A white-faced capuchin in the canopy over the Damas Island estuary

Cambute Mangrove Tours

Where the river stops being a river

Damas Island · Quepos · Costa Rica · Since 1990

Explore the tours Discover Cambute
  • 3.5hdoor to door
  • 1.5hon the water
  • 1990the same family
$85 per person · tax included $75 paying cash

01 The experience

There is no fixed route.
There is someone who can read the tide.

The estuary changes twice a day. In thirty-five years we have watched it dry out and fill again more times than we can count, which is why no two trips are alike: you go in wherever the water lets you that day.

Since 1990

The same family, the same estuary and the same dock. The person steering the boat was born here.

Our own base

The boats, the kayaks, the kitchen and the guides are ours, and they sit in one place on the bank. Nobody hands you off.

Local guides

Certified local guides who grew up on this estuary and know what hour and what bend to look at.

One closed price

Transport, gear, guide and a meal are inside the price. Nothing is added when you arrive.

02 Experiences

Two ways in

The same estuary, two different hours of the day, and two completely different shifts of animals.

Yellow kayaks on the turquoise water of a palm-lined mangrove channel

Experience 01

Day Mangrove Tour

Covered boat or kayak through the channels, timed for the hours when wildlife is most active. You head out, spend an hour and a half on the water, and come back to the base to eat without rushing.

  • Duration3.5 h · 1.5 h on the water
  • Departures09:00 · 11:00 · 13:00
  • Minimum2 people

$85 per person · tax included $75 cash on the day

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See the full detail

What is included

  • Round-trip transport from your hotel, by car or minibus depending on the group
  • Certified local guide
  • Covered boat or kayak, your choice
  • Life vest and all equipment
  • Local lunch at our own comedor

Good to know

  • The tour runs in the rain: the boat is covered and rain often makes wildlife more active. We only call it off in genuinely unsafe conditions.
  • Suitable for children and older adults: the route is calm with no swell, and the kayaks are stable doubles.
  • Small groups, so everyone gets a clear view and the guide has time for each guest.

What to bring

  • Insect repellent and sunscreen
  • A hat and light clothes that can get wet
  • Footwear that can get wet if you kayak
  • A camera, ideally in a dry bag

Why this experience

Because it is the only trip where you see the estuary awake — monkeys feeding, herons hunting the shoreline, and the channels open in full light.

Mangrove roots reflected in still water after dark

Experience 02

Night Mangrove Tour

At six in the evening the estuary hands over the shift. Lizards settle to sleep on the outermost twigs, the frogs start up, the crabs come out in force, and the water, dead still, turns into a mirror of the sky.

  • Departure18:00, one only
  • PaceSlower and quiet
  • Minimum4 people

$102 per person · tax included $90 cash on the day

Book this experience
See the full detail

What is included

  • Round-trip transport from your hotel, by car or minibus depending on the group
  • Certified local guide and torches
  • Life vest and all equipment
  • Local dinner at our own comedor

What to bring

  • Insect repellent
  • Light long sleeves
  • Closed shoes

Why this experience

Because it is a different estuary: the same channel you saw by day, with a different shift of animals, a different soundscape, and the water completely still.

A narrow palm-lined channel in the Damas Island estuary Mangrove roots and a great egret on the bank The mangrove reflected in dead-still water at dusk

03 The mangrove

Where the land
stops holding still

The Damas Island estuary is the point where the river's fresh water meets the sea. That meeting creates one of the richest mangroves on Costa Rica's Pacific coast: brackish water, neither fresh nor salt, and a forest that learned to live in it.

A forest that drinks salt

Mangrove roots come out of the water to breathe. Everything else lives on that tangle: the crabs that clean the bottom, the herons that hunt them, the monkeys that cross overhead. Take the mangrove away and the whole chain falls — and with it the barrier that holds back the sea when it rises.

Two tides a day

The tide decides where you go in and how far you get. That is why departures cannot wait, and why there is no fixed route: the guide reads the day's water and picks the channel. It is the difference between knowing a place and following a route.

Who lives here

No trip can guarantee a particular species. Every one of these photographs was taken on our own tours.

White-faced capuchin looking around a tree trunk
White-faced capuchinSeen on nearly every trip
A hummingbird perched on a green stem
HummingbirdSeveral species
A three-toed sloth carrying its young through the canopy
Sloth and youngThe young ride along for months
Spectacled owl in the canopy
Spectacled owlMostly at dusk
Scarlet macaw on a branch
Scarlet macawIn pairs, always loud
Crocodile at the surface of the water
CrocodileAlways at a distance
A kingfisher perched over the water
KingfisherRight at the waterline
Great egret hunting at the waterline
Great egretHunting the shoreline
Woodpecker with a red crest on a trunk
WoodpeckerHeard before it is seen
Freshwater turtles basking on a log
River turtlesBasking on the fallen logs
Iguana resting on a branch
IguanaSunning on the branches
Common black hawk perched over the channel
Common black hawkWatching the channel
A lizard asleep on the tip of a branch at night
Sleeping lizardOn the outermost twig, night only
A kinkajou in the branches at night
KinkajouNight tour only

We do not feed them, we do not call them and we never force an encounter. The estuary is their home; we are passing through.

04 Our story

The same family,
the same estuary
and the same dock
since 1990.

Cambute is not an agency reselling somebody else's excursion. We are a family business from Damas Island that has been going into these channels for thirty-five years. The boats you see pulling away are ours, and the person steering them was born here.

Everything your visit touches sits in one place: the base on the bank, the boats, the kayaks, the kitchen and the guides, who are all from here.

The Cambute family · Damas Island, Quepos

35
years guiding this mangrove
4.6
average rating
111
traveller reviews
4
departures a day

05 Reviews

Loved by
travellers

4.6

111 reviews ↗

“The capuchin monkeys were the highlight of the trip, and our expert guide gave us so much of his time.”

Robin C · Toronto Tripadvisor

“Thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I learned a lot about the mangroves and was amazed by the amount of wildlife.”

Kim A · Wisconsin Tripadvisor

“Being in kayaks made the trip really peaceful — we could stop and watch any wildlife we came across.”

shannonmcfarland · New York Tripadvisor

“Door to door service, perfect calm river for kayaking and observing lots of wildlife, and delicious lunch. A perfect way to experience the mangroves with the family!”

Emily West Google

“An authentic and genuinely educational experience. We saw monkeys, birds and no end of wildlife. The guide was excellent, and you can tell how much they love this place. Highly recommended.”

Javier Boniche Ramírez · Google Local Guide Google

Would you rather check for yourself?

All 111 reviews ↗ Instagram ↗

06 The place

Damas Island,
north of Quepos

The same mangrove system that opens out opposite the Manuel Antonio coast, fifteen minutes away. You do not need to drive: we collect you from your hotel and bring you back, and it is included in the price.

  • WhereDamas Island estuary · Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
  • Meeting pointOur own base on the bank: shop, comedor and dock
  • Getting thereFifteen minutes from Manuel Antonio
  • Pickup areaAll of Quepos and the surrounding area, by car or minibus depending on group size

Open in Google Maps ↗

The Damas Island estuary seen from the water

07 Plan your experience

Tell us when
you're coming

Tell us the dates you are working with and the kind of experience you are after. We will come back with the real availability for those days and arrange your hotel pickup.

Or write to us directly

Send us an email info@cambutemangrovetour.com Message us on WhatsApp +506 8707 4699
01 Who's coming
02 Which experience
03 Details

Only your name is required. Your request arrives with a reference number, and nothing is charged yet — we confirm availability first.

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