About Guanadreams CR
Two people, one passion — sharing the real Costa Rica, born on the shores of Papagayo
Our Story
We are Miller Contreras Canales and Karol Murillo Portilla — the two pillars, and the two hearts, behind Guanadreams CR. Together we’ve built a company rooted in one shared devotion: a deep love for Costa Rica’s nature and a commitment to protecting it.
Our stories began in very different places, but led us to exactly the same one.
Miller was born and raised right here on the shores of Papagayo, at Playas del coco, in his grandparents’ home — facing the beach, surrounded by nothing but nature. That’s where it all began. As a small child, watching the birds around the house and along the shore, he fell in love with wildlife. The birds pulled him into a lifelong fascination with nature and, above all, with caring for it — a passion that never left.
Growing up in one of the most visited regions of Costa Rica, surrounded by travelers from the United States and Canada, Miller learned English the way many of us here did — from the visitors themselves. For nearly 30 years he has worked in every corner of Costa Rica’s tourism industry — luxury resorts, property management, and concierge work on the Peninsula Papagayo — and for over 20 years as a certified naturalist guide. He has traveled nearly all of Costa Rica in search of its hidden pockets of wildlife, building a knowledge of our country few can match. For Miller, nature and photography aren’t a job. They’re how he breathes.
Karol comes from Costa Rica’s Central Valley, near San José. An entrepreneur and a pharmacist by profession, she felt an even stronger pull toward nature — so strong that she left the city behind and moved to Guanacaste, following her love for the natural world. When she and Miller met, it was a perfect match: two people on exactly the same page, devoted to the same mission.
Ten years ago, Karol joined Miller full-time to build something stronger together. Today, Miller is the one in the field, guiding — and Karol is the foundation that holds everything together. And we never stop learning: we continually train and educate ourselves to understand more, every single day, about Costa Rica’s nature and environment. Because we carry a real responsibility — to teach the world, and every traveler who visits us, how to cherish and protect it. That is our clearest purpose, alongside the goal we set for ourselves: to give our guests the finest experience of their lives.
Our Mission
About 15 years ago, we founded what has become Guanadreams CR (formerly Guanacaste Dreams Vacations). We work alongside a team of highly qualified, certified naturalist guides — each carefully trained in our own principles: the same conservation ethics, the same respect for nature, and the same standard of care for every guest.
We’re not a company that simply sells tours. We craft private, personalized experiences, built around what each traveler dreams of — always within a framework of respect for the natural world. Our greatest goal is that you leave Costa Rica with the finest experience possible, and carry home a small seed of something bigger: how to protect our planet, how to care for nature. That’s what Costa Rica strives to teach the world — and we’re proud to be part of it.
Conservation First
We don’t just show you nature; we teach how to respect and live alongside it.
Truly Private
No crowded buses, no fixed scripts. Every experience is yours alone, customized to what you want.
Genuine Passion
This isn’t work for us. We love photography, we love wildlife, we love this land. It’s how we de-stress, how we live.
30+
Years in Costa Rica Tourism
20+
Years as Certified Naturalist Guides
100%
Private, Customized Experiences
Our Team
Miller Contreras Canales — Founder & Lead Naturalist Guide. Born in Papagayo, 30 years in tourism, lifelong bird and wildlife enthusiast.
Karol Murillo Portilla — Co-Founder. Pharmacist turned nature devotee; the foundation of Guanadreams CR.
Plus our team of certified naturalist guides, trained in our values.
Meet Our Guides
Every Guanadreams experience is led by a certified naturalist guide who knows this land in the field, not from a script — birds, mammals, reptiles, the dry forest and its wildlife, and the culture of the region. Here’s the team, and for the birders among you, their eBird records.
Miller Contreras Canales
Co-Founder & Lead Naturalist Guide
With over 30 years in tourism and more than 20 as a certified guide, Miller has spent his life reading Guanacaste’s forests season by season. He guides the full range of Costa Rican nature — birds, mammals, reptiles, the dry forest and its wildlife, and the culture of the region — and leads the Guanadreams CR team in the field.
Dave Vargas
Naturalist Guide
A field guide across Costa Rica’s ecosystems, Dave pairs deep naturalist knowledge with one of the sharpest birding eyes on the team. His eBird record speaks for itself: 700 species recorded in Costa Rica — most of the country’s entire avifauna.
José Vargas Mena
Naturalist Guide & Wildlife Photographer
José guides the full nature experience and brings a photographer’s eye to the field — 691 species recorded in Costa Rica, 478 of them photographed. If you’re here for wildlife photography as much as for the sighting, José is your guide.
Obed Canales
Naturalist Guide
An eBird user since 2019, Obed guides across Costa Rica’s forests and wetlands with a naturalist’s full range. His eBird record stands at 533 species in Costa Rica and counting.
Ready to experience the real Costa Rica?
Let us craft a private experience built around you — and share the country we love.