Exploring Costa Rica Guidebook

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SAN JOSE

IF you're heading to Costa Rica's beaches, rainforests, cloud forests or

volcanoes, chances are you will travel through San José. You can

catch a glimpse of real Tico day-to-day life in this small, walkable city.

SAN JOSE LODGING

SAN José has lodging for every taste and budget. The following are

listed by price. Check sections on nearby districts La Sabana/-

Rohrmoser and Los Yoses/San Pedro/Curridabat for lodging within

an easy bus/taxi ride of downtown.

SABANA, PAVAS, ROHRMOSER

LOS YOSES, SAN PEDRO, CURRIDABAT

HOME to the political and cultural elite, Barrios Los Yoses, Dent and Escalante are San José's upper east side: elegant residential areas peppered with embassies, fine restaurants, boutique hotels, cultural centers and galleries. 

ESCAZU, SANTA ANA, CIUDAD COLON

ESCAZU has become a Mecca both for those seeking an affluent,  modish lifestyle and those searching for the tranquility of rural surroundings and cool mountain air. This western suburb of San José, still maintains three very distinctive communities. San Rafael's main thoroughfare continues west to Guachipelín, and has expanded at a mind-boggling rate. Prosperity abounds as shopping plazas, trendy boutiques, bars and a plethora of restaurants spring up overnight.

ALAJUELA

FOUNDED in 1782, Costa Rica's second city still maintains the  feeling of a rural town. Land Rovers, saddle shops and rustic restaurants share space with Internet cafes and a championship soccer team.

HEREDIA

MOUNTAIN roads wind along steep slopes, through cool cypress forests, and down into the hot valley, connecting a series of charming rural towns, each with its own plaza, church, and, of course, soccer field. Welcome to Heredia. Birthplace of current President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oscar Arias and home to three universities, Heredia is known for its quiet ways, mountain cabins, and famous coffee plantations, a lovely place to cool your sunburn after a week at the beach.

CARTAGO

CARTAGO, a perfect day trip from San José for those seeking Costa Rican history, splendid churches, ruins, volcanoes and agricultural regions that produce the best potatoes in Costa Rica.

CARTAGO-PARAISO

Cartago, once the capital of Costa Rica, is nestled below Irazú Volcano National Park, southeast of San José and is home to Costa Rica's national religious shrine, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels. Each year on August 2, thousands of devotees make a pilgrimage from all over to pay homage to La Negrita, the country's miracle-working patron saint. The newly developing city offers the visitor historical ruins, several churches to explore and breathtaking views from the top of Irazú Volcano.

OROSI VALLEY