Sloths, monkeys, crocodiles and birds - a realistic guide to spotting wildlife in Guanacaste and beyond.
Costa Rica holds around five per cent of the planet's known species on a fraction of a per cent of its land. That does not mean the animals line up for you. Here is what you will realistically see - and how to give yourself the best chance.
Howler monkeys you will hear before you see, usually at dawn, and usually much closer than you expect. White-faced capuchins turn up around beaches and picnic areas with an unsettling confidence. Iguanas are everywhere. Pelicans and frigatebirds patrol every coastline. In Guanacaste, you will see all of these without trying.
Sloths are the animal most people come for, and the one most likely to disappoint - not because they are rare, but because they are motionless lumps of algae-covered fur thirty metres up a tree. You want a guide with a spotting scope. On the sloth and hanging-bridge tours you will almost certainly see them; wandering a trail on your own, you will almost certainly walk straight past.
The river safaris - Palo Verde on the Tempisque, in particular - are the highest-density wildlife you will see for the least effort. Crocodiles on the banks, monkeys in the branches over the boat, herons, kingfishers, jesus-christ lizards running across the water. If you only do one wildlife trip in Guanacaste, do this one.
Loud, enormous and unmistakable. They have been reintroduced successfully in several areas and the projects around Guanacaste are one of the more reliable places to see them close up.
Nesting turtles are seasonal and location-specific. Ostional, not far from Samara, is one of the world's major arribada sites - when it happens, it is genuinely extraordinary. It cannot be booked like a show: the arrivals follow the moon and the tides, and any operator promising a guarantee is not being straight with you.
Costa Rica has more than 900 bird species and you do not need to care about birds to be impressed. Toucans are common enough that you will probably see one from a road. Motmots sit still long enough to photograph. Hummingbirds swarm the feeders at any cloud-forest lodge. And the quetzal - the one serious birders travel for - lives in the highlands around Monteverde and San Gerardo.
Guanacaste is dry forest: excellent for monkeys, iguanas, birds and crocodiles, and the easiest wildlife viewing in the country. Monteverde is cloud forest: fewer animals, better hidden, more remarkable when you find them. The Osa peninsula in the far south is the richest of all and a serious journey to reach. For most visitors, Guanacaste and a cloud forest day is the right combination.
The dry months concentrate animals around whatever water remains, which makes them easier to find - this is why the river safaris are so productive from January to April. The green season brings nesting, hatching and migratory birds, and a far greener backdrop. There is no bad season, just different odds.
Go early - most activity is in the first two hours of light. Take a guide, at least once; the difference between a trained eye and yours is enormous. Be quiet, and be patient. And do not feed anything, however much the capuchins insist.
Flying to Guanacaste? Here's how Liberia (LIR) and San José (SJO) airports compare on drive time, flights and cost - and which to pick for Samara, Tamarindo and Nosara.
Dry season vs green season in Guanacaste - a month-by-month guide to weather, crowds and prices, so you can pick the right time to visit Samara and the Pacific coast.
