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San Jose and The Central Valley

San Jose, another big and exciting Latin American city is home to two-thirds or more of the Costa Rican population. Founded in 1738 San Jose was built on the profits of the coffee-export business. There is not masses architecturally of note (frequent earth tremors over the years have taken their toll), other than the national theatre, which is very impressive and also the gold and jade museums.

The Gold museum collection consists of 1600 pieces of Pre-Columbian gold work dating from 500 AD to 1500 AD. Information is given on the processing and making of the pieces as well as their social, cultural and religious meanings. There is a bustling market with the all pervading smell of coffee which is definitely worth a wander through and a day here is time spent well.

Between the airport and downtown, you will pass working coffee farms and if you glance up from almost any street in the city and on the surrounding volcanic mountains and you'll see a patchwork quilt of farm fields, most of which are planted with the grano de oro (golden bean), as it is known here.

The Central Valley, just two or so hours from San Jose, is where you can find two national parks, the Braulio Carrillo and the Poas, which house the Barva and the Poas volcanoes respectively, the latter which is still very active. You can walk up to the lip of the Poas volcano, but be sure to arrive by 10 am as otherwise the clouds do pile in and leave you with not much to see…. You can also climb the Barva volcano and you will see wonderful green pastures at its base and majestic cloud forests near its summit. The Central Valley area is also prime river-rafting territory and the rivers Pacuare and Sarapiqui lend themselves to some thrilling adventures on the water.

A lot of the hotels which we recommend are in fact a little outside of San Jose, a short twenty to twenty-five minutes away from the international airport. See below:

Xandari Plantation Inn is about twenty-five minutes from San Jose and built on a coffee plantation. There are 22 spacious and beautifully decorated bungalows with private facilities and good views. Within the tropical gardens, is a modern spa and there are two lovely swimming pools. The restaurant is superb, making use of a range of fresh produce grown in the Xandari’s grounds. More…

The small, yet comfortable Hotel Alta is in the affluent suburb of Escazú, about 20 - 25 minutes from Juan Santamaría Airport. This 23-room hotel's name refers to its hilltop location and from your room you will have a view that is not bad at all. More...

The boutique eco-hotel, Finca Rosa Blanca has been newly renovated and now has 13 suites (two of which are master suites) on seven acres of reforested gardens, with spectacular views of volcanoes, cloud forests, tropical orchards and coffee plantations. More…

The 81-roomed Hotel Bougainvillea is a great choice - perfect if you are looking for a hotel in a quiet residential area, but also not far from downtown (a complimentary hourly downtown shuttle bus will take you in and out of town). The views across the valley from this hillside location are wonderful. More…

All about coffee in Costa Rica…..Today you can wake up and smell the coffee roasting as you wander the streets near the Central Market (Mercado Central). In any cafe or restaurant, you can buy a hot cup of sweet, milky café con leche to remind you of the bean that built San José. More…

Bananas, thought to be a native plant of tropical Asia, was introduced into the Caribbean and then to Central America and Costa Rica sometime after the Spanish invasion. More…

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The Arenal volcano. Visit this area of Costa Rica - click here for more details

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