Villa Vanilla and Rainforest Spices

Prepare for sensory overload with this half-day vanilla and spice and everything nice tour! Discover the origin and ancient history as well as traditional uses of the world’s most loved spices: vanilla, Ceylon cinnamon, cocoa, allspice, turmeric, cardamom, black and white pepper, to name a few.

Located in the Pacific rain forest overlooking the beautiful Manuel Antonio beach, this certified organic and Demeter biodynamic farm takes great pride in bringing you to the best spices Nature has to offer. In addition to spice, you will be introduced to how a wide variety of essential oil and medicinal plants are cultivated.

Hand pollinated vanilla orchids abound and, if it is pollinating season, visitors learn to fertilize the vanilla flowers themselves by hand. The major crop of this plantation is vanilla, a native to Central America, but many other native aromatic spices and exotic tropical fruits are grown here as well which you will be encouraged to taste, touch and smell.

Your bilingual tour guide will begin at the warehouse where spices are dried and packaged after being harvested. You will then amble along the sensory Rock Garden Trail with its array of pungent bromeliads, tillandsias and epiphytes landscaping a fish pond until you reach a stunning view of the Pacific coast.

In this lovely spot you will learn how to use the many spices grown on this farm as the pastry chef prepares a delicious sampling of gourmet treats and drinks created especially for you. In one review of this tour it was described as “the best foodie tour in Costa Rica.”

Your final stop will be to visit the Spice Shoppe, a famous destination for chefs and visitors alike to buy naturally grown and processed spices, vanilla beans, extract and the highly prized Ceylon cinnamon.

Included roundtrip transportation provided from Manuel Antonio.