Exclusive Carara: Macaw & Monkey Rainforest Adventure

We trusted Mauricio to take our family on three private tours (Carara NP, Rio Tarcoles, & Manuel Antonio). We were a big group with an infant child. He was indeed fantastic at Carara and on the river; however, we did find it odd that he wanted all the money (which he insisted must be in $USD) in advance of the Manuel Antonio tour. The day before we left for Miguel Antonio, he informed me that he couldn’t return from the Caribbean side and assigned an associate (Fabien). We meet him in the morning and, lo and behold, there are two others on our tour and it was no longer private. These folks were there to drink all day and didn’t even have binoculars. The guide was nice but we knew more birds than him and the only things we saw either we found or other guides pointed out to him. Needless to say, it was a day ruined by thievery… an outright scam.

Mauricio is an excellent bird guide. He found so many unusual birds that we would have missed. He speaks very good English. He knows so much about the carara forest, having worked there for over 25 years. He organised transport for us too as we're travelling without a car. We had an excellent morning. We contacted him directly on 8889 6061 and had a quick reply.

It is worth every penny to hire a guide. We would not have seen much without our excellent guide Mauricio. He would spot something and then have us look through his telescope. After we looked, he would take our phones and photograph through the lens of his telescope. We wound up with amazing photos. Mauricio speaks Spanish, English, German and French. And those are just the languages we heard him speak. To book him as you guide call him directly at 506 8889 6061. You will not be disappointed.

Of all the National Parks we visited in Costa Rica, this one was the only disappointing park. The trails were marginal and were near a busy road and we saw very few animals or birds. Areas of the hike were muddy and slippery. If you go to it be sure to wear proper shoes.

Great trip with Maurice. He is super knowledgeable about all the species encountered in the park. Furthermore, he also drove around with us outside the park to spot some animals which we did not have a chance to see during the park walk.

Toño Carara was a fantastic guide on our 3-hour walk through Carara National Park. Maurice recommended him, and he did not disappoint. He knew where to find the birds, bats, exotic frogs, and monkeys, and his telescope helped us get an up-close view. He was friendly and knowledgeable. My sisters and I really appreciated having him as our guide. We would have missed so many great sightings without him!

We went to Carara National Park with the idea of doing a self guided tour. For us that would have been a mistake. We met Maurice as we entered the parking lot of the park. Very warm, very friendly and no hard sell on the asking if we wanted a guide. We took a chance and said yes to Maurice and we are glad we did. His knowledge of the woods and wildlife were instrumental in us seeing animals I am 100% certain we would not have seen without his guidance. We saw white faced macaques, howler monkeys, macaws, lizards and even army ants.

Mauricio was fantastic, from arranging the booking via WhatsApp he confirmed everything, he was there waiting for us at the Carara National Park entrance. It is very clear that Mauricio has a passion for his work, he is knoweledable and diligent in his quest to find elusive wild life. He also takes amazing pictures, has great stories that kept us entertained. Please do book him and make sure you leave an excellent review!

Maurice was an excellent and knowledgeable guide. He speaks many languages and was able to explain so much regarding each animal we saw. He is literally a fountain of knowledge. His communication was great prior and he helped us with getting the bus to the park and back from Jaco. He was really helpful in assisting people to get photographs. My partner and I had such a good time with Maurice and was sad when the tour ended. The nice thing about Carera is that it is a lot less busy but still got to see so many different animals thanks to Maurice! Thank you!

We tried to book a last minute tour through Viator but it didn't work out so we drove to the Park, bought entrance tickets there and we were able to hire a local guide, Antonio, who was absolutely fantastic. Had we just walked through the park on our own we would have seen nothing but with Antonio, and his telescope, we saw an incredible assortment of birds and animals, including macaws, toucans, howler monkeys and the ever-abundant capuchin monkeys. We chose to skip the crocodiles, mostly out of fear! Antonio speaks excellent English and has a thorough knowledge of the park and the animals. You won't regret it if you hire him as your guide.