About
Location :
Added by Jopie, at 26 April 2016
Opening Hours
- Monday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Wednesday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Saturday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday Closed
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14 Reviews
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27 March 2018
Best. Tour. Ever. I spent most of my colones here. The few extra dollars for the home cooked lunch was so worth it. I felt a little sad leaving.
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24 March 2018
Excellent experience! The tour took you through every step of the chocolate making process and you get to try a bit of everything along the way. In the end you get to try an ancient chocolate drink with homemade brownies and truffles. Highly recommended!
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25 February 2018
You'll need a vehicle with decent clearance and preferably 4-wheel drive to get here. I made it in a toyota Rav-4. You'll get to see the entire chocolate making process from tree to truffle and actual make some of your own truffles. This is a very small operation and there likely won't be too many at any given time. Highly recommend but be prepared for a journey to get there!
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30 December 2017
This is the real deal. A family owned and operated working farm. It is definitely off the beaten path, but if you want to learn about chocolate harvesting this is the place. Along with being shown the process, our group got to make rustic truffles, hot chocolate, and temper chocolate. All of which we enjoyed after a home cooked meal for lunch. The story of the farm and the steps the family takes to keep it going is inspiring and seeing the hard work that they do makes this trip a wonderful experience.
There are some things to be aware of, it is in a rural area of Costa Rica. Travel time on gravel/dirt roads is required. This is a working farm with activities happening while you are there, so be aware of your surroundings. Dirt paths, steps, and nature are all around, physical limitations should be taken into consideration. My party had one person with a cane and one with a false leg. They could get around, but had to watch their step.
If you can take the time, I would recommend this tour. If I find myself in this part of the country again, I would definitely revisit.response / report this review -
20 December 2017
My family and I found out about La Iguana Chocolate through a blog post which raved about the authentic experience they had had. Words simply can’t do the tour justice and exceeded our high expectations by a Long shot. Maria gave us the most wonderful tour of the family farm- from the history to the harvesting process to actually hands on making chocolate. The best chocolate we have ever had and would drive the extra way to do it again in a heart beat.
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14 November 2017
I could not be happier with the tour of the farm we got on our honeymoon! I'm not the kind of guy to intentionally overpay- but the tour only cost $25/person and we gladly voluntarily paid $40/person it's THAT GOOD! Jorge was very thorough in his explanation of the history and process of cacao farming. We got to see the entire operation and taste the cacao every step of the way from the fruit all the way to finished chocolate. The tour literally started with Jorge cutting a cacao pod off the tree and giving us the fruit to try (which is delicious, by the way) and ended with us eating some truffles that we made from freshly dried cacao beans!
We drove 2.5 hours out of our way to come here, and we'd ABSOLUTELY do it again! At $25/person, it was the single best thing we did in our two weeks in Costa Rica, and easily one of the least expensive. We ended up buying over $100 in finished products as well! This is a must-see family run cacao farm!response / report this review -
05 September 2017
Great place. Great autantic experience
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31 August 2017
I love everything about La Iguana! I highly recommend their tour which is fun and very informative. Don't forget to stock up on all their yummy products. The best in Costa Rica!
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26 June 2017
Amazing tour and super yummy chocolate! I had so much fun and learned a lot! Super cool people there too!
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11 April 2017
My family thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate tour at La Iguana Chocolate (including my teenage sons). We fit this in as part of our drive back from Manuel Antonio to San Jose, and we're so glad we did. The location is out of the way, but the drive there was spectacular - we pulled over many times to take pictures.
Vicki hosted our tour, and made us feel very welcome. We learned a lot about where chocolate comes from, and how it's transformed from a cacao bud to finished chocolate. Everything was very hands-on, giving us the opportunity to peel and grind cacao beans and make our own chocolate truffles. All in all, a great experience.response / report this review -
10 March 2017
This tour was awesome! It was not scripted and you could tell they really knew chocolate well. They gave us some delicious cupcakes during the tour (among other tasty chocolate products). You can also buy various chocolate goods at the end of the tour for very reasonable prices.
We had gone on a chocolate tour near La Fortuna previously, and the La Iguana tour was way way better. It is out in a non touristy area but totally worth going to if you have a car.response / report this review -
22 June 2016
Did a great tour with Jorge and learned so much of the chocolate making process. We saw the fresh fruit, got the opportunity to taste it, see it fermenting and roast, as well as try making some chocolate truffles ourselves. Fantastic experience, slightly off the beaten path, and a unique opportunity to interact with true locals in a non-touristy environment.
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14 June 2016
Spent five amazing days here. Absolutely beautiful setting in the heart of rural Costa Rica. Went on a chocolate tour where we learned every step of the chocolate making process. The tour ended with us making our own rustic truffles accompanied by hot chocolate and some delicious vegan brownies! The family is extremely welcoming and the town is an easy 15 minute walk. Nearby there is also a beautiful waterfall about a 35 minute walk away. Highly recommended! We bought 18 chocolate bars before leaving to share with friends and family back home!
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03 May 2016
As a chocolate maker, I can't recommend these guys enough. Go out of your way to come see taste and learn. Every step of the process is expertly done on the farm by the family, which is virtually unheard of in the world of chocolate. They make a host of fresh products from lip balm, soap balm, to rustic flavor truffles to fine tempered bars and filled truffles. A real chocolate experienceone I hold as the example to other farmers, makers and eaters.
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