Journeys Costa Rica Guides

With over 14 years of experience in tourism, Charlie has spent the last 10 with Costa Rica Sun Tours. Although a proud Costa Rican, Carlos has been fortunate enough to enjoy extensive traveling experiences, including a thorough tour of the United States and a 3 year stay in Canada. Some of Charlie's favorite subjects include geology and astrology, as well as reading and cooking. If his encyclopedic knowledge of Costa Rican natural history isn't enough to impress, Charlie also comes equipped with an arsenal of jokes to entertain his groups.

Carlos began as a volunteer for the National Parks System, where he dedicated his time to protecting the rainforest and sea turtles of Tortuguero. After studying english at the University of Costa Rica, and tour-guiding at the National Institute of Learning, Carlos began leading groups across his beautiful country. Now, several years later, Carlos has guided in almost every national park in Costa Rica. In addition, he has spotted over 600 different species of birds during his time as a guide. To Carlos, spreading the knowledge of Costa Rica's cultural and natural history is easy, as long as you love what you you do.

Cesar recently earned his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Costa Rica, and is currently in the process of compiling his thesis entitled: "Study of Thrushes Songs." This bioacoustic examination is the first of its kind to be conducted in the country. In his spare time, Cesar works as an assistant in the Ornithology department at the university. Cesar has been guiding groups all over Costa Rica for several years, and has worked at the famous Rancho Naturalista birdwatching lodge, as well as Hawk Mountain Bird Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. Cesar is the perfect choice for any nature oriented group.

Esteban received his training from the National Institute of Biodiversity. He began his work as a naturalist guide at the cloud forest in the Santa Elena Reserve located near Monteyerde. Although a licensed attorney, Esteban would choose nature over litigation and day of the week. Fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and French, Esteban is currently learning German in addition to studying management of natural resources

Since he earned his first guiding license from the National Institute of Learning over 13 years ago, Jimmy has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Latin America. Italy is admittedly his favorite destination, which explains his knack for Italian cooking as well as his fluency in Italian. He also speaks French in addition to English and, of course, Spanish. Known for his sense of humor and uniquely perfected guiding style, Jimmy is one of the most knowledgable and professional guides that Costa Rica Sun Tours has to offer.

A student at both the University of Costa Rica and the National Institute of Learning, Leo has been a field guide for over 13 years. His true love is ornithology, having spent much of the past 5 years traveling the country and recording bird sounds. A member of the Costa Rican association of ornithology, Leo periodically leads seminars and lectures on Costa Rica's birds and natural history. A highlight of his career was the opportunity to go birding in the Andes Mountains and the Amazon Rainforest.

Born in the small Costa Rican suburb of Desamparados, Marco began working in tourism in the early 1990's. Known for his keen eye, Marco is particularily valuable on wildlife spotting expeditions, especially birdwatching. His contagious enthusiasm and unrelenting commitment to providing the best possible experience to his clients has earned Marco the title of "Pura Vida," "or full of life," guide.

Pedro lives with his wife and 3 children in Heredia, the "city of flowers." His introduction to the tourism industry came when he worked for 4 years as a bartender aboard a Caribbean cruise ship. When Pedro returned to Costa Rica, he brought with him new found language and customer service experience which he applied towards his tour guiding. Although extremely knowledgable regarding Costa Rica's history and traditions, Pedro's first love will always be nature. He is currently finishing his training at the National Institute of Learning as a specialized nature-guide.