Day Trip from San Jose to La Paz Waterfall Gardens & Safari in Sarapiqui River

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Sim M.

November 18, 2025

I enjoyed it more than I thought! I was debating between just checking out La Paz from the road (for free) versus buying a ticket to the "Waterfall Garden". I am glad I went with the later. The waterfalls inside (Magia Blanca, Templo, Encantada, Escondida) can look even better than La Paz. Additionally, from the road, it will be difficult to get a good picture. It's totally worth it to visit the gardens as you will get to experience 5 waterfalls (including top view of La Paz) from up close and get some nice pictures. Additionally, they have animal sanctuaries and hummingbirds that you can check out. I'd recommend adding the lunch option - it was a good, filling buffet. Expect to spend around 1.5 hrs checking out the waterfalls at a comfortable pace. The walking isn't difficult but expect some steep stairs up/down. The waterfall trail ends at a nice gift shop and restroom from where you take a shuttle for back uphill (how convenient)! Make sure to check the return time of the last shuttle. If you check out all the animal sanctuaries and have lunch, can add another couple of hours. You can buy tickets at the entrance or buy them beforehand to save time as large groups can delay the check in.

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Victoria A.

November 17, 2025

Totally worth the harrowing drive from San Jose. I like that it's an animal sanctuary for injured and surrendered animals, rather than buying and exhibiting animals simply for profit. I could've spent all day there, if my husband's footwear wasn't a problem. Lunch was good, although a single glass of wine cost more than the entire meal! Too overpriced to indulge. I wish they had seating near the monkeys, because I felt I could've watched them for a whole hour 😁 Another suggestion for management would be to publicize feeding times online, so visitors can better plan their visit around animal activity. There were many highlights, between the animals, the waterfalls, and unexpectedly the Casita, which showed the old Costa Rican lifestyle and provided us with a delicious snack and sugar cane tea. Definitely wear comfortable footwear and plan for all day here.

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Michael

November 14, 2025

A fantastic way to engage with some of Costa Rica’s amazing wildlife whilst also supporting its rescue and protection. Get up close to birds, monkeys, snakes, frogs, humming birds, pumas and jaguars before walking the (quite challenging, but well maintained) pathways to visit the waterfalls. The buffet style lunch was good value, tasty and varied with plenty of veggie options as well as meat, alongside soft drinks (and a pay extra bar). Probably the only negative would be you have to get a shuttle bus at the end to get back to the start as it’s along a road. The queue was so big and the traffic to jammed that we just doubled back the gardens instead.