Things to Do in Montezuma: Book the Boat and the Night Paddle, Walk to Everything Else

The waterfall, Cabo Blanco, Isla Tortuga, the ATV ride and the glowing water: what each takes, what it costs, and which ones need a booking

Article Toorizta Travel Made Simple · October 31, 2026 · 8 min read

Short answer: Montezuma is a walking village, and most of what makes it good costs nothing and needs no booking: the waterfall trail, the beaches north of town, the low-tide walk to Cabuya's island cemetery. Book three things ahead: the Isla Tortuga boat, a bioluminescence paddle on a dark night, and the ATV ride if you want one. Then plan your reserve day around one fact. Cabo Blanco, the reserve down the road, is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Montezuma sits at the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, at the end of the road from the Paquera ferry. Howler monkeys wake you before the surf does, and the village is small enough to cross on foot before breakfast. People come for a weekend and stay a week. The ones who leave disappointed usually spent their first two days working out what to do instead of doing it. This guide is the short version.

Every Montezuma activity at a glance

Prices for things Toorizta sells come from our live catalogue and update on their own. The reserve fee is the published rate for foreigners. Confirm it at the gate, because SINAC can change it.

The waterfall: free, close, and not one place

Montezuma Waterfall is three falls with two separate ways in, and that explains why people describe it so differently. The riverbed trail from the edge of the village is free and leads to the lower fall with the big swimming pool. It's a scramble over wet, polished boulders, not a path. The upper falls are reached through private land up the hill, by a long staircase, with a small cash fee at the gate.

Go early, wear shoes that grip when wet, and pick the entrance for the least sure-footed person in your group. We go through both routes, the jump everyone films, and the hillside works SINAC is investigating in our Montezuma Waterfall trail guide.

Cabo Blanco: Costa Rica's first reserve, closed two days a week

Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve begins past Cabuya, a short drive south of the village. Olof Wessberg and Karen Mogensen pushed for its protection in 1963, after watching the peninsula's forest being cleared. Today the forest has grown back, and you walk through it toward the tip of the cape.

The logistics trip people up more than the trail does:

• SINAC lists the reserve as open Wednesday to Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Visit Costa Rica, the ICT's official site, lists the entrance fee at US$12 for foreign visitors and says visitor numbers are limited. Ask at your hotel or ask us the day before rather than driving down on spec.
• The ICT describes three routes: a short trail of about 1 km suited to children and older walkers, a 2 km circuit, and a longer route of about 10 km out to Cabo Blanco itself. Start the long one at opening time and carry plenty of water.

You can walk it on your own. A guide earns their fee when you want to actually see the animals and not just hear them: the private nature tour in Cabo Blanco runs about three hours, from $140 per person. If your only free day falls on a Monday or Tuesday, we wrote about planning that day around the closed gate.

Isla Tortuga: Montezuma is on the gulf side already

If you are asking which Tortuga Island tour to book from Santa Teresa or Jacó, Montezuma's answer is simple: you are already on the gulf side, facing the island. One local operator, Isla Tortuga Tour, publishes a Montezuma departure at 9:30 a.m. from Montezuma beach, a crossing of about 45 minutes each way, snorkeling, lunch on the island and a return mid-afternoon.

Our Tortuga Island tour leaves at 9:00 a.m., runs about seven hours and costs from $85 per person. It includes a bilingual guide, lunch, fruit, drinks and snorkel gear. Transport to the boat is not included, and on this coast the boarding point matters, so ask us where your boat leaves from before you book a taxi. The tour has full refunds up to 48 hours before the start.

The same day from Santa Teresa has one extra leg, the ride over to the gulf side, and we cover that in Isla Tortuga from Santa Teresa. Coming from Jacó instead? That is a longer day, about eight hours on our Jacó listing, from $150 per person.

The ATV ride: the waterfall without the boulders

The ATV ride is the best answer when half your group wants the waterfall and the other half won't scramble to it. It runs the dirt backroads and ridgelines behind Montezuma and ends at the falls. It takes about four hours and costs from $150 per person, with a bilingual guide, helmet, fruit and drinks included. Lunch is a stop at a local restaurant and you pay for it there.

The live calendar shows departures every hour from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Take the earliest one you can face, because the trails are cooler in the morning. Wear closed shoes, and bring a driver's license if you plan to drive. The listing shows hotel pickup in the Santa Teresa area, so if you are sleeping in Montezuma, ask us how pickup works from your hotel. The full ride is written up in our ATV day at Montezuma Waterfall.

Bioluminescence: book the night, not just the tour

The glowing water is in the sheltered bays on the Paquera side of the peninsula, not in front of Montezuma. Our bioluminescence kayak leaves from the Paquera area, takes about three hours and costs from $45 per person. If someone in your group would rather stay dry, the boat version is from $65 per person.

The plankton only show up well when the sky is dark, so the moon matters more than the operator. Pick a night when the moon rises late or not at all, then book. Our guide to bioluminescence near Santa Teresa shows how to read NASA moonrise times for this, and the same bays serve Montezuma.

The free things that fill the rest of the week

Cabuya's island cemetery. At low tide you can walk from Cabuya beach out to a small island that is the village cemetery. Visit Costa Rica describes about 400 metres of knee-deep water before the island's sand. Go about an hour before low tide and come back before it turns. Check a tide table that morning and be respectful once you're there, because people are buried on the island.

The beaches north of town. Walk north along the shore from the village and the beaches get quieter. Ask locally which ones are safe to swim that day, since the swell changes from week to week.

The village itself. Yoga classes, a long breakfast, a hammock under the palms. Montezuma is a place where an empty afternoon is part of the plan.

What to do by traveler type

Couples. Waterfall early, Isla Tortuga one day, and the bioluminescence kayak on the darkest night of your stay. Leave one day empty.

Families. Use the short 1 km trail at Cabo Blanco and the Isla Tortuga boat, which is a beach day with lunch handled. Skip the riverbed scramble with toddlers, and consider the upper falls staircase or the ATV ride for older kids. Check the minimum age with us before booking the ATV. The boat version of the bioluminescence tour is the easier night out with children.

Adventure travelers. The long Cabo Blanco route at opening time, the ATV ride, and the kayak rather than the boat at night. If you also want waves, Santa Teresa is the surf town next door, and Montezuma or Santa Teresa helps a split group decide where to sleep.

Slow travelers and solo visitors. The free list above will fill several days on its own. Add one guided walk in Cabo Blanco, the easiest way to meet the forest with someone who knows it.

When to come

Green season, roughly May to November, gives you the waterfall at full volume and the forest at its greenest. It also means slicker rock on the riverbed trail and afternoon rain, so put the outdoor things in the morning. Dry season, December to April, brings easier footing, thinner falls and busier weekends.

Whatever the month, three things decide your calendar: Cabo Blanco's closed Mondays and Tuesdays, the low tide for Cabuya, and the moon for the glowing water. Fix those first and fit everything else around them.

What to book before you arrive

1. The bioluminescence night. It depends on the moon, so the date matters more than the tour.
2. Isla Tortuga. It runs on one morning departure with limited seats.
3. The ATV ride, if you want it, ideally the 8:00 a.m. slot.

Everything else can wait until you're there. If you haven't sorted the journey yet, getting to Montezuma covers the ferry and whether your car should ride it, and where to stay in Montezuma compares the town, the hill and the Cabuya side.

Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we'll tell you which night is darkest, which day Cabo Blanco is open, and where your boat boards. Ask us. Pura Vida 🍃