San José Urban Tours — Local services in Carmen

For female solo travelers - please ask for an additional form of contact when booking with this group as they will not check the chats in the TripAdvisor/Viator app.

I was running late and I messaged the tour guide through the app so they would be aware that I was coming. Before the event they sent me a picture of green men sculptures and I understood that as the place where we were meant to meet. I get to that spot a few minutes before 3:10PM (which was their cut off point) and I see a group there and I introduce myself and tell the guide I’m here for the tour. Then we start walking.

About 20 minutes into this tour, the guide tells me goodbye and that his group was leaving for the next segment of the tour. I took my phone out and showed him my reservation and he said he already knew I wasn’t part of the group. So why take me along when I said I was here for a tour? He called the correct tour group and left a voicemail. He then told me that I had to stay put because it was highly possible that I could get kidnapped in that area.

I sent an email to this tour group and continued to call them until they answered. The man said there was nothing that he could do and that I should try and find them myself. I said no I would not do that because I was already warned that this was not a safe place for me and asked if they could send somebody for me, he said no.They eventually sent me the information to my email but I had already left since I did not feel safe.

Nowhere did it say that they would not be checking the messages in the app. This is not my first time using the app and I have never ran into a safety issue like this.

Yes I should have asked more questions to the wrong tour guide but why did he take me along? If the correct tour guide would have checked my messages and responded to them this could have been avoided.

Edit: My communication with this tour group started before the time of the event. They were the ones that never responded to me through the app which was the only form of communication that was available when making this reservation. If I have to find an alternative form to contact you, that already makes things very complicated and not good for the customer. Eric, check the messages in your TripAdvisor/Viator apps moving forward, my messages have still been left unanswered. And no I did not...

Great tour company. I booked a food tour in San Jose at 1pm Oct 1 2022, I booked and paid it on Trip Advisor in advanced. It was also my first day in Costa Rica, I had arrived the night before at 11:45pm.

-Was met by Angel at the central bank, where the coffee bean farmers statues are. The other lady on our tour arrived soon after.

-Because it was raining, we went to the closest market instead of the farther away one first, so we went to the central market, a great tour of all the "soda" shops, and other normal shops for the culture. We tried some interesting ice cream in a one of a kind ice cream shop too. Picked up empalatas while here.

-we went to the coffee house after, which had a old style coffee roaster, and sampled coffee. We ate the empalatas too, i had vegetarian, it was surprisingly good.

-We went to a produce market, where we tried coconut, a sweet lemon, a really sour lemon, and a few other things i cant name and wont try, but they were all good, even the "under ripe" tasteing one. Its nice to see hot peppers too, sometimes hard to find in some countries (Dominican republic).

-We saw a Church and A famous theater, the one with the statue put outside to protest admission for all.

-Walked over the gold museum and was at their tour office.

-Upstairs we tried another dish in banana leaf, and we made mozzerlla empalatas.

-The Guide was great the whole time, he knows many of the sellers personally, gets samples for us easily, knows alot about the local culture and food, and san jose in general.

-Angel, the Guide, also answered any questions we had about not only the food and tour, but the country in general.

-The guide spoke english very well.

-They got me vegetarian food, they asked at the beginning if we have allergies or preferences, and i said vegetarian.

-I didnt buy anything from their office, but they have some souvenirs

This tour prepared me for my 2 weeks in Costa rica, one of the hotels had all meals included, but when i got there it was a small soda kitchen, with no menu, and i ended up eating more vegetarian empalatas, as well as other fruit and food they served, and i enjoyed them because i already tried them with a guide.

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Daniel our tour guide was fantastic. Along with Erik who prepared a gourmet meal for 9 of us at the cozy and upscale Noema restaurant. We walked through the central market area mostly and enjoyed the historical architectural sights against the backdrop of moderm buildings. This tour is one I would strongly recommend to anyone who is pressed for time in San Jose and is interested in a gourmet dinner experience as well as familiarity with a typical Costa Rican marketplace. The tour includes a visit to a coffee shop where you make a coffee cocktail and have a chance to shop for delectable and reasonably priced chocolates. Erik assured me that they wouldn't melt as the 70% cocoa was pure and sure enough he was right. It is leisurely and very interesting with a knowledgeable and experienced guide such as Daniel who enjoyed sharing the history of Costa Rica over dinner. It is not necessary to wear covered shoes for this leisurely walking tour as tge description suggests. The afternoon is hot!! But keep in mind the temperature may drop 20 degrees at sunset and a light sweater would be a good idea. I am going to keep the 4 course dinner menu/drinks a surprise. Just the dinner itself and the hospitality was beyond...