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3 in 1 Rainforest Tour From San Jose, Costa Rica (Day Trip)

August 15, 2023 By Sammi 8 Comments

The capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, has a favorable location in the Central Valley meaning it’s close to everything the country is known for: volcanoes, waterfalls, rivers, beaches, national parks and rainforest.

Therefore, if you decide to base yourself in San Jose, you can experience and see a lot on one day sightseeing trips. The closest rainforest to San Jose is only 45 minutes away so if you are interested in experiencing the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica, consider this 3 in 1 Rainforest Adventure from San Jose, Costa Rica day tour. Read about this tour below and get our San Jose day trips discount here!

This post has affiliate links.

3 in 1 Rainforest Tour from San Jose, Costa Rica

The rainforest tour from San Jose, Costa Rica visits three places on the Caribbean slope: Rainforest Adventures Park for ziplining or aerial tram, Selva Verde Lodge for a nature walk and Sarapiqui River for a river boat safari ride.

The tour includes roundtrip transportation from San Jose, bilingual guide, entrance fees and lunch. It’s a full day excursion, with pick up around 630-730 AM and the tour is around 10 hours long.

If you would like to watch a video of this tour, check out our Youtube video!

First Stop: Rainforest Adventures Braulio Carrillo (1 hour drive)

The first stop of the 3 in 1 rainforest tour from San Jose, Costa Rica is the Rainforest Adventures Braulio Carrillo Park. This private park borders the Braulio Carrillo National Park, which is one of the biodiverse places in Costa Rica as it has primary and secondary rainforests, cloud forests, volcanoes and part of the Sarapiqui River watershed.

Guests can choose to do an exciting zipline tour or the aerial tram through the rainforests of the park. We opted for the aerial tram, which was a 1.5 leisurely gondola ride through the rainforest canopy. If you haven’t gone ziplining yet, we highly recommend their zipline. It’s super fun with amazing views.

rainforest adventures aerial tram
gondola ride
rainforest tour from san jose, costa rica aerial tram
gondola views
rainforest tour from san jose, costa rica rainforest adventures
rainforest all around

During our gondola ride, we saw some wildlife such as toucans, a sloth and hummingbirds.

chestnut mandibled toucan
toucan
rainforest tour from san jose, costa rica
Chestnut headed Oropendola
rainforest tour from san jose, sloth
3 toed sloth and baby

After we finished the aerial tram/zipline, our guide led us to the gardens and reptile/amphibian exhibits. We saw hummingbirds and learned about the various snakes and frogs in Costa Rica.

Second Stop: Selva Verde Lodge (50 minute drive)

The second stop on the rainforest tour from San Jose, Costa Rica was the Selva Verde Lodge in Sarapiqui. This lodge is one of the premiere nature and birding lodges in Costa Rica as it has its own private reserve and trails through a primary/secondary rainforest. Our nature walk went through their property, lasting about 1 hour.

We saw tons of frogs, specifically the blue jean frog and black and green poison dart frog. It began to rain during the middle of our walk which made it a true rainforest experience!

selva verde lodge walk
walking through the rainforest in the rain
Green and black poison dart frog
Green and black poison dart frog

After our walk, we had lunch at their restaurant which was delicious with very good options. The lodge has a viewing platform from the dining area where they put out fruits for the birds and animals so you can do some wildlife watching while eating your breakfast/lunch.

selva verde lodge walk coati
we saw this coati from the viewing platform

When we were all full from lunch, we headed to the Sarapiqui river to take a leisurely wildlife watching safari boat ride. Unfortunately as it had rained fairly hard a couple hours ago, the animals weren’t very active so we didn’t see terribly much. We spotted a crocodile, howler and white face monkeys far away, iguanas and some birds.

rainforest tour from san jose, costa rica to sarapiqui
crocodile
rainforest tour from san jose, costa rica
riverboat safari ride

The safari boat ride lasted around 1.5 hours and afterwards, we got back on the bus to head back to San Jose.

All in all, it was a wonderful day trip from San Jose! They picked out fantastic places for guests to experience the rainforest and learn all about the flora and fauna of the Costa Rican tropics.

What to Bring for this Rainforest Tour from San Jose, Costa Rica

  • A waterproof rainjacket or poncho
  • Comfortable clothes for walking
  • Mosquito repellent
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat
  • Day pack
  • Fully closed shoes (mandatory). We wore hiking shoes but you can wear tennis shoes. They may get wet if it rains though.

We highly recommend a good camera if you are a photographer or like to take pictures. There are some great photo opportunities during this tour of nature and animals. We brought our Sony 70-200 lens for the photos taken above. I wish I brought my Sony 200-600 mm lens for some better close ups though.

Breakfast is not included so you’ll need to eat breakfast at your hotel, get a hot breakfast to go or bring food on the bus. Lunch is not until about 1 PM so have a good breakfast.

San Jose Hotels They Pick Up At

Roundtrip transportation is included for hotels in San Jose in downtown, near La Sabana, Escazu and near the airport on the San Jose side. They do not pick up in Curridabat, Alajuela, or on the Alajuela side of the airport. Here are some sample hotels they offer transportation from.

  • Wyndham Garden San Jose Escazu
  • KC Hotel San Jose
  • Hilton San Jose La Sabana
  • Selina San Jose
  • Hotel Presidente
  • Hotel Aranjuez
  • Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen

Other San Jose Day Trips and Our Discount

If you have more days in San Jose, there are many other fantastic day trips you can take. Here are a couple of our favorites. If you’re interested in booking any, we offer a discount for San Jose day trips – don’t miss it!

San Jose City Tour

Irazu Volcano

Arenal Volcano 1 Day with Hot Springs

We also offer discounts for the Pacuare 1 day white water rafting tour from San Jose and the Tortuga Island 1 day cruise from San Jose.

Filed Under: Activities and tours Costa Rica

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shannon Copeland says

    October 15, 2024

    I will be dog sitting. Are pets allowed in these parks?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      October 16, 2024

      Hello Shannon, only certified guide dogs with paperwork are allowed on this tour.

      Reply
  2. Jade says

    March 31, 2024

    Hi,

    I’d like to book the 3 in 1 rainforest tour, so they pick up from Hotel Le Bergerac Boutique? Or which hotel is the nearest?

    Jade

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      April 1, 2024

      Hello Jade, you can fill out the form on our booking page and our team will assist you in booking it: https://mytanfeet.com/special-deals/san-jose-day-tours-discount/

      Reply
  3. Hannah says

    March 25, 2024

    Hello, I am trying to book this trip but do not see the option?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      March 25, 2024

      Hello Hannah, you can use our booking form on this page here to request the tour and book it with our discount: https://mytanfeet.com/special-deals/san-jose-day-tours-discount/

      Reply
  4. Prachi says

    September 6, 2023

    Hello, great blog! Its been very helpful with planning. We will be in Costa Rica for 9 days (excluding travel days) in mid-November. We are planning to do either the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve or Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve for a day. Would you still recommend doing Braulio Carrillo or would it be a similar experience?

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      September 7, 2023

      Braulio Carillo would be a different experience, Braulio Carrillo is rainforest

      Reply

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