San Jose: Bites and Sights Walking Food Tour including Markets

Overview

Available languages

English

Spanish

3 hours 30 minutes

Mobile ticket

Unmask the beauty and culture of contemporary Costa Rican life on this San Jose walking tour. You'll get up close and personal, through local food, history, culture even the herbal remedies of folk medicine. Enjoy exotic, fruits, in the Borbon Market. We’ll take a stroll through the vibrant Central Market, tasting local ice cream, this ice cream shop is over 100 years old. Seeing diverse sites the Cathedral, National Theater, the beautiful Central and Morazan parks will help you get to know the country and its rich history and from this experience, you'll have another sense taste to get more in tune with San Jose. For the end visit Mr. Sloth Coffee Shop where you will find gourmet coffees and chocolates, in this special place tasting and learn to prepare Cafe Chorreado, enjoy coffee tasting, tradicional caldosa, tamal cooked by local families and wrapped in a banana leaf, make your own plantain empanadas with cheese, try our famous Agua de Sapo make with ginger, sugar cane and lemon.

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Safety Tips, San Jose is a big city like any other, it is a preventive measure to dont wear flashy jewelry.

Dont eat before the tour.

The groups are 12 people with a guide.

We can accommodate vegetarians and other dietary restrictions. Please notify us in advance if you have any dietary requests.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What To Expect

We begin at the Monumento de los Presentes, where we'll introduce the tour by discussing how the city and its culture have endured through many changes. The monument itself personifies the typical inhabitants of the city, who are at risk of disappearing due to modernization. These figures stand firm, serious, and represent a silent rebellion against the sweeping changes around them, symbolizing resilience and the preservation of identity in the face of transformation.

10 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Correos de Costa Rica

This is the best to understand, why is hard to find an address on here.

10 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

What‘s Included

Indulge the traditional picadillo, Green banana or pejibaye

Enjoy local ice cream at the Central Market from a shop over 100 years old.

Plantain empanadas classes with sugar cane and cheese are delicious and unique treat

Savor Costa Rican-style tamales, wrapped in banana leaves, crafted by local families

Try fresh, seasonal fruits at the Borbón Market.

The tour is capped at 12 people for a personalized small-group experience.

Learn to prepare Café Chorreado with award-winning vandola coffee, and Agua de Sapo infused .

Transportation: if you need to quote transportation service, write to us.

Alcoholic Beverages

Options

Bites and Sights - Walking Food Tour in San Jose Small Group or Private

Reviews

4.84

1,723 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

1543

124

Good tour
mandi k,,Feb 22, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Saw the city center including produce market and general market. Got to sample fruits, coffee, tamales, empanadas, and ice cream. Very casual and fun. Started a little late but not bad.
Bits and Bites review
JenniferLyn A,,Feb 21, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00
Great introduction to everyday market and basic items in Costa Rica. The central is crowded but manageable. The girls have done their best to secure safe spaces for introducing produce and for tamale tasting. Would be nice to have little extra time before market closes at 4pm. Nice experience overall.
Fun way to explore the city in a few hours
Mary D,,Feb 21, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
We really enjoyed our tour with Marcel. We always love checking our local markets- and we were able to check out both the fruit market and the central market. The bites along the way- fruit, ice cream, and chocolate were great. We also enjoyed the hour at the sloth coffee shop trying some other local favorites. This was a great deal for the price and we really enjoyed getting to learn more about the city and the history
Great way to see the city!
Julie H,,Feb 21, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
We loved this tour. We got to see the city and learn about the culture and history. We sampled so many wonderful foods and ended by making our own empanadas! Our Guide was amazing. We would highly recommend!
Highly Recommended
theroccouk,,Feb 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Andrea was wonderful - very knowledgeable and gave the group a fantastic tour of downtown San Jose! It’s a great way to do a quick blitz of the city centre. Loved seeing the food market and if I had more time I’d go back for a bite to eat! The fruit tasting was great, as was the empanada making session and coffee tasting. I would do it again! Thank you, Andrea!
Great tour, would recommend!
Laurie,,Feb 20, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Excellent experience! Loved tasting all the different fruits and making empanadas. Marcello was a very thorough guide and very knowledgable.
A Must-do Tour
Bruce M,,Feb 20, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
We thoroughly enjoyed this tour! We learned so much about the history of the city and the culture of the people. Oscar was an amazing guide. We felt safe and were very fed!
I loved this history and...
Shelley C,,Feb 19, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
I loved this history and market tour with tastings. New experiences, a great group, fun smart guides and much fun. Not to mention the empanada-making and tamale tasting after the walking tour. Very recommended!
The real Costa Rica
Raymond B,,Feb 19, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Marcelo Was an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable about the history of Costa Rica and also a great cook! I highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting to learn about the basic history of Costa Rica.
Good introduction to San Jose
beatricecarlinc,,Feb 18, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This was a great introduction to San Jose. Our guide was informative and entertaining, and the "bites" were delicious. Easy walk around the busy central city with stops for tastes, iconic sites and information. Our only complaints was being totally disoriented after the ending lunch and coffee stop. A map or at least pointing us in the right direction would have been helpful.