travellers are saying
- Diana d7 contributionsAmazing experience!Our guide Jeison has given us an unforgetteble day! We got a lot of information about the animals, trees and history of the parc. We walked through the firest for 3 hours and he showed us beautiful and even pretty rare animalsVisited October 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 19 October 2023
- Ginny RHong Kong, China83 contributionsAn uncrowded park brought to life by amazing guide MauriceWe had an awesome tour with guide Maurice who was recommended by many others on Trip Advisor. We contacted him by whats app a few days in advance and he was very responsive. He met us at the entrance to the park and guided us around. He found so many birds, reptiles and insects that we would never have seen on our own. His binoculars are amazing and he got fantastic photos of everything we saw. He was determined to find a toucan for us and he did. I highly recommend Maurice.Visited January 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 11 January 2024
- Chuck G10 contributionsHappy Wife, Pura Diva!Maurice gave us an especially awesome tour. He loves what he does and it shows through with his enthusiasm in spotting all types of wildlife, from the tiniest frog, centipedes, geckos and leaf cutter ants to hummingbirds, various other birds, and this guy knows his birds. He proves it by referencing page numbers in the Birds of Costa Rica book with memorized page numbers to provide proof of his knowledge. We would have missed so much without Maurice's keen eye. Maurice also has a fabulous sense of humor to keep us amused along the way.Visited January 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 19 January 2024
- Spence44Tucson, Arizona93 contributionsAmazing wildlifeMuch less crowded than Manuel Antonio National Park, this place is known for birds, but that’s not all. We were fortunate to hire Mauricio as we entered, a well-informed guide with real enthusiasm for the Park and its wild denizens. We would not have seen much aside from greenery without him. He showed us poison dart frogs, a kingfisher, a tarantula taking a nap in a hiding place, a heron, macaws, and many other birds and butterflies, not to mention pointing out various trees and plants as we strolled along. Memorable and fascinating!Visited March 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 8 March 2024
- BillSt. Petersburg, Florida16 contributionsBest guide made a world of differenceMy wife and I saw a good reviews on guide Mauricio +506-8889-6061 . We connected with him and he quickly responded and we set up a meeting the next morning. The park is lush and beautiful and we found Mauricio was well worth the cost. As we walked, he had his binoculars out, searching the branches for small birds and other creatures. When he found one of interest, it would plant this tripod with the telescopic lens and allow us to view the creature up close in addition, I would give them my cell phone and it would take a photo of it which came out. Surprisingly it cleared and vivid. There’s no way we would’ve seen these creatures without his experienced eye. It was an enjoyable three hours, we learned a lot, and got some cool photographs of wildlife .Visited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 3 June 2024
- ArlettaCFairfield, California1,131 contributionsTropical Forest BeautyLush, beautiful tropical forest with some of the most interesting fungi I’ve ever seen. Nice graded trail. My only disappointment was the lack of bird life, but I was with a small group, and perhaps we scared them all off. Lovely butterflies, and gorgeous vegetation.Visited November 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 6 July 2024
- YaneevFort Lauderdale, Florida66 contributionsNaturalist Magic- a fabulous tour with MauriceWe are a family of 5, with 3 young children, who was beating the completion of a 2 week wildlife and nature heavy trip in Costa Rica. All that remained was to see the Scarlet Macaws of Carara. Maurice Vasquez is an enthused, authentic, loving and full of energy guide. He knew exactly where the Macaws would be, even though they were not in the park during their rainy season visit. He brought us face to face with a group of 10 Scarlet Macaws! Was it not for him we would have missed the Macaws. Not only that but he also found us a rare yellow viper, a tarantula and multiple dart frogs in a 2 hour tour. His price was very fair. We would all heartedly recommend him if you want a naturalist that can spot the species every one wants to see. Just stay away from the local restaurant Fiesta Del Mariscos on the beach, as they are dishonest and the owner is very rude. Pura Vida! Maurice Vasquez 506 88896061 Mauriciovasquezpizarro@gmail.comVisited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 22 July 2024
- rajunwildPort Saint Lucie, Florida60 contributionsSeeing Costa Rica nature, add its best with a local resident.We pull into the park and we’re greeted by a gentleman asking if we had already purchased tickets and if not, if we wanted a private guide. Being that I got screwed from my last tour, I was skeptical and told him that I would think about it and drove and parked and went to the front desk to purchase tickets, we approached the front desk and we were told that we would have to scan a QR code to purchase the tickets, but I was unable to connect to the Internet even though I had local or international roaming on my phone. Thankfully, the nice lady inside the office shared her phone hotspot, which allowed me to register and purchase tickets for my wife and I. we were given directions and then took off on our journey into the park following the marked trail, which was absolutely beautiful inside. We thought we could do the trail ourselves and see wildlife more so then with a guide and save money however we were wrong. We ran into another couple who did the same way as us and they didn’t see much so we decided to turn around and get a guide, we hired a private guide, Jaro, and I was still skeptical until he took us to where we could see wildlife which was outside of the park and it was the best time ever with a local from the area to see what Costa Rica has to offer. I highly recommend after you walk the trail or if you walk the trail with a group guide get the private guide and ask for one of them and they will take you into another location outside of the park, but you will see so much more wildlife than inside of the park and it’s along the beach.Visited August 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 2 August 2024
- KatiegrrlKirkland, Washington19 contributionsThe Amazing Beauty of NatureCarara National Park is a must see. The wide variety of trees, animals, and flowers is amazing. I have to say we hired AndreyJimenez as a guide and without his help we would have missed so much. He gave us great lessons about the trees, flowers, mushrooms, butterflies and pointed out animals we were lucky to see. He safely showed us a tarantula, a rare ghost bat and Red McCaws. His enthusiasm was contagious and his joy was infectious. There’s so much to see I recommend a guide and if possible, Andrey Jimenez. You won’t be disappointed.Visited August 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 13 August 2024
- Kevinator21 contributionsNice hike in the rainforestGreat hike in the rain forest. We saw lots of interesting insects, birds and plants. My family really enjoyed it. The trails were very well maintained. Parking was easy. We bought our tickets online before we arrived.Visited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 20 August 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Popular mentions
4.5
857 reviews
Excellent
541
Very good
219
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68
Poor
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Terrible
7
worldtraveller10538
Los Angeles, CA80 contributions
Oct 2020
Very poor experience, worst National Park in Costa Rica I have experienced & I have visited 12 up to now, believe me.. Certain Guides (cannot speak for all of them of course), very nasty, provocative & confrontational, commenting on the 2 tier pricing system there designed to rip most visitors off (very few Nationals ever visit) who are unaware of what they are really paying in $... 'If you don't like it, go back to your own country' is what I was aggressively told by a Guide which is basically fighting talk. Then when you bite your tongue & stay in 'their country' paying a rip off fee, nothing to see but trees & leaf cutter ants! Fact.... Zero wildlife evident, (ignore the hype, zero wildlife to see in Carara, certainly on my visit) just totally boring trails you would rather not be wasting your time in & inflated prices. Sadly certain types of Costa Rican's really hate non Costa Rican's & in particular what they term 'Gringo's, suffering from xenophobia. They like the tourist Dollar of course but basically once you've paid it & paid over the top 'go away' & this mentality is very evident at Carara National Park. Stay away please, many better places to go, total waste of time & money. These people need educating, visitors are their lifeblood not their enemies. Sad but true.
Written 17 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
chuddington
London38 contributions
Feb 2022
Our visit left me with mixed feelings. I tend not to hire guides, as I like to go at my own pace and spot animals myself; however good a guide is, there is a slightly stagey feel to it when everything is pointed out to you. But that means that seeing stuff means going slowly, being very quiet and stopping frequently. So, despite it being a short series of loops we spent 4 hours covering the ground, starting early as recommended by others at 8am to miss the larger groups (these were arriving as we left). At beginning an end you cannot escape the roar of the road which is close by at this point. Half way round these are replaced by the surround sound of cicadas; they make more noise than the trucks. it's an immersive experience and rather wonderful. Yes there are things to see, often small and high up. Yes, the trees are amazing. However, if you are an independant traveller you would see more at some of the other parks in Costa Rica and certainly way fewer of your own species.
The secondary area which is close to the river, is down a precipitous slope into a small car park and was spookily empty. parts of the trail were closed, so we never got to see the lagoon, which I believe may be dry at this time of year. It was fearsomly humid, hot and extremly buggy, but there you go.
The Tarcoles Bridge is a much better bet around 4pm, particularly for birds. Forget the crocs and train your binoculars on to the birdlife. You wont be disappointed and it's free.
The secondary area which is close to the river, is down a precipitous slope into a small car park and was spookily empty. parts of the trail were closed, so we never got to see the lagoon, which I believe may be dry at this time of year. It was fearsomly humid, hot and extremly buggy, but there you go.
The Tarcoles Bridge is a much better bet around 4pm, particularly for birds. Forget the crocs and train your binoculars on to the birdlife. You wont be disappointed and it's free.
Written 6 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alma F
5 contributions
Dec 2021 • Family
We had a party of 10 and tour guide Maurice Vasquez 506-8889-6061 took us day of!!! He is the man for Carara! The park is only 11 miles from Jaco (where we are staying) and we taxied to the park. He met us there and we spent 3-3 1/2 hours walking through the park. He was able to quickly spot animals in the trees, would enthusiastically energize the group, and set up his telescope there for us to see. We had college students, high school, and parents of those kids in our group and he made sure everyone was engaged and involved. He got pictures on our phones of the animals (spider monkeys, capuchin monkey, howlers, bats, birds, iguanas) and answered any questions we had. He also speaks fluent German (he did his masters in biology there). Seriously so impressive! Many of the kids said this tour has been their favorite part of our trip to Costa Rica.
Written 29 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Curtis S
Kingsport, TN2 615 contributions
Nov 2019
this park was on the way between Monte Verde and Jaco. It is a non-descript little parking lot off the main road. The entry fee is quite reasonable, however, the same cannot be said about the guides hanging around trying to sell their services. We opted to walk through the park on our own and that was just fine. Again, take a picture of the trail map before you go into the park so that you can have a reference of where you are. For the most part the trails were fairly flat, but we ended up doing almost the entire park and there are some steep sections. We did not see much in the way of wildlife, but this was about the only activity on the road between Monte Verde and Jaco. Still, this was far more reasonable than Manuel Antonio National Park. Recommended
Written 6 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beatrix H
1 contribution
Jan 2023 • Couples
This national park is such a hidden gem! It was the least busy out of all the national parks we visited but still plenty of wildlife (mostly birds + monkeys).
Initially we had planned to visit it on our own, however upon reading reviews most of them mentioned that with a guide it is significantly better. With very little hope that we'll manage to book the ever so famous Maurice on one day's notice, we still messaged him on whatsapp and got lucky. He had a tour already arranged from 9am and offered us to join, even suggesting a private 2 hour add on if we make it for the park entrance time (7am).
We're so glad we contacted him! He is extremely knowledgeable (25+ years of being a guide!), has a talent at finding even the smallest birds, which one can see very clearly through his telescope. There was an obvious difference between the first 2 hours we had him exclusively vs when another 6 people joined (the originally planned tour): the group moves at a different pace, birds might fly away before everyone looks in the scope etc. Either way, still better than exploring on your own and missing out on the wildlife!
Sharing his contact details below:
Maurice Vasquez
whatsapp: +506 8889-6061
email: mauriciovasquezpizarro@gmail.com
Initially we had planned to visit it on our own, however upon reading reviews most of them mentioned that with a guide it is significantly better. With very little hope that we'll manage to book the ever so famous Maurice on one day's notice, we still messaged him on whatsapp and got lucky. He had a tour already arranged from 9am and offered us to join, even suggesting a private 2 hour add on if we make it for the park entrance time (7am).
We're so glad we contacted him! He is extremely knowledgeable (25+ years of being a guide!), has a talent at finding even the smallest birds, which one can see very clearly through his telescope. There was an obvious difference between the first 2 hours we had him exclusively vs when another 6 people joined (the originally planned tour): the group moves at a different pace, birds might fly away before everyone looks in the scope etc. Either way, still better than exploring on your own and missing out on the wildlife!
Sharing his contact details below:
Maurice Vasquez
whatsapp: +506 8889-6061
email: mauriciovasquezpizarro@gmail.com
Written 2 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andy Richmond Hill Ontario
8 contributions
Mar 2020 • Family
We just completed a tour with Maurice Vasquez and would very highly recommend him as your tour guide. He is extremely knowledgable and pointed out all kinds of birds, animals and plants that we would never have seen by ourselves. He took us to two different parts of the park and also to a couple of locations outside the park. We saw about 30 species of birds, including a visit to a macaws nest, owls, trogons, hummingbirds, woodpeckers and dozens more. His love of nature is very evident and he is clearly passionate about giving you the very best nature experience possible. I would definitely recommend you to do yourself a favour and book a tour with Maurice.
Written 14 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alex L
Seattle, WA12 contributions
Jan 2020
I would highly recommend this please if you would like to avoid the crowd and see unique birds. We saw so many unique and rare animals including poison dart, scarlet macaw. We highly recommend contacting Franklin and book him as your guide. He would take you to some special places to see crocodiles, kingfishers, and even king vulture, one of the most unique birds in the area. HIs whatsapp is +50683378527. Again, contact franklin if you want the most customized and unique experience!!!
Written 18 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cannuckk
Langley, Canada373 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
We had a very enjoyable 4 hour experience in Carara National Park.
Contrary to my normal “modus operandi”, where I would usually convince my wife to tour the park ourselves at our own pace, on the morning of our excursion we What’s App’d Maurice ( clearly the most popular local guide based on TA reviews) to see if he could include us. He was very responsive, and an hour later we were wandering the forest trail ( secondary entrance, on the Tarcoles bridge side) guided by Maurice.
It was nice he was able to loan us a pair of binoculars and a bird guide book, as we didn’t come as well prepared as we should have. We were surprised at the ability for him to use his high powered scope with our smartphone cameras to get some surprisingly good close up photos.
Our tour lasted 2 hours, which was a bit of a surprise to me, given many other reviews suggested a tour duration of 3-4 hours. But, in those two hours we saw much wildlife, and learned much about the parks flora and fauna, so really, hard to complain. Most of what we saw was solely due to Maurice knowing where to look.
As an experiment, after our guided tour we went back to the main entrance and wandered on our own for an hour and a half, to see if you can really get much out of the forest experience on your own. If you are observant you can I think; my wife saw several animals we hadn’t encountered on the guided hike,
So the moral of the story here is, book a guide if you can, you’ll see far more than if you tour on your own. If you choose not too, it can still be a worthwhile visit.
Contrary to my normal “modus operandi”, where I would usually convince my wife to tour the park ourselves at our own pace, on the morning of our excursion we What’s App’d Maurice ( clearly the most popular local guide based on TA reviews) to see if he could include us. He was very responsive, and an hour later we were wandering the forest trail ( secondary entrance, on the Tarcoles bridge side) guided by Maurice.
It was nice he was able to loan us a pair of binoculars and a bird guide book, as we didn’t come as well prepared as we should have. We were surprised at the ability for him to use his high powered scope with our smartphone cameras to get some surprisingly good close up photos.
Our tour lasted 2 hours, which was a bit of a surprise to me, given many other reviews suggested a tour duration of 3-4 hours. But, in those two hours we saw much wildlife, and learned much about the parks flora and fauna, so really, hard to complain. Most of what we saw was solely due to Maurice knowing where to look.
As an experiment, after our guided tour we went back to the main entrance and wandered on our own for an hour and a half, to see if you can really get much out of the forest experience on your own. If you are observant you can I think; my wife saw several animals we hadn’t encountered on the guided hike,
So the moral of the story here is, book a guide if you can, you’ll see far more than if you tour on your own. If you choose not too, it can still be a worthwhile visit.
Written 17 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A&M Travelers
5 contributions
Sept 2022
Carara National Park is about 1.5 hrs from San Jose [60 minutes from Atenas where we were staying]. The park was empty when we arrived at 9:15A where we were greeted at the park entrance by a friendly person [Jeison] who described what to do at the park and that if we were interested, he could be our tour guide for $20 USD/pp for about a 3.5 hr tour. The park entrance fee is about $10.50US/pp.
Jeison was an absolute must for seeing many different bird species, bats, trees, frogs, insects, etc that we would have missed without his expertise in finding them and his wealth of information describing everything we saw. He carries a 50X viewing scope that allowed us to see animals up close that were 100's of feet away.
I normally would not pay for a tour guide but in this case, the $40 we spent was the best way to appreciate the beauty and diversity of the Costa Rican Transitional Forest. The hike is relatively flat and not strenuous at all. I would highly recommend hiring a tour guide when visiting the park. Jeison Hernandez was really an excellent tour guide - very knowledgeable, knows where to find a variety of animals, speaks excellent English, and was simply a very nice person to spend time with. We would use Jeison again, especially for other areas of Costa Rica. His Whats App is [506]-8382-6788.
Jeison was an absolute must for seeing many different bird species, bats, trees, frogs, insects, etc that we would have missed without his expertise in finding them and his wealth of information describing everything we saw. He carries a 50X viewing scope that allowed us to see animals up close that were 100's of feet away.
I normally would not pay for a tour guide but in this case, the $40 we spent was the best way to appreciate the beauty and diversity of the Costa Rican Transitional Forest. The hike is relatively flat and not strenuous at all. I would highly recommend hiring a tour guide when visiting the park. Jeison Hernandez was really an excellent tour guide - very knowledgeable, knows where to find a variety of animals, speaks excellent English, and was simply a very nice person to spend time with. We would use Jeison again, especially for other areas of Costa Rica. His Whats App is [506]-8382-6788.
Written 9 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GaryM
3 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
I met Maurice by chance after I had spent a morning in Carara not finding many birds. Even though I was not on his tour, he immediately asked if I had seen the Manakin lek and led me and his party of two down a path to the lek. Hmm! A nice earthy 'dance floor' but no birds. He didn't seem deterred and proceeded to click his fingers. It wasn't long before an Orange - collared Manakin revealed itself and posed beautifully for my camera. Maurice was obviously pleased that we had seen the bird and was so enthusiastic that I immediately arranged a tour with him for a few days later. I didn't regret it! Maurice managed to locate birds and animals with ease, identifying many by call alone. But not satisfied with this, he would then say what page of the Costa Rica Bird guide book that particular bird featured on. The man is a walking encyclopedia! He was very proficient at mimicking many bird calls and as I had told him that I had not seen a Trogon so far on my holiday, he was determined to spot one for me. When he finally heard one, deep in the jungle, he struck up a 'conversation' with it and proceeded to stalk it through the trees and foliage. Even after he spotted it and told me where it was, it still took me a while to realise that the dark shape motionless on a branch was in fact a Black-throated Trogon. I was in awe at Maurice's ability to spot birds in such dim light and in dense jungle.
For Carara, I would highly recommend a guide and you won't get any better than Maurice!
Thank you Maurice!
For Carara, I would highly recommend a guide and you won't get any better than Maurice!
Thank you Maurice!
Written 22 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi do you need to book entrance for Carara national park in advance through SINAC?
Written 6 April 2024
Are the hiking trails open on Christmas Day?
Written 21 December 2020
Hi, I believe all National Parks are open every day of the year subject to any new Covid restrictions & operate under 50% capacity currently but don't waste your time, all you are likely to see is trees, very bad park & questionable staff. Gave a very bad impression to me. Best regards
Written 22 December 2020
For scarlet macaws a beach up the road was mentioned, can someone tell me which that was for us to go and see if we can spot any? Thanks
Written 8 February 2020
The animals are completely wild. It sure spiraled to me that whether you saw anything specific was never guaranteed.
Written 9 February 2020
JMartinezGimenez
Boadilla del Monte, Spain
Buenas tardes,
Quería preguntar sobre el parque nacional de Carara. Queríamos saber si hay guías locales que se puedan contratar en el parque, o si por el contrario tiene que hacerse todo a través de empresas de turismo con sus propios guías.
Muchas gracias por su ayuda,
Silvia y Javier
Written 11 December 2019
Is this national park on a dirt track? If so what sort of distance from the main/paved road please? We didn't rent an suv or 4x4. Thanks
Written 12 March 2018
You do not need an SUV to visit Carara. The entrance to the park is right on the main road and once you park you will walk in on the trails leading from the main entrance. No car is needed inside the park.
Written 18 March 2018
Is it possible to get a good guide upon arriving or does that need to be arranged beforehand?
Written 2 March 2018
When I went to Carrara in January, there was a guide named Carlos hanging out near the ticket booth. I hired him and he was very helpful. From my experience get a guide, they know where to look for the wildlife.
Written 3 March 2018
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