Private Tours from Hacienda Pinilla, Costa Rica
Private · Personalized · Unforgettable
Yes — we pick you up inside Hacienda Pinilla, at the JW Marriott lobby or your villa, for private, guided day tours. We start early: 7:00 a.m. for the closer days, 5:30 for Arenal and Monteverde. The catamaran leaves about 45–50 minutes away, Palo Verde’s Tempisque River is about 1 hour 45 minutes, and Miravalles and the Tenorio rainforest work as full days.
Staying at the JW Marriott Guanacaste or in one of the private homes and villas inside Hacienda Pinilla? You’re in one of the most private corners of the Guanacaste coast — and we come to you. Guanadreams CR runs private, guided day tours with door-to-door pickup inside the resort: no shared shuttles, no strangers in your group, no meeting points at the gate. Just your party, a private vehicle, and a local naturalist guide born and raised on this coast.
Hacienda Pinilla sits on the southern end of the Guanacaste coast, roughly an hour and 45 minutes from Liberia’s airport, spread across thousands of acres of dry forest, pasture and beach. We collect you at your door — the JW lobby or your villa — and bring you back the same way.
You Came Here for the Quiet. We'll Keep It That Way.
Pinilla is a world of its own: gated, spacious, unhurried. Guests who choose it are usually the ones who didn’t want the crowds — and that’s exactly the kind of traveller who gets the most out of what we do.
Because a private naturalist tour is the opposite of a bus full of strangers. It’s your family, your guide, and a country most visitors only glimpse through a window. The great bird river of the Tempisque is an hour and a half east. The rainforest of Tenorio runs turquoise three hours north. And the howler monkeys, iguanas and dry-forest birds start right at the edge of the property.
What’s right outside those gates is worth knowing: some of the best uncrowded surf in the country. Playa Avellanas and Playa Negra sit just south of Pinilla — wild, low-key beaches a world away from the Tamarindo scene, which itself is only about 30 minutes up the road when you want restaurants or nightlife. The trade-off for all that quiet is distance: the nearest town for banks and pharmacies is Villarreal, and the airport is about an hour and 45 minutes out. We start early — 7:00 a.m. for the closer days, 5:30 for the long ones like Arenal and Monteverde. The tours that pair best with Pinilla: Palo Verde, the ATV and buggy trails, the mangrove canoe, Miravalles and Buena Vista.
Which half-day tours work from Hacienda Pinilla?
Private Catamaran & Ocean Tour — about 45 to 50 minutes
Our boats sail from Flamingo up the coast. A private charter for your group only — snorkeling in the clear coves, dolphins and turtles, humpback whales in season. Transport there and back is taken care of. See our ocean experiences →
ATV Adventure — about 1 hour
A private guided ride through the dry-forest backcountry — river crossings, ridgeline viewpoints, and trails most visitors never find, with monkeys and iguanas along the way. See the ATV & buggy tour →
Ziplining — about 1 hour
Canopy adrenaline through the ancient dry forest, private to your group, ideal for families and first-timers. See the zipline experience →
Palo Verde & Tempisque Wildlife — about 1 hour 45 minutes
The wildlife day, and the one we’d send a first-time visitor on. A boat safari through one of Central America’s great concentrations of waterbirds — crocodiles on the banks, howler monkeys overhead, herons, storks and roseate spoonbills — with a guide who names every one by sight and by call. See the Palo Verde experience → You can add Hacienda El Viejo to the same morning — a restored sugar estate beside the same wetlands, with marimba, traditional crafts and Guanacaste food. There is a rum tour version too.
Ocean Experiences from Hacienda Pinilla
From Hacienda Pinilla the Gulf is a drive north — we take you to Flamingo Marina, where you board. It's the trade-off for reaching Papagayo's sheltered water from the south coast: a transfer out, an easy day on calm sea, and a transfer back, all arranged for you.
Private Catamaran Day — From $2,250
Our 42-foot catamaran: 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.
Which full-day trips work from Hacienda Pinilla?
The bucket-list days. We collect you early — around 6 AM — and have you back by evening, private vehicle and naturalist guide the whole way.
Miravalles Volcano & Las Hornillas — about 2 hours and 40 minutes
Thermal water, volcanic mud and a walk over the falls on the flank of Miravalles — a long drive north, and worth it. See the Miravalles volcano experience →
Río Celeste & Tenorio Rainforest — about 3 hours
The turquoise river of Tenorio Volcano National Park and the rainforest around it — a complete change of world from the dry southern coast, and where the wildlife gets seriously good. See the Tenorio rainforest experience →
Monteverde Cloud Forest — about 4.5 hours
Up into the mist: hanging bridges through the canopy, hummingbirds at arm’s length, and an ecosystem unlike anywhere else on your trip. A long day — and the one guests talk about for years. See the Monteverde experience →
La Fortuna & Arenal Volcano — about 4.5 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 and 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?
The concierge desk is convenient, but it sells a short list of the same tours to everyone. Outside it there’s a whole world of private experiences you’d never hear about otherwise. We are naturalist guides, wildlife photographers, and birders — not drivers with a script — with more than thirty years in the industry, born and raised on this coast. The names of the birds, the rhythm of the seasons, the stories of the cane and the sea: knowledge we’ve carried since childhood, and what we pass on to you. Several of our guides have personally recorded hundreds of Costa Rica’s bird species on eBird, some more than 600. See our birding & photography experience →
And every tour is 100% private to your group. Your vehicle, your guide, your pace.
Our Pickup Area
Hacienda Pinilla anchors the southern end of our northern Pacific pickup corridor, which runs all the way up to the Papagayo Peninsula. Wherever you’d like to go, we start at your door.
Book three tours and your arrival transfer is on us
If you book three tours with us, we collect you at the airport when you land — that transfer is included, not discounted. Book four and we take you back for your departure flight as well.
Two conditions, and we would rather say them plainly than have you discover them later. The group has to be four people or more. And the group that rides in from the airport is the group that does the tours: if eight of you arrive in the van, the tours are for eight, not for four of the eight.
Tell us your flight when you write and we will have it arranged before you land. If you would rather just book the transfer on its own, we do that too — See Liberia Airport transfer prices and vehicles →
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 →
Book direct with the operator
- We run these tours ourselves. No middleman, no reseller.
- Private from two people on most experiences — no strangers in your van.
- The price you see is the price you pay: taxes and door-to-door pickup included.
Plan Your Day from Hacienda Pinilla
Tell us you’re staying at the JW Marriott or inside Hacienda Pinilla, and what you’d love to see — we’ll build the perfect private day around it.
More than 300 five-star reviews on Tripadvisor. Our guides’ eBird lists are public — you can read them before you write.
Prefer a form? Write to us here →
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By the Guanadreams team, led by Miller Contreras — naturalist guide, born and raised in Guanacaste.