rancho tipico don juan

This was one of our family's highlights from our recent trip to Manuel Antonio. The ride was beautiful and interesting. Randall, his father and the other rider were great with our kids (ages 11 and 14). They proudly showed off their lovely property, let us taste some of the fruit that grows on their trees and took us to a waterfall. Randall took great pictures of us and sent them via drop box after the trip. After the ride Randall took us to a very local place with the best chicken and rice of our trip. Our hotel hadn't yet heard of this tour but I suspect they will be recommending it soon. It was a great experience.

The tour started out with a guided drive through Quepos and the palm tree farms. We saw wildlife including monkeys along the way. Randall stopped several times to allow us to take photos. The horses were very tame and seemed to know the way. Randall and Juan were excellent helping us with the horses. The terrain varied from valleys to streams to mountainsides. Randall kept us entertained with his knowledge of the area. He took over 100 photos of us throughout the trip, which he provided via drop box. The waterfall was beautiful, if a bit cold :). Snacks and drinks were provided and the fruit was very fresh and ripe. The day ended with a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, with fresh starfruit juice. Would do this again if we return to CR.

Our family ( with boys ages 11 and 13) really enjoyed our horseback tour led by Randall and his father Juan. They own this slice of heaven deep in the woods a little bit south of Quepos, beyond the palm plantations. These tours are Randall and Juan's efforts to keep their ranch rather than succumb, as many other ranchers have, to planting boring monocultures of palms or corn. So instead, lucky visitors ride through scenic terrain, crossing streams and going up and down some impressive hillsides while seeing cattle, orange and many other different fruit trees, and even some coffee bushes. The terrain is beautiful, and we saw many toucans and other birds, plus frogs and some interesting insects (but not a single mosquito even though it was quite wet while we were visiting), and there are no doubt monkeys here too. Randall met us at our hotel in Manuel Antonio, and provided a comfortable and informative ride to the ranch, offering us each a large box of icy-cold fresh fruit (slices of pineapple, watermelon, etc.), organic bananas, and bottled water along the way. (What we couldn't eat he kept for us in a cooler to take back to the hotel with us.)We were fortunate enough to be the only guests this day; I understand that they currently take up to 8 guests at a time. Our backpacks were locked in the car during our ride. We then met Juan, who speaks little English but is friendly and kind, and we were saddled up. Randall had asked about our level of riding experience, and since we had some he took us on rather challenging terrain on his gentle, well-mannered horses. Initially our 11-year-old's horse was tethered to Juan's, until we asked that he be permitted to ride on his own.At one point we got off our horses to walk through some jungle to a gigantic ceiba tree - an amazing specimen. Then, after riding some more, we arrived at a gorgeous waterfall where we could take a bracing dip. (Wear quick-dry clothes!)Throughout the ride, Randall offered informative commentary, conveying his love of this unspoiled land. We dried off in the air on the way back, and were offered towels for the ride back to town. At Manuel Antonio, as part of the tour package, Randall took us to a restaurant - the Tabulia Hotel Banjo Bar - where we had the best casados we enjoyed in our entire week in Costa Rica (and we had lots of casados meals during the week). Our fillets of mahi mahi (dorado) were perfectly prepared.At the beginning of the tour, Randall offered a $20 option of taking photos of us. The photos were uploaded to Dropbox for us to easily access within the day, and they were a great souvenir.This is not some packaged, slick tour but instead a rustic, honest experience that we highly recommend. Our kids loved it. We wish Randall and his family well! Pura vida!

My family took this wonderful tour with Randall and Don Juan during our recent visit. Randall picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the farm. He is extremely knowledgeable and provided us with a lot of information about the area on the way to the farm. We all enjoyed riding the horses over their beautiful land. The fruit picked right from the trees was delicious. We got off the horses and took a short hike into the forest to see the huge ceiba tree. Everything was so green and lush. The waterfall was very refreshing. The paths were muddy and steep in parts but the horses navigated through them very well. After the horseback riding tour was done, Randall took us for a Costa Rican traditional casado lunch which was delicious. The entire family had a wonderful time on this tour.

We signed up for this horseback riding tour through our hotel. Randall picked us up promptly and took us for a "Costa Rican massage" drive through the palms and gave us some history on the economics of the region. When we arrived at his farm we had already learned so much. We absolutely loved the tour - picking and tasting fruit straight from the source, a hike through the woods where we saw amazing frogs and tried to find a pig, to riding through the fields with cows to the waterfall to cool off (wear your bathing suit under your clothes). All of this was followed by a delicious Costa Rican typical lunch on the way back to our hotel. Randall and his father were patient, knowledgeable, and proud showing off the land that's been in their family for generations. While some of the riding was challenging, it was an amazing experience not to be missed!! The best tour of our trip by far!