Sloth and Night Tour Combo (Private Tour) – Arenal/La Fortuna
Overview
This unique 4-hour tour starts in the late afternoon. It gives you the chance to see wildlife that is active during the daytime like sloths, and as the day transitions to night around 5:45 p.m., you’ll get to see what comes out after dark.
Twilight Sloth Tour
After getting picked up by the tour company from your hotel or vacation rental in a private shuttle van, you’ll head to a small nature reserve just outside downtown La Fortuna to look for sloths.
This reserve was once a cattle field, but has been replanted and is now thick and lush. Among the many tropical plants is one of the sloth’s favorites, the guarumo tree. You’re likely to see a sloth hanging out in one of these trees during the tour.
Sloths are often high up in the branches so when your bilingual guide spots one, they will set up their powerful scope to let you take a closer look. Since this is a private tour, you will have your own guide who will be able to cater to your interests and pace. The tour company that we use for this experience has very knowledgeable naturalist guides.
In addition to spotting sloths and other wildlife, they’ll teach you interesting facts about the two sloth species that live in this area.
Although the highlight of this tour is sloths, it’s also possible to see other birds and animals. On our visit, we saw an agouti (small, rodent-like animal), tent-making bats, an iguana, and interesting birds like a Broad-billed motmot and jacamar.
After the walk, you’ll sit down for a snack of homemade tortillas with local cheese and arracacha (a local root vegetable similar to a parsnip), a traditional dessert, and fresh fruit juice.
This is an ethical sloth experience. All sloths are wild and living naturally in the reserve. While sightings aren’t guaranteed, we’ve visited multiple times and have always spotted at least a couple.
The trail is flat, wide, and well-maintained. Most of it is gravel.
Night Tour
After the sloth tour, you’ll take a short ride to another property for the night tour.
Just after sunset, your private guide will lead you along the well-maintained trail in search of nocturnal creatures. Night tours are fun because the wildlife you can see is completely different from daytime.
When we did this tour, we spotted many types of frogs in the thick greenery along the edge of the trail. We saw rain frogs, masked tree frogs, rubber frogs, and the iconic red-eyed tree frog. The property passes through thick, pristine jungle and some man-made ponds, perfect for attracting frogs and other animals.
In addition to frogs, our guide showed us sleeping birds, including a woodpecker, and snakes like a cat-eyed snake and eyelash pit viper at a safe distance.
The path takes you through thick rainforest but is wide and good for walking at night. You’ll be given a flashlight to help you navigate. Your guide will do a safety briefing at the beginning of the tour.
The trail on the night tour is easy and mostly flat with a few small inclines and steps.
Tour Details:
Cost of Private Tour (only your family/group): $173 per person adults. $104 per person children ages 5-11. Rates plus 13% tax.
Offered: 3:40 p.m.Â
*Exact pick up time varies by hotel/vacation rental and will be provided on your confirmation document. Extra charges apply for areas outside the standard pickup zone (We will email you if this is the case.)
Duration: 4 hours door to door from your lodging (approximate)
Includes: Private round-trip transportation from your hotel or vacation rental house, private bilingual naturalist guide with spotting scope, entrance fees, flashlight, traditional snack, and drinks.
Minimum Age: 5
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Return to La Fortuna/Arenal Tours
Two Weeks in Costa Rica, Inc. is registered with the State of Florida as a Seller of Travel. Fla. Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST41024.
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