Curicancha Birdwatching Tour

Bird Watching Night Guide

Our guide Johnny, was very knowledgeable and very friendly. You can descover more about him at Johnnylovesnature.com

A unique tour

Jonny was a great guide and a great conversationalist. He pointed out animals, birds plants. We learned some amazing things.

Five stars and even more 👌🏻

We had an absolutely fantastic time on the birdwatching tour at the CuriCancha Reserve with Johnny as our guide. We can 1000% recommend him! His keen eye is unmatched – he spotted even the rarest birds effortlessly. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable, but he also has a great sense of humor and charm, making the experience so much fun. We laughed a lot and learned even more. Johnny is truly the best guide you could ask for! 1000% recommended – trust us, you won’t regret it!

Good tour for bird watching

I had Kevin as my guide and he was very good and experienced. He spoke English well and asked what I most hoped to see. I had a good time walking around the reserve and was happy to see toucans several times (although no quetzel, alas). I take a star off because the tour was advertised as a 3-hour tour (although the small print said 2.5 hours), but it was exactly 2 hours. I didn't mind that so much, but it is not accurate advertising.

Great experience

Excellent tour, the guide was very knowledgable and engaging. We spotted amazing wildlife including hummingbirds, coatis, and capuchin monkeys. The guide also told us about the history of Monteverde and other interesting facts. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Fantastic birdwatching tour!

This was definitely a highlight of our trip! Johnny was so nice, funny, and knowledgeable about the birds and plants. We saw everything we wanted to and more! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for some amazing birdwatching and a fun, informative tour!!

Amazing bird watching! Fantastic guide!!

Fantastic bird watching for the whole family. Our guide, Johnny loves nature, was excellent and enthusiastic about finding birds and other animals, educating us on the many unique aspects of each and their habitat. He was also very fun to hang out with for 3 hours. Highly recommend!!

Highly recommended

Very knowledgeable and personable guide with extensive knowledge of local wildlife and many great local stories. Would highly recommend!

Amazing at what he does

Jonny was so nice! A very sincere and kind person. He was very impressive. We couldn't believe how fast he was able to find birds, and direct his telescope directly to them for us to see. Improved the reserve experience by so much.

We can tell Johnny loves nature!

Johnny was such a fun guide - my partner and I really enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about the flora & fauna of Curicancha. Johnny also provided great recommendations for the wider area and went above and beyond to make sure we had the best time possible in Monteverde. We’ll definitely book another tour next time we visit!

Waste of money and very disappointing tour!!

Johnny was late did not even apologise for his delay.We had to pay extra admission fee which was not included.His attitude was very casual and was hardly trying to find birds just talking about other things .The guides at the reserve are really good and I saw them taking good pictures with our cameras and really looking for birds and show many more birds than we saw which was only 2 .Extremely disappointed and despite asking Trip advisor for partial refund didn’t receive any reply.

Recommend!

Very good tour! Rafael, not Johnny, guided us. He was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and eager for us to have an excellent experience! His English is better than he thinks, btw. There were a few issues before the tour (price changed, Johnny was injured at the last minute,, etc), but Johnny was quick to resolve them all and so very friendly! We saw 19 bird species (no quetzal, but that’s birding…wildlife is not predictable; and it’s a great reason to come back!).

Disappointing company but Curi-Cancha reserve is great

Nobody turned up to pick us up as arranged. After several phone calls to the company, a taxi picked us up and dropped us at the reserve entrance. We had to pay the entrance fee again as Johnny was not there to confirm we had already paid. No guide was waiting for us. The staff at the reserve said that ‘Johnny Loves Nature’ are known to them as he is unreliable and often late. Another guide eventually turned up (now nearly 2-hours late) and we did get a guided walk around Curi-Cancha. This was very disappointing as we had read good reviews snout Johnny.The guide was really nice but not very knowledgeable. Thanks to another guide we met in the reserve, we were lucky enough to see a female Quetzal. Next time, we will book direct with the reserve and avoid using a company like this. Our entrance fee has never been refunded 😕

Fun birdwatching!

Rafael had his spotting scope and showed us birds we had never seen before. He was personable and customized our tour to what we did and did not want to see.

Great tour guide and beautiful birds and animals

Johnny was an exceptional guide. Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He went the extra mile to show us as many interesting birds and animals as he could.

a relaxed and fun tour with Jonny.

Our small family enjoyed the tour by Jonny. He was fun and knowledgable. We enjoyed the talk and his sharing of his knowledge. Highly recommend.

Birds heard, some seen, a few successfully photographed

Our guide, Johnny, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We saw many hummingbirds and were able to get some stunning photos. Other birds such as toucans could be heard, but we didn't see them. The quetzels were also no-shows, but sighting them isn't guaranteed.

Skip to someone else

He arrived late and zoomed pass us a few yards away to park his motorcycle. I had to come and introduce ourselves to him. It already gave me bad vibes. Before even starting he told me he would have to leave earlier because he had something to do later. Near the entrance other people were searching for a quetzal and we saw it. Though “ in a rush” he was nice enough to “other people” to let them look through his scope. So, after seeing the elusive quetzal his job was pretty done ! We rushed through the park. Thank God he took us to see a tarantula den and we managed to see it this beautiful arachnid for the happiness of my son. We saw a glimpse of an agouti, a couple of coatis and some hummingbirds. At the end, when I tried to talk to him about why I was not aware before booking him that my tour would be that short cause he had “something to do” he got angry and aggressive and disrespected me in front of my kids. The Park workers witnessed all. I gave him a $100 bill and he complained was broken, he suggested if I was not happy he would give me $20 back and he snatched the bill out of my hands, put in his pocket, and stormed away. My kids stood there clueless of what was going on and my young daughter disapproved of his behavior. I traveled to more than 90 countries in my life and NEVER dealt with someone like him. He is a disgrace to Costa Rican people who are gentle and kind. If you cannot have a normal conversation with someone, answer their questions or accept some constructive review this job is not for you. I read many many reviews in Trip Advisor and I am sad to see others were treated better. I was advised by workers there that he had complains before and I should’ve hired an official park guide. I wish too but there will be no second time and this part of our trip was ruined by him. We were very excited Monteverde but we left to never come back. There are other competent guides there, so please, take your business somewhere else. I am too busy to write reviews but was bad enough to take a few minutes of my time because people deserve to know. Take my advice if you want so if not, good luck.

Enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide

Roy was an excellent guide. Always fascinated by nature since he was a child, he still got excited when we saw some of Costa Rica's most rare and impressive birds on this tour. It was definitely worth the early start. You could also hire binoculars at the nature reserve if you didn't have any.

Great Guide

Johnny was great. Very knowledgeable and friendly. We had to wait for heavy rain before entering the park and it was fine with him. Highly recommended.

Most passionate Guide ever

We were absolutely blown away by the sheer knowledge and passion Johnny had for wildlife! Our time with Johnny was definitely the most memorable- thanks to his amazing sense of humor, zest for life and willingness to impart his knowledge/ helping us see the most of natural life in monteverde!

Johnny loves nature.

Johnny was clearly very knowledgeable as well as entraining. He clearly knew a lot. About the flora and fauna. He delivered us several toucan viewings as well as hummingbirds, woodpeckers and a few coatimundi as well. He was a little late to the appointment but communicated well and we had our full two hours in the forest.

If you love birds, go on this tour!

Do the tour with Jonny. Super educated and passionate about nature. You will learn and have fun at the same time. He picked me up on time and treated me like a friend.

Interesting

Beautiful, interesting and a very good guide. Ffdfffffgvv cd gg b fdfrh Jr fgh he sh u b d ft h HD dr

Inolvidable/Unforgettable

Our tour guide Johnny was simply the best! He was so knowledgeable and taught everyone in my tour group so much! I highly recommend this tour to everyone!

Fantastic experience

Curi-Cancha is a great place to see wildlife and watch birds. Johnny does a wonderful job of finding the birds and getting the scope on the bird so that everyone in the group can get a great view and sometimes a picture of the bird. Johnny has an amazing knowledge of this environment and shares this information in an entertaining and interesting way.

Incredible !

Fantastic! Our first choice for birdwatching in Monteverde as there are many open places. But you need to take a guide to make the most of it !

A must see tour

Johnny was AMAZING. He gave us an incredible tour customized to our own speed and what we wanted to see. He could find all the wildlife! I highly recommend this your.

Great experience

Johnny was a great guide and was able to show and tell us a lot about the wildlife. We saw many pretty birds like the candlelita, Tucan and butterflies.

A good time

After a bad start (we were not picked up for the tour, due to tour operator’s problems,) and an amicable agreement, we ended with very good tour seeing many birds and animals. An entertaining guide and good supply of creatures ensured an enjoyable experience.

Excellent tour with Johnny loves nature eco-tours.

Johnny was a terrific guide for our birdwatching tour. We saw Toucans and the rare quetzal! We highlyrecommend this tour. It more than met our expectations!

Fun and saw lots of wildlife!

Johnny was awesome! Super funny and knowledgable about all the wildlife, and had a great eye for seeing animals far away. He genuinely cares about animals, the environment, and his community. We saw quetzals, toucans, lots of hummingbirds and a snake!

Johnny is friendly, funny, experienced tour guide!

Johnny greeted as the entrance on the reserve on time & in great spirits. He shared his wealth of knowledge on the birds and wildlife of Curi-Cancha & was quick to spot more bird species than I could count! We were lucky enough to spot a male, female, and juvenile male quetzal in the avocado tree. Johnny did not rush us here and let us photograph the rare, magnificent birds for quite some time. Johnny located several toucans and toucanets. He used his scope to quickly capture the toucans in view, allowing us to view them close up. We loved touring these beautiful forests and thoroughly enjoyed Johnny's charisma & friendliness. Thanks again Johnny! Your Louisiana friends hope to see you again someday.

Excellent birding tour

The guía, Johnny, was excellent in every way--very very knowledgable, personable, good sense of humor. I would go with him again.

Well organized reserve for smaller-scale visit

Trails were well maintained with a variety of birds including quetzals. Many hummingbirds flitted through the bushes at one look out point.

unforgettable experience....

highly informative & entertaining (Jorge!!!); quetzal (3!), motmots, woodcreeper, trogons, toucanets, orioles, turkey vulture, variety of hummingbirds....

Pefect start of the day

Our guide Johnny was very knowledgable and funny. We even saw a Quetzal, which is rare. Realy great tour, recommend to everyone

Johnny is the best!

The tour with Johnny was the best experience we had in Costa Rica. Not only is he full of knowledge and experience, but he demonstrates a positive attitude and chill vibe toward nature and humanity. Through him, we could see toucans, hummingbirds, snakes, and most of the rare birds in the region. We ended up extending our trips to 3hrs long, which we appreciated. Highly recommend booking a tour with Johnny. He also provides a tour of the cloud forest reserve.

I love Johnny loves Nature.

Johnny Loves Nature and Nature loves Johnny! I dont know how he does it; Toucans, Quetzales, Pit Vipers and Tarantulas. All the stories, and science at the ready too. Most importantly the history of the place and the people and how eco tourism has turned hunters into protectors, guns and traps to binoculars and iPhones. Fantastic knowledge. Best guide in Monteverde in my humble opinion.

Excellent

Johnny was an amazing guide! I highly recommend him for any nature tour around Santa Elena and Monteverde. He went above and beyond to make sure we had an unforgettable experience in the Curi-Cancha Reserve. It felt like we were out birding with a close friend, except that friend had a vast knowledge of plant and animal life and loved sharing his passion with those around him. We really could tell that he cares about nature and enjoyed being out there with us, and we went out to lunch with him after! Super solid guide and person in general.

A Must Do

We had a fabulous bird experience with Johnny. Got to see many birds to include the female Quetzal and the collared Trogan(?) . He was very knowledgeable about the birds, flora and fauna. We thoroughly enjoyed out morning in Curi-Cancha. We didn’t realize how nice it was until the next day when we went to The Biological Preserve which was so much more crowded. We highly recommend this tour.

Johnny really loves birds!

We could tell that Johnny is a guide who really has spent a lot of time in nature, and he did not disappoint in showing us some of the best that the park has to offer. The tour was almost entirely focused on birds, which we were happy about, even though none of us are primarily bird persons. We got to see the female quetzal, several species of humming bird, brown jay, emerald toucanette, Lesson’s motmot, and many more birds, all of which Johnny easily identified. The park in itself is beautiful, and we took an additional walk after our guided tour was finished.

Amazing experience

Our guide johnny was very nice and knowledgeable. He pointed out plants and animals we never would have seen on our own. Our only problem was passports were required to enter. I left mine secure at the motel. I couldn't find any information on this when I made the reservation. I did see it later on the actual Curi cancha website. Thankfully our motel operator came to the rescue.

Day tour

Johnny was very well informed about the local surroundings, very strong English and extremely friendly. This made for a great tour.

Most memorable tour

This tour was a highlight of our trip. Johnny was so funny, enthusiastic, kind, and smart especiallyat a 6:30 am meet time. We felt like we met a friend for life, or new family member. He was so awesome to really make sure our son had a good time and set scopes at his level right away. He learned so much and he helped me get amazing photos!

Johnny is the Best!

Had an incredible time with Johnny and highly recommend! We saw some really cool birds (toucans and parrots) and even some monkeys too! Beyond that though he is incredibly kind and is really easy to talk to! He know English well and has a fun sense of humor! Thank you for a great time!

Nice visit

We did the visit at 7am with the guide Johnny during 2h30. It was supposed to be a group visit but we were only my family 3 people like a private tour. Johnny asked what we wanted to see. Unfortunatly the day before it was raining so the forest was wet and not so many birds where there. We had look at very large trees, flowers, hummybirds, toucan, spiders and some other birds I don't remember the name. Johnny is a very skilled person, giving us a lot of information, seeking for interesting spots, also imitating birds cry !

Olger was fantastic

Olger was a great guide, very patient and respectful. We spotted(well, really just him, we wouldn't have seen even half of what he did) all of the animals we were hoping for (many birds, some small mammals, and a tarantula!) and he was obviously very knowledgeable about the wildlife and natural history of the area. He even went as far as to teach us a few bird calls and told us specifically where we could locate some more types of birds in Selvatura later that day when we were on our own, which we were able to do due to his information! Overall a great experience.

Loved this so much

I feel so fortunate to have gone on this tour. We saw a Quetzal!!! Johnny was full of knowledge and really easy to talk to. Monteverde is a magical place made even better with a fantastic guide.

We found the Quetzal!

Johnny was great! We did the bird watching at 6:30am. He picked us up personally and took us to Bosque Nuboso reserve where we ahowed us many birds and humming birds through his scope so we could see them up close. Within 30 minutes we spotted the quetzal! We saw a male and female pair of quetzal and watched through the scope as a toucan came and chased off the quetzal - amazing! Johnny helped us get great photos of the birds and taught us so much about them as well as the plants and sloths. Johnny was a great guide - very knowledgable and personable. Would 100% recommend to wildlife lovers.