Private Tours from RIU Guanacaste & RIU Palace, Costa Rica
Private · Personalized · Unforgettable
Staying at the Hotel RIU Guanacaste or the Hotel RIU Palace Costa Rica on Playa Matapalo? You’re in one of the best-placed spots on the whole Guanacaste coast — and we come to you. Guanadreams CR runs private, guided day tours with door-to-door pickup right at your resort: no shared shuttles, no strangers in your group, no meeting points. Just your family or party, a private vehicle, and a local naturalist guide who was born and raised on this coast and has spent thirty years reading this land.
Both RIU resorts sit side by side on Matapalo Beach, just about 30 minutes from Liberia’s Guanacaste Airport (LIR) — and closer than you’d think to some of Costa Rica’s most spectacular wildlife and adventure. We pick you up at the door and bring you back to the door, every time.
You Paid for All-Inclusive. The Real Costa Rica Is Included Too — Just Outside the Gate.
The RIU is a wonderful place to unwind: the buffet, the pool, the beach, the shows — all of it already paid for, all of it right there. And you should enjoy every bit of it. But here’s the thing most guests only realize halfway through the week: the Costa Rica people fly across the world to see — the turquoise rivers, the toucans and howler monkeys, the cloud forest, the volcano — none of that is inside the resort walls. It’s out here. And it’s astonishingly close.
You don’t need to trade your whole vacation for it. Even one day out — a morning on the water, an afternoon in the treetops, a full day at a volcano — is what turns “a nice beach holiday” into “the trip we still talk about.” We handle everything: we collect you at the RIU lobby, take you out with a real naturalist guide, and have you back in time for dinner. You just bring your camera.
Half-Day Tours from the RIU
Close to the resort, easy on your schedule — perfect for a morning or afternoon out with plenty of time left for the pool.
Private Catamaran & Ocean Tour — right from your beach (0 minutes)
The easiest escape of all: no drive at all. We pick you up right on the RIU’s own beach at Matapalo, steps from your room. Sail the Papagayo Gulf, snorkel the clear coves, watch for dolphins and turtles, and — in season — humpback whales. A private charter for your group only, not a crowded party boat. See our ocean experiences →
ATV Adventure — just 15 to 20 minutes away
Here’s the RIU’s best-kept secret: the adventure trails start almost at your doorstep. Just 15 to 20 minutes from the resort — along the very same road out of the RIU — you’re deep in the Guanacaste dry forest on a private guided ATV ride, crossing rivers and climbing to viewpoints most visitors never see, with monkeys, iguanas and birds along the way. See the ATV & buggy tour →
Ziplining — just 15 to 20 minutes away
The zipline canopy is just as close — 15 to 20 minutes from the RIU, off the same road out. Soar through the treetops of the ancient dry forest on a private outing, ideal for families and first-timers, with a real chance of spotting monkeys and birds in the canopy around you. See the adventure tour →
Palo Verde & Tempisque Wildlife — about 1 to 1.5 hours
The closest true wildlife safari: a boat trip on the Tempisque River through one of Central America’s great bird concentrations — crocodiles, monkeys, herons, roseate spoonbills and dozens of species your guide will name and help you photograph. See the Palo Verde experience →
Ocean Experiences from the RIU Guanacaste
You're staying on Playa Matapalo, right inside the Gulf — the ocean is a short walk from the RIU Palace or RIU Guanacaste, and a few minutes more to the boat. A tender comes to the RIU beach, and you're sailing without ever leaving the resort's stretch of sand.
Private Catamaran Day — From $2,250
Our 42-foot catamaran off your beach: snorkel stops, a sea cave, Monkey Head Rock, WaveRunners, and a guide who reads the mangroves back to you. Standard or Premium, half or full day.
Sunset Sailing — From $2,250
The same catamaran for the last hours of light. Papagayo faces west, so the sun drops straight into the water in front of you — and the dolphins tend to surface right about then.
Sport Fishing in the Gulf — From $1,120
Four to five hours after roosterfish, mahi-mahi and tuna, on the boat that fits your group. We carry snorkel gear too — the same water usually puts you over turtles.
Private Boat Day & Beach Barbecue — From $1,265
A private boat to a near-private beach, where we set up on the sand and grill lunch for you. Swimming, snorkeling, and a barbecue with your feet in the water.
Full-Day Adventures from the RIU
The bucket-list days. These start early — we collect you at the RIU lobby around 6 to 7 AM and have you back by evening — and they’re worth every minute. Private vehicle and naturalist guide the whole way.
Río Celeste & Tenorio Rainforest — about 2 hours
The famous turquoise river of Tenorio Volcano National Park — one of Costa Rica’s seven natural wonders — plus rainforest trails alive with wildlife. A complete change of world from the dry coast, and at its most spectacular in the green season. See the Tenorio rainforest experience →
Monteverde Cloud Forest — about 3.5 hours
Up into the misty cloud forest — hanging bridges through the canopy, hummingbirds, quetzals, and an ecosystem unlike anywhere else on the trip. A long but unforgettable day, and a birder’s paradise. See the Monteverde experience →
La Fortuna & Arenal Volcano — about 3.5 hours
The iconic cone of Arenal, lava trails, waterfalls, and natural hot springs to close the day. One of Costa Rica’s signature experiences, done privately at your own pace. See the Arenal & La Fortuna experience →
Not sure which month suits you best? Our guides put together a month-by-month guide to Guanacaste's dry and green seasons — what the weather does, and what wildlife you can expect to see. See the best time to visit Guanacaste →
Why Book With a Naturalist Guide Instead of the Hotel Tour Desk?
The tour desk at the RIU is convenient — but it’s a small window onto a big province, and it sells the same handful of tours to everyone. Outside it there’s a whole world of private experiences you’d never hear about otherwise. And here’s something worth knowing: the fact that we’re not one of the big-name companies the resort partners with doesn’t make us lesser. It’s the opposite. That’s exactly where you find the real thing — the local guide who actually knows the land.
Search around and you’ll find plenty of private operators near the RIU running the very same tours. So what makes us different? We’re not drivers with a script. We are naturalist guides, wildlife photographers, and birders — people who genuinely love this work, with more than thirty years in the industry, born and raised right here on the Guanacaste coast. This land isn’t a job we studied for; it’s in us. The names of the birds, the rhythm of the seasons, the stories of the cane and the sea — knowledge we’ve carried since childhood — is what we pass on to you, not as a tour, but as something taught. Several of our guides have personally recorded hundreds of Costa Rica’s bird species on eBird — some more than 600 — and when we take you out, you’re getting someone who reads this forest and this sea the way you’d read a book you grew up with.
And every tour is 100% private to your group. We pick you up at the door of the RIU and bring you back to the door of the RIU — your vehicle, your guide, your pace. When you want to stop for the toucan in the tree, we stop. That’s the difference between being shown Costa Rica and truly seeing it.
Our Pickup Area
The RIU resorts sit on Playa Matapalo in Sardinal, Guanacaste — perfectly placed on our northern Pacific pickup corridor, which runs from the Papagayo Peninsula in the north down to Hacienda Pinilla in the south. Wherever you’d like to go, we start at your lobby.
A note on transport: pickup and transport from the RIU are included in your private tour. Just tell us your dates and what you’d love to see, and we’ll confirm everything.
Flying in? Our guide to Liberia Airport (LIR) covers drive times to every beach on this coast, what to expect when you land, and how to get to your door. Read the Liberia Airport guide →
Plan Your Day from the RIU
Tell us you’re staying at the RIU Guanacaste or RIU Palace and what you’d love to see, and we’ll build the perfect private day around it — and have you back in time for dinner at the resort.