Private Nature Tour in Curi-Cancha with Entrance Fee Included
Entrance fees included — we handle the purchase for you
Private departure · admission included
24-hour booking cutoff · 100% refund (guide service and admission) if you cancel at least 48 hours before the tour · tours run rain or shine: entrance fees are non-refundable with less than 48 hours' notice · 2-person minimum, solo guests book via manual request.
- Start time
- 7:30 am – 10:00/10:30 am
- Modality
- Private only
- Where
- Curi-Cancha ReserveMap: Curi-Cancha Reserve
Requests close 24 hours before the tour. Cancel at least 48 hours in advance for a reserve-admission refund — cancellation policy
Photos from this tour
19 photos by our guidesOverview
This is the single-payment version of the private Curi-Cancha walk: guide, spotting scope and your reserve admission are settled together when you book, so on the morning of the tour you walk straight in with your guide instead of queueing at the ticket window.
Everything else is the private experience Curi-Cancha is known for — a three-hour interpretation of the reserve's edges, secondary growth and primary forest, at whatever pace your party prefers. Because admission is on your booking, your guide can also decide on the spot to change trails or extend a stop without anyone needing to buy a different ticket.
Curi-Cancha closes at 4:30 pm and your admission is valid for the day, so staying on after the guided walk to revisit a trail on your own is part of what you have already paid for.
Guided by Nasua Tours' certified naturalist guides, led by founder Oscar Castillo Mejía (license #1090) — read more about the team. Still comparing options? The Monteverde planning guide explains how this tour differs from the others. Travelling for birds? Check the quetzal, bellbird and manakin seasons.
Itinerary
Straight through the gate
Meet your guide at the entrance; your admission is already on the booking, so there is no ticket line and no cash to hand over.
Edges, coffee terraces and mixed flocks
The walk starts where the habitats meet — the most productive ground in the reserve during the first hours of light.
Primary forest interpretation
Your guide reads the older forest: epiphyte gardens, figs, orchids and the wildlife that depends on them.
Wrap-up, then the reserve is yours
Scope views and photos to finish, and your day admission lets you keep walking the trails on your own until 4:30 pm.
What to expect
On this product the reserve admission is already included in the price — there is nothing to pay at the gate.
What's included
- Professional bilingual guide, officially certified by the Costa Rican Tourism Board
- High-end spotting telescope shared among your party for crystal-clear wildlife observation and smartphone photography
What to bring
- Reliable waterproof jacket or poncho
- Sturdy hiking shoes or trail sneakers
- Fully charged camera or smartphone for telescope-magnified photos
- A reusable water bottle and insect repellent
Optional or not included
- Transportation
- Meals
Good to know
The essentials before your tour: what to bring, what to wear, where we meet and whether the reserve entrance is included.
What to bring
- Insect repellent — mandatory, the cloud forest has insects all year round
- Closed walking shoes — sandals or socks alone are not allowed
- A rain poncho or waterproof jacket, plus a warm layer for the cool, damp cloud-forest air
What to wear
- Long, quick-dry trousers and a light long-sleeve top are the most comfortable choice on the trail
- Dress in layers: mornings and nights are cool and the cloud forest is humid
- Comfortable clothes you don't mind getting damp from mist or light rain
Meeting point
- Map: Curi-Cancha ReserveDay tours start at 7:30 am (birding at 6:10 am). After the tour you may stay in the reserve on your own; it closes at 4:30 pm.
Is the reserve entrance included?
Yes — the reserve admission is included in the price of this tour. We handle the purchase, so there is nothing to pay at the gate.
Not a mass-market tour
This is an exclusive experience run in small groups or fully private — never a large commercial departure. You walk with one of our certified naturalist guides, led by Oscar Castillo Mejía, at your pace, with professional optical equipment on the trail and your reserve admission already included and confirmed with your booking.
- Small groups or fully private — no crowded buses
- Personal attention from a certified naturalist guide
- Professional spotting scope and quality optics included
- Reserve admission included and confirmed for you
What guests said about this tour
Read all reviews“We took a private day tour with Oscar, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Oscar conveyed boundless enthusiasm about all the nature we saw, making it an unforgettable day.”
Jaymee CoonjobeeharryGoogle · 2 years ago“We hired several wildlife guides during our three weeks in Costa Rica, but Christian from Nasua Tours was the best — an excellent eye for wildlife and impressive knowledge. If you book only one guided tour in Costa Rica, make it this one.”
Jim LTripadvisor “This was one of the best eco-tours I've taken to date. A first-rate guide, highly knowledgeable about indigenous wildlife and flora of Costa Rica and Monteverde, and about the specific preserves where you might find the species you hope to see.”
Josh Pelta-HellerFacebook
Did you join this tour? Leave a review
Your review is about the Private Nature Tour Curi-Cancha — Entrance Fee Included only. We read every review before publishing it on this page.
You can also review us on:
Booking & cancellation policies
These terms apply to every Nasua Tours booking and you accept them before your request is sent.
Booking cutoff: 24 hours
Requests close 24 hours before the tour starts, so admission and guiding can be arranged in time.
Full refund if you cancel at least 48 hours before the tour
Cancel at least 48 hours before the tour starts and both the guide service and the reserve admission (entrance tickets) are refunded 100%. With less than 48 hours' notice, the entrance tickets are no longer refundable.
Tours run rain or shine
Monteverde weather is unpredictable, so tours run rain or shine. Entrance fees already purchased are non-refundable.
Minimum booking: 2 people (solo guests welcome)
Shared groups open with a 2-person minimum, and the booking system is already set that way. Traveling solo? Send us a manual tour request and we'll do our best to add you to an existing group.
Questions about this tour
- What exactly does the price include?
- The reserve entrance fee is already included in the price of this product, so there is nothing to buy at the gate on the day of your tour.
- Can we stay in the reserve after the tour ends?
- Yes. Your admission covers the full day, so you may stay and continue exploring on your own until Curi-Cancha closes at 4:30 pm.
- How long is the nature tour and when does it start?
- The Curi-Cancha walk starts at 7:30 am and finishes between 10:00 and 10:30 am.
- How is it different from the birdwatching tour?
- The nature tour is a natural history walk: your guide interprets how flora and fauna are intertwined, with wildlife sightings along the way. The birdwatching tour starts earlier and is built specifically around finding and scoping birds.
- Are reserve entrance fees included?
- Yes. The price of this tour covers the guided service plus the reserve admission, with 15% tax already included, so there is nothing to buy at the gate on the day of your tour. Infants 0–3 are free.
- How much does the tour cost?
- The request panel shows the total for this private tour at Curi-Cancha, with reserve admission and taxes already included. The price per guest depends on group size. Children 4–10 have their own rate and infants 0–3 are free. You confirm the exact total with Nasua Tours before anything is booked.
- Is a guided nature tour better than walking the reserve alone?
- You can walk the trails alone, but most wildlife is quiet, camouflaged or high in the canopy. A certified naturalist guide interprets what you are seeing and uses a spotting telescope to show details you would otherwise walk past.
- Do I need any experience or special fitness?
- No experience is needed and the pace is relaxed on maintained reserve trails. Tell Nasua Tours about mobility or pace concerns in your request so the route can be adjusted.
Continue your Monteverde experience
You can combine tours to see different sides of Monteverde. These pair well with this one:
Night Walk Tour
The walk finishes late morning, so the 5:30 pm night walk can work that same evening — the same forest with an entirely nocturnal cast.
Private Full Day Birding Tour
Travellers who want more time on the trails often move up to the nine-hour private day across two reserves.
Build a multi-tour itinerary
Send us the tours you like and the dates you are in Monteverde. Oscar sequences them realistically around start times and reserves, then replies with the current rates and one combined plan.
About 3 hours
Entrance fee included