San Jose Costa Rica
San Jose Costa Rica, home to the Juan Santamaria International Airport, is generally the starting point to most vacations to this lush tropical Central American country. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica and the country’s largest city with over 1.4 million people living in the center of town and the surrounding suburbs –one third of the nation’s total. Situated in the heart of the central valley at an altitude of 3,773 feet (1,150 m), San Jose Costa Rica is ideal locale and is famed for having one of the best climates of the world with average temperatures around 70 degrees year round. It’s location in a mountainous valley in the middle of the country makes it a good jumping off point to explore Costa Rica’s lush rainforests and a place to cool down after baking at the beach.
Costa Rica’s own San Jose is modern and cosmopolitan when compared to other Central American capitals. The city offers its visitors a wide variety of hotels and accommodations, theaters, museums, restaurants, markets, golf courses, casinos, incredible nightlife and adventure tours. The city’s main points of interest are concentrated in a compact center laid out in a grid, which makes exploring easy. Like most cities in Latin America, San José is built around a central plaza or square called the “Plaza de la Cultura”. The Plaza is the heart of the city’s pedestrian-only shopping zone which spans 8 blocks along the “Avenida Central” or Central Avenue. The Plaza de la Cultura is a gathering point for musicians, street performers and youth – making it an ideal place for people watching and is a great starting point for exploring the capital and it’s museums, churches and points of interest.
Museums in San Jose
There are several museums in the san Jose area, here is a complete listing of the San Jose Museums, compiled as a handy guide.
How much time should you spend in San Jose? With so much to see and do in the capital, you could spend a week here without running out of things to do or getting bored. We would recommend a visit to one of many great city restaurants, browse the San Jose Restaurant guide and explore your oportunities. However, if you only have a week or two in Costa Rica, perhaps a day or two is enough before heading off to the beach, volcanoes or surrounding rainforest.
Most people stay the first and last nights of their vacation in Costa Rica’s capital, which breaks up travel time before and after their International flights.
Although Costa Rica is a small country, its landscape is mountainous and rugged – lengthening travel time to the beach or volcano, so people generally find it more relaxing to stay the first night in town and starting their exploration of the country fresh the morning after they arrive. Likewise, as we recommend arriving to the Juan Santamaría International Airport 3 hours before your flight home, many times it’s best to spend your lat day exploring San Jose rather than in transit back to the International Airport.
