San Jose: Bites and Sights Walking Food Tour including Markets
Overview
Available languages
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.
Correos de Costa Rica
This is the best to understand, why is hard to find an address on here.
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
1,634 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
A fun experience and good value for the cost
Lori M,,Dec 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Enjoyed the farmers’ market as well as the Mercado Central. This tour is a great introduction to a key part of the city of San Jose. The later part of the tour was also fun because we got to sample some traditional Costa Rican treats and even to help make some. Coffee at the end was a great finish. I can recommend this tour; it’s great value for the cost.
Lots of walking, loved...
Oluwasemilore O,,Dec 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Lots of walking, loved the food. We made plantains empanadas, coffee, and tried tameles. We weren't vegeterians, but lots of people on our tour were, so you don't have time to worry about dietary restriction. Our tour guide Angel was amazing, very knowledge and knew a lot.
Great experience
Nerissa P,,Dec 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00Wonderful guide Oscar. The tour was a bit chaotic with it being 16 people (the tour stated it is maxed at 12). I would only suggest that it should be a smaller and more intimate group to be able to navigate the busy streets and markets. Otherwise, a great way to taste your way through San Jose.
Excellent tour to get to know San José food by foot!
Izaak K,,Dec 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00A very efficient 'get to know the city tour' in just a few hours. The focus is on local food - from market to resto. The local guide (let's call him Jean-Pierre) added to this by having a great knowledge of the production processes and recipies as well. Any other question on sightseeing, history, do's and dont's etc. etc was answered on the spot. Fun experience at the right pace!
Memorable experience including fruit feast...... 😋
275bibir,,Dec 22, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was more than expected. Our host Oscar was very knowledgeable about Costa Rica, not only did we tour the markets, we had a feast of exotic fruits to try. There was also a cultural element to the trip where Oscar highlighted interesting buildings in the city, including the oldest theatre. The trip concluded with coffee tamales, in my case a veggie one plus a cooking opportunity where we made empanadas with cheese stuffing. Wow, a trip to remember despite quite a large group of 12. Thanks Oscar 😘
Great food and history tour of Old San José
shvrabec,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great tour of markets with history and eats. Angel was a great guide who took us through the busy streets of old San José. Muchas gracias!
If you are looking for a...
Nina G,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00If you are looking for a San Jose walking tour with some snacks, this is the tour for you. Unfortunately, this tour was labeled as a food tour, which it isn’t. Don’t come on an empty stomach or with an expectation of trying local food vendors. Basically, you walk around downtown in San Jose and learn about the history in the buildings and then at the end they take you to their own coffee shop and you have food from their coffee shop. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly though. Just not what we expected.
Great orientation to San Jose
Brooke H,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00Great orientation to the town and great guide. My only feedback would be perhaps take one thing off the tour to allow for a bit more time at the other stops.
Immersive, Cultural & Historical Tour!
752tigistm,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Angel was our tour guide and did a marvelous job managing 14 of us during this historical walking tour. We did this during a very busy holiday weekend & was so exciting to be in the middle of the hustle & bustle of the vibrant city of San Jose. We recommend to start your vacation with this walking tour to get a glimpse of what San Jose, Cost Arica has to offer. Thank you Angel, we appreciate your guidance & your passion for Costa Rica. Sorry to see your team lost on the Soccer final. Pura Vida❤️
Great cultural tour
Charles S,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We loved doing this tour with our college aged grandchildren. Our Uber deliver us easily to our meeting spot from their clear instructions. The group looked large but we were divided into two small groups until the last part. We saw two markets, sampled a variety of local fruits and learned so much. Adding the cathedral and theatre was great. The final part with making empanadas and enjoying tamales was perfect. As with our other tour, they were helpful in ordering an Uber. It’s right in the city center so thinking an uber was a better choice than attempting to drive the many one way streets and finding secure parking. They encourage you don’t wear showy jewelry and gold. Highly recommend.
From US$38.00
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Operated by San Jose Urban Tours