Damas Island · Quepos · Costa Rica
A brackish estuary explored by boat and by kayak, by day and by night, in small groups. The same family since 1990.
Family run
Door to door
Departures daily
114 reviews
The Damas Island estuary is not a river and it is not the ocean. It is the narrow, shifting seam between the two. That mixture — brackish water — is why this place holds what the rest of the coast does not.
How you explore it →
Experience one
High light and the forest awake. Capuchins in the low branches, egrets holding the bank, kingfishers crossing the bow. You stop and you wait — nothing here is chased.
$75 paying cash on the day
Experience two
The same channel with the water gone still, and an entirely different shift of animals. Frogs on the leaves, crabs leaving the mud, lizards asleep a hand's width above the water. Slower, stranger, and almost nobody else runs it.
$90 paying cash on the day
We do not feed the animals, we do not call them, and we do not force the encounter. Some days bring twenty species and some bring three.
Cambute is not an agency buying seats on somebody else's boat. It is a family from Damas Island that has been going into this channel for thirty-five years — and that receives you at its own rancho, not in a car park.
Lunch is cooked right here, under the tiled roof, and the shop is ours. Groups are small because the channel is narrow, not because it sounds good to say so.
Family run
Years on the estuary
From Manuel Antonio
“The capuchin monkeys were the highlight of the trip, and our expert guide gave us so much of his time.”
Robin C · Toronto
“Being in kayaks made the trip really peaceful — we could stop and watch any wildlife we came across.”
shannonmcfarland · New York
“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
“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
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We post what turns up in the estuary each week — who appeared, how the water was running, and what was cooking.
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CambuteMangrove Tours