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.

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.

As one of the most popular parks in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park is a must for visitors. This guided tour from San Jose makes visiting on a time crunch a cinch—your guide takes the guesswork out of deciding which trails are worth the effort, plus helps you spot wildlife along the way. This tour is specifically timed to avoid the crowds, too, helping you have the best possible experience exploring.

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.

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.

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.

As one of the most popular parks in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park is a must for visitors. This guided tour from San Jose makes visiting on a time crunch a cinch—your guide takes the guesswork out of deciding which trails are worth the effort, plus helps you spot wildlife along the way. This tour is specifically timed to avoid the crowds, too, helping you have the best possible experience exploring.

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.

Enjoy a private and all-inclusive tour in which you can get to know the major attractions in the Arenal area. On this tour you will visit one of the largest waterfalls in Costa Rica, and you will be able to walk on the treetops in the tropical forest while crossing several suspension bridges at more than 125 meters high, while an expert naturalist guide explains about the flora and fauna of the place, you will be able to see mammals, arachnids, snakes, and much more! To finish you will enjoy an afternoon at a Thermal Spa, ideal to relax and enjoy a rich thermal bath with completely natural water at different temperatures, with more than 25 pools you will have a unique moment of relaxation with the best view of the volcano.

The best TOP Ranked tour from San Jose 3 destinations in one day. Coffee Experience, Unique Poas Volcano Crater and one most beautiful nature park and waterfalls. We will visit the Doka Coffee Estate for a delicious breakfast. Then we will be treated to a coffee tour in an actual coffee plantation where we will learn the ancient techniques used by the experts to produce some of the best coffee in Costa Rica and around the world. we will continue to Poas Volcano National Park, where there is a noticeable change in temperature and exuberant vegetation of the cloud forest. At La Paz Waterfall Gardens we will go through walking trails surrounded by lush tropical rain forest. Here we will appreciate flowing white rivers, spectacular waterfalls, birds, butterflies, monkeys, and hummingbirds. There are also, educational animal exhibits to enjoy such as the Aviary, the Butterfly Observatory, Hummingbird Garden, Serpentarium, Jungle Cats Exhibit, and the Frog Exhibit

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.

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.

Spend the day away from bustling San Jose and see the majestic Rio Celeste, one of the top attractions in Costa Rica. Located inside the Tenorio Volcano National Park, the deep turquoise waters of the river can be explored via a trail, which includes a waterfall, a suspended bridge, and a section of hot springs

La Paz Waterfall Gardens showcases Costa Rican wilderness at its most picturesque, with lush tropical rain forest, thundering cascades, white rivers, and a rich variety of wildlife. This tour provides round-trip transportation from San José and allows you to see the highlights of La Paz in a single day. Your guide navigates through the park’s many trails and takes you to White Magic Waterfall, the butterfly observatory, and other attractions.

Visit the Irazú Volcano National Park and Lankester Botanical Garden on this all-day tour from San Jose. First, head to Irazú Volcano, the highest active volcano in Costa Rica at 11,260 feet (3,400 meters) tall and see its most popular attraction, the giant Diego de la Haya crater. On the return trip, stop at the Lankester Garden, which was established to protect types of flora.

Enjoy a fun and interesting 3 in 1 tour from the city of San José, this tour promises a unique experience with the best of the Poás area. In one day we combine a 100% organic coffee tour and in real plantations, a visit to the volcano with the second largest crater in the world and most active in Costa Rica, and a beautiful animal rescue sanctuary with more than 110 species of wild animals from Costa Rica. Dare to live one of the most complete and attractive experiences in Costa Rica in just one day and just one hour from San José, we guarantee your complete satisfaction.

See some of Costa Rica’s most famous cultural and natural attractions in a single day on this guided tour from San Jose. Travel quickly and hassle-free with a guide who takes you to must-see spots such as the Cartago ruins, the Irazú Volcano, and the Sarapiqui River for an animal-watching boat ride.

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.

Explore highlights of Costa Rica's Cartago province on this combo tour from San Jose that offers a mix of majestic natural beauty and cultural gems. Get a front-row view of one of the country's most mystical peaks at Irazú Volcano National Park, and then stroll among vibrant bromeliads, orchids, and hundreds of other plant species at Lankester Gardens in Orosi. You'll also visit the Virgin of the Angels Basilica, a popular pilgrimage site, in Cartago, and taste local flavor with included lunch at a restaurant.

Cruise through one of Costa Rica's most wildlife-rich reserves on a boat tour of Tortuguero National Park, home to an abundance of monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, birds, and the endangered green sea turtle. See the cloud forests and waterfalls of neighboring Braulio Carrillo National Park along the way, and fuel the safari adventure with a typical Costa Rican lunch.

Experience one of Costa Rica's most impressive natural attractions and its most adorable creature on this combo tour from San Jose. Take a guided nature walk through a sloth refuge to see the elusive animals up close, and then spend the afternoon soaking in more than 20 different thermal pools at a top Arenal Volcano hot springs resort. A buffet breakfast and lunch plus luxury transport complete the full-day adventure.

This tour start from your hotel in San Jose. You will transferred to Poas Volcano, about 75 minutes from San Jose. Once at the park, you will be able to admire the crater from a beautiful lookout point not too far from the main park’s entrance. At this point you will be allow to stay for about 30 minutes due the volcanic activity. Following the visit to the volcano you will continue to La Paz Waterfalls Gardens. On arrival, enjoy the park attractions with our naturalist tour guide. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is the #1 Most Visited Privately Owned Ecological Attraction in Costa Rica featuring the best hiking near San José, the most famous waterfalls in Costa Rica, animal sanctuary with over 100 species of animals, and an environmental education program, five waterfalls, cloud forest and rain forest. A great buffet lunch is included in this tour before the return to your hotel.

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!

Upon arriving at the Waterfalls Gardens, we walk a path, which leads to different attractions of the park including the aviary, the largest butterfly observatory in the country, the hummingbird gallery, the serpentarium, the frog, monkey and cat exhibition In addition to the 5 highest waterfalls in Costa Rica, with several very impressive views.