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.

  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."

  We had a brilliant morning exploring Sukia with the lovely Juan. Juan’s expertise & knowledge blew us away & he really stood out as one of the best guides we... read more encountered in Manuel Antonio. His relaxed yet super engaged & passionate style made for the perfect guide.

We saw scarlet macaw couples grooming each other(such an intimate & sweet behaviour). The butterfly house was great & seeing each stage of their life cycles was fascinating. The immense care taken with each chrysalis & pupae was evident when Juan handled them to give us a closer look.

We were impressed with the crocodile, caiman and turtle rescue section & despite the sad stories that have led some of the inhabitants there, felt reassured by the ethics of the current owners and clear dedication to the welfare of all the animals on site.

Highly recommend this unique & memorable experience. Another highlight, we didn’t see any other humans at all :)

Big thank you the awesome Juan, Pura Vida :)

  We took a tour of Manuel Antonio National Park in the morning, and had a tour reserved here for the afternoon; we were so tired after the morning we almost... read more canceled and I’m so happy we didn’t!! This tour was much better than the national park- we saw WAY more animals (capuchin monkeys up close, howler monkeys, sloths, woodpeckers, macaws, very interesting frogs and insects, lizards, and of course the crocodiles and butterflies after the walk), plus the walk itself felt more authentic and was very beautiful. Our guide Juan was so nice and incredibly knowledgeable. Another plus was that there was no restriction on bringing in snacks, which was a big problem for us in the national park with young kids. Honestly we would have done this instead of the Manuel Antonio National park tour.

  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!

  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!

  Fascinating tour with Juan who is a natural biologist and full of interesting information about the first, its plants and animals.

  Do not miss the opportunity to visit this fascinating sanctuary of native Costa Rican reptiles, butterflies, assorted plants, wild monkeys and birds. A natural stream runs through the property, providing... read more a ‘green’ solution for the animals. Many are rescues, all cared for by knowledgeable staff.

The butterfly pavilion must be experienced to be believed! Walk among Blue Morphos and other species in their native habitat to observe and learn about breeding, care and preservation.