Hotel Alta Las Palomas

Exploring the Osa Peninsula

Wildlife & Nature Luxury + 3 more + 3 more

A classic Costa Rica route, ending somewhere seriously special.

11 days

from £3,845 pp

Costa Rica Express

Family Wildlife & Nature + 3 more + 3 more

Short on time but big on wildlife, adventure and beaches.

8 days

from £2,795 pp

The Wildlife of Costa Rica

Wildlife & Nature Go Local + 3 more + 3 more

Track rare wildlife in Costa Rica’s most iconic reserves.

12 days

from £3,985 pp

Undiscovered Costa Rica

Wildlife & Nature Go Local + 3 more + 3 more

Explore Costa Rica beyond the guidebooks.

13 days

from £4,565 pp

Summertime Family Adventure

Family Wildlife & Nature + 3 more + 3 more

Huge adventures, wild wildlife and plenty of smiles.

15 days

from £4,445 pp

Birdwatching in Costa Rica

Wildlife & Nature Go Local + 2 more + 3 more

Home to more than 850 bird species, Costa Rica is a bird lover's paradise.

13 days

from £5,965 pp

Quirky excursions

View all excursions in Costa Rica

San Jose Food & Cultural Tour

This interactive tour gives you a fascinating insight into life in San Jose. After a short walking tour passing through Parque España and the National Museum, you'll continue on to the San Jose Central Market, the perfect place to learn about local traditions such as herbal medicines and grab a freshly roasted cup of Costa Rican coffee. You will then take local transport to the colonial suburb of Escazu, visiting an 80-year-old inn which offers a tasty selection of over 20 different Costa Rican tapas. After lunch, you will visit an artisan workshop renowned for its production of colourful traditional masks, before finishing the tour in a traditional bakery, popular for afternoon coffee with homemade bread. You'll also have the opportunity to make your own tortillas.

Food Tour at San Jose's Central Market

Founded in 1880, San Jose's Central Market (Mercado Central) offers a great insight into daily life in the capital. Exploring this bustling market on a two-hour small group tour, your local guide will point out the wide array of tropical fruits and vegetables, meats, seafood, spices and other items that can be found here. You will meet some of the people who work in the market, watch fresh tortillas and empanadas being made, perhaps sample some delicious guava marmalade and freshly brewed coffee. The Mercado Central is also particularly well-known for its 'sodas' (small, informal restaurants), some which present in the market for more than fifty years. Many of these businesses have remained in the same family for up to four generations and their owners show great pride in this legacy, and there is a real sense of community here.

Train, Cycling & Market Tour to Cartago

This fun and interactive tour will give you an insight into daily life in San Jose, which many visitors to Costa Rica don’t take the time to see. You will join your group at the central Parque España, one of the oldest parks in the city. Here you’ll meet your local guide, who will give you a bit of history about the park, as well as the surrounding buildings. You’ll take a wander across the street and admire the view of the Casa Amarilla, and then head onwards to the National Liquor Factory. Next you’ll take a quick 10-minute hike up into the hills of San Jose and arrive at the Atlantic Railroad, where you’ll hop on a train to head to Cartago. This scenic 45-minute journey will take you past the University campus, further out in to the mountains, and through the coffee plantations. Upon arrival in Cartago collect your bikes and take a gentle cycle through the streets of this beautiful town, learning all about its history along the way. Many of the locals travel by bike here, so you’ll fit right in! The tour will finish up at the Central Market, where you can sample some popular local snacks before hopping on a local bus with your guide, for the return journey back to San Jose.

San Jose Coffee Tour

On this half-day tour you will learn all about the production of one of Costa Rica’s most famous exports. You will be driven to a nearby coffee estate where you be shown various stages of the cultivation proves such as the initial planting, collection of the ripened coffee berry, the peeling process and also fermentation process of the beans. You will also visit the drying patios and the roasting hall where you will see and smell the different roasts produced here. There will be an opportunity to buy some local organic coffee and other typical souvenirs before returning to your hotel.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Poas Volcano & Doka Coffee Estate

Your first stop on this full-day tour will be at the Doka coffee plantation, owned by a family with a long history of coffee cultivation in Costa Rica. During the tour of the estate, you will learn about the production process from start to finish include the harvesting of the beans, milling, grinding and roasting. Continue on to Poas, passing lush plantations and strawberry farms along the way. The ever-popular Poas Volcano is best known for its enormous and accessible main crater which measures one kilometre in diameter. You will have ample time to take in views of the crater lake and take a gentle hike to a nearby lagoon before travelling on to the final stop of the day. La Paz Waterfall Gardens offers three kilometres of walking trails which are well-marked and in good condition, making them easy to explore independently. The park features a butterfly observatory, a hummingbird garden, a serpentarium, a frog exhibit and a jungle cat rescue centre.