Set in the sleepy Tico village of Santa Marta, Sibu Sanctuary is 50acres of Costa Rican Jungle and tropical gardens. As you pass through the monkey themed gates you will get a sense of something special going on. The first person you meet will be Steve Coan, one of the two owners (and tireless workers!). He takes you along the trail explaining the history of the sanctuary and how the whole project began. With a wide knowledge of the area, the wildlife and some ‘hilarious’ jokes, Steve makes you feel at ease and you will get a sense of the true wilderness of Costa Rica and the wonder of it.

After this first part of the tour, you will be taken to the sanctuary house where you will meet Vicky Coan, the other owner. No doubt Vicky will have some drinks ready for you and even more trivia on local wildlife and fill you in all the day to day in and outs of running a wildlife sanctuary. You will be made feel right at home as you watch two short movies outlining the issues of conservation in Costa Rica.

Then the real magic begins the animals! A trip to the enclosure is something to be savoured. Pisotes, squirrels, racoons and of course, the monkeys! You will learn that every animal has their own personality, likes and dislikes and habits. An amazing experience!

After a visit to Sibu Sanctuary you will realise the issues with conservation in Costa Rica, and the world in general, but also how two extremely hard working and dedicated people can make such a difference. They have worked endlessly and re-released countless animals to the wild with the step down release programme and have lobbied and worked with the Costa Rican government to try and cut the current problems facing the wildlife there, mainly the un-insulated power lines.

As someone who had the extremely good fortune to live and volunteer there for two months, take my advice and take a break from surfing or zip lines and everything else and take a trip to see Sibu. It will be something you will never forget and a great opportunity to see things most people would never see in their lives. All money paid for visits goes straight back into the sanctuary so it’s for a good cause.

You have a choice to visit the refuge or the sanctuary, we visited the refuge. Very dedicated people, wonderful to visit the baby monkeys up close. Does the previous reviewer realize that this lifestyle dedication does not bear costs? Think it's easy to get the electric company to insulate the power lines? Try it. Only complaint and suggestion would be it would be nice to be able to visit both the refuge and the sanctuary same day, as there is travel involved to get there.

While it is nice that this couple took their hard earned money to create a sanctuary for injured animals,I do believe that they could have accomplished their same goal by just paying to insulate the wires around the area then campaigning for insulated wires through out the peninsula. These two really do get a lot accomplished especially with no prior experience as veterinarians,the monkeys that live with them do seem happy, but $50 a pop is a bit pricey for a tour around their garden and 20 minutes with their monkeys. I'm sure it pays the bills and keeps them comfy in their little tropical paradise.

If you care about Costa Rica's wildlife and enjoy a tour "off the beaten track", come to visit the Sibu Sanctuary. Just the premises alone are breathtaking and showcase the beautiful Costa Rican forest and landscape. Steve and Vicky will give you an amazing tour full of details about the premises, nature and the animals. The best part is the tour of the actual Sanctuary, though. You will meet Tobi, Ben and Jerry and all the other orphans who were rescued and rehabilitated by Steve and Vicky. All of these animals were traumatized by their experience with unprotected electrical power lines and the accounts of their circumstances deeply saddened me. It is heartwarming to see how everybody at Sibu cares for the animals and the mutual love can be felt when you join in and let yourself be greeted, touched, cuddled, nibbled at and sometimes peed on by these gentle creatures. ;-) I loved every moment of the physical interaction with these animals and was very impressed with the actual sanctuary "amenities". So much so that I am now trying to find some sponsors to support Steve and Vicky's great work! Although the tour is supposed to last between 1.5 and 2 hours, we stayed for more than 3, which shows the dedication of the Sibu team. Enjoy the tour and give generously! Thanks again guys for a wonderful experience, I will be back in December!