Tours & Excursions

Los Sueños Resort concierge books curated tours with vetted operators: expect higher prices but guaranteed quality, insurance, and reliability. Popular options include Carara National Park birding tours (departing 6am for scarlet macaw sightings), catamaran cruises to Tortuga Island (full-day snorkeling, lunch, open bar), and private waterfall hikes to nearby cascades. Mangrove kayaking in the Tárcoles River delta launches 15 minutes away. ATV tours into the hills behind Herradura offer rainforest trails, river crossings, and panoramic Pacific views. The resort's tour desk handles all logistics (transportation, timing, group size), making it turnkey for families and groups who value convenience.

Jacó has the highest concentration of tour operators on the Central Pacific coast, with every hotel, surf shop, and street corner offering bookings. This creates competition (driving prices down) but also makes vetting crucial. Book through Nest Stays concierge or established operators with verifiable safety records. Top tours include: zip-line canopy tours at Vista Los Sueños or Rainforest Adventures, waterfall hikes to Poza Azul or Bijagual Falls, ATV jungle tours through coffee plantations and rainforest, mangrove kayaking for crocodiles and birds, and stand-up paddleboarding in calm bays. Most tours include hotel pickup from Jacó, making logistics simple.

Herradura doesn't have its own tour operators but sits centrally for accessing everything within 15-30 minutes. Carara National Park (10 minutes south) for scarlet macaws and crocodiles at the Tárcoles bridge. Los Sueños marina (5 minutes) for catamaran cruises, fishing charters, and ocean tours. Jacó (7 minutes north) for ATV, zip-line, and waterfall tours. This makes Herradura ideal for families planning multiple day trips without being locked into resort pricing or party-town energy. Book through your property manager or Nest Stays concierge for vetted operator connections.

Playa Hermosa's tour scene focuses on nature and ocean-based excursions. Sea turtle conservation tours (July-December, nighttime) are the signature experience: guided walks to observe nesting olive ridley turtles and dawn baby turtle releases. Surf lessons for all levels run daily with local instructors who know the breaks and currents intimately. Stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking in the ocean are popular for calmer mornings. Day trips to Carara, Manuel Antonio, or waterfall hikes launch from here with the same access as Jacó but quieter departure logistics. Book tours through local surf shops, your vacation rental manager, or @ReservePlayaTortuga for turtle experiences.

Escazú is the Central Valley's best launch pad for day trips into Costa Rica's volcanic highlands and coffee country. Poás Volcano National Park (1 hour north) offers the world's second-largest active crater; arrive early to beat clouds and walk the 15-minute rim trail above a smoking turquoise lake. La Paz Waterfall Gardens (1.5 hours) combines a spectacular waterfall circuit with a wildlife sanctuary housing jaguars, tapirs, hummingbirds, and poison dart frogs: one of the most condensed wildlife experiences in the country. Doka Estate coffee plantation tours (1.5 hours) trace the full journey from coffee cherry to roasted bean, finishing with cupping sessions using beans from the same fields you just walked. Sarchí artisan village (1.5 hours northwest) is Costa Rica's craft capital: hand-painted oxcart workshops, leather goods, and local artisan studios in a colonial setting. Irazú Volcano and Cartago's Basílica (1.5 hours east) make a natural pairing: high-altitude crater lake followed by Costa Rica's most important religious site. All these destinations are accessible by rental car or through local tour operators who depart from San José and include Escazú pickup. Book through Nest Stays concierge for vetted operators.