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Las Cascadas

Boutique Hotel

+1-888-695-7583

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Ocean

Damas Island Mangroves by Kayak

Paddle the quiet mangrove channels at the water's level, with a naturalist guide and lunch after.

Free hotel pickup Lunch is included
Scroll to explore
Duration About 4 hrs
Departure Set by the tide
Pickup From your hotel
On the water Single or tandem kayak
Effort Moderate level
Guide Bilingual naturalist

The same channels, at the water's level.

The Damas estuary is a maze of channels running back off the coast under a roof of mangrove. In a kayak you go in quietly, at the height of the roots, and into the narrow channels a boat cannot fit.

It is paddling on protected water, not open sea, and the guide gives a short lesson and sets the pace. It is still real paddling for a good part of the morning, which is the honest difference between this and the boat tour.

At the height of the roots, where a boat cannot fit.

More about this tour

The wildlife comes to the water, because a mangrove is a nursery and everything visits it: capuchins in the branches overhead, herons and egrets on the mud banks, roseate spoonbills, and crocodilians at the surface.

The tide sets the start time, so we confirm it the day before. There is a snack on the river and lunch afterwards, both part of the tour.

What might you see out there?

Your naturalist knows where they hide, when they move, and how to find them.

Very likely

White-faced Capuchin

Cebus imitator

They work the branches out over the channels and are entirely unbothered by a kayak passing underneath.

Likely

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

Pink, with a bill like a flat spoon that it sweeps through the shallows of the open estuary.

Likely

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Stands very still on a low branch over the water, which is exactly the height a kayak passes at.

Likely

Great Egret

Ardea alba

Tall, white and patient, fishing the edges of the open estuary.

Likely

Brown-throated Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

A sloth will spend most of a week in one tree, which is exactly why a guide who knows the trees is worth having.

Likely

Crocodiles and Caimans

Crocodylus acutus, Caiman crocodilus

Both live in this estuary. Usually a pair of eyes at the surface and nothing else, and your guide keeps the group a sensible distance away.

Wildlife sightings are nature, never a guarantee. Your guide knows where to look.

Here's how the 4 hours unfold

Every step is planned so you can focus on the experience, not the logistics.

Set by the tide

Pickup at Las Cascadas.

The tide sets the start, so we confirm the time with you the day before.

On arrival

Life jackets and a briefing.

Single or tandem kayaks, a short lesson, and onto flat water.

In the channels

Paddling the mangrove.

The guide leads you through the channels and stops whenever something is in the trees or on the bank.

On the river

A snack on the water.

A break on the river before paddling back.

After the water

Lunch.

Part of the tour, once you are off the water.

After

Back at the hotel.

Drop-off at the lobby.

Everything included, and everything to bring

What is included

  • Hotel pickup
  • Kayak tour
  • Naturalist guide
  • Drinks
  • River snack and lunch

What to bring

  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses, hat
  • Bug spray
  • Swimsuit, quick-dry clothes

Photographs from this trip

Real photos from this tour. Click any image to open the gallery.

Paddling through the dark prop roots
A tandem kayak heading into the channel
The guide and two kayaks under the roots
Two kayaks far down a palm-lined channel
Paddlers looking up into the canopy
Two kayaks out on the open estuary
Why Book Through Las Cascadas

The local shortcut.

We book it around the tide

The tide sets the time. We watch the table and tell you the day before.

Same rate, no markup

You pay what the operator charges. Our value is the coordination.

Door to door pickup

Collected at the hotel lobby and dropped back the same way.

Kayak or boat, we will tell you

A covered boat runs the same channels. Tell us who is coming and we will tell you which one to take.

Before you book, a few answers

Tours worth pairing with this one

Pair a morning out with an afternoon or a sunset. We can plan the whole few days with you.

Ocean

Damas Island Mangroves by Boat

A covered boat through the quiet mangrove channels, with a naturalist guide and a meal set by the tide.

$87USD pp + tax View tour
Ocean

Night Mangrove Tour by Kayak

Paddle into the mangroves as the light goes, with lamps on the banks and the night sounds starting up.

$78.76USD pp + tax View tour
Wildlife

Mangrove Paddle Board Tour

Flat water through the Damas mangrove channels, close enough to hear the branches move.

$75USD pp View tour

Let us get you out there.

Reserve your spot, or message the concierge team with questions.

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$95USD From · per person + tax
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