Bucus Tours

Omar Cook will be your guide for most of the tours, he is a Manzanillo resident who has worked for 13 years as a trained and certified jungle Guide here in his homeland. Omar has expertise within these ranges: Bird Identification, botany, animal and Plant habitats but also the geography of the entire country of Costa Rica.

Oriole snake, Tiger-rat snake, Mica, Spilotes pullatus

Jungle hike through the Manzanillo – Gandoca Wildlife Refuge

This is a tour where you will gain a lot of knowledge about the rainforest and the things that comprise the forest such as the animals, trees, plants, birds etc. The hike is inside a secondary and primary forest where you will see different kinds of fascinating jungle critters like monkeys, sloths, frogs, snakes, toucans, butterflies, iguanas, spiders and more. You will see the diversity among the trees such as the mountain almonds, rubber trees, the spiked sandbox trees, just to name a few. There are big monkey ladders that connect the trees in the canopy which house lots of epiphytes like orchids, bromilias, and philodendrons. You will see where the cacao plantations were along with the coconut palms which were the main means of survival and income in the past for both the Indians and the Afro Caribbean’s.

What to bring on the tour: Boots, hiking or tennis shoes, long pants, repellent, water, a snack, rain jacket, binoculars, camera

Duration: be prepared for a 4 – 5 hour hike.

Price: 35 $pp

                      Keel-billed Toucan, Tucan pico iris, Ramphastos suluratus

Bird Watching tour

On this tour you will see many different kinds of tropical birds which exist only in this area. Visitors are surprised about how many birds one can spot in a very small area. In this part of the county there are about 400 different species of birds including tucans, hummingbirds, raptors, owls, tanagers, parrots etc. On the tour we try to recognize the birds by their sounds. You will learn about their different habitats and nutritional needs. From Oct-March you have different migrate birds. The guide will show you the birds in a book and you can make a list of the birds that you see.

What to bring on the tour: Boots, hiking or tennis shoes, long pants, repellent, water, rain jacket, binoculars, camera, bird book (optional), paper and pen (optional).

Duration: We take 3 1/2 to 4 1/2hours. The best time is early in the morning about 5:30 am. 
Price:40 $ pp

Three-toed Sloth, Perezoso de tres dedos, Bradypus variegatus

Guided hiking tour to Punta Mona

This is a mix tour because you will see the beauty of the rainforest and the virgin coastline. The guide will help you spotting really exotic animals what a rare to find in next places in the world. But they are endemics here in this area of always-green tropical humid rainforest. It will take us about 4-5 hours to get to Punta Mona on the way you will get to know more about the history of the village, culture, costumes, traditions and many different medical plants like Bitter wood, lemongrass, noni, mint, jackass bitters, life everlasting, cinnamon etc. The guide will help you to spot animals like monkys, snakes, slots, lizards, iguans and also a lot of different insects for example butter flays, spiders, beetels, ants etc. When you arrive Punta Mona there are 2 ways to get back walking a next 3 hours back or you can get back buy boat.

What to bring on the tour: Boots, hiking or tennis shoes, long pants, repellent, water, a snack, rain jacket, binoculars, : bathing suit, sun block, hat and camera.

Prices:
Punta Mona full day hike to go and come back 6-7 hours 55$ pp
Punta Mona hike and get back to Manzanillo by boat 4-5 hours 65$ pp
Punta Mona hike and on back by boat combinatet with Dolphin tour 80$ pp

                               Eyelash Palm Pitviper, Oropel, Bothriechis schlegelii, Greifschwanz Lanzenotter.

                               
                               Emerald Basilisk, Basiliscus plumifrons, Helmbaseliskus

                                   Long-nosed Bat, Rhynchonycteris naso

                               

                       

                       

                                       

Indian Reserve Tour

First we visit Tsiru the cacao house in Talamanca made by the local indigenous people and see how they make chocolate and cocoa butter by authentic Bri bri rituals. Assorted flavored chocolates, cocoa butter, coconut oil, banana vinegar, noni juice, and indigenous handcrafts are available for sale here. You will also learn about the history of these people. Next, we will go to Volio and take a little hike to a waterfall where we can swim. Finally, we will visit Rancho Grande, a small indigenous community to meet the esteemed elder of these people.

What to bring on the tour: hiking or tennis shoes, rain jacket, camera, bathing suit, repellent, water and a snack.

Price: 60$ pp

                                

Observatory

We will bring you to the jungle of Gandoca-Manzanillo wildlife refuge. It is a beautiful primary rainforest which you will experience by walking along the small river and then following Indian trail. It takes about 30 min walking to come to the tree which holds the Observatorio suspended 25 meters from the ground. Fully equipped and after a short climbing lesson yu will start your ascent. Climb will give you a nice workout but the view gets better by every meter you make. At the Observatorio, which has 60m2 and two levels (biggest suspended platform in the world) you will enjoy astonishing views of the Caribbean ocean and the nature around. After that, the tour continues with a hike through the jungle where you will see, hear and smell the wildnerness. After all, we will arrive to a rustic jungle house, take out your boots and enjoy some some fruits and views of the jungle, nature around and jungle. Nicely built Indian steps will bring us back to the starting point, on the way back to your hotel to take a nice shower!

What to bring on the tour: Boots, long pants, repellent, binoculars, camera.

Departure: 8:00 am at your hotel

Duration: 5 hours approx.

Price: 60$ pp includes transportation, fruits and beverages, equipment

                                   Dolphin tour
                                   there are three different kinds of dolphins here: the really common one, the
                                    bottlenose, is found in many places in the world.

                                    Then we have the Tuxuci a small dolphin that likes the sweet and salt -water mix found only from the lake    in Nicaragua down all the way to the Amazon.Both species like to mingle together and are found most of the time close to the Panamanian border. The third type of dolphin found here is the Atlantic spotted dolphin which swims far out in the Atlantic ocean . When the dolphins are spotted, thecaptain shuts the motor down and waits, when sometimes they come close but we dont want to disturb them, menacingly.The beautiful green coastlinewith sandy, isolated beaches and outstanding green covered rocks are in full view during this tour. 

What to bring on the tour:Camera, bathing suit, water, sun block,   hat and a snack.

Price: 45$ pp

                           

                             See the Leatherbacks (biggest see turtle on earth) nesting

This is a night tour either via boat from Manzanillo or via rental car / taxi to Punta Mona where the turtle nesting site is located. It’s a night tour and dark clothing is necessary. The female Leatherback turtles, the largest sea turtles in the world – up to 2 meters long - come from far distances in order to lay their eggs on the same beach where they were born. Their main food source is jellyfish which she dives down to 1200 feet to find.


What to bring on the tour: Dark clothing, long pants, sweater, rain jacket, water and snack.


Price: 40$ pp plus the transportation