We had a wonderful experience taking a tour with one of this private reserve's guides. The walks are in small groups, making them very manageable. The tour starts out with an educational and beautiful slideshow of photographs taken by professional photographers who came to capture the wildlife in the park. Following the slideshow is a 2-3 hour walking tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the forest, the ecosystem in general, individual plants, birds, insects, and larger animals. We learned a lot about individual plants and any medicinal uses, spotted numerous colorful birds, and even saw a larger mammal or two. Note that we did not cover much ground distance wise in the 2.5 hours we spent out in the reserve.
There were plenty of opportunities for pictures as the pace was quite leisurely. It was definitely worth the $15 to have someone so experienced spend a few hours with us.
Walks are 3 times per day: 7:30am, 11:00am, and 1:00pm. Make reservations at least a day in advance for the 7:30am tour. You can probably just show up for the other two tours, especially on a weekday.
We came first thing in the morning, signed up for the 11:00am tour, then hiked for 3 hours on our own before taking a coffee break and then catching up with our tour. We found this to be a great way to do things. A 7:30am tour, before a few hours of hiking, would be another good combo.
From journal One Week in Costa Rica