San José (Costa Rica).
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Overview

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. The undisputed cultural and economic center of Costa Rica's central valley, where most of the population lives, San José is also the most important transportation hub for domestic travel even though the international airport is in Alajuela. Many international visitors bypass San José altogether or spend only the time it takes to change from one bus to another, but its museums, cultural output and the opportunity to meet the "real Costa Rica" make it well worth staying a few days.

Understand

San José is on a plateau in the Central Valley at elevation. It is ringed by lush green mountains and valleys. The population of the Central Valley - which could be described as the San José metro area - is probably half of the whole country. It is served by the primary airport (which is in nearby Alajuela), the University of Costa Rica, most if not all embassies, and many museums, cultural venues, hotels, markets, etc. It is the hub of the country.

During the nineteenth century, San José fought with nearby Cartago over the title of capital and the latter lost out on the title but kept more colonial architecture. Most events in Costa Rican history are tied to San José; it was here that Jose Figueres declared the abolition of the armed forces after winning the civil war in 1948 and whenever Ticos have a grievance that can't be resolved locally, they come to the capital to demonstrate and make their plight known.

Weather in San José varies throughout the year and is affected by Caribbean weather conditions.

Because of its elevation, San José is usually 21-27°C (70-80°F) though it can get chilly at night. The rainy season is from mid April through December. Summer is in January and February; winter includes the rainiest months from June to September.

Get in

There is a local bus stop outside the airport. After arriving you will be directed out of the airport through a single exit on the ground floor. The bus stop would be straight ahead of you on the main road, but first you will have to walk past many taxi drivers, and then loop left around the large car park building to get to the stop. The stop is marked on Google maps as 'Public Bus Station Airport'. It should take less than five minutes to walk there.

Make sure to check the destination on the front of the bus, since buses leave from here to other destinations too. The bus has its own lane for much of the way, making it often a quicker option in rush hour traffic. Under good conditions the journey takes less than half an hour. Try to bring small change for the bus. The bus terminates next to Braulio Carrillo Colina Park in San José. From here you could take a taxi/Uber to your final destination, or there are further local buses.

Uber and Didi work well throughout San Jose but the airport remains an exception as of June 2023. You may be able to find an Uber willing to pick up at the airport (out front at the bus stop or up a level at the departures section), but you might have to wait quite a lot longer than in almost any other location due to Uber's illegality and the presence of taxis and police at the airport.

There is an ATM by the entrance to airport departures, and another right after you exit arrivals, that dispense colones (₡) or US dollars.

There is a bureau de change in the airport.

By bus There are several bus terminals in San José that operate domestically; these are listed at Costa Rica#Get around. It is important to know which bus terminal serves your bus route. Bus stops are usually every few blocks in the city.

International buses typically connect Managua with San José. TicaBus is the only company that also operates in Tapachula, Mexico via San Salvador and Guatemala City; and from Panama City to San José in the south.

There are a few buses a day that leave from David, Panama to San José. At the border, you will get off the bus, have your luggage inspected, get your Panama exit stamp, walk across the border to the Costa Rica immigration, and get your entrance stamp, luggage inspected again, and wait for the bus to get back on. Costa Rica immigration can be strict, and tourists will usually need to provide some sort of confirmation of an onward ticket out of Costa Rica within 90 days of entering. Onward tickets can include a flight out of San José, or a bus ticket coming back to Panama.

Trains have made a comeback in Costa Rica and, after being shut down for many years, several routes have been put back into service using second-hand equipment brought over from Spain and some very ancient wooden carriages that look like they have been taken from a museum. Lines are mostly single-track and level crossings have no lights or protection at all, which has led to several accidents. There's also no signaling. Overall it's an interesting experience if you have the time and it's the best way of getting to Heredia (a lot faster and more comfortable than the bus). There are plans to expand the network. Tickets are relatively cheap; a ride from San José to Alajuela will set you back ₡1005 for example.

For more information see the website of the national railway, Incofer.

The main train stations of San José are named after the coasts they connected to the capital when the rail network covered the entire country.

Get around

By bus Public transport system includes buses, various administrations have mulled some type of light rail for the city but as of mid 2018 there has been nothing more than talks on the subject. Bus lines, maps, schedules and ticket prices are available on Moovit. This is the preferred bus navigation app among locals.

The bus system is reliable, comfortable, extensive, and very cheap. Buses operate on a system of single ride payment. There are no day, week, or month tickets and no transfers.

It is close to useless to give a taxi driver an exact street address or even street name. You have to point out some well-known building, park or hotel close to where you are going. Often there are no street signs and addresses are difficult to find, so be sure you know where you are going or you could get lost very easily. For major landmarks, listed businesses, or sites in Waze, give the exact name of the location rather than a street name or address on Google Maps.

Taxis (and particularly Ubers) may take roundabout routes to avoid traffic in the city center. Minor surface streets have become arteries for traffic in areas where road infrastructure has become inadequate. Fortunately, the grid layout around the city center center makes navigation easier than in the suburbs, where a lack of urban planning is evident. It's possible for an entire trip from one suburb/exurb to another to follow short, residential two-lane roads.

It is also possible to get around by bicycle in San José. If you want to buy a bicycle you find stores in Calle 6 / Av. 5 (Coca Cola) or south of "Avenida Segunda" on the corner or Av. 6 / Calle 4. In the south east corner of plaza Viquez you find a small bicycle store.

That said, streets in the city are not designed for bicycle traffic and roads are frequently congested by vehicular traffic. There is a limited network of bicycle trails in the city's suburbs.

The traffic lights don't have the yellow border around them and can be difficult to see. The city's road network is well utilized by locals (to overcapacity) so don't expect to get anywhere fast. On the other hand, motorcyclists delivering food weave in and out of traffic and travel quickly. If someone is driving you, make sure you clarify the location with that person before leaving, as locals are kind and might guess your intended destination in the hope of being correct.

Renting a car is usually not recommended for first-time visitors to Costa Rica—the hassle and potential for confusion is usually not worth the effort. However, travellers that are adventurous enough or have been to the country before may want to consider renting a car. Traffic can be bad in cities or on mountainous roads, and signs are sometimes non-existent. It can be easy to get lost (especially if you don’t have GPS or high-quality maps) and is tough to get back on track if you aren’t comfortable handling directions from a local speaking Spanish.

The main highway in San José is called "Circunvalación" and it's a ring-road that surrounds all the core areas of the city. It passes through San Pedro on its eastern side, poorer suburbs on the northern and western sides of the city, and Desamparados on its southern side. The traffic on the road can be chaotic, but it's the fastest road within the city by far. Most of the streets within the Circunvalación are surface streets and navigation times are slow during rush hour. The best road for cars in the city center is CR-2, which crosses from west to east.

See

Museo de Oro Precolombino. An underground museum below Plaza de la Cultura. The collection consists of 1,600 pieces of pre-Columbian gold work dating from 500 AD to 1500 AD. Although not of the quality seen in the Andes, the animal pieces are very impressive and make the museum a must-see for those interested in art or history. The museum explains the processing and production of the pieces as well as their social, cultural, and religious meanings. The entrance fee includes the Numismatic Museum and the Temporary Exhibition Galleries, which are inside the same labyrinthine complex. There is a nice museum shop and a tourist office at the entrance.

Museo del Jade. The museum has relocated to a large modern building next to the Artesanal Market. Most tourist maps still show the old location across from Hotel Hemingway, but the new location is 4 blocks away and closer to the Plaza de la Cultura. The brand new complex is now one of the hemisphere's premier museums and is worth the sizable entry fee. It hosts the largest collection of precolumbian jade in the Americas and explains how these impressive pieces were produced. The museum displays a wide variety of other objects made of gold, stone, bone, ceramics, and shells. There is a smattering of objects similar to those at the Museo de Oro (gold pieces) and Museo Nacional (stone spheres and ceramics). You can gain insight into the daily lives of the people in the precolumbian era with numerous bilingual English-Spanish. If you only have time for visiting one museum, this is the recommended choice, albeit the craftsmanship of the pieces at the Museo de Oro is higher.

Museo de los Niños. This is an edutainment museum, and it was designed for Costa Rica's children, all the exhibits are in Spanish only.

Museo Nacional. The museum includes a large butterfly garden (with many morpho butterflies) and a collection of large stone spheres from the Diquis Valley near the Pacific Ocean, a permanent precolumbian exhibition, the barracks, the rooms of the army general and his family, and a couple of temporal exhibits. The museum building is an old fort called Cuartel Bellavista, in this place the Army was symbolically abolished by then president Jose Figueres Ferrer on December 1, 1948, after the last civil war and armed conflict in the country.

Costa Rican Museum of Art. This used to be San Jose's main airport terminal back when La Sabana was the airport.

Museo de arte y diseño contemporáneo (MADC). Definitely the main institution in Costa Rica dedicated to the broadcasting of contemporary art. Information on exhibitions, schedules and admission fees can be found at their website.

Hacienda la Chimba. A historic theme park, of sorts, known for its massive land art, the largest of which is "El Mano" or "The Hand". There is a hike about (or on the longer route) to this massive statue of a hand with several other examples of land art along the way. The trails can get slippery during the rainy season, so make sure to get one of the walking sticks at the visitor center. The town within the park is one of the best examples of colonial architecture in Costa Rica.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens. An hour away from San José you can find lovely trails through primary rainforest that take you past five beautiful waterfalls. The La Paz waterfall gardens also offer a hummingbird gallery, serpentarium, frog exhibit and large butterfly observatory. A restaurant and a hotel (the Peace Lodge) are at the site as well.

Spirogyra Butterfly Garden. Butterflies are kept within an enclosed area. The trails outside the enclosed area become muddy during the winter months (June-September).

Do

The main downtown area is a bustling collection of well-laid out streets filled with bustling traffic and lined with eclectic, historic architecture. On the surface it is a gritty downtown area, but look inside and you'll find friendly people, quirky spots, and the historic side of San José that change your impression. A walking tour is the best way to see this area.

Every Thursday a dozens of young jugglers gather at the and juggle together, often with percussion music. It is a free event in public space. Normally you will be invited to play with them and it's a lovely experience if you like street art. For yoga, check out Downtown Yoga near Parque Morazan, which offers yoga and hooping classes for all experience levels.

There are a lot of tours and local events and doings in and from San José, including coffee tours, rafting (in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí), and canopy tours.

La Sabana. Known as the lungs of San José, La Sabana is the largest park in the city. It has running trails, as well as a number of sports facilities, including football (soccer) and baseball fields, basketball courts, a track, and a rollerskating rink. Find pick-up basketball games here every weekend and holiday, and sometimes during the week.

Cine Magaly. Movie theater featuring films from various countries, Cine Magaly has a long history in San José dating back to the 1970s. It has participated in the European Film Festival.

Melico Salazar Popular Theater. Major theater on the western side of the city center with music concerts and dance lessons.

National Theater. Beautiful theater with a Baroque/Romantic era architectural style and interior art gallery. There is a coffee shop inside followed by eccentric (theatrical) tours, which take half an hour to an hour. Performances and concerts are frequently performed here.

Learn

Costa Rica in general, and San José in particular, is a great place to improve your Spanish language skills. Many people can speak some English and there are many Spanish classes available, including at the Universidad de Costa Rica, and in "immersion" classes in private homes.

Academia Tica Spanish Schools. With campuses in Coronado (San José) and Jacó Beach (Central Pacific), is one of the longest standing schools in Costa Rica and one of the few with accredited programs. It also offers travel experiences, cultural activities and weekly excursions plus travel services. Groups range 2-6 students and special courses are also offered (DELE Exam preparation, Surf & Spanish, Spanish for specific purposes, etc.)

Intensa. In San José, Alajuela and Escazú, offers conversational lessons and home stays.

Universities San José or rather its metro area is host to the most prestigious universities in the country. By far the granddaddy of them all is UCR which includes most Costa Ricans of rank and name among its alumni, including several former presidents and leading figures in business and media.

Buy

San Pedro Mall is a modern mall east of the city; it is three stories high.

Throughout the city, there are many shops with wooden and ceramic souvenirs. The wooden pieces, such as masks, plaques, and other forms of wall art, are all beautifully hand carved as well as hand painted and the artisan usually signs their work with their name and where it was made on the backside. The ceramic pottery and dishware is done in this similar fashion and are available in a variety of designs and colors.

Chietón Morén. Handicraft shop featuring the art of indigenous communities from different parts of the country.

Municipal Crafts Market. One of the best places for getting souvenirs and handcrafted products.

Tienda Eñe. (Website on Instagram.) Clothing store focused on fashion and designer apparel.

Coffee The best coffees have deserved reputations for superb quality. Super markets/grocers and small coffee growers usually have better prices than shops that cater to tourists. Often packaged in 12-oz. sealed bags, you should only purchase roasted, whole beans rather than ground; for epicures, "strictly hard bean" (SHB). They will keep flavor longer until you can store them properly at home (Google for methods), and won't include sugar as often found in Costa Rican ground. Roasted coffee also prevents you from running afoul of agencies such as FDA/APHIS that requires special licensing for importing "green"/unroasted beans (may be considered plant material).

San José hosts coffee festivals throughout each year for local and worldwide coffee producers. These are typically held at convention centers, hotels, or the historic building.

Cafeoteca. Gourmet coffee shop and restaurant where you can watch the staff make each bag of coffee for you. The seating is partially inside and outside and there are pretty gardens here in the heart of Barrio Escalante.

La Mancha. Specialty coffee shop and bookstore in a charming courtyard.

MoKa. Gourmet Costa Rican coffee shop in the northwestern corner of the Central Market.

To the south of San José, there are two towns home to major coffee producers. Santa María de Dota is home to Coopedota, and a few kilometres to the west is San Marcos de Tarrazú, which is home to CoopeTarrazú. In these towns you can purchase coffee from its source.

Eat

Costa Rica is among the more "Americanized" parts of Latin America and you'll find a wide selection of fast food establishments in San José. Locals have a fondness for foreign rather than "typical" (Costa Rican) cuisine and particularly for American cuisine. Even most Costa Rican restaurants will serve pizza, pasta, burgers, and fries.

Be careful with food being sold on the street. It has been found to at times to have contamination from not being washed properly. Fruits and vegetables sold in stores and official markets are safe to eat.

Mercado Central. A very old, interesting and bustling food market, which also contains a number of small restaurants and quick-serve counters for the locals. You will find fresh cooked fish and shellfish, corn based dishes, sopa de pescado (fish soup) and such exotics as "squid in his ink", ceviche (small bits of raw fish "cooked" in lime juice), helado de sorbetera (artesanal local cinnamon ice-cream) and more.

El Lobo Mestizo. Good food with a lot of choice for vegetarians. Try Mesoamerican dishes. Sometimes they do presentations of musicians. Nice staff and atmosphere.

Pupusería Salvadoreña. More food, Costa Rican & Salvadoran, for less money than most other places. Lots of workers grab meals-to-go in the morning. Delivery available.

Restaurante Pollos San José. Cozy place. Very good attention and fast service. You find Cantonese rice, pizza, fried or roasted chicken, beers, chicharrones and casados.

Soda Lima. Nice Peruvian food. Spectacular corvina ceviche. Possibly the best ceviche in the city. Awesome huancaína sauce. Great attention.

Café Rojo. Vietnamese fusion restaurant a couple blocks from Morazán Park. Serves brunch, desserts, and a wide range of drinks.

Colonia. Latin American restaurant a few blocks north of the train station in Barrio Escalante.

Limoncello. Mediterranean cuisine with a wide menu including octopus, fish, and pastas.

Machu Picchu Restaurant. Peruvian food and seafood. Try the causa rellena, ceviche, lomo saltado, ají de gallina and Peru's traditional and landmark drink: pisco sour.

DoMA Escalante. Classy restaurant in Barrio Escalante, down the street from the Dr. Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia Museum. They have an extensive menu of Spanish, Argentinian, French, and Italian wines, along with a smaller (but quality) menu of Italian-influenced dishes such as risotto and ravioli.

La Esquina de Buenos Aires. Upscale Argentinian restaurant with a particularly wide variety of cocktails and mixed drinks. Entrees include pasta dishes such as lasagna and linguini, fish, chicken, and desserts.

Restaurante Grano de Oro. Beautiful restaurant. The entrees are diverse and creative. Don't hesitate to try the soup of the day, even if it sounds less than exciting. Duck is on the menu. Numerous seafood dishes are cooked very nicely, as is the beef and pork.

Restaurante Silvestre. The location of the restaurant is a historic house built in the 19th century. The restaurant itself offers a 7-course tasting menu for 54,000 colones (2025).

Tin Jo. Pan-Asian restaurant featuring Japanese, Thai, Chinese, and Indian food. Don't be put off by its simple exterior. The restaurant is clean, beautifully decorated and offers excellent service.

Drink

Most of the bars/nightlife scene in the city is in Barrio La California, known as "La Cali" for short, and the city center.

Bar La Bohemia. La Bohemia is a classic San José bar, complete with small tapas (called bocas), old men with decades of being regulars, and traveling guitar duos playing for tips. Plus it's dog-friendly. Tip: buy a bottle of wine; it's cheap and better-than-average quality. Closes early some nights. Corner, Art Deco style.

Bar Poás. Photos of regular customers adorn the wall of this dimly lit but friendly bar and restaurant. A decent menu of Gringo and Tico food is available. Try the award-winning Chili con Carne. There's always an interesting group of characters there who are willing to dispense advice about San José and Costa Rica.

San José is a very tolerant city. Most bars are gay friendly. There is a small but vibrant gay life in San José from lesbian bars, to saunas and twink discos.

La Avispa is the oldest gay disco in Costa Rica. Big place with Latin music and dancing, pop. It has the most popular crowd and is recommended if you want to try the local flavor. Sundays late afternoon and evening is the best time to go. Club OH: Huge electronic music place with open bar on Fridays and Saturdays. It has a VIP area with better quality liquors and another DJ. Live drag shows at midnight. Best day to go is Saturday.

El 13. Large historic home, with eclectic decoration and clientele. El 13 has some great thematic nights, as well as the very popular "Planchatón," which features classic campy ballads in Spanish. Hours vary depending on the day.

Sleep

As San José is the undisputed economic, cultural, academic and political center of the country there are plenty of hotels and hostels of all kinds aimed at Ticos and foreigners alike who are here on business or pleasure.

Casa Ridgway. A comfortable Quaker hotel with a shared kitchen and dining area available for use, a great place to meet like-minded travelers, a simple breakfast is included.

Costa Rica Backpackers. Great place to meet other travelers in town, affordable and comfortable hostel, facilities include an outdoor pool, kitchen, free internet and bar. Great place to party!

Hostel Casa del Parque. 40 comfortable beds with real mattresses in dorm style rooms of 6 to 8 beds and one double room. Five full bathrooms with hot water. There is also a common room equipped with cable TV, free internet, and coffee. Excellent hosts, knowledgeable and friendly.

Hostel Casa Colón. Dorms, private rooms, private and shared bathrooms, huge flat screen TVs, big lounge with wire/wireless high speed internet 24/7, video surveillance, international restaurant and cafe-bar, airport shuttle service, free tourist info and travel tips, free maps, free parking, typical Costa Rican breakfast included, plenty of services around the area

Hotel Danubio. Clean and safe and extremely peaceful. You'll get a good night's sleep here without having to worry about all the hippies in CR, free internet/Wi-Fi, and a friendly knowledgeable staff.

Stray Cat Hostel. Laid-back with a colorful, artsy vibe. The simple mixed-sex and female-only dorms have private lockers and bunk beds with reading lights. Breakfast is included. Other amenities include a guest kitchen, and a dining area with vibrant murals on the walls, plus a common lounge and a reading room.

Costa Rica Guesthouse. 23 decorated private rooms with king size beds, semi-orthopedic mattresses and free Wi-Fi access.

Courtyard by Marriott San José. The Courtyard San José is near San José's industrial parks, businesses, international companies and within minutes from shopping, nightlife plaza and restaurants. Spacious rooms, free high-speed Internet, on-site restaurant, outdoor pool and health club.

Hemingway Inn. Former mansion turned into a hotel. Friendly staff. Quiet neighborhood. Safe and secure. Hotel has a small bar and hot tub on the premises. The hotel will organize eco-tours for the rest of Costa Rica. Free Internet service and Wi-Fi.

Hotel Presidente. In downtown San José, on the walking boulevard of Avenida Central and Calle 7 (seven street). Free internet. Buffet breakfast included.

Hotel Santo Tomas. Pleasant bed and breakfast inn, English-speaking staff, single rooms are small, some downstairs rooms quite spacious.

Residence Inn San José Escazu. Complimentary hot breakfast daily, outdoor pool and fully functional gym. The Residence Inn San José also has two meeting rooms.

TRYP San José Sabana Hotel. Centrally located hotel with conference facilities.

Doubletree Cariari by Hilton San José. Distinctive architecture with lots of plants and a great swimming pool.

Hilton Garden Inn San José La Sabana. A modern hotel on the 13th-20th floors of a high-rise building in downtown San José, the Hilton Garden Inn offers a gym, an outdoor pool, a business center, a 24-hour mini market and even free parking in a secure parking garage in the building.

Hotel Fleur de Lys. Comfortable European-style small hotel with eclectic class and grace. Excellent restaurant on site, suites feature jacuzzis.

Hotel Grano de Oro. Converted from a tropical Victorian mansion, the 35-room hotel maintains the warmth and comfort of a private home. Hallways lined with period photographs and original art meander through the building and present lush tropical flower arrangements and luxuriant plants at every turn. The restaurant is beautiful, opening upon a courtyard with a fountain at the center. Service is prompt and efficient, and the staff mostly speak very serviceable, if not near-perfect, English. The rooms are comfortable, but most lack air conditioning which means you will be awakened by bird calls most mornings.

Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton San Jose-Airport. Close to the international airport and many Costa Rican company headquarters.

InterContinental Costa Rica at Multiplaza Mall. Located amid tropical gardens. It has 261 rooms and suites. Each room is equipped with a mini-bar, hair dryer, air conditioning and a system of electronic key. Services : gym, swimming pool, jewelry shop, tennis court, restaurant, bar, conference rooms and gift shop.

Quality Hotel Real San José. Quality Hotel Real San José has 154 rooms, 16 mini-suites and rooms for disabled people. Also it has a restaurant, pool, business center with computers, printers and internet access high speed.

Gran Hotel Costa Rica. Historic downtown hotel built in the 1930s and renovated in 2018. Rooms are spacious and clean with modern furnishings. On-site restaurant, bar, gym.