You will receive the full meeting point details and a map after you finalize your booking, in a confirmation email.
Do I have to book my Free Tour?
Yes, it's necessary to book your Free Tour in order to receive the full meeting point details via email on time. This helps ensure an enjoyable experience and good coordination between guides and tour guests. Booking is free, quick, and easy!
Can I contact my guide?
Yes, you will be able to message your guide with any questions that you might have after making a reservation, up until the start of the tour.
Can I make a booking for a larger group?
Maybe! In order to keep the group sizes manageable, each guide sets their own limit of guests per booking and departure. Choose the Free Tour you want to book, select the number of people in your group, and see if there are any departures available that suit your needs.
Are Free Tours really Free?
Yes, with Free Tours, there's no set price; instead, the guides rely on the tips of participants to sustain their livelihoods. By contributing a fair amount that reflects the value you receive from the tour, you not only support the guides but also express your appreciation for their expertise and dedication.
The tours are solely tips based so you can decide to contribute as much or as little as you feel the experience was worth.
Tour Features
[{"title":"National Theater","wiki_title":"National Theatre of Costa Rica","description":"National Theatre or National Theater may refer to a theatre funded by the national or federal government, such as those on this list: List of national theatres. The following is a list of theatres with \"National Theatre\" or \"National Theater\" in their name.","wiki_description":"The 1,140-seat National Theatre of Costa Rica is Costa Rica's national theatre, located in the central section of San Jos\u00e9. Construction began in 1891, and it opened to the public on 21 October 1897 with a performance of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust.","day_image":"3aa3e85c-16fc-4c12-3efa-7ede1501d800","address":"","latitude":9.93313333,"longitude":-84.07701667,"wiki_latitude":9.93313333,"wiki_longitude":-84.07701667,"place_id":"1e2986bd4a41a3b6d355ba12604f001b","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Pre-Columbian Gold Museum","wiki_title":"Pre-Columbian Gold Museum","description":"The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum is a museum in San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica. It is located in a subterranean building underneath the \"Plaza de la Cultura\" and is owned and curated by the Banco Central de Costa Rica. The museum has an archaeological collection of 3,567 Pre-Columbian artifacts made up of 1,922 ceramic pieces, 1,586 gold objects, 46 stone objects, 4 jade, and 9 glass or bead objects. The gold collection dates from 300 to 400 BC to 1550 AD. The collection includes animal figurines, amulets, earrings, erotic statuettes and several dioramas including El Guerrero, a life sized gold warrior figure adorned with gold ornaments in a glass case and a detailed scale model of a Pre-Columbian village. There is also a replica of a pre-Columbian grave containing 88 gold objects which was unearthed on a banana plantation in southeastern Costa Rica in the 1950s. In Costa Rican history, gold was considered a symbol of authority and the items are testament to the craftmanship of the Pre-Columbian period.","wiki_description":"The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum is a museum in San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica. It is located in a subterranean building underneath the \"Plaza de la Cultura\" and is owned and curated by the Banco Central de Costa Rica. The museum has an archaeological collection of 3,567 Pre-Columbian artifacts made up of 1,922 ceramic pieces, 1,586 gold objects, 46 stone objects, 4 jade, and 9 glass or bead objects. The gold collection dates from 300 to 400 BC to 1550 AD. The collection includes animal figurines, amulets, earrings, erotic statuettes and several dioramas including El Guerrero, a life sized gold warrior figure adorned with gold ornaments in a glass case and a detailed scale model of a Pre-Columbian village. There is also a replica of a pre-Columbian grave containing 88 gold objects which was unearthed on a banana plantation in southeastern Costa Rica in the 1950s. In Costa Rican history, gold was considered a symbol of authority and the items are testament to the craftmanship of the Pre-Columbian period.","day_image":"6f678919-e1dd-4a39-f8ce-587ae93b7e00","address":"San Jos\u00e9","latitude":9.93352361,"longitude":-84.07680011,"wiki_latitude":9.93352361,"wiki_longitude":-84.07680011,"place_id":"2eee4faa3bb0a9486a1c28ea2553df53","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Central Park","wiki_title":"Central Park","description":null,"wiki_description":"Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, containing 843 acres (341\u00a0ha), and the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42\u00a0million visitors annually as of 2016.","day_image":"d63b3443-dd39-4921-92a2-7175b4d65800","address":"","latitude":9.93305472,"longitude":-84.07982763,"wiki_latitude":40.78222222,"wiki_longitude":-73.96527778,"place_id":"845941b9140b504011fb49aef6c29f23","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Metropolitan Cathedral of San Jose","wiki_title":"Metropolitan Cathedral of San Jos\u00e9","description":"The Metropolitan Cathedral of San Jos\u00e9 Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana is a cathedral in San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica, located on Calle Central and Avenues 2 and 4. The original cathedral was built in 1802 but was destroyed by an earthquake.","wiki_description":"The Metropolitan Cathedral of San Jos\u00e9 Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana is a cathedral in San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica, located on Calle Central and Avenues 2 and 4. The original cathedral was built in 1802 but was destroyed by an earthquake.","day_image":"ff1ac415-ab01-453c-8dff-ff1cf2081900","address":"Costado Norte del Parque Central, San Jos\u00e9","latitude":9.9327,"longitude":-84.0788,"wiki_latitude":9.9327,"wiki_longitude":-84.0788,"place_id":"b636ab2977cc5ae11b4c8e72ef80a6f4","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Central Market","wiki_title":"Central Market","description":"Central Market may refer to:Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton","wiki_description":"Central Market may refer to:Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton","day_image":"451f751d-c813-4521-5a62-f957dda3d100","address":"","latitude":null,"longitude":null,"wiki_latitude":null,"wiki_longitude":null,"place_id":"bc2b8e36cf27716f9299f0f68169f16a","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Central Avenue","wiki_title":"Central Avenue","description":"Central Avenue may refer to:","wiki_description":"Central Avenue may refer to:","day_image":"3647e6c9-a7d5-4255-e81c-cac093a4dc00","address":"","latitude":null,"longitude":null,"wiki_latitude":null,"wiki_longitude":null,"place_id":"e0d4f7b0f09dafaa8a26e36123a61ff9","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Melico Salazar Popular Theater","wiki_title":"Melico Salazar Theatre","description":null,"wiki_description":"The Melico Salazar Theatre is located in San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica. It maintains a full schedule of concerts, recitals, and plays.","day_image":"05859088-d6ba-4a66-6750-1510aac8cf00","address":"","latitude":9.9335,"longitude":-84.0794,"wiki_latitude":9.9335,"wiki_longitude":-84.0794,"place_id":"e253b2ee262a98618bfec2a0a737d7df","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]},{"title":"Chinatown","wiki_title":"Chinatowns in Latin America","description":"A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as \"Chinatown\" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.","wiki_description":"Chinatowns in Latin America developed with the rise of Chinese immigration in the 19th century to various countries in Latin America as contract laborers in agricultural and fishing industries. Most came from Guangdong Province. Since the 1970s, the new arrivals have typically hailed from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Latin American Chinatowns may include the descendants of original migrants \u2014 often of mixed Chinese and Latino parentage \u2014 and more recent immigrants from East Asia. Most Asian Latin Americans are of Cantonese and Hakka origin. Estimates widely vary on the number of Chinese descendants in Latin America but it is at least 1.4 million and likely much greater than this.","day_image":"6aef4049-77a8-4503-a341-761e0297fe00","address":"","latitude":null,"longitude":null,"wiki_latitude":null,"wiki_longitude":null,"place_id":"e889b9b0b6b916bc60dd4ba3b6654e81","order":0,"tour_ids":"4329","order_tours":{"4329":0},"colors":["#646464"],"posts_title":[{"title":"Essential Free Tour San Jose","id":4329}]}]
Latest reviews
Essential Free Tour San Jose
09/11/23
Amaral fue un excelente guía, nos mostró sus sitios favoritos de la ciudad, nos contó historias de Costa Rica y de su familia, siempre estuvo con mucha energía y super agradecidos porque hizo pausas para comprar agua e ir al baño. Nos hizo ver la cara bonita de San Jose, muy buen tour, gracias!!!
Paula
Essential Free Tour San Jose
04/10/23
Maria Jose
Essential Free Tour San Jose
10/09/23
Amaral es el mejor! Con un gran conocimiento y carisma para contar las principales historias de San José de Costa Rica!
David
Gracias, David, fue un gustazo tenerte en mi tour!
San José City Striders
Essential Free Tour San Jose
07/09/23
História da Costa Rica bem descrita... lugares interessantes
Edmundo
Highlights of your trip!
Best Free Tours in San Jose
San Jose is the energetic capital of and largest city in the Central American country of Costa Rica. This wonderful city, including its outskirts, houses a third of the population of the entire country and is named after Joseph of Nazareth. It is also the major commercial, cultural, and geographical center of the country, as well as an emerging tourist destination. Free Walking Tours in San Jose are perfect to discover the neoclassical grandeur of this amazing city in style—from the street and for free! For newcomers, we recommend booking the Essential San Jose City Tour, the perfect introduction to the historical center and main sights. You can also join a Free Art and Museums Tour to get an insightful overview to San Jose’s numerous and wonderful museums with a guide.
Highlights of a Free Tour in San Jose
With Free Tours in San Jose, you can stroll through the historic center and see important monuments. In the surroundings of the Central Park, you will find the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Jose, the spectacular 19th century National Theater, the Melico Salazar Popular Theater and the dynamic Central Avenue. Also, in San Jose, museums are a must for any visitor. One of the most important is the Museum of Pre-Columbian Gold and Numismatics, where you can enjoy and contemplate the country’s most precious artifacts, of which pre-Columbian gold is particularly popular. In addition, the Jade Museum, on the other hand, has been recently remodeled and houses nearly 7000 pieces, including beautiful jade and ceramic items. The Insect Museum, on the other hand, has a huge variety of insects to look at and even eat!
Things to Do in San Jose
After getting to know the historic center with San Jose Free Walking Tours, take a stroll through the colorful Barrio Amon, a picturesque neighborhood filled with old coffee mansions dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition, San Jose also has a lot to offer for food lovers! If you are one of them, be sure to visit the Feria Verde de Aranjuez, a market where local artists and organic farmers gather every Saturday since 2010 to showcase their wonderful products to visitors. A visit to the Central Market is also a must. Here you will find delicious fresh produce and plenty of free samples to try. To complete the day on a high note, you can pay a visit to the National Theater, which offers multiple plays, dance, opera or symphony.
