We were blown away that this nature preserve exists right in the heart of Manuel Antonio. Under new ownership, they offer birding tours, day tours, and jungle night tours. ... read more We enjoyed a morning tour with our excellent and knowledgable guide, Juan, who showed us many interesting things in the jungle. We spotted poison dart frogs, capuchin monkeys, bats, a boat-billed heron, a mot mot bird, a hawk, and many interesting insects, plants and trees. We met the rescued crocodiles and caymans and turtles, and watched the butterflies fly around our heads in the large butterfly garden. You can tell the new owners and Juan care a lot about the welfare of the animals and are good stewards of this special place. We will return!

  I visited Sukia last month with my daughter and her friend. We have visited the butterfly gardens on previous occasions, the park in now under new ownership and offering much... read more more.
Juan our knowledgeable guide, showed us the butterflies, crocodiles and turtles and then we headed onto beautiful trails that lead to a waterfall view point. Juan was excellent, and great with the kids. I’m excited to see what other projects they are working on, and pleased that they are developing sustainably and protecting this vital natural area in the heart of Manuel Antonio.

  I finally got to see my fill of beautiful blue morpho butterflies here!

Our guide, Sofia was great and explained all about the different species of butterflies,... read more and their life cycles, environmental niches and differences between species. I was so impressed that she was only 14 years old!

It does get hot in the conservatory, so I suggest early morning for the tour. By later in the day, there is shade on some of the walkways to see the crocodiles and turtles.

We saw a variety of butterflies and chrysallis pods, and even got to hold a blue morpho caterpillar! Outside the butterfly conservatory, we saw various species of rescued turtles, caymans and crocodiles (babies, young adults and huge older adults!). As they had been fed the day before, there were lots of turkey vultures hanging about too! We also saw tilapia as well as basilisk lizards - perhaps you may catch them running atop the water!

I really enjoyed the stories our guide told us, of how each crocodile was rescued and named, and the importance of education in saving these amazing prehistoric creatures from human ignorance.

I love that this tour was not too long for children, and that the tour area itself was small. This would be a great first or last stop for families as you get to see cool new animals, learn about them from a younger guide, and aren't exhausted by a 12 hour tour or 2 hour hike through a rainforest!

  Butterfly sanctuary, seeing the many species enjoying their fruit and nectar, seeing their stages of development, and the secrets of their colorful wing scales. Walking the property to see the... read more waterfall and experience the peaceful serenity right in the middle of Manuel Antonio. There are night tours that reveal another universe of reptiles and nocturnal animals. It's memorable, every visitor to this beautiful place should see the turtles and crocodiles, the plants, and the colorful insects. Learn from the helpful guides how humans coexist with the wildlife in the area.

Come prepared with good walking shoes, some insect repellent if coming at evening hours, and I recommend tipping the guides for their thoughtful lessons and Q&A talks.

  We did the butterflies and crocs tour. Juan was fantastic! Kept our whole group (age range from 5 yo to 55 yo) engaged. He was just wonderful! Highly recommend!

  Surprisingly Fascinating! - I wasn't expecting too much from our visit to Sukia as we had been to the National Park, which was perfect. BUT, Juan shared with the 5 of us all... read more sorts of interesting facts about the butterflies. We were able to interact and see all stages of their development. Then we headed to see the crocodiles, and WOW! If I could post the video of the croc leaping for the pole, I wouldn't because it would ruin the surprise. Juan was so knowledgeable and so compassionate about his tiny "charges."

  Booked a Night Tour with Juan; he’s a national treasure. He was extremely kind, friendly & knowledgeable about the local wildlife. It was obvious that he has an unprecedented passion... read more for what he does, and was very forthcoming in sharing that with our group.

  Our guide Sebastian was very friendly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the animals and insects of Sukia. We went during the day and did not see many animals (a heron, a... read more dart frog, and some lizards) during our hike but we did learn a lot about the ecosystem and thoroughly enjoyed our hike through the property and the waterfall. There's also a beautiful butterfly garden where we got to see them in all life stages, as well as a crocodile, turtle, and black Cayman refuge which was very cool to walk through and learn about. Highly recommend!

  Close Encounters of the Croc (and Butterfly) Kind - Excellent tour! We did the butterflies and crocs tour and had a great time. Our guide was very knowledgeable, skilled with handling the butterflies, and was very enthusiastic. The tour... read more presented 9 varieties of vivid Costa Rican butterflies up close and also boasted a variety of reptiles. The sanctuary does very good work raising the animals, and we’d highly recommend a visit!