Booking fee
The booking fee includes the costs of booking your tickets such as charges for payment processing. It also covers the provision of our customer care center for processing your order, and all charges imposed by our suppliers.
* This tour requires at least one of the following per booking: Adult, Senior
You will absolutely love San José after this experience. Guided by young biologists you will discover nature hiding in the middle of Costa Rica's largest city. You will get to experience with all your senses, wildlife you wouldn't have imagined existed minutes away from downtown. We are an organization called Oropopo Experience, looking to change the way tourism is done in Costa Rica while supporting young scientists, researchers, and local entrepreneurs.
Additional notes:
** From May to November we recommend booking the morning slot, however, afternoons are also great.
• The only San Jose walking nature tour.
• Explore one of the last green patches inside the city on foot with a local biologist.
• See, smell, taste, touch, and listen to nature.
• Find colorful birds, edible plants, and a wild sloth population on campus.
• A percentage of the earnings goes to Funga Conservation, a non-profit foundation.
• Small-group tour with a maximum of 10 people ensures an intimate experience
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Telescope or binoculars for bird and sloth watching
All Fees and Taxes
Local English speaking guide
Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Rain jacket
Closed-toe shoes
Water
Departure Point
Centro de investigaciones Agronómicas, C. la Cruz, San José, San Pedro, 11503, Costa Rica
This is a family-owned Cafe with benches and tables in the front yard, you can use a promotional code: promo-Oropopo to get discounts, use the bathroom or refill your water bottles. Closed on weekends.
Please arrive at the meeting point 10min before the start. The tour begins on time.
Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica We will visit the Campus of the University of Costa Rica, which holds some of the largest patches of forest in the San José Metro Area.
On our first stop, we will look for resident and migratory birds, incredible insects and amazing plants and flowers. We'll be talking about art, history, indigenous culture, and most of all, nature.
Then, we'll visit the main campus where we will be looking for sloths that live freely and hopefully even see the two different species that inhabit our country.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a Recue Center or Sloth Sactuary Tour. You will not be able to touch them, if found, the sloths will be seen in their natural habitat, which means most of the time they will be sleeping on the trees. Still, our experience is your best option at San Jose if you're a true nature lover.
This is a 2,5h walking tour, some parts will be exposed to intense sunlight. Not a heavy walk, but please consider your physical condition 150 minutes
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
212apples
21 Jun 2025
Milisa i’m not sure how to spell her name but she was amazing thorough and it was nice experiencing her love for animals..
Phouveing_D
20 Jun 2025
Our tour guide was amazing!
I actually do not recall her name but it started with a J. She was very knowledgeable. She made sure that every time we had a question that she answered it thoroughly.
We seen a total of 4 sloths!
She even gave us recommendations on where to go grab lunch.
SonyaB1059
19 Jun 2025
For what it was - a forest visit in an urban location, it was . Luis, a local biologist is passionate about the environment and definitely has a pretty good eye for spotting birds and sloths. However, don't expect to see toucans or monkeys in this city environment. We were able to see 4 different types of sloths high up in the trees. In one case, the sloth was eating leaves and so there was some movement. But, in general, sloths are lazy & slothful. Luis wanted to give us our full 2.5 hours but by the 4th sloth, some of us had had our fill of sloths for the day.
It was a perfect quick, local exposure to the amazing natural environment that is most of Costa Rica, without having to drive hours outside the city. I enjoyed my visit to the campus of University of Costa Rica, the largest public university. If you are here for a brief Airbnb stay, then make sure you get a glimpse of a sloth, the national symbol of Costa Rica.
This tour in
Costa Rica
is organized by
Oropopo Experience
We always double-check the availability with our local partners for each booking. Even though this is usually a swift process, it can take up to 24 hours. Once this process is completed you will receive your voucher or ticket by email. If our local partner is not able to confirm your booking we will offer you the best possible alternative. If the new date and/or time doesn’t fit your itinerary, we will reimburse the full amount paid.
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