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Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

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WANT TO SAVE MONEY IN COSTA RICA?

Our sister site, Pura Vida! eh? Inc., has discounts for self-guided tours and activities in Costa Rica. Con mucho gusto (you’re welcome) and pura vida!

🙂

Do you need a tour guide to explore Costa Rica?

The answer to this question depends on the exact tour or activity you want to experience. Some tours, like white-water rafting tours and zip-lining tours, require the use of a guide, primarily for safety reasons. Several activities, like touring some national parks and hanging bridges, can be experienced alongside a tour guide (if you want one for educational or navigational purposes), but having one isn’t required. In other cases, tour guides are neither required nor generally offered. A few sites, many of which are located in the capital city of San Jose, are great for exploring Costa Rica without a guide. Suffice to say, each type of activity that you can experience in Costa Rica falls into one of three categories:

1. Activities that you can experience without a tour guide.
2. Activities that you can experience either with or without a tour guide (the choice is up to you).
3. Activities that require the assistance of a tour guide.

Our article below lists the types of activities that fall into each of the three categories, helping you identify which are good options to participate in if you’ve already decided that you don’t want to use tour guides. Deciding whether or not you should explore Costa Rica without a guide is a different task altogether. If you’re looking for more information about that topic, please see our related blog post: Costa Rica Guided Tours: Are They Necessary, Valuable, And/Or Worthwhile?

Exploring Costa Rica without a guide: Unguided activities in Costa Rica

If you want to explore Costa Rica without a guide, you’re in luck! The Costa Rica activities listed below do not require the use of a tour guide, so go ahead and add them your to-do list of self-guided adventures.

Visit an art gallery

Costa Rica’s capital city , San Jose, is home to several beautiful art galleries that are worth a visit, including our pick for Best Art Gallery). Combine your art gallery visit with other things to do in San Jose, including those we talk about in our related blog post: 15 Things To Do In San Jose Costa Rica (And 3 Things To Skip Doing).

Go beach-hopping

Hopping between beaches is a great way to experience several stretches of Costa Rican coastline in a short amount of time. With access to a rental car, you can explore miles of either the Caribbean or Pacific coast in Costa Rica without a guide. If you need help deciding which Costa Rica beaches are the best to visit, don’t miss our related blog posts Nicoya Peninsula Beaches In Costa Rica, Northern Pacific / Guanacaste Beaches In Costa Rica, Central Pacific Beaches In Costa Rica, Caribbean Beaches In Costa Rica, and Osa Peninsula Beaches In Costa Rica, or our countrywide Costa Rica beach guide, 80+ Costa Rica Beaches (In Photos) And Where To Find Them.

Sign up for a class, lesson, or course

Instructional classes, lessons, and courses are often overlooked as an in-country activity in favor of more thrilling Costa Rica adventures. But there’s a lot that’s worth learning in the land of pura vida, including how to dance to Latin music, how to cook Costa Rican food, how to practice yoga or poi, how to surf righteous waves, how to scuba dive or freedive, how to speak Spanish, and more.

Explore a city center

If you find yourself in the middle of a bustling metropolis or significant cultural community, consider strolling around the place to see sites of interest. Depending on where you are, these can include historical or governmental buildings, popular stores, famed local restaurants, noteworthy churches or religious centers, ancient ruins, and edifices that display stunning architecture. (For inspiration, consider our pick for Most Breathtaking Architecture.)

Soak in hot springs

Costa Rica’s hot springs are one of Costa Rica’s top attractions. You don’t need a tour guide to teach you how to relax, so hot spring visits are the perfect choice if you’re looking for something to do on your own. They’re also experiences that are easy to coordinate and enjoy on your own. If you’re in search of hot springs information, tips, and recommendations, don’t miss our related blog posts: Best Hot Springs In Arenal: We Compare All 12 La Fortuna Hot Springs and Your Costa Rica Hot Springs Questions Answered!

Paint yourself with mud at a mud bath

Similar to visits to hot springs, visits to mud baths are all about relaxation. You don’t need a tour guide to paint your body from head to toe in volcanic mud, so plan to experience this rejuvenating activity on your own.

Visit a museum

One of our favorite things to do in San Jose is visit a museum (especially our pick for Best Museum). Combine your museum visit with one or more of the other activities we recommend doing in Costa Rica’s capital city, which are covered in our related blog post: 15 Things To Do In San Jose Costa Rica (And 3 Things To Skip Doing).

Hit the road

Road trips are the ultimate unguided experience. Very rarely do they require a tour guide, and they almost always lead to something great. So long as you’re equipped with some knowledge of the area you plan to explore, a reliable electronic device with GPS or Wi-Fi/map capabilities to avoid getting lost, and some general common sense (in case you run into the situation we describe in our pick for the Most Stressful Encounter During A Road Trip), road trips can enliven average travel experiences with fun, delightful surprises.

Rent your own recreational equipment, and go!

Adventure centers, souvenir stores, surf shops, and some hotel tour desks have equipment available to rent. Popular rental items include surfboards, stand-up paddleboards, ATVs, snorkel gear, kayaks, and the item we selected as the Best Item To Rent For A Day, all of which you can operate without the help of a tour guide.

Shop for souvenirs

Who needs a tour guide to spend money? Most of us accomplish this task effortlessly on our own. Costa Rica is full of shops, malls, and markets that are worth exploring. If you’re not sure how to approach spending money in Costa Rica, don’t miss our related blog post Spending Money In Costa Rica: What To Know About USD, Colones, And Credit Cards. If you need help converting American dollars to Costa Rican colones (or vice versa), see our related blog post Costa Rican Colones To American Dollars: Exchanging Money In Costa Rica.

Cool off at a swimming hole

Swimming holes are awesome, plain and simply put. Most are free, require very little effort to reach, and provide refreshing relief on hot and sticky tropical days. If you intend to visit the La Fortuna / Arenal region of Costa Rica, consider checking out the spot we detail in our blog post El Salto Costa Rica: Local Free Tarzan Swing And Swimming Holes In La Fortuna / Arenal.

Take in a show at a theater

If the performance arts are your scene, consider taking in a show at Costa Rica’s Best Theater. Though guided tours of the theater are also available, you can purchase tickets and enjoy live performances without a tour guide. Combine your theater visit with one of several other things to do in San Jose, including those we detail in our related blog post: 15 Things To Do In San Jose Costa Rica (And 3 Things To Skip Doing).

Exploring Costa Rica without a guide: Costa Rica activities that be experienced either with or without a guide

If you want even more recommendations for things to do in Costa Rica without a guide, consider the activities listed below, which can be experienced with or without a tour guide. Although using a tour guide may be recommended, having one isn’t mandatory.

If you’re wondering whether you should use a tour guide, don’t miss our related blog post:

Costa Rica Guided Tours: Are They Necessary, Valuable, And/Or Worthwhile?

Visit a wildlife sanctuary, wildlife refuge, or wildlife rescue center

Some wildlife exhibits in Costa Rica can only be toured alongside a tour guide, but others welcome self-guided visitors. Personally, we prefer to give our business to wildlife exhibits that enforce the use of a tour guide, to best protect the resident species from visitors (and vice versa), but if you would prefer to visit a wildlife sanctuary, wildlife refuge, or wildlife rescue center on your own, you can do so at many.

Visit a butterfly garden, hummingbird garden, reptile or amphibian exhibit, or botanical garden

Scattered around the country are several wildlife gardens that are home to Costa Rican creatures, either in their natural habitats or protective terrariums, such as the enclosures we describe in our related blog post Selvatura Monteverde: Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, Butterfly/Hummingbird Gardens, And A Reptile/Amphibian Exhibit In The Cloud Forest. Some gardens require a tour guide but others are suitable for self-guided exploration. Examples of wildlife gardens include reptile exhibits, amphibian exhibits and frog ponds, insect museums, hummingbird gardens, and butterfly gardens, including our pick for Best Butterfly Garden.

Costa Rica is also home to several impressive botanical gardens that showcase diverse plant and tree species of native and exotic varieties. At most, you can stroll around at your own pace without a guide, although guided tours, if desired, can also be arranged.

Traverse hanging bridges

One of the most common questions we receive from travelers asks whether it’s possible to experience Costa Rica’s famous hanging bridges without a guide. In the majority of cases, yes, it’s possible to explore hanging bridges without a guide. (A few hanging bridges that sit on public property can only be accessed with a tour guide, however.) To learn more about hanging bridges in Costa Rica, don’t miss our related blog posts Best Hanging Bridges In Costa Rica: Comparing 4 In Arenal And Monteverde, Mistico Park Or Sky Walk/Adventures: Which Arenal Hanging Bridges Are The Best?, Arenal Sky Walk Hanging Bridges: Everything You Need To Know, A Step-By-Step Guide To The Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park, Monteverde Sky Walk Hanging Bridges: Everything You Need To Know, and Selvatura Monteverde: Ziplining, Hanging Bridges, Butterfly/Hummingbird Gardens, And A Reptile/Amphibian Exhibit In The Cloud Forest.

Go hiking

Our recommendation here depends largely on where you intend to hike; some protected land spaces require visitors to be accompanied by a tour guide. Hikes in Costa Rica range from light walks on paved, marked pathways, which typically do not require the use of a tour guide, to overnight treks that usually require previous hiking experience, advance reservation, office check-ins, and, more often than not, the use of a tour guide. Extreme hikes aside, there is no shortage of light or moderate hikes that you can make in Costa Rica on your own.

Visit a national park or a biological reserve

Some national parks and biological reserves require entry with a tour guide. Most, however, do not. To learn how much you’ll need to pay to enter Costa Rica’s protected land spaces, see our related blog post A List Of 50+ Costa Rica Entrance Fees: How Much It Costs To Enter National Parks, Reserves, And Refuges. To learn more about two of our favorite national parks in Costa Rica that don’t require a tour guide, see our related blog posts How The Manuel Antonio National Park Is Different Than Other Costa Rica National Parks and Why You Should (And Shouldn’t) Visit The Arenal Volcano National Park.

Sign up for or create a DIY surf tour

Despite having the word “tour” in its title, a surf tour is a gathering of (usually experienced) surfers who travel to a predetermined destination to ride the area’s waves. If you have a rental car, you can coordinate your own surf tour by heading up or down the coast with your board and travel mates in search of sweet swell.

Visit a volcano

Two of Costa Rica’s active volcanoes, the Poas Volcano (inside the Poas Volcano National Park) and the Irazu Volcano (inside the Irazu Volcano National Park), provide an opportunity to stand at the edge of a crater. While a tour guide (provided by the park and stationed at the crater) is required to be present during visits to the Poas Volcano, you’re welcome to tour a hiking trail inside the Poas Volcano National Park, as well as crater and hiking trails inside the Irazu Volcano National Park, without a tour guide. In addition, hiking trails on the slopes of the Arenal Volcano (inside the Arenal Volcano National Park) and the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano (inside the Rincon de la Vieja National Park) provide additional opportunities to explore volcanoes without a tour guide. (Access to the craters of the Arenal Volcano and the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano is not permitted.) To learn more about Costa Rica’s volcanoes, don’t miss our related blog post How To Experience The Best Costa Rica Volcanoes: Arenal, Poas, Rincon de la Vieja, Irazu, And Turrialba.

Relax at a waterfall

Waterfalls are tucked away in lush areas all over Costa Rica, and you don’t always need a tour guide to find them. Combo tours that include a waterfall component, such as a horseback riding tour that leads to a waterfall, may require a tour guide. To learn about a few of our favorite waterfalls in Costa Rica, don’t miss our related blog posts 25+ Costa Rica Waterfalls & How To Visit Them During Your Trip, Visiting The All-New La Fortuna Waterfall And Orchid Garden, and Why (And Why Not) To Visit The Llanos Del Cortes Waterfall Near Liberia.

Exploring Costa Rica without a guide: Costa Rica activities that typically require a guide

In nearly all cases, the Costa Rica activities listed below must be experienced with a tour guide.

Aerial tram rides

Aerial tram rides are automatically guided to increase tour participant experience and ensure participant safety. Not only will a tour guide point out interesting facts about the surrounding landscape during the ride, but he or she will help you enter and exit the tram safely.

ATV tours (separate from ATV rentals)

Although you can rent an ATV and drive it around your Costa Rica destination without the assistance of a tour guide, ATV tours⁠—designed to showcase Costa Rica’s rugged landscape and back roads⁠—are almost always led by tour guides. Most off-road ATV adventures explore private land that only tour guides are permitted to access.

Beer tours, nightlife tours, and pub crawls

Certainly, you’re welcome to explore Costa Rica’s broad range of bars, pubs, and clubs without a tour guide. But most official beer tours, nightlife tours, pub crawls, and microbrewery visits are led by one. This is likely for the best; as exploring Costa Rica on your own after dark isn’t recommended.

Bird-watching tours

Given the abundance of birds in Costa Rica, it’s safe to say you’ll see birds wherever you go and without having a tour guide at your side. However, if you’re an avid birder who is interested in a professional bird-watching tour, you’ll be pleased to learn that this activity type is typically guided, usually by keen-eyed tour guides who are equipped with spotting scopes. Their knowledge of avifauna, including where and when particular species of birds can be seen, is the difference between merely seeing a bird in Costa Rica and skillfully spotting or photographing a rare species.

Boat tours and safari float tours

For navigational and educational purposes, boat tours and safari float tours are guided.

Canoeing tours

For navigational and educational purposes, canoeing tours are guided.

Canopy zip-lining tours

For technical and navigational purposes, canopy zip-lining tours are guided.

Canyoneering tours, canyoning tours, and rappelling tours

For technical and navigational purposes, canyoneering tours, canyoning tours, and rappelling tours are guided.

Catamaran tours and sailing tours

For navigational purposes, catamaran tours and sailing tours are guided.

Cave tours

For navigational and educational purposes, cave tours are guided.

Coffee tours, chocolate tours, sugarcane tours, fruit tours, and spice tours

For educational purposes, food and drink-related tours are guided.

Dolphin-watching and whale-watching tours

For navigational and education purposes, dolphin-watching and whale-watching tours are guided.

Environmental sustainability tours and organic farm tours

For educational purposes, environmental sustainability tours and organic farm tours are guided.

Horseback riding tours

For technical and navigational purposes, horseback riding tours are guided.

Indigenous reserve tours

For navigational and educational purposes, indigenous reserve tours are guided.

Kayaking tours

For technical and navigational purposes, kayaking tours are guided.

Mountain biking tours (separate from bike rentals)

For navigational purposes, mountain biking tours are guided. This being said, renting a bike in Costa Rica and exploring bike parks or road trails is permissible without a guide.

Night tours

For navigational and educational purposes, night tours are guided.

Rafting tours

For technical and navigational purposes, rafting tours are guided.

Scuba diving tours

For technical and navigational purposes, scuba diving tours are guided.

Snorkeling tours (separate from snorkel gear rentals)

For navigational purposes, snorkeling tours are guided. Of course, you can rent snorkel gear in Costa Rica and explore bays and reefs off beaches without a guide, provided you do so outside of protected marine areas.

Stand-up paddling tours

For technical and navigational purposes, stand-up paddling tours are guided.

Tree-climbing tours

For technical and navigational purposes, tree climbing tours are guided.

Turtle nesting tours

Most turtle nesting tours take place on beaches within protected land areas. You’ll need a tour guide to access these sites. In addition, because turtle nesting tours often take place when it’s dark, tour guides help keep the activity safe.

Waterfall jumping tours

For technical and navigational purposes, waterfall jumping tours are guided.

QUESTION TO COMMENT ON: Which tours and/or activities do you plan to experience in Costa Rica, and do you intend to use a tour guide?

Pura vida!

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