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Costa Rica is THE spot to go for those who love nature and wildlife. You’ll have your pick of incredible activities to choose from, but what tops them all is seeing sloths in Costa Rica!
La Fortuna is surrounded by rainforests that sloths call home. Now, while they are living around here, they are almost impossible to spot on your own. So if you have your heart set on seeing a sloth, taking a tour in La Fortuna really is the only way to go.
Upon arriving in La Fortuna, you’ll immediately begin seeing signs for sloth tours. When I saw these signs, I knew that I just had to see what all the hype was about … and I am so glad I did!
In this post, I’ll highlight 5 of the best sloth tours in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, so that you can have the top choices at your fingertips. I might be biased, but this is one of my favorite guided tours because sloth tours are something people seem to know less about before visiting Costa Rica!
So, let me tell you all about the best tours to see sloths in La Fortuna so you can see them yourself!
Don’t have time to read the full article? Our personal FAVORITE sloth tour in La Fortuna is this sloth-watching tour with chocolate and coffee (does it get any better than that?!) The tour not only includes a trek through the rainforest to look for sloths, but also has a coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane-tasting leg of the experience! We did this tour with a friend of ours, and she loved it as much as we did too. You can book the exact same tour that we did and LOVED online here with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour!
Best Sloth Watching Tours in La Fortuna
1. Sloth Watching Tour through Sloth’s Territory (the most AFFORDABLE tour!)
I took this sloth watching tour one of my first times in Costa Rica and it was such a fun introduction to Costa Rican wildlife. You begin and end at a private reserve called “Sloth’s Territory” so that’s a good clue that you’re going to see lots of sloths!
You’ll need to get yourself here, but if you’re considering renting a car in Costa Rica, it’s only a 5 to 10 minute drive from the center of town to the location of the nature reserve. Sloth’s Territory is a private reserve managed by a local family. There are two-toed and three-toed sloths here along with TONS of other amazing creatures.
You can pick a morning or afternoon time slot where you can hike along the beautiful La Havana River, with a local, expert guide. With the help of our guide’s professional telescope, we got to see plenty of sloths, red frogs, and even a toucan – what a way to really dive into the essence of such an incredible area!
I loved that this is a small group tour (they cap it at 10 people) and had so much fun talking about everything we saw over some fresh fruit as the tour ended. The entire experience is 1-2 hours, so it easily fits into your Costa Rican itinerary and it’s only $35 USD per person.
The tour also have FREE cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour’s start time, so you can book knowing that you can be flexible.
Book your experience in the beautiful Sloth’s Territory online here!
Related Read: If you’d like to explore at night and see all the animals that only come out in the dark, these are the best night tours in La Fortuna and in Monteverde!
2. Sloths Observation plus Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar Cane Experience
As you now know, this tour is my favorite sloth tour I’ve been on, and the first one that I recommend when friends ask me (probably because it is also a fun chocolate tour!)
A longer tour of 3 to 4 hours, this Sloth Observation Tour is an absolute steal at $95 USD. I mean, you’re getting a hike in the jungle, close-up views of animals, local treats on a farm, and meeting new friends? Talk about a 4-in-1 experience!
You’ll meet at the Arenal Jungle Tours location in central La Fortuna or, if you’re really lucky, your hotel might be in the free pickup area for the tour. You can check as you are making your booking!
One thing that really stood out to me is that this tour felt perfectly balanced. The hiking wasn’t too long, we got to see lots of amazing animals, and the tastings felt just right after having been out exploring for a few hours. You really can’t go to Costa Rica without trying the chocolate and famous coffee! Along with seeing sloths, this felt like a little coffee tour in Costa Rica too!
I’ve taken a lot of local tours and this one was very immersive and I left feeling like I’d gained a lot of insight into the industries of La Fortuna. Oh, and I got some cool photos of sloths, of course!
You can book this tour with FREE cancellation up to 24 hours before (so handy!)
You can book a spot on this highly-rated sloth tour online through Viator.
3. Sloth Tour around La Fortuna
Perhaps our most interactive tour, this sloth tour around La Fortuna isn’t just at one place where you go on a walk and call it a day. Instead, it allows you to walk around the La Fortuna area, searching for sloths in their natural habitat.
This means that you never know where you’ll see sloths, how many you’ll see, or exactly what the tour will be like. It’s much more spontaneous and that’s all part of the fun!
Luckily, the guides for this tour know exactly where sloths and other creatures like to hang out. It’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll see sloths – some groups have seen as many as eight, including a mom with her baby! You’ll have a special spotting scope and binoculars, so that makes things much easier too.
This tour is 3 to 4 hours long, but thanks to its sole focus on seeing sloths, it’s more reasonable than the previous tour I mentioned at only $67 USD per person. The cost also includes round-trip transportation from the Callidryas Tours office or you can request pickup from your hotel during your booking.
They aren’t included, but I recommend budgeting a little extra for some alcoholic drinks if that’s your thing. There is complimentary coffee and tea, if not!
For an adventurous walk around La Fortuna, book a spot on this tour here and take advantage of the book now, pay later option with Viator!
Book this tour easily online here!
4. Sloth and Birdwatching Tour
While sloths are the focus of these tours, chances are you’ll see other animals too since you’re spending time in the Costa Rican jungle. This sloth and birdwatching tour gives you the best of both a tour to find sloths and a birdwatching experience.
Spend a couple of hours (either in the morning or afternoon) with a professional guide as you venture out on a short hike in the rainforest. The trail is only 2 km (1.2 miles) and is along a flat path, so it’s a good option for families. Along with being a popular sloth hangout, there are also lots of birds here too.
If it’s information about the rainforest you’re looking for, this felt like the most fully educational tour of the ones I tried out. I swear I have so many random tidbits of knowledge about the rainforest now, from the plants we passed to the animals we went there to see.
The guides are so passionate about the animals here and can take some amazing photos for you as you wander along. Direct hotel pickup and drop-off are also included in the $73 USD tour cost. This tour also comes with FREE cancellation, so it makes it easy if you need to change your mind.
Make sure to book a spot on this small-group tour online here!
Related Read: Since La Fortuna is the adventure capital of Costa Rica, it’s one of the best places to go ziplining! This zipline tour even takes you over a waterfall!
5. Ecocentro Danaus Sloths and Wildlife Tour
Last but certainly not least, the Ecocentro Danaus Sloths and Wildlife Tour is another top pick for me. Ecocentro Danaus is a private nature reserve with a short trail through it. You can easily walk this trail with kids and having a guide along ensures you’ll see wildlife like sloths hiding in the trees!
It’s one of the most affordable sloth tours in La Fortuna at just $63 USD for a couple of hours of hanging with sloths and missing all the crowds of the other La Fortuna sloth-watching areas.
You’ll have to make your way to the reserve yourself, but it’s only a 7-minute taxi ride from downtown La Fortuna or you can easily drive yourself in a rental car. While you can show up and visit on your own, if you want a guided tour (which we recommended), you’ll need to book in advance so a guide will be there and waiting for you.
The weather was really nice when I visited, which meant that we all got spotting scopes so that we could see sloths, birds, and even butterflies close up!
This is such a fun option if you are looking to avoid the “tour bus” feel of an excursion since this tour has a maximum of 10 people. To wander through this Costa Rican nature reserve and see all its wildlife, make sure to book a spot on this tour online before you go!
About Sloths in Costa Rica
There are two types of sloths in Costa Rica – the three-toed sloth and the two-toed sloth. When I was last in Costa Rica, I was lucky enough to spot both – although unless you get up close, they look mostly the same. The key difference is the number of toes on their front feet.
Sloths really like to hang around! They spend 90% of their life hanging upside down in the treetops. They typically only come down once a week to poop and then it’s back up to the trees. So when you’re looking for sloths in the wild, you’ll need to look waaaaay up. It’s handy to have a pair of binoculars or a special spotting scope to help see them – which many top tours include.
While sloths live in different types of trees, their favorites are Cecropia trees. These trees grow really fast and are tall – reaching 60 feet/18 meters. You’ll notice the thin white trunks, large green leaves, and the yellow fruit that looks similar to string beans.
While sloths can be found all over Costa Rica, they prefer tropical, wet climates, so you won’t find them in drier regions. Luckily La Fortuna is one of the best places in Costa Rica to spot sloths!
It can be difficult to find sloths though. They are solitary animals and blend in really well with the trees. They move notoriously slowly which means that they often have green algae/fungi growing on their fur which helps them camouflage even more!
We’ve been lucky to spot sloths hiding in trees and in wildlife sanctuaries, but if you want to have the best chance of seeing sloths in the wild, a guided tour is the way to go. Guides are local experts who know which trees and areas sloths like to hang out in. You really don’t want to come all this way without seeing one of these adorable creatures!
Other Things to do While You’re in La Fortuna
Of course, going on a sloth tour in La Fortuna is one of the best experiences, but there are so many other things to do in La Fortuna you won’t want to miss! These are just a few of our top picks:
- Visit La Fortuna Waterfall – One of the things Costa Rica is famous for is its waterfalls. Top among them has to be the stunning La Fortuna Waterfall. The water shoots out of a tall cliff into the pool below surrounded by lush forest. You can swim in the natural pool here and see wildlife! Entrance is $18 USD and you can buy a skip-the-line ticket online.
- Hot springs – One of the best free activities in La Fortuna is the natural hot springs! The Free Natural Hot Spring River is a public river running through the Tabacon Hot Springs Resort. It’s only 15 minutes outside La Fortuna and feels amazing after a day of hiking! If you don’t mind paying for a soak, there are tons of other amazing hot springs in La Fortuna to choose from too.
- Hanging bridges – A sloth tour had you looking up at the treetops, so why not walk among them? The Mistico Hanging Bridges are some of the best. There are 14 total bridges here with 6 of them being hanging bridges. It’s a fantastic place to spot wildlife especially if you join this guided tour!
- Arenal Volcano – Arenal Volcano is the centerpiece of La Fortuna! You can wander the trails at Arenal Volcano National Park on your own or as part of a hiking tour. For more unique volcano views, take to the sky aboard the Sky Tram, fly by on an ATV ride, or take a leisurely sunset cruise on Lake Arenal.
- Drink great coffee – It’s no secret some of the best coffee in the world comes from Costa Rica! You can grab a cup of coffee at one of the restaurants in La Fortuna or take it a step further with a coffee tour. We had the freshest cup of coffee and tasted amazing homemade chocolate on this Costa Rican coffee and chocolate experience that takes place on a small family-owned plantation.
Getting Around Costa Rica
How you choose to get around Costa Rica is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make when planning your holiday here! How you do it depends on your budget, travel style, and comfort level.
Renting a Car
Without a doubt, the number one way to explore Costa Rica is in a rental car. We book rental cars on the Discover Cars website as we have had good experiences with them in the past.
One of the things you need to watch for when renting a car in Costa Rica is the mandatory insurance that the government requires you to have. There are a lot of very cheap rentals that don’t include this mandatory insurance (TPL) in the original booking price, but there are also ones that do. To avoid additional surprise charges when you pick up your rental car, be sure to rent a car that includes the mandatory insurance when you book.
Thankfully, on Discover Cars it’s easy to tell apart the companies that include the mandatory insurance and those that don’t. The trick is you can’t pick any car on their website. In the picture below, you can see this rental car, with pick up in Jaco, includes the TPL. That means the mandatory insurance is included in the price. Any cover you get above that is extra.
Of course, I still suggest getting the full coverage offered by Discover Cars, which covers you even more.
You can browse cars on Discover Cars here.
Book Shuttles
If renting a car isn’t in your budget, you don’t feel comfortable driving in Costa Rica, or you just don’t like driving, shuttles are the next best option. There are hundreds of shuttle routes available all over the country, and they are very affordable.
Shuttles in Costa Rica are specifically for tourists and often include pick up and drop off at your selected hotels and airports. The drivers also speak some English, and the vehicles have air conditioning. You’ll also be guaranteed a seat when you book a shuttle (which isn’t the case with the public bus system.)
To get the best price, use the website Bookaway. They compare all the offers and prices of shuttle companies in Costa Rica so you get the best price! Honestly, we have saved so much money using Bookaway!
You can search for shuttles online on Bookaway here.
Public Bus
Lastly, you can use the public bus system. On short journeys, such as from San Jose to La Fortuna or Uvita to Manuel Antonio, this system is great. However, the longer the journey the more hassle and time spent on a bus. It’s undoubtedly best to save the public bus in Costa Rica for short and straightforward trips!
The public buses are definitely the cheapest way to get around Costa Rica, but they are not always very reliable and schedules often change without notice and delays are to be expected. The buses can also be very crowded and hot – so just be prepared!
It’s also good to speak some Spanish if you plan on riding the public bus since most drivers and ticket booth operators don’t speak English.
Pura Vida!
Sloths are one of those must-see animals in Costa Rica and I hope you get the chance to see lots while you are here! I loved all of these sloth tours in La Fortuna for different reasons and I hope you find one that works for you.
Hopefully you enjoyed reading our guide on La Fortuna sloth tours. If you did, make sure to look around and check out more of our in-depth guides before your trip including:
BEST La Fortuna Waterfall tours
BEST places to go snorkeling in Costa Rica + Tips before you go!
Is Costa Rica expensive? Cost of traveling to Costa Rica
BEST all-inclusive resorts in Costa Rica (our unbiased opinion!)