San José, Costa Rica Through Her Eyes: A Superior Guidebook

San José is often just a passing-through destination for tourists on their way to the coast–Even the locals will tell you that San José is “skippable”. I didn’t initially intend on staying in San José, but regardless, my journey led me there for a few days during my trip to Costa Rica. Despite the many people telling me to skip the area, I ended up enjoying my stay in the city. It contains the main airport of Costa Rica and is a convenient central location to have as a home base between your ventures elsewhere.

I only had four days in San José, but I ended up meeting a local boy who was able to give me superior pointers on eateries, nightlife, and activities in & around the area. If I hadn’t met him, I’m not sure that I would have had the remarkable experience that I did. This guidebook includes his personal recommendations which I thoroughly enjoyed, and inside information of my own journey. I’m thrilled to share my explorations with you and navigate you through the bustling city of San José!

When I arrived in San José, I sought out renting a car knowing that many of my intended adventures would take me out of the city. It was my first time renting a car or driving for that matter in another country. I didn’t think the price was too bad, but I did rent the smallest car they offered. I used Europcar for my rental and was offered a 4-day price of $188 with “medium-coverage” insurance. Normally, that would be good enough for me, but because it was my first time driving in another country I upgraded to full coverage for about $100 more to be on the safe side.

Overall, I would recommend getting a car for your stay in San José. It’s a big city, cabs are expensive, and most of the best adventures will take you outside of the city limits. My overall driving experience was good, but I’m also a well-seasoned driver. I will say that most people do not follow traffic laws–You have to be an aggressive & defensive driver. The steering wheels are on the left side which made for an easy adjustment coming from the U.S.

Locals recommended that I use Waze instead of Google Maps for navigation, as apparently it works better. Waze was more accurate for navigating to most places, but always beware of it taking you down troublesome side routes to save you a couple of minutes.

Some of the roads in Costa Rica can be very sketchy, especially if you don’t have 4-wheel drive. I notice this to be even more true the further you get out of the city, but even in San José there are ridiculous numbers of potholes. I still somehow managed to make it work in my tiny Hyundai.

Pro tip: always download your maps for offline use before venturing out of the populated areas.

Avoid getting a parking ticket like I did on my first day and get yourself the parking app used around San José, epark CR. You enter the number of the parking spot marked on the sidewalk, how long you’ll be there for, and your payment information. Then, Voila! No need to worry about the diligent parking police roaming the city. My ticket was only $16 and I never did end up paying it, so we’ll see if they care enough to find me and send me a bill for that amount.

If you want to stay in the city and just explore downtown, sure, San José is walkable. However, safety in certain areas is questionable and I definitely would never recommend walking around after dark, especially as a female traveler. Even the locals aren’t walking around after the sun goes down, which should be telling enough in itself. Always use common sense and trust your gut.

I only stayed in one area of San José, but the local boy I was hanging out with told me I chose one of the best areas to be in–Barrio Escalante. Check out the Airbnb that I stayed in. These apartments were beautiful, right across from a gas station, and near lots of fun things to do. Barrio Escalante is a hip neighborhood

lined with cafes, restaurants, and bars. It’s walkable and has lots of cool street art to check out. I also got a tattoo of a snake jaw from Corazon De Oro Tatuajes per another local’s recommendation. I highly recommend getting a tattoo from Mariano! The piece was high-quality work & quickly done at that.

The local boy I’d met took me out to an astonishing dinner the first night we hung out at Isolina in Barrio Escalante. We shared the steak and lamb dishes and got a bottle of red wine. It was a bit pricey, but it was the best dinner I had during my entire stay in Costa Rica. It was actually the best meal I’d had in a long time…I linked their Instagram above. For the best breakfasts, head to Franco or Cumpanis. At Franco I had their “Breakfast Bun” described on their menu as, “House-made brioche bread, scrambled free-range egg, blend of cheese (swiss and

mozzarella), bacon, and a spicy creamy sauce”–It was to die for. They also have the best coffee. Cumpanis is a bakery that specializes in bread and other treats. There I got a croissant breakfast sandwhich and a macaroon which were equally as delicious! Other places that I didn’t have time to check out, but were recommended to me were: Cafeoteka, Costa Rica Beer Factory, Charles BBQ for burgers, Picnic, Don Wu, and El Novillo Alegre. La Cartonera is apparently a warehouse full of restaurants and bars.

My first full day in San José was one of my favorites. I booked a tour at Hacienda Alsacia which is a Starbucks coffee plantation and research center. It’s about an hour drive from San José. I got up early and got myself some snacks for the road, then made the gorgeous trek out for my 10 AM appointment. I traveled during rainy season in June, so about half my days were pretty gloomy. I found though, that the mornings were typically quite beautiful and the poorer weather rolled around later on. I had an absolutely perfect day for my tour. I started by grabbing a coffee and

pastry at their cafe which overlooked rolling hills of trees and a stunning waterfall. Once the tour started, we were taken in a small group to a back room where we learned about the coffees grown at Hacienda Alsacia and had the pleasure of doing a tasting. Next, we were taken on an hour tour of the farm by a knowledgeable guide who walked us through the entire, labor intensive process of producing coffee. It is really quite fascinating, but not only that, the views no matter where you are on the farm are pure magic. This is a must-do if you are in San José.

Since the Starbucks plantation didn’t take too long of my morning, I decided to hit the La Paz Waterfall Garden next. It’s a doable 30-minute drive from there and parking is free, but expect to pay a $30 entrance fee to the park itself. This miraculous place has all kinds of wildlife to check out including jungle cats, frogs, a butterfly garden, snakes, hummingbirds, and more. Once you’re done observing the animals, the trails lead you down to the 6 natural waterfalls. You might begin

to think as you head down towards the falls, “Am I going to be able to make it back up all these steps?”. No need to worry, there’s actually a bus that runs every 15 minutes back up to the top! The falls were all very beautiful and proceeded one another as you make your way to the bottom. There are many opportunities for picture perfect moments. It started raining hard on me about midway through, but I couldn’t get myself to turn back, I needed to see everything!

This is a gorgeous and near-endless garden displaying many of the local grown botanicals of the area. There is a specialized part of the garden just for orchids which was incredible and quite possibly my favorite part. I also really enjoyed the cactus and Japanese gardens. It again had

rained on me, really hard. Luckily, the gardens provided me with an umbrella and, because the rain didn’t scare this Oregonian off, I had the entire garden to myself! It was truly a unique and lovely experience. The garden is about a 1-hour drive from San José.

This is an abandoned Tuberculosis Sanatarium that is said to be one of the most haunted places in Costa Rica. Not only is it spooky, but rich with history, and covered in modern graffiti art. The Sanatorium sits in the rolling hills of the gorgeous Costa Rican landscape and the drive in itself is worth making. After

completing your tour, head up the hill a bit more and get a traditional lunch at Linda Vista which has a cozy home-feel vibe and overlooks the vistas below. Many people who are in the area also check out Volcano Irazú, a main attraction of the area, however I did not have time during my trip.

Many argue that La Fortuna is worth spending a few days in, and I can totally see why after my day trip there. I will say, it’s a long trek out, but I don’t regret making it even just for the day. It took about 3 hours to get there, not including the stops I made along the way. The first stop was a church made entirely of metal called Parroquia Nuestra Senora De Las Mercedes De Grecia. Then, I stopped at the Ox Cart Factory for another leg break and to get some cheap souvenirs to take back home. La Fortuna is the area surrounding the Arenal Volcano and Cloud Forest. This is a great area to check out the incredible biodiversity that Costa Rica provides, hike, and be up close

and personal to stunning views of the volcano. Since I’d only made a day trip, I decided to do the hike that most intrigued me – The Mistico hanging bridges. This hike took about 2 hours to get through. The bridges were so fun (and slightly frightening), overlooking infinite views of the forest. Birds, monkeys, and insects alike made appearances throughout and you can pay extra for a specialized guide to point out the wildlife more difficult to spot. After the hike, I went to the Baldi Hot Springs to have a drink at the swim-up bar and dinner afterwards at their deluxe buffet. This made for a relaxing reset before the long journey back home.

Barrio Escalante is a great area for safe and hip nightlife. Regardless of being one of the safer areas to go out, still always have someone accompany you and keep your eye on your drinks. I went out a couple of nights in a row and here are the places that I enjoyed most: La Yerbatera which is a speakeasy that is themed around witchcraft. The cocktails are insanely good, and beautiful at that. There was one that was Gin, Lavender, and Rose that I was obsessed with. The decor was

lavish and unmatched by any speakeasy I’d been to before. 10/10 would highly recommend.I also went to Santa Pecado Escalante and loved the margaritas. This bar gave more of the party scene vibe compared to the high class one of La Yerbatera. I think it’s fun to experience both though-I would go back here as well. Other bars that were recommended to me by locals that I didn’t get to try were: Costa Rica Beer Factory, La Fira, and La Cali.

1. Costa Rica was more expensive than I expected. I usually try to travel to places that are inexpensive since I’m young and broke, and I wrongfully assumed that since Costa Rica is in central America that it would be cheap. Prices are similar to America and sometimes even higher. I ended up having quite the credit card bill after my vacation here. Just something to prepare yourself for!
2. Because it was so expensive, I didn’t do as many tours as I would in other countries, and thus it was harder to meet new people as a solo traveler. I ended up going on a date with a local boy I found through Hinge and he gave me the best recommendations for the rest of my trip! Be safe and use discernment, but Hinge can be a great way to meet people abroad. Hanging with locals is

an added bonus!

3. This is not the place to rent a motorbike! The roads are far too dangerous and unpredictable. You’ll see locals riding around, but they have experience with the roads that you don’t. Trying to avoid potholes, navigate in a different country, and potentially looking at your phone to do so is just a recipe for disaster.

All and all, would I go back to San José? In truth, I would say no. However, to be fair, I’m overly picky about the places I would travel back to. I have too many destinations on my bucket list-A place has to be pretty damn outstanding for me to want to go back. I would return to Costa Rica to explore other areas, but I feel like I’ve sufficiently seen the best of San José. Have you been to San José and have further recommendations? Leave a comment down below and share with the community what made you love this city! Have a safe trip & pura vida!