White-Water Rafting
Rafting Costa Rica
Based in La Fortuna / Arenal
Runs the Pacuare, Balsa, and Sarapiquí rivers plus Peñas Blancas nature floats; family trips for ages 3–103.
Exploradores Outdoors
Pacuare River / Turrialba region
1-day and multi-day Pacuare trips, Class III–IV rapids, overnight riverside eco-lodge option.
Exploradores del Río
Pacuare River
Small-group Pacuare expeditions, Class II–IV rapids, emphasis on personalized guiding.
Rios Adventure Travel
La Fortuna / Reventazón & Sarapiquí
Family-oriented Class II–III trips on the Reventazón, plus Sarapiquí and Pacuare options.
Pacuare Lodge Rafting
Pacuare River (arrival transfer)
25+ years guiding the Pacuare — rafting doubles as the scenic arrival route into Pacuare Lodge.
Three ways to book anything in Costa Rica
Resort desk
Book through the DMC counter in your lobby (usually ST Costa Rica DMC / Swiss Travel). Easiest, insured, resort-vetted — and typically the most expensive.
Direct operator
Contact the rafting company, catamaran, or charter yourself. Usually cheaper, more choice of boat and departure time, still fully licensed.
On the beach
Cash to a local vendor for jet skis, boards, or a short boat ride. Cheapest and most spontaneous, with the least oversight — check insurance and equipment.
In-Resort Booking (DMC)
ST Costa Rica DMC — formerly Swiss Travel
If you're staying at a major resort, this is likely the desk in your lobby. Founded in 1972, Swiss Travel is the country's longest-running destination management company and the partner most of the large hotels contract with for excursions, transfers, and rentals. It rebranded to ST Costa Rica DMC, but many hotel desks and listings still use the Swiss Travel name — they're the same company.
What they handle
- Airport meet-and-greet and hotel transfers
- Day tours and multi-day excursions
- ATV, horseback riding, and charter fishing bookings
- Catamaran and yacht day trips
- On-property activities (e.g. the Westin's canopy tour) and gear rental
- Cruise-ship shore excursions
- Group, incentive and event travel
- ST Collection — their luxury division: private villas, butlers, chefs, nannies, helicopter and private charter transfers
Where you'll find them
- Westin Reserva Conchal — tour desk in the lobby; also books the on-site canopy tour, (506) 2654-3512
- W Costa Rica and other Reserva Conchal properties
- Guanacaste and Papagayo-area resorts generally
- Head office: Brasil de Santa Ana, San José
- Website: stcostaricadmc.com
Honest take: convenience is the real product here — you book at the desk, they collect you at the lobby, and it's all insured and resort-vetted. Guest reports consistently praise the guides and vehicles, and the company has a good record on service recovery. The trade-off is price: some travelers find subcontracted excursions expensive relative to booking the same operator directly, and because they subcontract, the boat or vehicle you get may differ from the one pictured. If budget matters more than convenience, compare against booking the underlying operator yourself.
Catamaran & Island Cruises
Calypso Cruises
Departs Puntarenas (private port)
The original Tortuga Island cruise operator, running since 1975. Super-catamaran Manta Raya passes seven-plus Gulf of Nicoya islands en route. Includes A/C bus transport, ICT-certified bilingual guides, gourmet beach lunch, snorkeling and banana boat.
Costa Cat Cruises
Departs Los Sueños Marina, Herradura (near Jacó)
45-minute crossing to Tortuga on a 55ft A/C catamaran (Costa Cat I, up to 70 guests) or the smaller open-sided Costa Cat II (49 guests). Full day from ~7:15am. Roughly $150+tax adult / $120+tax child. Also runs a 36ft Hinckley motor yacht for private charters. USCG-spec build, MOPT and ICT compliant.
Bay Island Cruises / Papagayo departures
Departs Guanacaste via Puntarenas pier
Tortuga Island day tours packaged from Guanacaste hotels, with hotel pickup, continental breakfast en route, and the full island activity slate.
Sport Fishing Blue Marlin (catamaran division)
Playas del Coco & Tamarindo
Daily and private catamaran tours in Playas del Coco and Tamarindo, including a Fountaine Pajot Bahia sailing catamaran with four double cabins. Picks up from Papagayo-area resorts including Four Seasons, Flamingo, Conchal, JW Marriott and the RIU properties.
Sportfishing Charters
Fishing Costa Rica Experts
Based at Los Sueños Marina, Jacó
25+ years operating; boats 30–50ft across Los Sueños, Marina Pez Vela (Quepos), Tamarindo, Flamingo, Playas del Coco, Papagayo, Golfito and Drake Bay.
Sport Fishing Blue Marlin
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste
Offshore (trolling, kite fishing) and inshore (snook, snapper) charters with Shimano and Penn tackle. Pickups across Papagayo, Los Sueños, Quepos (Pez Vela) and Tamarindo/Flamingo.
CR Fishing Charters
Multi-marina
Charters out of Los Sueños, Tamarindo, Quepos, Flamingo, Coco Beach, Marina Papagayo, Jacó and Santa Teresa. Deep sea, fly, catch-and-release, inshore, bottom and surf fishing.
Fish Costa Rica
Booking agency, all regions
Matches groups to boats and captains across Los Sueños, Jacó, Quepos, Flamingo, Tamarindo, Papagayo and Golfito based on dates, target species and where you're staying.
Costa Rica Fishing Experts
Jacó / Los Sueños focus
Offshore and inshore trips targeting sailfish, marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi, plus multi-day trips to remote seamounts out of Golfito and Puerto Jiménez.
Fishing seasons, roughly
Marlin — caught year-round; strongest mid-November to early March, slowing April to early June, then peaking again in August and September. Billfish — best around December through April from most Pacific bases. Inshore — roosterfish, tuna, wahoo, dorado, jacks, mackerel, cubera and snapper year-round; snook are usually fished from shore or trolled just outside the breakers off river mouths. Blue water is typically only a 12–20 mile run from most departure points.
Beach Water Sports & Rentals
Jet ski & banana boat rentals
Tamarindo, Playas del Coco, Jacó, Flamingo, Manuel Antonio
Beach-based operators rent jet skis, banana boats, paddleboards and kayaks by the hour on most developed Pacific beaches. These are typically small independent vendors rather than national brands — book on the beach or through your hotel's tour desk.
Isla Tortuga beach vendors
Isla Tortuga
On the island itself: banana boat rides, paddle surfing, kayaking and jet ski rental, plus loungers and umbrellas for hire. Kayaks rent by the hour or full day.
Resort water sports desks
Guanacaste all-inclusives
Non-motorized sports (kayaks, snorkel gear, paddleboards, sailing) are usually included at the big all-inclusives. Motorized rentals — jet skis, parasailing — are almost always an extra charge through an outside vendor.
A note on booking water sports
Several major resorts — RIU among them — state explicitly that they have no relationship with external watersports vendors, particularly parasailing operators, and accept no liability for them. Any contract is directly between you and the vendor. Before booking jet skis or parasailing on the beach, it's worth checking that the operator carries insurance and that equipment looks well maintained.
Coffee, Chocolate & Farm Tours
Hacienda Alsacia — Starbucks Coffee Farm
San Luis, Sabanilla, Alajuela · slopes of Poás Volcano
Starbucks' first and only coffee farm anywhere in the world — a 240-hectare working farm that doubles as their global R&D hub. Bought in 2013, visitor center opened 2018. Options: a 90-minute guided tour (~$25, includes tastings, parking and a take-away bandana), a 45-minute Coffee Lab "Journey of the Senses," or just the café (no reservation needed). Seed-to-cup walk through cultivation, harvesting, drying and roasting, with a heavy sustainability focus and a tree nursery and demo plots on site. Tours daily by reservation, English and Spanish sessions.
Doka Estate Coffee Tour
Alajuela, Central Valley
A long-established family-run estate near Poás, one of the country's best-known traditional coffee tours. Often bundled with Poás Volcano and La Paz Waterfall Gardens on the same day trip.
Café Britt Coffee Tour
Heredia, Central Valley
The theatrical option — a long-running guided tour with actors and staging alongside the plantation walk. Good for families with kids who'd tune out of a straight agronomy talk.
Don Juan Coffee Tour
Monteverde
Combined coffee, chocolate and sugar-cane tour — the standard pairing in the Monteverde area and an easy add-on if you're already up there for the cloud forest.
The classic Central Valley day trip
Hacienda Alsacia sits roughly 45 minutes to an hour from San José, on the road up to Poás. Most visitors combine it into one loop: Poás Volcano → Hacienda Alsacia (or Doka Estate) → La Paz Waterfall Gardens, with a lunch stop at Soda y Mirador Cinchona overlooking the San Fernando waterfall. The Toucan Rescue Ranch is in the same general area if you want to add wildlife. It also works as a scenic stop when transferring between San José and La Fortuna rather than as a dedicated trip.
Coming next
Zip-lining & canopy tours (Monteverde, Arenal) · ATV & horseback tours (Guanacaste, Jacó) · Scuba diving operators (Isla del Coco, Isla del Caño, Guanacaste) · Wildlife & birding guides (Monteverde, Corcovado, Tortuguero) · Surf schools (Tamarindo, Santa Teresa, Jacó) · Hanging bridges & waterfall tours