Cano Negro

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Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge

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Laura Rabbit
Laura Rabbit
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
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12
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Editor Pick

Jungle Cruise to the Cano Negro Wildlife Preserve

Jungle Cruise to the Cano Negro Wildlife Preserve

Cano Negro is a wetland wildlife refuge about two hours drive north of La Fortuna, towards the Nicaragua border. Its a great place for wildlife spotting and bird-watching. (It's really Can~o Negro, but I don't know how to make the spanish n~. Sorry.) Our jungle cruise to Cano Negro and on the adjacent Rio Frio was one of the highlights of our trip to Costa Rica. We saw monkeys, caimans, basilisks, a great assortment of birds, and much more.

We booked our jungle cruise to the Cano Negro wildlife area with Canoa Aventura in La Fortuna. Our guide from their agency was really great -- a lot of fun and very informative and good at spotting wildlife.

One the drive to Cano Negro, past miles of pineapple plantations, we stopped at the Iguana Bridge. There are dozens of huge iguanas hanging out in the trees near this bridge. (There is also a restaurant and souvenir store here.)

At the end of the ride (about 2 hours total), we were fed a pancake snack, then loaded up on a small excursion boat which held about 20 people. We cruised the rivers for about 2 hours, looking at wildlife. Then a nice lunch at the "El Caiman" restaurant and the long drive back to La Fortuna and a drop off at our hotel.

It's a full day, from 7:30 a.m. to about 4 p.m., but a very enjoyable one.

From journal Arenal Volcano, Center of Costa Rica Adventures

Editor Pick

Cano Negro: Monkeys and Birds and Sloths, Oh My!

  • February 5, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Carmen from Fairfax, Virginia
Cano Negro: Monkeys and Birds and Sloths, Oh My!

We booked two excursions from Arenal, both through Sunset Tours. I can’t say it enough, Sunset Tours rocks! We had the same guide for our Cano Negro tour as we did for our volcano hike, Zender, and he was a great guide. We found out at the end of our Cano Negro tour that it was the first time he’d done it on his own, and you’d never have known it, because he was a pro! The boat driver was a pro, too, spotting animals with the best of them. And one of the staff even reached into the water and pulled out a baby cayman (like a gator) for us to see up close! Now that’s dedication!

The transfer to the Rio Frio (the river that leads to the Cano Negro Wildlife reserve) took about 2 hours, and the last half hour of that is on an extremely bumpy road. But at the end of that bumpy road was a lunch that was probably the best meal I had while in Costa Rica. We had our choice of traditional Costa Rican food, and I chose the casada con pollo, which was chicken and rice and beans with a salad and tortilla crisps.

After filling our bellies, we boarded the flat-bottomed boat to start down the river. Before we even pushed off from shore, we’d seen a white cayman and a white egret. And, golly, then we went into wildlife overload. We saw blue egrets, snake birds, howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, white-faced monkeys, caymans, bats, egrets, yellow-bellied birds, red-headed birds, a sloth (actually moving, and they don’t do that much!) and I’m sure more that I’ve forgotten. It’s like a wildlife Vegas – sensory overload.

We were on the boat for about two hours, and it went by fast. I was sad to hear that it was time to go back. (This from the person who gets sea-sick, but the ride was smooth and I had no problems.)

Don’t forget your extra strength bug spray (I had it on and still got bit) and your camera, and this will be one of your favorite excursions of your trip to Costa Rica. The cost per person was $55, and I think that’s a great deal.

From journal Costa Rica es Pura Vida

Editor Pick

Cano Negro Wildlife Reserve

  • January 13, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Laura Rabbit from Chicago, Illinois
Cano Negro Wildlife Reserve

I really enjoyed this trip. We arranged the tour from Hotel Los Lagos for about $50 including tour/guide/lunch. Our guide was wonderful and extremely knowledgeable about what we were seeing and also answered general questions about life in Costa Rica.

An hour into the trip, our driver spotted a sloth hanging from a tree on the side of the road. I was thrilled! We continued on and stopped again to watch iguanas lounging in the sun. Arriving at Cano Negro, we boarded a boat for a 3-hour ride on the river (the one that can take you into Nicaragua). This was the best experience with wildlife I had in the country. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. From monkeys to birds to lizard (and more sloths), we really got our fill.

From journal Costa Rica Exploration

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