Things to Do in San Jose, Costa Rica: Travel Guide to the Capital City

As the capital city of Costa Rica, San Jose has a diverse mix of things to do. It’s the best place in the country for cultural and historical experiences. Founded in 1763, San Jose is now one of the most important cities in Latin America where the majority of the Costa Ricans live and work.

Many travelers brush off San Jose, using it solely as a transit hub to get to the volcanoes and beaches or skipping it entirely. Though a bit rough around the edges at first impression, it’s certainly worth visiting. All it takes is a day or two to discover the gems of San Jose.

If you’re looking for the best things to do in San Jose, Costa Rica, here are our recommendations. Yeison grew up very close to San Jose so you can also find out some of the local hot spots in our guide as well!

This post has been updated March 2018.

What do you want to read first about this town? Click to skip to the section.

• Location
• Getting around
• Things to do
• Day Trips
• Map
• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Safety tips

Location

San Jose Costa Rica map.

San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica in the San Jose province with a population of nearly 300,000. Although many people think San Jose International Airport is in San Jose, it is actually in Alajuela.

Getting Around

This is probably what intimates travelers the most about San Jose: getting around. However finding your way around San Jose is much easier with Uber and new bus routes.

• 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, fast and it’s really not that much more expensive than the bus and it’s usually cheaper than a taxi. We almost never take the bus anymore since Uber drivers pick you up exactly where you are and drop you off right where you want to go. Read our tips for using Uber in Costa Rica and get $10 off your first ride.
• Taxi: Honestly, we prefer Uber to taxis as taxi drivers in Costa Rica are pushy but you can find them everywhere in San Jose. Read our tips for taking taxis in Costa Rica.
• Walk: If you’re staying in the heart of San Jose, you can easily walk to many of the attractions. (Hotel recommendations and safety tips at the bottom of the post). 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.

How to get to San Jose from SJO Airport:

The airport is about 17 kilometers from downtown San Jose. To get to San Jose from SJO airport, you can take a taxi or an Uber or arrange a transfer in shuttle. An Uber/taxi costs about $20 one way. 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 fairly frequently and costs just a couple hundred colones to get to downtown.

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 Ticos getting off work and is when most of the commotion is. There are tons of restaurants and shops. You’ll see locals selling items on the street, street musicians and performers. This is one of the best things to do in San Jose, Costa Rica because you get to experience local life and culture.

Check out what it’s like to walk the avenue in the video below!

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.

Entrance fee for the teatro nacional is $10, open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 AM – 4 PM,  next to the Gran Hotel.

Central Market

The Central Market in San Jose 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 the best place to go souvenir shopping 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!

San Jose Museums

San Jose has several superb museums to learn about the history of Costa Rica. They’re cheap, educational, great for kids and adults and close to each other.

• Jade Museum: This archeological museum has the largest display of American jade in the world. Learn about the jade in Costa Rica and see over 7,000 artifacts and pieces. In the Plaza de la Democracia. Free for children under 10, open Monday – Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. $15 for foreigners.
• Children’s Museum: Formerly a jail, the children’s museum is now a great place for kids with many hands-on exhibitions and presentations focusing on science and culture. Open Tues to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturday and Sunday 9:30 AM to 5 PM, closed Mondays. $4 for foreigners.
• Gold Museum: This museum has a large collection of Pre-Colombian gold dating back to AD 500. Under the Plaza de la Cultura. Open Monday – Sunday, 9:15 AM to 5 PM. $11 for foreigners.
• National Museum: Formerly a fortress, this museum is one of the most important places in Costa Rica due to its significance of the former president Jose Figueres Ferrer abolishing the army in 1948. You can even see the last bullet holes on the side of the building. Open Tuesday to Saturday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM and Sunday 9 AM to 4 PM. $9 for foreigners.

There are a couple more museums such as the Art Museum and La Salle Museum but the ones above are the most popular. The museums aren’t that big so you can spend one day visiting a good handful of them.

Our favorites are the Gold, National and Jade Museum. The Jade Museum opened in 2014 and it has some incredible exhibits to learn about Costa Rican culture and history.

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.

Beer Tour

Costa Rican craft beer is getting more and more popular in Costa Rica so if you love beer, take a tour to sample of the finest in the country. Craft beer is still a small scene, but it’s growing every year. The most popular one is Cervecera del Centro, where visitors can sample up to 5 different craft beers such as Ambar and Pilsen.

Costa Rica’s Brewing Company also offers tours of their factory.

Day Trips

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.

Map

Here is a handy map that has some of the main tourist attractions in San Jose.

San Jose Costa Rica Hotels

• The Gran Hotel: This hotel is right smack dab in the downtown so it’s close to the museums, the national theater, restaurants, banks and shops. Rooms are very nice and this is actually where John F. Kennedy stayed when he visited Costa Rica.
• Holiday Inn Aurola: This Holiday Inn is very nice, with a large indoor swimming pool, a restaurant and bar. All rooms have a great view of San Jose. It’s near downtown and close to all of the attractions.
• Sleep Inn Hotel Paseo las Damas: This hotel is also near downtown and great for one night stays. The location is a bit seedy as it’s next to the famous Hotel Del Rey. I would not walk in that area late at night but during the day is fine.
• 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.
• Costa Rica Backpackers: This hostel is in downtown San Jose and a good cheap place to stay in the city.

If you’re looking for a hotel near the airport, read our post for SJO Airport hotels.

San Jose Restaurants

San Jose is a growing foodie scene with diverse cuisines popping up every month. You can also find some familiar names like Hooters, Outback Steakhouse and Denny’s here. Here are some of our favorite restaurants in San Jose, Costa Rica.

• Posada de las Brujas: This restaurant in Escazu is the ultimate place for local food in San Jose. They have a huge menu full of only traditional Costa Rican dishes beyond the typical gallo pinto and casado and the best part is that it’s cheap. We always get bocas or appetizers because they are huge.
• Chelles: Downtown near the Sleep Inn is Chelles restaurant which has been in business for over 100 years.
• The Market: The Central Market is great if you want a lot of choices because it has all Costa Rican things.
• 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.
• Restaurante Machu Pichhu Excellent Peruvian food. Their seafood is really good.
• Rincon Famoso: Amazing Argentinian grill. The empanadas are one of our favorites.

Safety Tips

1. Don’t walk alone at night and try not to go out past 10 PM. If you want to go out, always take a taxi or Uber. Don’t walk down streets you don’t know because there are several sketchy areas of San Jose you could accidentally turn into.
2. Always keep your belongings close to you and where you can see them.
3. The area around Hotel del Rey is one of the sketchiest due to its reputation with prostitutes. Avoid that area at night.
4. Wear closed toed shoes since the sidewalks are horribly maintained with cracks and holes.
5. When sightseeing, don’t leave your expensive camera out. Put it in your backpack when not using it.

If you like this article, follow us on Facebook for more Costa Rica travel tips and inspiration!

If you’re visiting San Jose for a short period of time, here is a sample 5 day San Jose itinerary.

Read about other Costa Rica guides below!

La Fortuna Costa Rica

Jaco Costa Rica

Tamarindo Costa Rica

Monteverde Costa Rica

There are affiliate links in this post.