Exploradores Outdoors — Local services in Carmen

We booked: 3 day 2 night tour in Tortuguero

The tour was very interesting. We were picked up at about 5.50 at our Hostel in La Fortuna, then we drove ( 2.5 hours) to the Exploradores Outdoors Center in Siquirres where we stopped for breakfast. After another 1 hour drive to Caño Blanco we hopped on a boat to Tortuguero. The town tour in the afternoon was nice. We didn't book the turtle tour because we felt sorry for the animals and didn't want to disturb the turtles. It can also be booked through "Get your Guide" for 10$ less. (25 instead 35)

However, we were very upset with our accomondation. We booked the Economy Package for about 250$ (2 nights, 3 days). Our room was extremly moldy, humid and hot. We had no Air Condition. The "fully equipped private bathroom with shower and free toiletries" had no warm water and no toilet brush. The garbage was very small and was not changed during our stay there and I feel like the room service didn't clean anything. Furthermore we didn't stay at Miss Miriam. The Hostel was called "Liah's Palace" and was not what you can see on the pictures on their website. The hotel on the website is La Casona, a completely different hotel. They told us that they don't even work with Miss Miriam anymore. There were also misunderstandings for our first breakfast, since they didn't want to serve us at first- so there was a lack of communication between Liah's Palace, La Casona and Exploradores Outdoors. Be aware that only Roots Tours has an office in Tortuguero and they work with Exploradores Outdoors, but they were not responsible for this.

During our stay there, many other rooms were free but we couldn't change to a not-moldy room. In the end we had to pay 15$ for the AC remote for 1 night, which is completely ridiculuous. In no words is it clear that economy = no AC, moldy room and standart = AC, no mold. They should change this on their webside.

The boat tour and the national park tour were very nice but because of our horrible experience with our room we decided to give 3 instead of 4 stars. The town is very small so I recommend doing 2 days instead of 3 and maybe do the national park on the day you arrive in...

My wife and I decided to do the the 1 day Pacuare rafting trip on the second day of our honeymoon, and we couldn't be happier with it. We were picked up by Roberto and Christian (I think that was his name) who drove us about 2 hrs from San Jose through the mountains to the Pacuare river. The drive itself was beautiful and Roberto gave us great information on the day to come. I really appreciated how authentic he was and his sense of humor. He set a really good tone for the the day to come.

When we arrived to the center, we were given a great breakfast buffet that was the perfect fuel for rafting. We also met our guide who was also named Roberto. We then set off again and Roberto rode with us to give us instructions on what to do in the raft. This drive was short but also beautiful.

When we arrived at the river, it could not have been more beautiful. I've done a fair amount of kayaking, canoeing, and rafting in the US, but nothing compared to this river.

I won't spoil too much of the actual journey, but I will say that we couldn't have asked for a better guide than Roberto. He caught on fairly quickly that our group could handle the rapids so he took us on some really fun lines. He also was really great at pointing out different landmarks and animals when he saw them. He knew the river like the back of his hand and I felt completely safe with him leading the charge. He was also really fun and created a great vibe on our boat.

We were on the river for about three hours, and it was one of the most fun things that I have ever done. I 100% will be back, hopefully for a multi day trips.

I highly recommend using them as your outfitters and requesting either Robertos if you want a great guide.

Both Robertos deserve a raise, bonus, and...

We were excited about our 1- day white water rafting tour on June 16, 2025 for the Pacuare River. The communication leading up until the morning of the tour was great. Things fell apart when we were picked up by a cab driver @ 5:30am, taken to one hotel, sat there for about 15 minutes waiting on shuttle that never came. We finally left and was taken to the Delta Marriott down town where we were dropped off and asked to wait there for the shuttle, we waited another 30 minutes before being picked up. Once picked up, we made another stop and was on our way. We arrived at the site about 10:30am or later only to be told that we wouldn't be going down the Pacuare river as planned due to the rain the night before. Safety First, we can all agree with this. The issue was, before we were picked up, we should have been given the option to decline since it wasn't what we paid for.

The rafting tour turned into a lazy river. We didn't get a full experience and it's absolutely a rip off and disappointing. We could have gone another day while on our trip, yet, they made the decision for us. We should not have been penalized for this.

Please make sure you ask before getting on the shuttle if the Pacuare river is a must experience for you. The only positive experience was Roy, our guide. Not sure I will be rafting with this company again, unless they honor some form of discount when we are back in Costa...