Costa Rica Hiking Tours: Our 8 Picks

1.Hiking Tour of La Leona Waterfall with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 106 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $79Our pick

Review of La Leona Waterfall near Tamarindo, with hiking, river swims, wildlife, lunch, transport, costs, difficulty, and practical tips.

“We had the best day ever! Steven was our tour guide, and he was incredible! We spoke and laughed nonstop and he was so helpful, informative and fun! He even took us around the farm since we finished our tour a little early, and we saw more amazing animals and natural pools. Everyone that worked here was so kind and made us feel so welcome. The hike itself was semi difficult (especially when accessing right before the waterfall) but so worth it! Definitely wear water shoes that double as tennis shoes or sneakers that you don’t mind getting dirty! The lunch afterward was also fabulous! also! we had a 4…”

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2.Manuel Antonio National Park Hiking Tour from Jacó

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 93 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $135

Hike Manuel Antonio from Jacó with a local guide, spot sloths and monkeys, swim at a beautiful beach, and enjoy transport, drinks, and lunch.

“We did the Manuel Antonio national park tour with Tucanes Tour with pick up at Los Sueños. Our guide Jeremy is amazing and he had such a sharp eye for spotting any animals. In the national park you will encounter many guide with other groups but we feel like we are making the most stops for animal as Jeremy can always spot something other guides can’t. He also talked to us about Costa Rica history on the ride to the park which was super informative. Would strongly recommend this tour and with Jeremy.”

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3.La Leona Waterfall Hike and River Tubing

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 90 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $90

Review of La Leona Waterfall hike and river tubing near Rincon de la Vieja, with practical details on price, safety, timing, fitness, and value.

“We had such an incredible time on this tour. The waterfall hike was unmatched to anything else we experienced on our Costa Rica visit. Ronnie our guide was great!! He has so much knowledge about the forest and plants and made it really fun. My 10 year old daughter was a little nervous but he helped calmed her fears. We loved being able to swim around the waterfall and yes all four in my family made the jump at the beginning and we did the natural slide. The tubing adventure was fun as well. We were the only ones on that part of the river at that time so that…”

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4.Full Day Tour with Safari Float, Waterfall and Volcano Hike

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 89 reviews · 9 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $210

Review of La Fortuna’s full-day safari float, waterfall swim, local lunch, and Arenal Volcano hike, with practical tips on cost, fitness, and value.

“Tony and Jaime were awesome. All 3 experiences were great. Tony was very knowledgeable and kind. Food was excellent. I would do it again.”

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5.La Leona waterfall adventure hike half day

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 79 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $50Best value

Hike through streams, caves, and rainforest to La Leona Waterfall near Rincón de la Vieja, with a guide, swim time, fruit, and 4WD transport.

“Our family had such a great time! Berny is the owner of the company and he greeted us at his office. He was so friendly and welcoming. Then, because we had a four-wheel drive vehicle, we followed Berny up to the falls. Otherwise, he would drive you there. Then we met our guide, Carlos, and it ended up being a private tour through La Leona. Carlos was so knowledgeable and funny! He kept us entertained throughout our hike. He helped us get through rough water and tight spaces. He also told us a lot about the flora in the area. He is local to the area and we were very…”

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6.Corcovado National Park Hike – From Uvita

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 65 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $170

Review the Corcovado hike from Uvita, including boat conditions, wildlife, park access, hiking, lunch, price, and practical tips.

“Not worth the price - at all. A beautiful national park but this specific tour only takes you on a very small trail (maybe 2km) by the beach and back. We were expecting more hiking in distance (supposedly 2 trails but we only did 1 then left), and deeper into the forest to explore the richness of park, but this was disappointing on all aspects. The guide was friendly but definitely not a wildlife expert so we only saw a few animals. We had a much better animal seeing experience in the Manual Antonio park with an actual wildlife expert who was able to show us many animals that we…”

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7.Jungle Hike with Canyoning and Rappelling in Drake Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 48 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $115

Review of Drake Bay’s six-hour jungle hike with rappelling, river swimming, waterfalls, lunch, guides, cost, and practical tips.

“First, we went on a hike with some explanation about the jungle and about some plants. The passion of the guides for the nature is remarkable. We went down throught 7 waterfalls, about 4 of them by rappeling. Then, we had a lunch. Coming an going by a pickup car. The guides are very nice. The rappeling feels very safe. No shoes or wetsuit is included. I didn't have appropriate shoes and I got very cold in the waterfalls. The lunch is not sufficient. It felt like a snack so that I had to go and have a lunch after that. After you have done your rappeling, you have to…”

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8.Nativos Corcovado Night Hike in DrakeBay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 45 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $68

Nativos Corcovado Night Hike in Drake Bay offers a muddy, intimate search for frogs, snakes, spiders, and more for $68.

“An experience that our family will never forget…..comically scary and dangerous - yet guide did not turn us around early once the rain became too bad”

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