Local Flavors and Spice Garden Guided Tour

Approx. 3.5 hours

Central Pacific

TRIP DETAILS

Local Flavor Experience Take a fun and educational tour of the local food scene: how dishes are made, where organic ingredients come from, and how to make recipes at home. Your first stop will be the farmers' market in Quepos, where you can peruse the stalls and choose the ingredients for your lunch with the help of the guide based on the customized menu. You will be greeted by our team when you arrive at our exclusive ranch and dining area in the quaint town of Londres. They will continue by guiding you through our organic garden to select some meal-enhancing flavors, colors, and textures. Now onto the preparation, which will be guided by our skilled local cooks. Experience hand-made corn tortillas, exotic "ceviches" made with plantains or bananas, old-fashioned rice cooked in a tomato sauce, chicken in a hearty tomato sauce, "picadillos" made with minced meats, vegetables, and spices, and more by participating in the kitchen. Your curiosity about Costa Rican regional flavors will be piqued as soon as you sit down for your meal. Think up creative ways to recreate the dish at home using seasonal ingredients. You will have some free time to explore the ranch and walk down to the Naranjo River, where you can take a refreshing dip if the weather cooperates. The evening tour is canceled in May, September, October, and November due to inclement weather. Spice Garden Take a fun and educational tour of a nearby farming operation: in a single tour, learn how organic vegetables, coffee, cacao, and other ingredients are grown, processed, and used in local dishes. At the ranch, have a traditional Costa Rican lunch and free time to explore. a true experience of farm to table. You will be greeted by our team when you arrive at our exclusive ranch and dining area in the quaint town of Londres. They will continue to lead you through our spice plantation and organic garden. Discover the harvesting and processing of coffee, the making of chocolate from cacao, and the cultivation of ranch-grown spices like vanilla, cinnamon, and pepper. Corn tortillas made from scratch, exotic "ceviches" made with plantain or banana, old-fashioned rice cooked in a rich tomato sauce made with chicken and potatoes, "picadillos" made with minced meats, vegetables, and spices, natural juice, and artisanal wine are all on the menu. You will have some free time to explore the ranch and walk down to the Naranjo River, where you can, if the weather permits, take a refreshing dip.

Tour duration: 6 hours

Other Details

  • The month of May, Sep, Oct, Nov the evening regular tour do not operate due weather conditions.

What’s included

  • Bilingual certified guides
  • Transportation from/to Manuel Antonio Hotels
  • Beverages and lunch (or dinner if is a tour at the afternoon).

What to bring

  • Camera
  • Sunscreen
  • Walking Shoes
  • Insect repellent
  • Sunglasses
  • Comfortable clothes

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Reviews

Some may think us crazy or irresponsible but we journeyed to Costa Rica for Christmas! We used Find My Costa Rica services over a four week period from Dec 11 2020 to Jan 10 2021 for ground transfers (one being to a Pacific coast beach house in Playa Grande) and a local Chocolate Tour, due to Covid-19 we were of course limiting our public activities. We used this service for 7 different transfers. we always found the drivers and guides attentive to Covid protocols on top of just being as friendly as all Costa Rica people are. This being our third trip to the La Fortuna area we have met some of these people before but in better circumstances. The most important issue I want to write about here is from Dec 30 when we heard the Canadian government was putting in place the requirement of having a NEGATIVE PCR test before we could return home. In a panic we contacted FMCR on the 31st and over the next few days they made full arrangements for tests for my wife and I. FMCR provided transfer to and from Ciudad de Quesada where the lab was from El Bosque where we were staying during this portion of our trip. Given a time frame requirement of within 72 hrs before flight (on the Jan 10), the New Year holiday/weekend closure of the nearest lab and that lab being an hour drive away into the mountains we were very anxious and worried. However as with any previous interactions we have had with FMCR or associated companies our worry was unnecessary, all went flawless. Of course FMCR could not guarantee us the NEGATIVE result we needed but they were a large part of our both results being that way through their professional and clean services in our transfers. Thank you Find My Costa Rica and we will see you once again soon.
Hank Bartlett
Hank Bartlett
2021-01-11
Such an incredible experience with Find My Costa Rica! My partner and I gave a rough timeline, and a budget, and in return had a completely custom 2 week vacation planned for us with an ideal balance of guided adventure, self adventure, and complete relaxation. Costa Rica literally has it ALL & Find My Costa Rica will help ensure you experience all the best parts! They seamlessly organized airport transfers even when flying in and out of different airports, and all the hotel transfers. They booked our excursions and guided tours of wildlife reserves, volcano hikes, hot springs, etc all with clear and concise communication and also within our budget. All tours booked with FMC were phenomenal; the guides were professional and so very knowledgeable. Thank you for making our experience in Costa Rica so memorable!
Ashley Holmes
Ashley Holmes
2020-04-13
Ginger’s Yoga Adventures has used Find My Costa Rica for four years. Everyone is very knowledgeable, easy to work with and responsible. They are responsive before and during the trip and help coordinate every detail. We have had much success with our retreats and it is due to the expertise of Find My Costa Rica. We highly recommend them for any of your travel needs or group events. Thanks to Find My Costa Rica we are planning our next retreat in beautiful Costa Rica.
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
2020-02-28
We had a large group with ages from 4 up to 85. Find My Costa Rica helped us plan and book all of our hotels and tours. The kids learned to surf and we all did the zip-line. Our favorite part was the Sloth Tour -- Marcos made it so much fun, it was amazing. It is so much easier to have them book it all than getting all the hotels and tours on your own, and the price was a little less than if I had done all the work. One stop shopping is definitely the way to go!
Scuba Nadine
Scuba Nadine
2020-02-26