San Jose By Night: Sights & Culture Tour with Local Dinner
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San Jose, Costa Rica
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover San Jose’s hidden delights with this unique evening tour of the Costa Rican capital. Get up close and personal with the nightlife in San Jose, starting with the Morazán Park where you'll learn post-colonial Costa Rican history. From there, gain an appreciation for San Jose’s historical architecture, with a walk by the Metallic Building, then on to Spain Park for a fantastic view of the Yellow House (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Continue to charming Barrio Escalante, one of the oldest residential areas in San Jose. Finish the night with a tasty traditional meal (and wine or beer) at a gourmet Costa Rican restaurant.
- 4-hour evening tour of San Jose with dinner included
- See San Jose’s iconic landmarks, including the Metallic Building and the Yellow House
- Enjoy a delicious dinner and two glasses of sangria or beer while you dine
- Small-group tour with a maximum of 12 people ensures personalized attention
What's Included
- Guided evening walking tour of San Jose with a local expert
- Enjoy a traditional Costa Rican dinner made with local ingredients
- Sip two drinks — sangria, local beer, or a non-alcoholic option
- Sample a local beer and learn how Costa Ricans enjoy it
- Visit key landmarks and explore vibrant neighborhoods
- Discover San Jose’s culture and history after dark
- Receive insider tips for dining, nightlife, and sightseeing
- Gratuities
- Additional food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Templo de la MúsicaWWPF+5WR, C. 7, San José, El Carmen, 10101, Costa Rica
Morazan Park at the The Temple of Music
End point
- Agüizotes Gastro PubAv 5 &, C. 33, San José, Barrio Escalante, 10101, Costa Rica
Aguizotes Gastropub
Start time.4:00 pm
Itinerary
Uncover secrets of daily life and folkloric legend in San Jose with this captivating evening tour. Connect with your guide at Morazán Park where you'll learn post-colonial Costa Rican history. Your tour continues with a walk-through San Jose’s historic street to view architectural highlights in the glow of twilight. Stroll through Spain Park to view the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then stop for a beer.
Continue to charming Barrio Escalante, one of the oldest residential areas in San Jose. The "barrio" as locals calls it, was first a coffee farm, but by the 1950s became the favorite neighborhood for the economic and political elites of the time. Nowadays, Barrio Escalante has reinvented itself and is now home to many up-and-coming restaurants and at night is a favorite meeting spot for locals and visitors alike.
The evening will end with dinner at a popular local restaurant (beer and sangria included).
Continue to charming Barrio Escalante, one of the oldest residential areas in San Jose. The "barrio" as locals calls it, was first a coffee farm, but by the 1950s became the favorite neighborhood for the economic and political elites of the time. Nowadays, Barrio Escalante has reinvented itself and is now home to many up-and-coming restaurants and at night is a favorite meeting spot for locals and visitors alike.
The evening will end with dinner at a popular local restaurant (beer and sangria included).
1
Morazan Park
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Parque Espana
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Casa Amarilla (Pass By)
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica (Pass By)
Parque Nacional (Pass By)
3
Barrio Escalante
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Agüizotes Gastro Pub
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Minimum age is 6 years
- Minimum age to drink wine is 18 years
- For this tour, we can cater for the following dietary requirements: vegetarian, and gluten-free intolerance. Please provide this information at least 24 hours prior to your travel date. Unfortunately, we are not able to cater for any other dietary requirements that are not listed above.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.5
based on 255 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Our guide was Emil and he was outstanding, extremely knowledgeable, friendly, efficient, articulate, and seems to really enjoy his work. It was a four hour experience, walking through the downtown area and nearby historic landmarks in San Jose. We stopped for chocolate and coffee at a cute local shop. The tour was relaxed, not at all rushed. After a leisurely coffee, we walked through several parks with historical significance. Finally, the tour ended with a tasty Costa Rican meal in Barrio Escalante. We enjoyed it thoroughly. Highly recommend. Five stars.
Thank you, Emil!
John & Danielle
A good overview of cultural and political features of downtown San Jose. A good bit of walking but just what I wanted to get an overview of some history and architecture and culture.
The San Jose walking tour w/ pub & restaurants was a lot of fun. Ending the tour with a fun dinner in Barrio Escalante. Joanna did a great job & we recommended this tour to a number of our friends. We’d do this one again, for sure. Tom G. Fairhope, AL. USA
Wonderful experience. My guide was super kind, super energetic and very knowledgeable. And to food was great! Highly recommend.
We hit the ground running and experienced the best culture night tour on the streets of San Jose, Costa Rica. So much history, heard about William Walker who actually lived in my city, New Orleans, This tour was above and beyond greater than any of my expectations. Karol and Johana were amazing guides, we learned so much and there was so much to see, cork trees, beautiful parks, coffe bean trees, historical buildings, art work, live opera performance as we were passing by! Bravo with a wave. We met great people too.
Somos más que Café is were I experience a warm and tasty cup of coffee, it was a cappuccino with a hit of ginger and lime, it was so very delightful. We ended our night at a very unique dinning spot with the best Authentic Costa Rican food ever, there were several meal options to choose from, drinks for me 2 glasses of Sangria, My dessert was a brownie with vanilla ice cream, “ you know what it’s called” Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!🇨🇷🫶🏽🇨🇷
Leo was my guide and he was excellent. Knowledge and friendly, he explained the past and present of San Jose and also of Costa Rica in an interesting way...And the restaurant we went for dinner was a superb choice.
Had a great tour with Malo! I especially appreciated that Malo shared a picture of himself with me so I knew exactly who I was looking for.
What a fantastic way to see this city. I really feel like I got a good overview of the city's highlights and history. Don't underestimate the food places on the itinerary. It was amazing. A truly memorable meal, representative of the local cuisine. Miguel was knowledgeable and charming. Clearly an experienced guide who tailored the tour to our group. By the end of the evening, it felt like I had just spent time with friends as opposed to merely being with strangers on a tour. I highly recommend this tour.
Was not able to make it because my airline delayed the flight by a whole day. Tour guide and Viator is refusing to refund me even though this was out of my control.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Hi Maya, thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is disappointing to know you are reviewing the tour you were unable to take so poorly due to the airline causing you delays. As our team endeavours to support you, we are able to provide you an insurance document should you have the necessary coverage. Hopefully you might afford us the opportunity to welcome you along in the future.
With best wishes,
It was a very good group. The guy was knowledgeable and the food was good. I would recommend. It would’ve been easier if the menu had been written out for us so that we had more time to decide people were really friendly.
Esteban was an amazing tour guide! There were 3 of us in our group with him and he did an awesome job telling us about the culture and the history as we walked the streets, ate in the cafe and sipped hot chocolate. It was beautiful architecture and sightings. I would definitely do it again with a tour guide like Esteban!
The tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. He seems to really enjoy what he does. The tour was not really inspiring though. I could have probably taken the same stroll on my own. There really was nothing much to see. The stop at the bar was nice and the beer is refreshing. The last part consisted of a walk of over 25 minutes of nothingness to a restaurant. By the time I got the restaurant I was exhausted. Luckily the food there was delicious. There was some really nice folks on the tour with us and that made it a bit fun.
This is the second time I've taken this tour while in San Jose, and I learn new things each time. Alejandro took his time and did a great job explaining the history at each stop. It's a great way to spend the evening in the city!
The tour guide cancelled on me due to the weather, and then I never received a refund for the experience.
Too overpriced for the experience. The guide spoke to quaet, it was hard to listen. Not a good food.
This tour was great! So much information and the guides were super knowledgeable about past and present information on the culture and city. There was a mid point stop and there were several options! The only thing was were close to tour guide but there were times being by traffic it was hard to hear. We had a small group so we were about to come closer to guide but if group was large it might be more of a challenge. The route was safe and comfortable for sandals but during the rainy season best probably for tennis (I got lucky).
Tour guide never showed up. Extremely disappointing, no communication or updates provided. The whole group waited around for 30 minutes. We all expect a full refund for this booking as the services we paid for were not provided
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for leaving a review, James. We are sorry to hear that your tour did not go ahead due to complications with the tour guide assigned. We understand that you and the group have now been refunded in full for this service but we apologize for any inconvenience caused.
This was one of the many highlights of the trip! The food, the history, the culture were all brought together in a beautiful tapestry woven by our guide who was knowledgeable and fun!
My wife and I had a wonderful time on our tour despite the rain. Our guide was informative and knowledgeable on the history of San Jose. This tour did one stop for drink before the dinner stop. If you are expecting multiple stops for food like other food tours, this is not that type of tour.
Walking around the city center with Raquel was very enjoyable. I learned lots of interesting facts about San Jose. The parks are beautiful! We enjoyed a refreshing drink and delicious dinner. A fun outing!
It was a wonderful tour. I learned a lot about Costa Rica, San Jose and its different neighborhods, the food culture and got to see some cool street art along the way! Muchas gracias!
We had a great evening with Esteban! The tour was informative and our dinner out was exceptional! This tour was worth the money we paid.
This was my first time to Coast Roca and I was by myself. It was nice having a plan to tour the city. It ended up just being me on the tour but still was a great experience! I definitely will book again if I return to Costa Rica.
Esteban was a fantastic guide and my wife and I had a great experience. We enjoyed the personal attention and consideration provided and would recommend this to anyone looking to learn about San Jose and try authentic Costa Rican drinks and food.
The tour ended up being just me and Malo, but that was no problem at all! Malo is extremely personable and very knowledgeable about the city of San Jose. We stopped by numerous interesting locations and had a great dinner. I'd love to take a tour with him again!
Emil was amazing! Tour ended up being just me and it was really special. This young man is an encyclopedia of information! Highly recommend and the best tour in San Jose!
Really informative tour about the city we're walking through and about the history of Costa Rica. Malo was extremely interesting and enthusiastic and we had a fantastic tour. Was perfect amount of walking for children aged 14, 12 and 10 and the food at the end was delicious. Thank you so much. Would highly recommend.
A great arts&culture-focussed tour of central San José and of the established and up- and coming art districts. Our guide Paula was lovely and provided us excellent background information to the sights seen.
This is the first time I have given a tour I booked with Viator anything other than a 4 or 5 star rating. And, to be sure, a big part of this is my fault, not the tour operator, but their lack of communication is what caused me to give the low rating. We were due to meet at 4:00 in San Jose and it was 100% my own fault for not allowing plenty of time to get to the meeting point. My Uber app showed that I could get an Uber in 10 minutes and it would take 1 hour to get there so that was what I went with and had that been accurate we would have arrived on time and probably had a great time.
But it took the Uber 20 minutes to pick up us up and 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to the meeting point (traffic was terrible) -- making us 30 minutes later for the tour. So, our fault, not the operators.
I read in several reviews that these tours often ended up just being private and not groups, so I thought there was a chance that we might be the only guests and if so that the guide might be willing to wait for us and start late. Or maybe that we could "catch-up" with the group. So we got in the Uber, at that time thinking we'd only be 10-15 minutes late, and I immediately started reaching out to the Tour Operator. I sent messages with no response. Still to this day, no response. I called the number that was provided for the Tour Company and got a recording with different options, I called back multiple times during the 1+ hour Uber ride and tried all the options and could never get a person or leave a message. This is why I rated so low.
In my opinion, I should have been provided direct contact information for our guide after I made the booking. Had I been able to reach that person (or anyone with the company!), they could have confirmed if we could have started late or caught up with the group. Or let us know that neither of those things were an option and we wouldn't have wasted nearly 2.5 hours in an Uber going to and from the meeting point.
Emil was very knowledgeable and personable. We learned about Costa Rica history, visited shops, a bakery, and tasted a variety of delicious food. Highly recommend Emil for your tour guide.
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