Sarapiqui is a great stop for nature loving travelers who would like to visit a less touristic rainforest area in Costa Rica.
Most travelers stay for only a night or two so if you have a couple days to explore this large canton in Heredia, here are our recommendations for things to do in Sarapiqui.
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White Water Rafting
For those looking to fit in some adventure, go white water rafting down the Sarapiqui river! This pristine rivers offers an incredible outdoor adventure, rafting down beautiful rainforest covered river banks.
The most popular tour is the Sarapiqui Class 2 and 3 rapids which is perfect for families and first time rafters.
For older families or more experienced rafters, the Sarapiqui River Class 3 and 4 rafting is super fun and offers even more excitement.
You’ll paddle down the pristine river, battling exciting rapids with your guide and fellow adventurers.
This is a half day rafting tour so you can go for a hike in the morning and raft in the afternoon or combine it with another adventure.
Chocolate Tour
For a fun and tasty mix of culture and food, book a chocolate tour to learn about cacao production in Sarapiqui.
We did a tour with Costa Rica Best Chocolate who purchases cacao from the small local farmers, makes their own artisanal chocolate and sells it to tourists.
It was a lot of fun learning about the effect of climate change on cacao and the importance of cacao in indigenous cultures in Costa Rica. We also sampled a lot of delicious chocolate!
Tirimbina also has an excellent chocolate tour.
Canopy (Ziplining)
Sarapiqui has a fun zipline at the Hacienda Poza Azul property and many people will combine the canopy and white water rafting Class 2 and 3 in one day.
Their zipline went over the river and through the rainforest. Great for families.
River Safari Float
Sarapiqui River is one of the most pristine rivers in Costa Rica, making it a great place for a safari float to see wildlife.
Besides the rafting, the river safari float is one of the top things to do in Sarapiqui. You can see wildlife such as monkeys, sloths, toucans, river birds and much more.
Horseback Riding
We did a horseback riding tour with Hacienda Poza Azul which took us through lush fields around their property.
We stopped at Sarapiqui river to cool off a bit before heading back.
Our guide was really funny and let us gallop and trot a bit through the fields.
We were also accompanied by a small dog who went with us the entire way! So cute.
Poza Azul Waterfall
Getting to the Catarata Poza Azul waterfall is an adventure on its own.
Located on private property in La Virgen, you’ll need to make sure you know a bit of Spanish, carry some colones and be prepared to walk through ungroomed trails.
But the reward at the end is pretty worth it I’d say, as you reach this small waterfall in the rainforest.
The waterfall itself is small but the pool is the highlight. It’s deep enough to take a swim and cool off in the very humid jungle!
You can find it on Google Maps as “Poza Azul Waterfall.”
Selva Verde Guided Walk
You can’t visit Sarapiqui without doing a guided nature walk and Selva Verde Lodge is one of the best places in Costa Rica for it.
This lodge has their own private rainforest reserve of 500 acres (202 hectares) and is only accessible with a guide.
We did their guided walk and were the only ones there which was awesome.
Our guide, Ronald was excellent and pointed out wildlife we’ve never seen before and we have done many guided walks in Costa Rica!
You don’t have to be a Selva Verde hotel guest to book a guided walk through the reserve but you do need to make reservations with them.
Cooking Class
Many hotels offer their own cooking classes as Sarapiqui has a strong farming background.
They produce many vegetables and fruits in Costa Rica and several hotels have their own organic garden and farm.
When we stayed at Hacienda Poza Azul, they offered an on-site cooking class.
Take a cooking class to learn more about their farm to table philosophy, different tropical fruits and cook up your own lunch!
Birdwatching
Sarapiqui encompasses a part of Braulio Carillo National Park and Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge, two very biodiverse areas.
Additionally, there are several small private reserves making it an excellent place to birdwatch in Costa Rica.
You can see birds like toucans, parrots, hawks and macaws in this region, which is always exciting for birders.
The Sarapiqui locals began planting almond trees many years ago in hopes of restoring the Scarlet Macaw population.
Now you can see pairs of Scarlet and Great Green Macaws flying about.
Selva Verde Lodge offers a great birding tour at their reserve. Tirimbina Biological Reserve is another top places for a birding tour.
Organic Pineapple Tour
Costa Rica is the biggest exporter of pineapples in the world and Sarapiqui produces an enormous quantity of those pineapples.
Sadly, pineapple is incredibly destructive to the environment but there is one company, Organic Paradise who practices organic pineapple farming.
Tourists can book a tour to learn more about why pineapple is such a harmful fruit, how Organic Paradise farms organically, why we as consumers should choose organic pineapples and how to choose a ripe pineapple.
It’s fun, informative, education, and did I mention yummy as you get to sample pineapple cake, empanadas, smoothies and more delicious treats.
If you only have time to do one or two activities in Sarapiqui, this has to be one of them.
Ant Tour
For something a bit different, learn about leaf cutter ants in Costa Rica! Take an ant tour with a local who has several large ant colonies.
You get to see the hardest workers in the rainforest up close and you may even get to see the queen ant!
I wasn’t quite sure how I’d feel about the ant tour, but at the end, I loved it.
It was extremely fascinating to learn about the hardest workers of the rainforest, and made me appreciate ants much more.
Night Walk
For those who want a deeper rainforest experience, take a night walk in Sarapiqui.
Grab a flashlight and follow the footsteps of your trusty guide to venture into the forest when the sun goes down.
On a night walk, you have a great chance to see frogs, snakes, insects, nocturnal mammals like bats and kinkajous!
We did a couple of night walks in Sarapiqui. One shorter one, that was a frog focused night walk.
This Sarapiqui night walk is a bit longer, we usually recommend a night walk that is at least 2 hours for older visitors, to have more chances to see animals.
Our Personal Recommendations
For one or two full days in Sarapiqui, our most recommended activities are the rafting Class 2 & 3, guided walk (morning or night), birdwatching and the pineapple tour.
In 1 day, you can go birding in the morning, rafting in the afternoon and go on a night walk in the evening. If birding isn’t your thing, take a pineapple or chocolate tour.
Most of the hotels in Sarapiqui have their own on-site activities that you can arrange, or it is not difficult to book your own tours.
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