Day Trips from Costa Rica to San Jose

Avoid the hassle of long bus rides and complicated transfers, and pack more into one day than you could on your own on this group guided day trip from San José. Soak up the scenery on the ride to La Fortuna, with a stop in Sarchi, then enjoy stunning views of Arenal Volcano. Afterwards, soak in the thermal waters at the Ecotermales Thermal Pools.

Discover Costa Rica’s tropical rainforest on a full-day nature and adventure tour from San José to Braulio Carrillo National Park and Sarapiquí. Travel along Route 32 through lush rainforest and spectacular mountain scenery. At Rainforest Adventures Atlantic, choose between a Rainforest Aerial Tram ride for breathtaking canopy views or an exciting canopy zipline tour through the treetops. Continue to Sarapiquí for a scenic boat tour along the Sarapiquí River, where you may spot monkeys, iguanas, tropical birds, and other wildlife in their natural habitat. Complete your experience with a guided rainforest walk along private nature trails, discovering Costa Rica’s incredible biodiversity and tropical flora. Perfect for nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, and adventure seekers, this Costa Rica rainforest tour combines an aerial tram or zipline experience, river wildlife watching, and guided rainforest hiking in one unforgettable day trip.

Discover La Paz Waterfall Gardens near San José on a nature-focused tour showcasing waterfalls, rainforest trails, and native wildlife in one destination. Explore butterfly, hummingbird, orchid, and frog gardens, visit wildlife-focused exhibits, and admire five waterfalls surrounded by a lush cloud forest. Complete with transfers and a buffet lunch, this experience offers a convenient way to experience Costa Rica's lush biodiversity in a single day.

This day trip from San Jose provides the perfect combination: Soak in the soothing waters of Baldi Hot Springs—with options for massages and spa treatments—after hiking around the Arenal Volcano area. This tour also includes lunch and dinner and a stop in Sarchi to check out the arts and crafts and one of the world’s largest ox carts.

We do the pick up at 6:30am in your hotel, them we take the route to San Ramon for 1 hours and 45 minuts. we arrive a cloud forest with spectacular scenes, lush vegetation, orchids, bromeliads and many types of ornamental plants.We have time to zip line lessons and enjoy the adventure. After Lunch, we leave to la Fortuna to made the rafting tour, 2 hours of the tour. Full Adventure in all activities. When we finish we leave to San José.

Our guide will go through each hotel previously coordinated, to pick up the passengers who will accompany us in this beautiful experience. Hanging Bridges in the Cloud Forest, a very spectacular adventure, In our tours you can enjoy the greatness of nature in Costa Rica, it is the perfect tour for the whole family, enjoy the most beautiful orchids in Costa Rica, Bird watching, various types of animals such as howler monkeys, coatis and more species that you can enjoy throughout the trip. As a second Canopy Tour activity, we have cables between 50 and 550 meters long at the points with the most adrenaline. In these tours you can enjoy various views of the Cataraticas River. Our platforms are located on bases with heights from 3 to 106 meters high, some of them on trees and on land bases depending on the points of attraction and adventure. To close we will enjoy a delicious typical lunch

It is a tour where you will see all the traditions that our grandparents lived in their towns and dances and the food that is a delight for all people and everything with the flavor of our Grandparents And the most important thing is to see our Capital at night in the distance and then return to our hotels, it is an experience of knowing our customs of our ancestors.

From San Jose, you will take a half day making your way to the Poas Volcano, making a few stops along the way. You'll stop at the coffee plantation in Alajuela and see how it is cultivated. You'll also stop at a strawberry plantation to see what that is all about too. When you get to the top of the volcano, you can take a 20 minute walk for the views.

This day we will leave your Hotel for the Poás de Alajuela area, we will make a stop for a brief explanation about our golden grain, the coffee where we will stop to see the coffee bushes, also having the opportunity to take a photograph of the Ventral Valley and from the coffee plantation. We will continue the tour through fern, flower and strawberry crops. .

NOTE The total stay within the Poás Volcano National Park will be 40 minutes: 10 minutes on the walk to the viewpoint of the crater, 20 minutes on the lookout point and 10 minutes on the exit walk. There is no access to the Botos Lagoon and in case of fog, there is no extra waiting time as in the past.

On the top of the volcano you can observe the main craters and on a clear day Pacific Oceans and Caribbean Sea. As we descend to the city of Cartago we will stop at the Virgin of the Angels Basilica that according to religious custom is a peregrination site for many believers. Surrounded by rainforest and lush vegetation, La Hacienda Orosi has been blessed by mother earth with nascent thermal mineral water. These rich springs of mineralthermal “telluric” waters (non-magmatic or volcanic ), are filtered between the layers of the earth and spring in the middle of the rainforest at more than 65 degrees Celsius.

Experience some of Costa Rica’s most beautiful natural attractions on this full-day group tour around Arenal. Enjoy the rainforest and volcano views from the Mistico Hanging Bridges, swim in La Fortuna Waterfall, and get closer to the mountain on a Volcan Arenal walk. This tour includes hotel pickup and combines these highlights in one easy day tour.

This tour is the easiest way to see Costa Rica's Arenal highlights in one day, without having to worry about planning transport. Visit the hanging bridges, waterfall, volcano, and hot springs, traveling between attractions with ease in an air-conditioned minivan. No detail is overlooked: your full-day tour includes entrance fees, bottled water, meals, snacks, and convenient hotel pickup and drop-off in La Fortuna.

Enjoy stunning views from Irazu Volcano National Park and Orosi Valley, plus wander through the streets of Cartago City on this popular tour that takes travelers outside for a taste of Costa Rican nature. Explore the active Irazu volcano some 3,432 meters above sea level and gain a deeper understanding of why Costa Rica's largest volcano is so impressive!

Home to over 100 species of animals, five waterfalls, and a cloud forest the Wildlife Refuge La Paz Waterfall Gardens is bursting with biodiversity. Visit, explore, learn, and even hike among the sloths, monkeys, tropical birds, pumas, ocelots, and more who call Costa Rica’s most visited private ecological reserve home. Take in the incredible plant life like wild orchids on this full-day tour from San Jose with lunch included.

Connect with two key pieces of Costa Rican life: coffee and wilderness on this combination tour to La Paz Waterfall Gardens and the Doka Coffee Estate plantation. This full-day, guided tour kicks off with a tour of plantation where you’ll learn how your cups gets from bean to breakfast. Afterwards, hike over volcanic terrain, under waterfalls, and into the rainforest during a challenging hike in the nature reserve.

This day trip provides round-trip transport from San Jose and combines a zipline adventure and whitewater rafting trip in the Costa Rican rain forest. Enjoy spectacular views as you zip above the rain forest canopy, and experience the adrenaline rush of navigating a challenging stretch of whitewater rapids with an expert guide. Your full-day tour includes all equipment, lunch, and hotel pickup and drop-off.

This tour to Irazu Volcano National Park and Cartago is an ideal San Jose day trip. See Costa Rica’s largest volcano and explore the city of Cartago, popular for the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, on a tour that is interesting and informative without leaving you exhausted. A sit-down lunch on the banks of Lake Cachi is included as a relaxing final stop.

See Costa Rica’s iconic La Paz waterfall during this full-day guided, tour with animal sanctuary visit and an eco-boat ride down the famous Sarapiqui River. Get up close and personal with toucans and monkeys and learn about the five waterfalls, flowers, and rainforest within the sanctuary. Afterward, absorb the biodiversity on a relaxing boat trip down the Sarapiqui river ecosystem surrounded by wildlife in the water and on land.

Spend a day exploring Costa Rica's rich wildlife on this tour to a coffee plantation, waterfall, and volcanic lagoon from San Jose. After learning how coffee is harvested and roasted on a coffee farm tour, head to Poas Volcano National Park and La Paz Waterfall Gardens for a chance to see animals like birds, butterflies, and monkeys in their beautiful natural habitats.

Discover the beauty of the Poas Volcano on a small-group tour from San Jose. Ascend the imposing volcano and learn about the various crops grown on its slopes including coffee. Notice the changing vegetation as you make your way to the summit which stands at 8,885 feet (2,708 meters) and take in the views of the main crater surrounding area from the top.

If you’re short on time in Costa Rica but want to see the country’s famous biodiversity beyond the concrete capital, this day trip to the Tortuguero National Park is ideal. Travel through the canals and lagoons on a boat and look out for toucans, crocodiles, sloths, iguanas, and much more. The highlight, though, is seeing the sea turtle nesting sites on the beaches, which give the park its name.

Experience the bio diversity and natural majesty of Costa Rica’s most-visited nature reserve on this full-day, guided tour to La Paz Waterfall gardens with safari boat tour on the Sarapiqui River included. Learn about and see exotic animals and insects living in the animal sanctuary. Relax during a boat cruise as your guide points out monkeys, birds, sloth, ocelots, jaguar and more along the shore line.

Escape the city and experience San Jose’s surrounding nature in the most relaxing way possible—with this private, full-day tour to waterfalls, gardens, and hot springs. Picked up from your hotel, you’ll traverse the countryside until you reach the rainforest, where you’ll explore gardens, spot sloths, and get misted by waterfalls. Then you’ll head to nearby hot springs for lunch, a soak under the Arenal Volcano, optional spa treatments, and more.