Ocean
Damas Island Mangroves
Boat or kayak through quiet mangrove channels. Wildlife, silence, and decades-experienced local guides.
Three hours of quiet water.
The Damas estuary is a maze of channels running back off the coast under a roof of mangrove. It is the opposite of the national park: no queue, no crowd, and the engine goes off as soon as you are inside.
You go in by boat or by kayak, whichever you pick when you book. The boat is easier and much better if you are carrying a long lens. The kayak gets you into the narrow channels and down at the water’s level, which is a different experience rather than a lesser one.
The engine goes off as soon as you are inside.
More about this tour
The wildlife here is genuinely dense, because a mangrove is a nursery and everything comes to it. Monkeys work along the branches over the water, sloths hang in the crowns, herons and kingfishers hunt the edges, and crocodilians sit at the surface with not much more than their eyes showing.
The whole schedule runs off the tide rather than the clock, which is why we book this one around the water and not around your morning. Being flexible on the day makes it far easier to get you on.
What might you see out there?
Your naturalist knows where they hide, when they move, and how to find them.
Very likely 
Likely 
Likely 
Likely 
Likely 
If you are lucky Wildlife sightings are nature, never a guarantee. Your guide knows where to look.
Here's how the 3 hours unfold.
Every step is planned so you can focus on the experience, not the logistics.
Pickup at Las Cascadas.
Your start time comes from the tide rather than a timetable, so we confirm it with you the day before.
Boat or kayak.
Life jackets, a short briefing, and straight into the channels.
Slow water and the wildlife.
Your guide works the banks and the canopy above them. This is the part to bring a zoom lens for.
Water and fresh fruit.
A break in the shade before heading back.
Back at the hotel.
Drop-off at the lobby.
Everything that's included, and everything to bring.
What is included
- Hotel pickup
- Boat or kayak
- Naturalist guide All officially certified guides.
- Drinks Water, provided throughout the tour.
What to bring
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses, hat
- Light long sleeves
- Camera with zoom Those Instagram posts aren't going to post themselves!
Photographs from this trip
Real photos from this tour. Click any image to open the gallery.
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 direct. Our value is the coordination.
Door to door pickup
Collected at the hotel lobby and dropped back the same way.
Honest about the choice
Boat or kayak changes the day completely. Tell us who is coming and we will tell you which one to take.
Before you book, a few answers
Let us get you out there.
Reserve your spot, or message the concierge team with questions.