Small Groups.
Wild Places.
Meaningful Experiences.
We are TalocoTours, a small, locally based ecotourism company specializing
in naturalist experiences, wildlife tours, rainforest hiking, and adventure in
Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Our purpose is to help travelers experience
this extraordinary region in a personal, professional,
and meaningful way.
Start as clients, end up as friends.
More Than a Tour
For us, guiding is much more than walking through the rainforest and searching for wildlife.
The rainforest is an incredibly complex ecosystem, and some of its most fascinating storiesare hidden in the details: a footprint on the trail, a distant call, movement high in the canopy, the behavior of an animal, or the relationship between a plant and the wildlife around it.
Our role as naturalist guides is to help reveal those details—to help you not only see wildlife, but understand the environment you are exploring.
Being a small company is an important part of who we are. Rather than focusing on volume, we prefer small groups and personalized experiences that allow us to spend more time observing, learning, exploring, and adapting the experience to the interests of our guests.
At the same time, we believe adventure should remain adventure. Wildlife is wild, weather can change, trails can be muddy, and every day in the rainforest is different. We embrace that unpredictability.
Our goal is to combine professional service, safety, local knowledge, and responsible tourism with something equally important: a genuine and personal connection with the people who choose to explore with us.
Local Expart
Real Experience
OUR STORY
From One Guide to TalocoTours
TalocoTours began with one guide, a passion for Costa Rica, and a simple idea: create meaningful experiences in nature.
After nearly a decade working in tourism, guiding, hotels, lodges, and national parks, founder Ely López returned to the Osa Peninsula during the uncertainty of the pandemic. What started with a few contacts and independent tours slowly grew through recommendations, friendships, and shared experiences.
As more travelers discovered the region, trusted naturalist guides joined Ely, and the small operation gradually became TalocoTours.
Today, we remain committed to the same values that started it all: small groups, local knowledge, professional guiding, responsible wildlife observation, and genuine personal connections.
Explore. Observe. Understand.
Born From Experience
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Focus On You
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Build With Passion
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Happy Visitor
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WHY TALOCO
A Very Costa Rican Story
In Costa Rica, you will often hear the expression “¡Está loco!”
Literally, it means “that’s crazy,” but in everyday Costa Rican conversation it can also express surprise, excitement, disbelief, or amazement. And apparently, Ely says it quite a lot. He just hadn’t noticed. The first guides who began working with him had.
Before the company had an official name, some of those guides—who were also friends—started jokingly referring to the operation behind Ely’s back as:
“Taloco Tours.”
A shortened and playful version of “está loco.”The joke continued until one day Ely overheard the name and someone asked him whether the company was actually called TalocoTours.
It wasn’t. But he immediately liked it.
The name was spontaneous, Costa Rican, memorable, and had been created naturally by the same people who were helping the company take its first steps. So the joke became the name.
And TalocoTours was born.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Explore. Observe. Understand.
We don’t believe a great nature experience should be a race to check animals off a list. Seeing wildlife is exciting, but understanding what you are seeing can transform the experience completely.
We believe in taking the time to observe behavior, listen to the forest, notice the details, ask questions, and understand the relationships that connect wildlife with the ecosystem around it.
We also believe in respecting the fact that nature cannot be controlled.
There are no scripts in the rainforest and no guarantees about what will appear around the next corner. Every experience is different, and that unpredictability is part of what makes exploring wild places so special.
Our job is to bring together knowledge, observation, curiosity, and experience to help you get as much as possible from whatever nature decides to show us that day.
OUR VALUES
Respect for Nature
The places and wildlife we explore always come first. We believe tourism should encourage appreciation and conservation while minimizing our impact on the environments we visit.
Authenticity
We want our experiences to feel real. Real rainforest, real wildlife, real adventure, and genuine interactions with the people exploring alongside us.
Professionalism
From planning and communication to guiding and safety, we believe the details behind the experience matter just as much as the experience itself.
Personal Connection
Small groups allow us to listen, adapt, answer questions, and share the experience rather than simply lead it.
Curiosity & Learning
Nature always has something new to teach us. We believe a great naturalist never stops observing, asking questions, and learning—and we want to share that curiosity with our guests.
MEET OUR GUIDES
The People Behind the Experience
Our guides bring together professional experience, knowledge of Costa Rica’s natural history, and a genuine passion for sharing the places we explore.
Each guide has their own personality, experience, and areas of interest, but we share the same goal: to provide a professional, personal, and memorable experience in nature.
ELY LÓPEZ
Founder & Naturalist Guide
Ely was born and raised in Upala, northern Costa Rica, in a farming family surrounded by agriculture, livestock, forests, and wildlife. Growing up close to national parks and protected areas gave him an early connection with nature, although it was only later that he began to realize how extraordinary the biodiversity he had grown up around really was.
After high school, Ely began studying Business Management at UNED while setting himself another important goal: learning English. That decision eventually opened the door to a career in tourism.
His journey into naturalist guiding began after moving to Costa Rica’s South Pacific and working at a local lodge. Meeting travelers fascinated by the wildlife and landscapes that had always been familiar to him changed the direction of his life.
He pursued professional training as a naturalist guide and has since accumulated more than a decade of experience working with travelers, hotels, lodges, and national parks throughout Costa Rica. Those experiences eventually led to the creation of TalocoTours and to the philosophy that continues to guide the company today:
Don’t just show people nature. Help them understand it.
Why Explore With Us?
Small Groups
More space to observe, ask questions, take photographs, and enjoy the experience.
Professional Naturalist Guides
Knowledge and interpretation can completely change the way you experience the rainforest.
Personalized Experiences
Whenever possible, we adapt the pace and focus of the experience to the interests of the group.
Local Experience
Years of working and guiding in the region help us understand not only where to go, but how to experience it.
Responsible Wildlife Observation
Wildlife comes first. We observe animals respectfully and allow nature to determine the experience.
Care Behind the Scenes
From reservations and permits to guides and logistics, we take care of the details so you can focus on the adventure.
what our guests say
Real Stories. Real Connections.
Ready to Explore
Come Explore With Us
The Osa Peninsula is wild, unpredictable, and full of stories waiting to be discovered.
Come ready to explore, observe, and learn. We’ll take care of the rest.