Tours and Activities
There's a good range of tours in the Quepos area, while many of the upmarket hotels in town or on the road to Manuel Antonio have their own tour-service desk. Most day-trips include equipment rental and guides where necessary, along with lunch and/or snacks. Note that though you can theoretically visit Bahia Drake and the Osa Peninsula - including Isla del Cano just off the coast of Osa - from Quepos, it's far cheaper to get there from Palmar or Golfito in the Zona Sur. In the town centre, the friendly and reputable Lynch Tours (tel 777-0161, fax 777-1571, www.lynchtravel.com ) is a good source of unbiased information. They can get you to Dominical, Corcovado, and Bahia Drake either by bus or plane, and arrange transfers to nearly all parts of the country in air-conditioned Mercedes shuttle buses; they also arrange airport transfers (US$3) and handle plane-ticket sales and reservations. Their many local tours include horse-riding trips to a local waterfall (US$55), sports-fishing (US$500-1000 for full day's offshore fishing), sea kayaking (US$60), whitewater rafting (US$75-US$90), rainforest canopy tours (US$80), and ever-popular daytime or sunset cruises, some specifically to see dolphins (US$60). Equus Stables (tel 777-0001, havefun@racsa.co.cr ), on the road to Manuel Antonio, can take you horse-riding on the beach - sunset is the time to go - and up into the mountains behind on a two-hour tour (US$35). As elsewhere in the country, it's worth having a look at how the horses are treated and stabled before you ride, since overwork and abuse of horses is fairly widespread and a thorny issue among travellers and riding outfitters. The area's best established sports-fishing outfitter is Costa Rica Dreams (tel & fax 777-0593), while Isabel Guillen's Boutique El Pescador (tel & fax 777-1596) is also recommended; a day's fishing will cost up to US$950. Rafting outfitters Los Amigos del Rio (tel & fax 777-1262) have offices in Quepos itself, next to the church, and between Quepos and Manuel Antonio (look for a large orange building on the left with inflatable rafts outside). One of the most popular activities hereabouts are the cruises along the coast to Manuel Antonio. Sunset Sails (tel & fax 777-1304; or book through Lynch Tours) offer dolphin-watching or sunset cruises (Dec-April only) in a classic wooden yacht, with stunning views of the coastline and offshore islands (US$60 for a 4hr cruise); they claim that whales and sea turtles are sometimes spotted. The cruise includes lunch and snorkelling, and there's time for a swim off the boat. Another popular excursion is the day-trip to Hacienda Baru , a private hacienda-cum-nature-reserve near Dominical (tel 787-0003, fax 787-0004, sstroud@racsa.co.cr ). They have a canopy observation platform from where you get a bird's-eye view of the upper rainforest canopy, and also offer horse-riding.
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