San Jose City Tour. Premium Experience with Lunch
Recommended by 90% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
San Jose, Costa Rica
- 5 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
San Jose is the cultural capital of Costa Rica and boasts a rich and varied history. Get acquainted with the city’s charms on a private tour, featuring a customizable itinerary of must-see attractions and private transportation through the city’s maze of trafficked avenues.
- Private tour of San Jose with just you and your group
- See the city’s highlights with a private guide who can cater to your interests
- Traverse San Jose in the comfort of a private vehicle
- Gain insider perspective on the city’s culture and history
- Ideal overview for first-time visitors
- Lunch at a well-regarded restaurant included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included
What's Included
- Professional tour guide just for you
- 100% private deluxe transportation
- Entrance fee to National Museum
- Sightseeing by the most Iconic sites of San Jose City
- Delicious Typical lunch in a nice restaurant
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Tip for the tour guide
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We pick up at all hotels in San Jose area. If your hotel is not listed please send hotel name and address
Operating hours.9:00 am
Itinerary
Meet your guide at your hotel and head straight for San Jose’s highlights. Traverse the city in the comfort of private transportation with just you and your group, heading off to the city’s highlights.
This customizable tour allows you to cater your itinerary to your specific interests, but some highlights you can expect to visit include the 19th century National Theater, Sabana Park, Supreme Court, and University of Costa Rica. You will also have the option of touring the National Museum, Gold Museum, or Jade Museum with your guide.
Stop in the city’s arts and crafts district and have just enough free time to look through the eclectic offerings before heading back to your hotel.
Lunch in the historic Barrio Otoya neighborhood is included.
This customizable tour allows you to cater your itinerary to your specific interests, but some highlights you can expect to visit include the 19th century National Theater, Sabana Park, Supreme Court, and University of Costa Rica. You will also have the option of touring the National Museum, Gold Museum, or Jade Museum with your guide.
Stop in the city’s arts and crafts district and have just enough free time to look through the eclectic offerings before heading back to your hotel.
Lunch in the historic Barrio Otoya neighborhood is included.
1
Teatro Nacional Costa Rica
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Pass By)
2
San Jose
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Joseph of Costa Rica (Pass By)
Amantes del Parque Metropolitano La Sabana (Pass By)
3
Mercado Municipal De Artesanias
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
4
Museo Nacional De Costa Rica
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
- Infant meals not included
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 41 reviews
Malcolm_T, Apr 2026
Very informative tour and explanations in museums. Great lunch and conversations.
Lots of interesting history and architecture
Denise_P, Feb 2026
Our guide, Able, was very knowledgable with positive energy. The tour provided a good overview of the culture and history of San José.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you for your amazing review! We’re happy to know you enjoyed a responsible and authentic experience with us. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do, and it’s wonderful to see guests appreciate it.
Delight_W, Oct 2024
National museum and theater Excellent guide Very knowledgable and personable.enjoyed lunch. Good pace for day
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share feedback following your recent tour with Greenway Tours. It is only through your valuable comments that we are able to excel and continue to deliver the extraordinary to our guests.
It was a pleasure to read that you enjoyed your trip with us and I would like to personally thank you for sharing the positive aspects of your experience.
On behalf of the team here at Greenway Tours, we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Best regards,
Ashley_G, Aug 2024
The tour guide, Luis, was the absolute best! I wanted to do this tour as part of my birthday trip and he made our first day in Costa Roca so memorable! He was of course very knowledgeable of all the sights and even provided additional insight for other questions we had. For my time, I really enjoyed learning about the culture and seeing all that San Jose had to offer. We also had an amazing lunch with such a great ambiance. I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone going to Costa Rica whether it’s your first time or nof!
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share feedback following your recent tour with Greenway Tours. It is only through your valuable comments that we are able to excel and continue to deliver the extraordinary to our guests.
It was a pleasure to read that you enjoyed your trip with us and I would like to personally thank you for sharing the positive aspects of your experience.
On behalf of the team here at Greenway Tours, we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Best regards,
Keon_S, Apr 2024
This tour was more than we expected. There is a lot of history in the country. Highly recommended tour.
Response from Host, Jun 2024
Thank you for taking the time to review us. We're glad you enjoyed our product, and we appreciate your 5 stars review. We're extremely happy that you had a positive experience, and we're grateful for your feedback.
Elizabeth_Z, Mar 2024
Luis was a fantastic guide! We learned so much about the culture and history of Costa Rica. The length of the tour was perfect, and we really enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant with authentic food. Luis was patient and very knowledgeable. The museums were gorgeous. Exploring San Jose was a real treat!
Response from Host, Jun 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share feedback following your recent tour with Greenway Tours. It is only through your valuable comments that we are able to excel and continue to deliver the extraordinary to our guests.
It was a pleasure to read that you enjoyed your trip with us and I would like to personally thank you for sharing the positive aspects of your experience.
On behalf of the team here at Greenway Tours, we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Best regards,
kmarxmiller, Jan 2024
The tour included a lovely local lunch at a charming restaurant. Luis was engaging an an excellent tour guide. He was able to tailor the day to our preferences!
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Thank you! We hope to see you again soon
Chantal_W, Jan 2024
Loved it! We did multiple tours, all different companies and this was our favorite.
Luis was sweet, patient and answered ours and my daughter’s questions. Very knowledgeable and personable
The lunch was amazing and probably some of the most authentic tasting food we had.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed your experience.
Luis is one of our great tour guides and very professional.
Hope to serve you again in the near future.
Alexis_C, Dec 2023
Luis, our guide, was full of interesting facts and was so kind in adapting his pace to ours. We got to see parts of San Jose we never would have seen without his knowledge, like the amazing family restaurant that tasted and felt like coming home, or the astonishing gold room in the art museum. We can’t recommend this tour or Luis highly enough!
Response from Host, Feb 2024
We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed your experience. Luis is a great tour guide and he is very happy reading your post. Hope to serve you again in the near future.
Robert_W, Dec 2023
Good overview of the city by a knowledgeable and helpful guide, Alberto. Particularly enjoyed the art and history museums as well as the delicious lunch..
Response from Host, Dec 2023
Thank you for your great review. We appreciate it
Marge_S, Jul 2023
Giselle was an amazing tour guide - so funny and informative. We felt so well looked after and the tour at the National Museum was especially great! We highly recommend this tour and if you are lucky enough, Giselle as your tour guide!!!!
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Hello, Thank you for your posite review about our tour and tour guide Guiselle.
akinyinka_a, Mar 2023
Highly recommend this tour.
Guide was excellent. Passionate, knowledgeable and bi-lingual.
Really enjoyed it
Eugene_C, Nov 2022
Excellent guide, excited to share the history and culture of Costa Rica and the San Jose area. Provided a great perspective of the successes and the challenges of modern CR. Truly, a wonderful representative.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
HI
Thank you very much for your nice review. We really appreciate it and hope to serve you in the near future.
DanielAndre_T, Oct 2022
The city tour by car was very nice.
Alberto was very friendly and drove with knowledge of San Jose. The pickup was punctual, the lunch included was very delicious. A good learning time of history and art.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Hi
Thank you very much for your nice review about our tour and services. We really appreciate it
Martin_B, Oct 2022
Highlights Tour guide Alberto. A very informative and enjoyable guide. Vehicle comfortable. Very helpful in all things. Company should make clear that certain items of the tour may not be open or bypassed because of time constraints. We found out National museum was closed after arriving, parking and walking to the building. This caused us to miss a stop at the market. The lunch said it would be typical for Costa Rica in an historical building. Although the lunch was excellent it was a buffet in a modern hotel. Fortunately Alberto did not let these things ruin it for us. Great guide.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Thank you for your review. We appreciate it. Unfortunately we were not advised that the National Musseum will be closed on that date due a special activity. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Claudia_F, Jul 2022
Save your money, tour is very short and the most important places are closed. I'm so upset that I wasn't partially refunded for wasting my time.
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Well it is a shame to see this review and that our tour will not like. The tour was listed as 6 hours and that it was what you have received. 6 hours considering that your hotel was located a little away from the city center. Unfortunately, the National Theater was closed that day because it is a theater with many activities, but even so we explained and you agreed to visit the vestibulo and enjoy a Capucchino courtesy of our agency in the teather´s cafeteria, since this was not included . In addition, the change of the place for the visit to the souvenir markets was offered and you agreed. You bought many gifts there and you like it.
Then you visited the Gold Museum and we spend more than 1 hour there and I did a very complete narration of our history . We also offered 3 restaurant options for lunch and you choose the typical and you liked it too. In the restaurant we talked a lot about Costa Rican food and I think you liked food and information a lot.
The tour included many places and it was 6 hours of tour, from 9 am to 3:00 pm
In relation to your reimbursement application it seemed very strange that you requested 80% reimbursement, which is totally out of the reality after our company incurred in many expenses.
I hope you enjoyed other activities during your trip to CR
Juan_W, Feb 2022
My husband and I had the best experience learning about San Jose's culture, food, locals and educational system. Luis was extremely knowledgeable and polite. He had the most friendly and passion when describing his country. I will definitely return and will recommend this tour. The National Theater, museum, park and restaurant was amazing!
Response from Host, Feb 2022
Hi
Thank you for your great review about our tour and services. We are very glad to hear that you enjoy our tour.
Susan_W, Jan 2022
Mario was an excellent guide. He adjusted the tour for our interests and was a fountain of knowledge. We learned so much about San Jose and about Costa Rica. A great introduction to the country!
Response from Host, Jan 2022
Thank you very much for your great review. We are so glad to heard that you enjoy it.
Donald_F, Dec 2021
Luis was a very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide who took time to explain things about Costa Rica that we might have never learned. He answered all of our questions and also explained things as we went through the museum, adding to our experience. The lunch was at a restaurant nearly hidden from the street view, but had the best food! Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Dec 2021
Hi
Thank you very much for your great review about our San Jose City tour and our guide Luis. We really appreciate.
Philip C, Dec 2019
Informative tour and very accommodating tour guide given some limitations in walking. Lunch was outstanding as well.
Response from Host, Dec 2019
Thank you for your positive review. We really appreciate it.
Anne G, Feb 2018
We moved the tour to start at 1:00 to accommodate our schedule. They said that wouldn't be a problem, but when we did the tour it was shortened and we were not offered a choice of which things we wanted to see. It was still good, and our guide was great, but it was over priced for what we did.
Response from Host, May 2020
Thank you for your review. Our tour start at 9:00 AM in order to cover all the places and activities listed in the tour program. Due you requested to move the tour at this late time, some of the places were closed at the moment to arrive to them and you were advised about it. Instead we offered other places and activities.
GUILLERMO_G, Nov 2018
El recorrido es muy interesante visitar el Teatro Nacional, los museos y el recorrido a pie y exquisito almuerzo en Nuestra Tierra. El Guía Gerardo Masis muy amable y conocedor de su trabajo. Felicidades y Gracias
Response from Host, May 2020
Muchas gracias por su positivo comentario de nuestro tour y guia. se lo agradecemos mucho y esperamos tenerle de vuelta pronto
From $175.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Attractions in San Jose, Costa Rica
- Lankester Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanico Lankester) Tours & Tickets
- National Museum (Museo Nacional) Tours & Tickets
- San Jose Central Market (Mercado Central) Tours & Tickets
- Doka Estate Tours & Tickets
- Costa Rican Art Museum (Museo de Arte Costarricense) Tours & Tickets
- Jade Museum (Museo del Jade) Tours & Tickets
- Morazan Park Tours & Tickets
- Pre-Columbian Gold Museum Tours & Tickets
- Poas Volcano National Park Tours & Tickets
- Sarchi Tours & Tickets
- La Sabana Park Tours & Tickets
- Sarapiqui Canopy Tours & Tickets
- Plaza de la Cultura Tours & Tickets
- Arenal Volcano National Park Tours & Tickets
- La Paz Waterfall Gardens Tours & Tickets
More attractions near San Jose, Costa Rica
- Arenal Volcano National Park Tours & Tickets
- Poas Volcano National Park Tours & Tickets
- La Paz Waterfall Gardens Tours & Tickets
- San Jose Central Market (Mercado Central) Tours & Tickets
- National Theater (Teatro Nacional) Tours & Tickets
- Braulio Carrillo National Park Tours & Tickets
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