Top San Jose Day Trips

In just one day, it’s possible to visit top Costa Rica attractions like Arenal Volcano, La Paz Waterfall, and Arenal Hot Springs when you book this guided tour from San Jose. All-inclusive private transport smooths over otherwise tricky transportation logistics, and your guide keeps you well entertained and informed as you explore. This tour includes all entrance fees plus two meals, adding up to a great value.

See more of the Arenal Volcano region with the convenience of a full-day tour from San Jose. Take a scenic route to Arenal with views of farms, rain forest, and small towns, and stop at a coffee plantation where you can sample coffee and traditional snacks. Stop at a waterfall, look for wildlife, then have the afternoon to soak in hot springs set in a lush garden near the Arenal Volcano.

Discover many beautiful attractions of Costa Rica on this Combo Tour from San Jose. Fly over the Rainforest Canopy on a zip lining course and rappel down 50 meters (150 feet). Visit 2 beautiful waterfalls in the Rainforest; admire wildlife of Costa Rica at the exotic birds’ viewing point and the Iguanas Center. Learn about coffee of Costa Rica and taste the delicious local cuisine. Participate of a native tribe presentation. Relax in thermal mineral hot springs pools at the base of Arenal Volcano. Lunch and dinner are included.

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.

Visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, a 26,000-acre (10,500 hectare) oasis of virgin cloud forest. Visited by roughly 70,000 people a year, the reserve is home to about four percent of the world’s animal species. Walk across suspended bridges and hike among native flora and fauna. You can also pay extra to zipline through the canopy. Lunch and a guide are included.

Home to over 100 species of animals, five waterfalls and a cloud forest the Wildlife Refuge La Paz Waterfall gardens is bursting with bio diversity. 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, small group tour with lunch included.

The tour is ideal for people who only have half a day to go on an excursion, since you can take the tour and ask us to drop you off at the international airport. This excursion takes us to one of the most active volcanoes in Costa Rica, listed as one of the most beautiful and impressive, just one hour from downtown San José. We will be able to walk through the main crater, and after the tour we go to the highest point of the National Park, then we descend from the volcano to visit the most important church in Costa Rica, we know a little about the architecture and the different constructions that the structure has had. In addition, the church is famous for its pilgrimage and for the history of the Virgin of the Angels, in addition the facilities have a small museum and the holy water fountain.

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.

You will get into the Braulio Carrillo National Park, and discover the beauties of the Rain Forest. Enjoy of a hiking tour and the Aerial Tram, two activities that will put you in direct contact with nature, visitors divide into smaller groups for a 45 to 90 minute (optional) nature walk with a trained naturalist guide. The Open-sided cable-cars hold 5 passengers and a guide. The guides are quite knowledgeable about flora and fauna. They'll point out orchids and different species of trees and are quick to identify the calls of the many birds that inhabit this unique environment.

This sampler adventure tour from San Jose fits the best of Costa Rica's beaches, rivers, and rain forests into one action-packed day. Catch some sun at popular Jaco Beach, one of the closest to the capital, and go croc-spotting at a famous overlook on the Tarcoles River. Then head into the lush jungle for a thrilling zipline canopy tour plus your choice of a horseback ride to tropical waterfalls or an ATV safari.

Explore the Costa Rican capital’s rich history, landmark buildings, and modern culture on a combo bus and walking tour of San Jose. Get a great introduction to city highlights like the National Theater and Art Museum, and stop to walk through bustling markets and public plazas to feel the pulse of this modern Central American metropolis. Get an extra boost of Costa Rican culture by listening to traditional folkloric music onboard the bus.

Head to La Fortuna, home to the Arenal Volcano, on this guided all-day tour from San Jose. Sit back and relax as you travel through diverse plantations and cattle ranches on the roughly 3.5-hour drive. After arriving, enjoy lunch with a view of the volcano. Then, take a dip in the area’s thermal waters and indulge in an optional massage or other treatment.

Visiting Monteverde from San Jose in just one day can be challenging on your own, but this guided tour streamlines transportation to make the trip a cinch. Arrive at Monteverde in the morning and head straight to a canopy tour: hike on hanging bridges and learn about the rich cloud forest environment before heading back to San Jose.

Escape the city and spend the day surrounded by nature on this private tour from San Jose. Discover towering waterfalls tucked away in lush jungle, walk across hanging bridges for a unique perspective of local flora and fauna, and relax at a thermal spa with over 25 pools. This is tour has everything you need to feel rejuvenated all while providing the best views of the Arenal Volcano.

Get out of the city and experience Costa Rica’s rich wildlife heritage with this half day private tour to the Toucan Rescue Ranch. What started out as a rescue facility for toucans has expanded to include other charismatic species such as sloths, monkeys, parrots, and owls. Learn all about them from the dedicated staff committed to their care.

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.

Walking tours of the forest floor are great, but to see the beautiful rainforests of Costa Rica from a different angle, take a canopy tour. Six suspension bridges span the treetops, giving you a bird’s (or, rather, a monkey’s) eye view of the forest. Over one mile of canopy trails form a convenient circuit. Check out the cloud forest, hummingbird garden, and butterfly garden along the way, and learn about the forest ecosystem from your guide.

Go beyond the city of San Jose and discover its beautiful surroundings on this full-day tour. Start your day with a Costa Rican breakfast at a local coffee plantation, then learn about the process of making coffee on a tour of the property. Then head to the active Poas Volcano to explore its massive crater before heading to a nature park to see an animal sanctuary and picturesque waterfalls.

Explore the Orosi Valley and the Lankester Botanical Gardens on this guided combination half-day tour from San José. The gardens, which are located outside of Cartago, serve as a center for orchid research, including more than 800 species of orchids, bromeliads, and other plants. Following the gardens, head to the town of Orosi to view the 18th-century Iglesia de San José de Orosi and colonial churches.

Experience the sights, sounds, and flavors of San Jose on an evening bus tour. Starting from your hotel, a comfortable double-decker bus with onboard WiFi serves as your transportation for the evening. See over 25 of the city’s landmarks and stop for a bilingual guided tour at key locations, including the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. Enjoy an included dinner of local cuisine, before drop-off at your hotel.

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.

Explore Manuel Antonio National Park on this all-day tour from San Jose. On the way to the park, stop for a traditional Costa Rican breakfast. Then, once you arrive, choose to relax on the scenic beaches or hike one of the many trails throughout the tropical rainforest. Be on the lookout for monkeys, iguanas, birds, and three-toed sloths during your visit.

Escape from busy San Jose for an action-packed full-day tour in the Jaco Beach region. Stop at the beach, then continue with a zipline tour and ATV tour in the rain forest nearby. You’ll also see crocodiles at the Tarcoles River, and get great views of the Pacific Ocean from the ATV and zipline course. Includes lunch, and all necessary equipment and instruction.

Learn about the chocolate industry in Costa Rica on this private 7-hour tour from San Jose. You'll visit Tirimbina, a private biological reserve in the rain forest and take a guided hike across a suspension bridge to a cacao plantation. Get an intimate look at the chocolate-making process, from fruit to chocolate bar. Lunch is included.