Best Tours & Things to Do in Costa Rica (2026)
From zip-lining over cloud forests to sunset catamarans, here are the best Costa Rica tours and activities. Book with local guides who know every trail.
Quick answer: Costa Rica packs more tour options per square mile than almost any country on earth. Zip-line over cloud forests, raft Class IV rapids, spot sloths on a jungle night walk, snorkel volcanic reefs, tour a working coffee farm, or sail into a Pacific sunset on a catamaran. Most tours run $40 to $150 per person, private charters and multi-day packages scale from there. The key is matching the right tours to your destinations, travel dates, and group.
Costa Rica is small enough to cross in a day but dense enough with experiences that most visitors barely scratch the surface. The country has over 30 national parks, two coastlines, active volcanoes, cloud forests, lowland jungles, and a culture built around outdoor living. That translates into hundreds of bookable tours and activities spread across a dozen major destinations.
This guide breaks down every major tour category in Costa Rica, what each one actually involves, where to do it, and what it costs. Whether you are planning a honeymoon with one adventure day, a family trip packed with activities, or a solo backpacking route with a tour at every stop, this is the starting point.
Adventure Tours That Get Your Heart Racing
Costa Rica practically invented the adventure tourism category in Central America. The terrain is built for it: volcanic mountains, deep river canyons, dense canopy, and coastline that drops into deep water fast. Here are the main adventure categories.
Zip-lining and canopy tours are the signature Costa Rica adventure. The best courses run through cloud forest canopy in Monteverde (where commercial zip-lining was pioneered) and over volcanic landscapes near Arenal. Expect 8 to 12 cables, speeds up to 60 mph, and heights that put you level with toucans. Prices range from $60 to $100 per person. Our complete zipline guide breaks down every major course.
White water rafting ranges from gentle Class II floats (perfect for families) to adrenaline-heavy Class IV runs on rivers like the Pacuare, which is consistently rated one of the top 10 rafting rivers in the world. The Naranjo River near Manuel Antonio ($95) and Savegre River ($130) are our most popular bookings. Full-day Pacuare trips run $100 to $150.
ATV and off-road tours are available in La Fortuna, Jacó, Tamarindo, and Manuel Antonio. Half-day ATV tours typically cost $70 to $120 per person and take you through farmland, river crossings, and jungle trails that regular vehicles cannot reach.
Canyoning and waterfall rappelling is big around Arenal, where you rappel down jungle waterfalls ranging from 30 to 200 feet. This is the most physically demanding adventure activity in Costa Rica and one of the most memorable. Expect $80 to $120 per person.
🌿 Dallas’s Tip: If you only have time for one adventure tour, zip-lining in Monteverde is the most iconic Costa Rica experience. If you want the biggest adrenaline hit, canyoning near Arenal is harder to beat. Both are half-day activities, so you can pair them with something else in the afternoon.
Wildlife and Nature Tours
Costa Rica holds 5% of the world’s biodiversity in 0.03% of its land area. That concentration means you do not have to go far to see extraordinary wildlife, but a guide makes the difference between walking past animals and actually seeing them.
Birdwatching tours draw serious birders from around the world. Over 900 species have been recorded in Costa Rica. The resplendent quetzal in the Savegre Valley, scarlet macaws in Carara, and keel-billed toucans everywhere from Arenal to the Caribbean. Guided birding tours run $50 to $100 for half-day walks. For our full breakdown, see the wildlife tours guide.
Jungle night tours reveal a completely different forest. Red-eyed tree frogs, sleeping birds, kinkajous, tarantulas, and insects that glow under UV light. Night tours operate in La Fortuna ($55), Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio ($59). This is one of the best family-friendly activities in Costa Rica because kids love the treasure-hunt feeling of spotting animals with flashlights.
National park guided walks are how most visitors experience Costa Rica’s protected areas. Manuel Antonio National Park is the most visited, with guided walks spotting monkeys, sloths, and iguanas along well-maintained trails. Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula is the wild extreme: remote, rugged, and home to all four Costa Rican monkey species plus tapirs, jaguars, and scarlet macaws.
Water Activities and Ocean Tours
With two coastlines and warm water year-round, Costa Rica delivers on water-based activities whether you prefer to be on the surface, under it, or riding it.
Sunset catamaran cruises are the most popular ocean tour in Manuel Antonio and Guanacaste. Our Sunset Sails catamaran in Manuel Antonio ($84) includes snorkeling, open bar, and a sunset sail along the coast. Similar trips operate out of Tamarindo and Papagayo.
Snorkeling is best at Caño Island (Pacific, best visibility), Cahuita National Park (Caribbean reef), and the Catalina Islands (Guanacaste). The Caribbean side offers shallow reef snorkeling right from the beach. The Pacific requires a boat trip but rewards with clearer water and more marine life.
Surfing lessons are available at every major beach town. Tamarindo and Jacó have the most surf schools and the most consistent beginner waves. Private lessons run $60 to $80 per person in Puerto Viejo, group lessons around $60.
Sport fishing is a destination unto itself. Costa Rica is one of the top sport fishing destinations in the world. See our complete fishing guide for everything from offshore billfish charters to inshore roosterfish trips.
Cultural and Food Tours
Costa Rica’s culture runs deeper than Pura Vida bumper stickers. The food, farming traditions, indigenous communities, and artisan heritage offer tours that connect you to the country beyond its scenery.
Coffee farm tours take you through the full bean-to-cup process at working farms in the Central Valley, Monteverde, and La Fortuna area. You pick cherries, watch the processing, and taste single-origin coffee that never leaves the country. Tours run $30 to $60 per person.
Chocolate tours are especially popular on the Caribbean side, where cacao grows in the humid lowland climate. In Puerto Viejo, a chocolate tour costs $40 and includes making your own chocolate from raw cacao pods. La Fortuna also offers combined coffee and chocolate tours.
Indigenous community visits to BriBri and Maleku communities offer cultural immersion beyond typical tourist experiences. These are organized respectfully through community-led programs and include traditional cooking, medicinal plant walks, and craft demonstrations.
Best Tours for Families
Quick answer: The best family tours in Costa Rica are jungle night walks (kids love the flashlight treasure hunt), hanging bridges (safe, scenic, all ages), easy rafting on Class II rivers, catamaran cruises with snorkeling, and wildlife walks in Manuel Antonio. Most operators accommodate kids ages 4+ on standard tours. For toddlers, stick to beaches, butterfly gardens, and gentle nature walks.
Costa Rica is one of the best family destinations in the world because the activities naturally span all age groups. A hanging bridge walk works for grandparents and toddlers. A catamaran cruise works for teenagers and parents. The logistics are what trip up most families: figuring out which tours to book, where, and how to connect them with shuttles and hotels.
That is exactly what we do. We build custom family itineraries that match your kids’ ages with the right activities at each destination, coordinate all shuttles and hotels, and make sure nobody is bored or overwhelmed. See our full family tours guide for age-specific recommendations.
Multi-Day Packages and Custom Trip Planning
Most Costa Rica trips cover 2 to 4 destinations over 7 to 14 days. The logistics of connecting those destinations with the right tours, hotels, and transport is where most travelers either overspend or under-plan.
Our most popular multi-day routes combine Arenal (volcano, hot springs, adventure) with Monteverde (cloud forest, wildlife, zip-lining) and Manuel Antonio (beaches, national park, ocean tours). We handle the private shuttle transfers between each destination, book hotels at every stop, and schedule the right tours for each location.
See our full packages and custom trip planning guide for sample itineraries and pricing.
Best Tours by Destination
Destination
Top Tours
Guide
Arenal / La Fortuna
Hot springs, zip-lining, canyoning, hanging bridges, rafting
Monteverde
Cloud forest, hanging bridges, zip-lining, night tours, coffee tours
Manuel Antonio
National park, catamaran, rafting, mangroves, night tours
Puerto Viejo
Cahuita snorkeling, chocolate tours, surfing, wildlife refuge
How to Book Tours in Costa Rica
You have three options: book through an aggregator (Viator, GetYourGuide), book direct with local operators, or work with a trip planner like us who coordinates everything.
The aggregator route gives you the widest selection but no curation, no coordination between tours, and no one to call if something changes. Booking direct gets you the best prices on individual tours but requires you to research each operator, manage your own schedule, and handle transport between activities.
What we do is different. We know which operators are best at each destination because we have guided trips there ourselves. We book your tours, coordinate your shuttles, pair you with the right hotels, and give you a single WhatsApp thread for your entire trip. The tours cost the same as booking direct, and you get complimentary perks like airport priority and welcome baskets at your hotels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most popular tours in Costa Rica?
Zip-lining in Monteverde, hot springs in Arenal, Manuel Antonio National Park guided walks, sunset catamaran cruises, white water rafting, and jungle night tours are consistently the most booked activities across the country.
How much do tours cost in Costa Rica?
Most half-day tours run $40 to $150 per person. Zip-lining is $60 to $100, rafting $95 to $150, catamaran cruises $80 to $100, night tours $55 to $65, and national park guided walks $40 to $60. Multi-day packages and private charters scale higher depending on group size and duration.
Is it better to book tours in advance or on arrival?
Book in advance for high-season travel (December through April) and for popular tours that sell out (catamaran cruises, Pacuare rafting, specific zip-line operators). Green season visitors have more flexibility to book on shorter notice, but popular morning time slots still fill up.
What should I wear on a jungle tour?
Closed-toe shoes with grip (hiking shoes or trail runners), lightweight long pants, a moisture-wicking shirt, and a rain layer. Bring sunscreen, bug spray, and a refillable water bottle. Leave the white sneakers at the hotel.
Are Costa Rica tours safe for kids?
Yes. Most tour operators accommodate children ages 4 and up on standard tours. Many activities (hanging bridges, wildlife walks, catamaran cruises, chocolate tours) are suitable for all ages. Higher-adrenaline activities like zip-lining and rafting typically have minimum age and weight requirements that vary by operator.
Ready to Plan Your Costa Rica Trip?
Tell us your dates, group size, and what matters most to you. We will send you a custom itinerary with the best tours at every destination, all transport coordinated, and hotels booked.
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Dallas & Marta
Pura Vida 🌿
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