Top San Jose Private Sightseeing Tours

Embark on a journey through the heart of San Jose, where you'll explore the city's most significant historical and cultural sites. Begin at the stunning Teatro Nacional Costa Rica, home to the Costa Rican Symphony Orchestra, and indulge in its European-style coffee shop. Continue to Parque Espana, once a parking lot for oxen carts, now a serene park with views of the historic Barrio Amón. Visit Parque Nacional Park, where you'll learn about Central America's united stand against North American slave traders, commemorated by the impressive National Monument. Finally, marvel at the Metropolitan Church, San Jose's main cathedral, filled with exquisite art and history, including a statue of Pope John Paul II, who held a mass for peace here in 1983.

This full-day coffee farm tour provides an authentic day-in-the-life experience you won’t find on many of the other coffee farm tours. While tours often only demonstrate a small fraction of the process, at Aquiares, coffee lovers can see what it takes to bring coffee from the seed to the cup. Plus, you can experience the welcoming community, rich foods, and stunning scenery of a farm in the Costa Rican rainforest.

With its cascading waterfalls and abundant wildlife, the Pacuare River is rightfully famous for its natural beauty. Paddle through the river gorge, navigating 52 Class II-IV rapids as you go, on this 12-hour trip from San Jose. Take in views of the tropical rain forest and wildlife such as sloths, parrots, and toucans as you ride the river (and your adrenaline rush) over the course of the day.

Go off the beaten path on this all-day 4x4 adventure from San Jose. This excursion, designed for up to 4 passengers, can be customized to your preferences, including traveling to Guanacaste to visit the beaches or heading to Ballena Park to spot whales and dolphins and to snorkel. The drivers can suggest places to see and where to eat.

We will see the important sites of Downtown San Jose with an emphasis on the rich history and culture of this amazing country.

If you’re looking for a great cup of coffee in Costa Rica, then this tour will take you to the right place. A private day trip to the Doka Estate coffee plantation will show you how Costa Rican coffee is processed from bean to brew. After seeing how this amazing coffee is made, you’ll head to the town of Iglesia de Sarchi for a few hours of souvenir shopping before making a quick stop at Parque Central de Grecia.

Devote a day to experiencing some of the best in Costa Rican nature without having to do a lot of planning with this tour, which combines three incredible experiences. Enjoy a scenic boat ride on the Sarapiqui River with a naturalist guide, take an aerial tram into the rainforest, and go on a nature walk, with time left over to enjoy included lunch in a rainforest restaurant.

Leave the crowded streets of San Jose behind and discover the serenity of Manuel Antonio National Park with this day-trip for up to 4 passengers. This beachside protected jungle is home to a variety of monkeys, coatis, boa constrictors, and other diverse wildlife. You can choose which activities to partake in like hiking through the park’s trails or seeing it from above on a zipline tour. End your adventure gazing at the sunset from The Marina in Quepos.

Experience two of Costa Rica’s impressive natural wonders in one day with this private full-day tour from San Jose. Enjoy a scenic hike through the Poas Volcano National Park, admire magnificent views of the crater, and look out for hummingbirds and quetzals in the cloud forest. After lunch, explore the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where you can spot wildlife such as white face and spider monkeys, wildcats, snakes, and butterflies. Finally, visit a coffee farm to learn about its production process.

Experience both extremes of Costa Rican nature on this wild and wonderful private tour: an active volcano and lush, serene waterfalls. Escaping the crowds, you’ll get personally picked up from your hotel and whisked off to Poas Volcano, an active, steaming giant. From there, you’ll explore La Paz Waterfall Gardens to take in serious natural beauty, hang out with toucans, and more.

Escape the hustle and bustle of San Jose and experience Sarchi, a small town famous for its artisan crafts. After pickup from your hotel, your personal guide will show you the best spots, detailing the tradition of oxcart painting—and the importance of the oxcart to Costa Rica—wooden craft-making, family art factories, and more. Grab an authentic lunch and choose from 200+ shops to select a souvenir to take back home.

Your breath-taking, adventure begins with a pickup from your hotel and a relaxing private drive through the wonderful Costa Rican countryside. After a 90 minute drive from San Jose, you will arrive to Tarcoles River. The Tarcoles River is home to one of the world’s largest crocodile populations in the wild and they are very easy to admire during our 90 minutes boat tour. Get up close with American crocodiles of all sizes and observe an abundance of beautiful exotic birds! Enjoy spectacular rainforest scenery and cruise through dense mangrove forest canals. Spot jungle wildlife such as iguanas, lizards, and monkeys. After the tour, enjoy a delicious typical lunch and explore the souvenir store. Continuing our tour, a short drive to Carara National Park will allow us to get deep inside the rainforest in this unique ecosystem, where many beautiful wildlife species are common to see such as the Scarlet macaw, monkeys, snakes, armadillos and more.

Costa Rica’s Cartago Province is home to the lofty Irazú Volcano as well as a variety of historic settlements. See Cartago’s highlights in a single day on this private tour, which allows you to experience Irazú Volcano National Park’s panoramic viewpoints and steaming craters, visit centuries-old settlements, and admire historic Spanish-colonial churches. Your guide navigates and provides transportation, leaving you free to enjoy the scenery.

The Rain Forest Aerial Tram is an unique rain forest experience where you can admire the jungle from the same perspective of the birds. With the narration of your guide, learn all about the ecosystem and wildlife species present at this pristine forest. The cable car, built in the 90s by a biologist and researcher of the flora and fauna of the treetops, allows a 1-mile journey over the tropical rain forest. The beauty of nature is impressive and with the narration of the local naturalist guides, it becomes a true educational experience. The park is located at less than one hour from San Jose and besides the tram, you can enjoy diverse ecological experiences such a butterfly garden, nature walks, souvenir store and a restaurant. Our tour is operated in a 100% private basis, with high quality transportation services and a professional naturalist tour guide that will pick you up directly from your hotel.

Explore the Arenal Volcano area on this guided all-day private tour from San Jose. Take a nature walk through the biological reserve of Mistico Park on a system of hanging bridges and catch views of the volcano, which looms over the green hillside. Also take some time for yourself at Baldi Hot Springs in La Fortuna, where you’ll have free time to relax in the resort’s multiple thermal pools.

Zoom through the Costa Rican jungle on a full-day zip-lining tour in San Ramon. The tour is perfect for adrenaline junkies and active families alike. Thanks to provided safety equipment and the watchful eye of your experienced guide, you’re able to sail through the cloud forest with ease. Walk across six hanging bridges, measuring up to 360 feet across (110 meters). Along the way, keep your eyes peeled for hummingbirds, sloths, and monkeys.

Get off the beaten path in the Monteverde Cloud Forest without the risk of getting lost with a private guide. Nature lovers who want to explore deeper into the park will love the chance to travel by four-wheel-drive into parts of the forest that travelers on a quick visit usually miss. This is a customizable private tour so you have the freedom to choose your itinerary.

Get your heart racing and make the most of your trip to Costa Rica on this jam-packed adventure tour. Traverse rugged mountains and jungle trails on an ATV until you reach a beach, where you can stop and relax. Then head to a crocodile hotspot, the Tarcoles River bridge, and safely observe these reptiles that call the area home.

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.

Discover La Paz Waterfall Gardens on this all-day guided tour. The popular natural attraction boasts five waterfalls, a cloud forest, rainforest, an aviary and butterfly observatory, and more, plus capuchin and black-handed spider monkeys and plenty of educational animal exhibits with jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and margays. Plus, visit the largest coffee plantation in Costa Rica and learn about its production.

Monteverde is a Mecca for nature lovers, and this full-day trip won’t disappoint. On the way there, stop at the largest fruit stand in the country and sample a variety of tropical fruits. Once at the destination, ride the Sky Tram over the cloud forest canopy, then proceed on a guided hike along trails and hanging bridges suspended among the treetops.

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. .

Immerse yourself in Costa Rican culture and history on this guided tour of the capital city. Highlights include the National Theater, the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, the University of Costa Rica, the Supreme Court, and Central Market. A bilingual guide is on hand to answer questions and provide insight about what you see along the way.

San Jose is filled with amazing attractions to see such as the National Theater of Costa Rica and the Metropolitan Cathedral, but if you’re not familiar with San Jose, it could take you ages to see everything on your list. Take this San Jose nighttime city tour and travel with a guide who knows their way around under the city lights. Plus, dinner and round-trip transport are both included.