If you want to check out San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, you can easily do it in 1 or 2 days. It’s not a very big city but there are several excellent cultural and historical things to do in San Jose, Costa Rica.
If you have a day in the city, here are our recommendations for what to do in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Location
San Jose, Costa Rica map. San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica and the capital city of the province with the same name.
Interesting fact: Although many people think San Jose International Airport is in San Jose, it is actually in Alajuela, the province next door. Another interesting fact, San Jose was the third city in the world to get public electricity and one of the first for public telephones.
How to get to San Jose from SJO Airport
The airport is about 17 kilometers ( 10.5 miles) from downtown San Jose. To get to San Jose from San Jose International Airport, you can take a taxi, an Uber or arrange a transfer in shuttle.
An Uber/taxi costs about 8,000 – 10,000 CRC ($14 – 17.50 USD) one way. A private shuttle is $35 USD for 1-4 people from the airport to downtown.
The San Jose International Airport is about a 30 minute drive to downtown San Jose.
Bus
You can also take the public bus. There is a bus stop right outside the airport. Walk down the ramp onto the main street and you will see the bus stop there. It runs frequently and costs just a couple hundred colones to get to downtown.
Getting Around San Jose
- Bus: There are many buses in San Jose, you can get to pretty much anywhere in the city with the public transportation. It’s cheap but it can get super crowded and there are no posted bus schedules. Read our tips for taking the bus in Costa Rica.
- Uber: We love using Uber in San Jose. It’s cheap, works great and is quick. Read our tips for using Uber in Costa Rica and get $10 off your first ride. Didi is another ride share app that works in San Jose.
- Taxi: We prefer Uber but you can find taxis everywhere in San Jose. Read our tips for taking taxis in Costa Rica.
- Walk: If you’re staying in downtown, you can easily walk to many of the attractions. We don’t recommend walking in San Jose after 9 PM if you are by yourself as some parts can get sketchy. Always take a taxi or Uber at night.
Driving Around San Jose
We took a video of us driving around San Jose so you can see what the city is like. The video includes some commentary so you can learn more about the city.
Things to do in San Jose, Costa Rica
Walk Central Avenue
Central Avenue is San Jose’s downtown and it goes straight through. It’s an excellent starting point because there are some museums around and it’s a great for mingling with locals.
If you go around 4-5 PM, you’ll see all the locals getting off work and it’s fun to people watch. Walking through Central Avenue is one of the best things to do in San Jose, Costa Rica because you get to experience and see typical city Costa Rican life.
We personally like to sit in the Plaza de la Cultura and people watch.
National Theater
The Costa Rica national theater is one of our favorite places in San Jose. Take a tour to learn about the theater and see the stunning architecture or watch a performance.
The National Theater entrance fee is $10 USD, open Monday to Sunday, 9 AM – 5 PM. Reservations required.
Restaurante Tiquicia or Ram Luna
This restaurant up in the hills of Escazu has a stunning view of San Jose, the surrounding mountains and nearby cities. They serve traditional food and drinks and on Friday nights, they have traditional performances by the local kids.
This is a wonderful place to see the city lights, eat local food and experience some Costa Rican culture.
Both Restaurante Tiquicia and Ram Luna offer night shows and dances.
Central Market
The San Jose Central Market is a must when in the city. I love the atmosphere of local markets! It’s fun to watch the locals go about their daily life, you can try traditional food and go souvenir shopping.
Most San Jose sightseeing tours stop by this market as it’s one of the most important places in the city.
This is a great place to souvenir shop in San Jose since there are many stalls. There are also many restaurants in the market so if you want to try a local favorite, head to Soda Tapia. It’s been in the market for over 100 years!
Municipal Craft Market
For more unique hand made local souvenirs, head to the Municipal Craft Market. They have dozens of local vendors selling their artisanal products.
San Jose Museums
San Jose has several superb museums to learn about the history of Costa Rica. Due to COVID, you will need to make reservations/purchase tickets beforehand. Make sure to check opening hours.
- Jade Museum: This archeological museum has the largest display of American jade in the world with over 7,000 artifacts and pieces. In the Plaza de la Democracia.
- Children’s Museum: Formerly a jail, the children’s museum has hands-on exhibitions and science and culture presentations.
- Gold Museum: This museum has a large collection of Pre-Colombian gold dating back to AD 500. Under the Plaza de la Cultura.
- National Museum: Formerly a fortress, this museum is one of the most important places in Costa Rica since it’s where former president Jose Figueres Ferrer abolished the army in 1948.
Metallic Building
Architects and sightseers can’t miss this unique building in San Jose. Designed by a Belgium architect and inspired by the Eiffel tower, the building is now a children’s school.
The funny thing about this building is how it was put together as it came with barely any instructions! If you examine the school closely, you’ll see numbers and letters which helped the workers figure out how to put it together.
This is one of the few free things to do in San Jose.
San Jose, Costa Rica Map
Here is an interactive Google map with the attractions mentioned above. Click the left bar to open the categories.
Sample Itineraries for One Day in San Jose
Here is our recommended itinerary for one day in San Jose. This can easily be done on your own.
10 AM Morning guided tour to the National Theater
11-1130 AM After the tour, sit in the Plaza de la Cultura to people watch for a little bit.
12 PM Have lunch and spend an hour or two souvenir shopping at the Central Market. Also get an ice cream at the market.
2 PM Stop by the Municipal Craft Market for more souvenir shopping. Can check out the San Jose Cathedral on the way. Or head to the Jade Museum or Museum of Gold in the afternoon.
330-4 PM A coffee and cake at Spoon in downtown San Jose on Second Avenue
Head to hotel to relax and freshen up
Uber to dinner. 11.47 Aranjuez is very good or you can go to Barrio Escalante and pick a restaurant there.
For 2 Days
If you have two full days in the city, here is what we recommend for day 2.
Breakfast at your hotel or if breakfast isn’t included, get breakfast at Soda Tapia
Around 10 AM, Uber to La Sabana Park. Walk the trails, see the lake and enjoy the nice weather. Also visit the Museum of Costa Rican Art to see the exhibits and old airport.
For lunch, there’s a bunch of restaurants and fast food around. Highly recommend getting a Pops ice cream afterwards.
After lunch, Uber to the Simon Bolivar Botanical Garden to walk through the gardens and see their small animal center.
Uber back to your hotel. Rest, freshen up.
For dinner, we recommend Ram Luna or Restaurante Tiquicia for beautiful city views. And hopefully you can visit on one of the days they have the dinner shows.
For More Days
If you plan to use San Jose as a homebase or have more days in the city, here is a sample 5 day San Jose itinerary.
Guided San Jose City Tour
There are several tour companies that offer San Jose city tours. They’ll take you around to the highlights of the city such as Parque Morazan, a couple of museums, the Catholic church, the central market and other points of interest.
For a full day of cultural and fun, we recommend to do the San Jose city tour and then the Ram Luna or Restaurante Tiquicia at night. The City tour is in the afternoon and they’ll take you straight to the restaurant afterwards.
Get a discount off the San Jose city tour here! The tour is called San Jose Explorer and you can also find Ram Luna and Restaurante Tiquicia on the list.
San Jose Day Tours
Just one hour away from San Jose are several volcanoes, waterfalls and other natural attractions. As a result of San Jose’s great location, there are plenty of awesome day trips where you can go ziplining, a boat cruise to an island and hike up to a volcano crater!
A couple of our favorite day trips from San Jose are Tortuga Island (get $10 off the tour here), Rio Pacuare white water rafting (get $10 off the tour), Doka coffee tour and Irazu Volcano.
Want some recommendations for the best day trips? Check out our post 7 day trips from San Jose. You can also get our San Jose day tours discount here to save some $$!
San Jose, Costa Rica Hotels
- The Gran Hotel: In downtown and close to the museums, the national theater, restaurants, banks and shops. Now part of Hilton and very nice.
- Hotel Presidente: A very nice modern urban hotel right in downtown. Has a very funky decoration and is pet friendly with standard rooms and concept rooms.
- Holiday Inn Aurola: This Holiday Inn has a large indoor swimming pool, a restaurant and bar. All rooms have a great view of San Jose. Near downtown.
- Adventure Inn: Great option if you need a place near the SJO airport. Beautiful little inn with excellent breakfast. Has a gym, office and restaurant. Get 10% off your booking in the link.
- Hotel Santo Tomas: Small cute hotel near downtown San Jose with a wellness center and anti aging clinic.
- Hotel Aranjuez: Good mid range/budget option for a hotel in downtown San Jose. They have an amazing restaurant.
- Fauna Luxury Hostel: This luxury hostel has pods dorms and private rooms. It also has a co-working space, pool, rooftop, restaurant and game room. In Escazu.
- Hotel Balmoral: This is a very nice and newly renovated hotel near downtown. They have a restaurant and gym with standard rooms and apartments.
- Selina: They have a hip co working environment and private rooms.
Vacation Rentals
There are also a ton of Airbnbs in San Jose. We actually like to stay in a condo tower because it has secure parking and a guard.
We’ve stayed at Ambar Torre Condos, Nunciatura flats, QB SkyHomes, Condominio Vistas del Robledal, Apartamentos Witite and Azena Towers. The only thing to note is if you stay at an Airbnb condo tower, tour companies will have you go to the nearest hotel for the pick up and drop off point since they can’t pick up at Airbnbs.
If you’re looking for a hotel near the airport, read our post for SJO Airport hotels.
San Jose Restaurants
Here are some of our favorite restaurants in San Jose, Costa Rica. Barrio Escalante is the best neighborhood for food. Uber Eats and Globo work in San Jose.
- Posada de las Brujas: This restaurant in Escazu is one of our favorite places for local food in San Jose. Big portions, very good prices.
- The Market: Has several local restaurants.
- Craic Irish Pub San Jose: Irish pub with fish and chips and good craft beer.
- Stiefel Pub: One of the best places for craft beer and bar food in San Jose.
- Taste of India 506: In Escazu Village, very good Indian food.
- Silvestre: Amazing fine dining restaurant, same owner as Don Rufino in La Fortuna.
- Restaurante Machu Pichu Excellent Peruvian food. Their seafood is really good.
- Rincon Famoso: Amazing Argentinian grill. The empanadas are one of our favorites.
- 11.47 Aranjuez: For fine dining, this is an excellent choice. They offer gourmet Costa Rican fusion food and is one of our favorite restaurants in Costa Rica. Reservation only.
- Cafe Franco: Chill cafe spot with lots of pastries, great coffee and vegan/vegetarian options.
- Zaika: Gourmet Indian Cuisine
Safety Tips
San Jose, Costa Rica is generally safe during the day but there are some places we recommend staying away from and things to keep in mind.
Don’t walk alone at night and try not to go out past 10 PM (especially alone). If you want to go out, always take a taxi or Uber. Never walk down empty streets.
Face masks are required indoors at all establishments.
If you are lost or feel unsafe, go into a safe public area (supermarket, gas station, business) and ask the employees to help you. Most city Costa Rican speaks a degree of English.
In case of emergencies, the emergency line is 911 and they have an English speaking option.
Don’t wear beach clothes in the city. You should also wear good shoes. Sidewalks and roads have a ton of cracks and holes.
When purchasing things, never take out all the cash in your wallet. Take out only the amount needed. If you use your credit card, always keep an eye on it, never let it leave your sight.
Always keep your belongings close to you and where you can see them. Never hang your purse or backpack on the back of your chair or put it underneath. Always put it somewhere you can see it at all times.
The area around Hotel del Rey is one of the sketchiest due to its reputation with prostitutes. Avoid that area at night.
Don’t leave your expensive camera out. Put it in your backpack when not using it.
Read Other Costa Rica city guides below!
La Fortuna, Costa Rica: Main town and tourism hub near Arenal Volcano, famous for adventure, wildlife and nature
Jaco, Costa Rica: Biggest and most developed beach town, only 1.5 hours from San Jose. A popular surfing beach.
Tamarindo, Costa Rica: The main surf town in the North Pacific (Guanacaste province). Popular for backpackers and families, has good nightlife and lots of beautiful beaches around
Monteverde, Costa Rica: Small farming town up in the cloud forest. Famous for nature, hanging bridges, ziplining and birdwatching
Alexandra Rose says
So grateful to find your blog. My son and I are currently in Costa Rica and made the mistake of staying in San Jose for four days. We already walked everywhere, did the market, ate out, walked by the museums and now honestly feel lost and bored. We will be in monteverde in 3 days but already have this booked. Anywhere you could recommend thats not too far (we have a car) that is interesting.
Sammi says
If you haven’t gone inside the museums, I would go inside and take a visit, at least the Jade and GOld as those have some very interesting displays and artifacts.
For a good food experience, Barrio Escalante is super fun and has a lot of variety.
I am not positive if they’re open for visits but the Toucan Rescue Ranch is in Heredia, not terribly far and you can visit them to check out their animal rescue center, it’s one of the most highly regarded centers in Costa Rica and they used to have tours (not sure for COVID but I think they’re re-open except you need to make reservations).
I know it’s rainy season and it’s been raining at nights but during the day, you can check out MIrador Tiquicia or Ram Luna, they’re both local Costa Rican restaurants up in the mountains outside the city with a super nice view of San Jose.
I also recommend to check out Cartago, it has the country’s biggest basilica and it is a gorgeous building. Again, not positive if outside visitors can go inside anymore for COVID but nearby in Cartago, they also have an orchid garden (Lankester) that you can walk the trails and see their flowers, guided or non guided.
Jo says
We are flying in San Jose at 5pm and we and to head out to la fortuna right away. Do you think that’s ok or should we stay a night at San Jose? We have a tight schedule and want to start off going to la fortuna. Thanks! Love all of your suggestions!
Sammi says
I would personally stay a night, it could take you about an hour to get through immigration and customs and then to get the car, and pretty much when that’s all done you will be right in rush hour. And its dark by 6 PM everyday and right now in rainy season, it has been raining in evenings and nights and we don’t recommend to drive that route at night especially in rainy season. I would definitely get a hotel close to the airport that night but get your car when you land so you can leave early in the morning right away.
Brian d Richards says
I traveled to Costa Rica about 40 years ago when I graduated from college, and have seriously considered “retiring” in San Jose or nearby. I remember when the gold museum was on the top floor of a bank in central San Jose…..It’s a great museum by the way. Thank you for producing this very nice website. It is quite helpful. Brian
Sammi says
You’ll have to visit again to see the changes, it’s a very nice small museum! 🙂
Gail & Dick says
Hello Yeison & Don. Love your blog & pictures. My boyfriend and I are planning a 2 week vacation in Costa Rica in mid April (after Easter). We are going to Tortuguero & La Fortuna. Do you recommend renting a car from San Jose to go to La Fortuna? We will spend the last couple of nights in San Jose before heading back to Cape Cod Massachusetts. Any advise on the rental would be appreciated!
Sammi says
Hello, I would definitely rent a car so you can have more time and be on your own schedule. It’s not a very hard route to drive (you can see what the drive is like in this post: driving San Jose to Arenal).
Lucy says
Hello Samantha and Yeison!
First of thank you for being such a great help with planning my trip to Costa Rica. The information you’d provided about Costa Rica just gets me more excited!
I did have a few questions I emailed you about and I haven’t heard back is there anyway you can still help me?
Sammi says
Hi Tony, you can definitely do all of that from San Jose. For rafting, the best one is the Pacuare river. Rios Tropicales runs the white water rafting tour to Pacuare and you can read our post on it here and we have a $10 discount for them here
For Ziplining, you can go to the San Luis zipline or the Rainforest Adventures zipline. Both are really nice. If you’re interested, we work with Expediciones Tropicales who offers both activities as tours and we have a small discount with them which you can get here
As for sky diving, I know Costa Rica Sky Dive does it out of Puntarenas which is only about a 1.5 hour drive from San Jose and is easy to get to from the city.
As for Airbnbs, we recommend to get one that’s in one of the new condo towers as they have tight security and in good locations such as around La Sabana.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Tony says
Hi, I am traveling to San Jose in February with a group and I have extended my stay by 3 days. I would love to go ziplining, water rafting and sky diving on my extra days. Could you recommend where I can do all of these things? I am also looking for an Airbnb to stay the 3 nights I will not be with the group but I am having a hard time knowing where it will be safe yet near things to do; could you offer me some guidance please?
Elizabeth says
We’ve heard from a local that the area around the children’s museum is unsafe. I lived here 10 years ago and don’t remember that being the case- in fact I went to university not far from there. Do you know how unsafe the area is and if we should avoid it altogether?.
Sammi says
Hi Elizabeth, to be honest I haven’t either and neither has Yeison. We actually went there last year and it was fine during the day. It’s usually just the area around Hotel del Rey and even the Parque de Morazan is not that bad anymore either. I’m guessing that you just need to taxi/Uber there instead of walking and don’t go there late at night. I will have to ask Yeison’s family in Heredia if they have heard anything since we haven’t yet either!
Sarah Smith says
We are winding down our 2 week stay in this beautiful country in San Jose! It has been a fabulous 2 weeks! We already have decided we will return sooner than later. We decided to spend our last day prior to flying out in San Jose. I was very much looking forward to visiting the Central Market tomorrow (Sunday) prior to flying home on Monday. HOWEVER….the Market is closed on Sunday. Please remember that if you are thinking of visiting the Market on a Sunday.
Sammi says
Aw that’s a bummer! I’m glad you had a great time in Costa RIca though. Hopefully you can visit the market next time!
Ruthie Turner says
Costa Rica is on my travel list to visit! Love reading about it and the pictures are beautiful. I will for sure contact you once I plan my trip there.
Sammi says
Hi Ruthie! I hope you can come visit one day! It is so close from Florida!
Don says
Nov. 21, 2016……….Looks like a possible hurricane heading for the northern part of Costa Rica for later this week. I have never been to San Jose but enjoyed reading about it and seeing the pictures. I will have to visit there on my next trip to Costa Rica. I enjoy reading your blog.
Stay safe there.
Sammi says
Hi Don! I saw that too, it’s category 1 so not extreme, but will definitely stay safe! Thanks for reading the blog Don 🙂