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Voykit pocket guide · Costa Rica
San José
San José is a one- or two-day city: do the museums and the market before 13:00, before the daily rain, take a booked car after dark, and move on to a volcano or a coast the next morning.
San José is the arrival hub, not the reason to come: the sights are small and close together downtown, the weather turns wet after midday in the green season, and the streets empty at night. The trips that go wrong stay for four nights or walk downtown after dark. Four clusters cover a good first day: the downtown museums and market, Barrio Amón for a quiet bed, Barrio Escalante for dinner, and La Sabana park for a museum and a soda.
- Country
- Costa Rica
- Best months
- Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · Dec
- Time zone
- America/Costa_Rica
- Stay
- 1 days: Downtown museums and market, dinner in Escalante
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CRC
- Money
- Keep ₡20,000 in small notes for sodas, taxis and parking; withdraw at ATMs inside banks or malls, not on the street.
- Daily spend
- Budget ₡25,000–40,000 excl. bed · Mid ₡40,000–80,000 excl. bed · High ₡80,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Kölbi, Claro and Liberty sell SIMs at SJO and in towns; passport required.
- Emergency
- All emergencies 911 · Tourist police 911 · Red Cross 128
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · US-style plugs.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: 10% service is in the bill; extra optional.; Guides: US$5–10 per person per tour.; Shuttle drivers: US$2–5.
- Water
- Tap water is safe in most of the country, including San José; drink bottled on parts of the Caribbean coast and in remote areas.
- Toilets
- Western toilets; put paper in the bin in many places.
Get in
By air
- Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)
- SJO to San José: one booked car or an official airport taxi, 30–70 minutes for about 20 km — the risk is not the ride but a hotel with no night desk.
Get around
Walk inside a cluster; booked car or app taxi between clusters.
- Passes
- No pass. Short rides downtown are cheap; use the meter (the red taxis) or an app.
- Late at night
- No metro; buses thin out after dark: use an app or hotel-booked car.
See and do
01Museo del Oro Precolombino
A pre-Columbian gold museum under Plaza de la Cultura: 60–90 minutes, indoors and dry.
02Mercado Central
The old covered market with sodas, coffee and crafts: 30 minutes and a cheap lunch; watch your bag.
03Teatro NacionalTeatro Nacional de Costa Rica
The 1897 opera house on Plaza de la Cultura: worth a 30-minute look inside and a coffee in its café; go in the morning.
04Museo de Arte Costarricense
The national art museum in the former airport terminal: an hour of paintings and sculpture, then a walk to the lake.
Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.
Eat
- Soda Tapia
- A long-running soda beside La Sabana park: a simple lunch after the art museum; go outside the noon peak.
- Sodas in the Mercado Central
- Counter-style local lunches (casado, soup) at the market's soda stalls: go before 12:30 for a seat and cheap plates.
Sleep
- Barrio Amón
- First night: quiet heritage streets, hotels with 24-hour desks and a door a car can reach; downtown is a 12-minute walk by day.
- Barrio Escalante
- Food-first nights: restaurants at the door, small hotels and guesthouses; check the desk hours before you book a late arrival.
Language
Spanish, with 'usted' used even among friends in much of the country and 'mae' as the everyday word for 'dude'. English is widely spoken in tourism; Limón Creole on the Caribbean coast.
- 'Pura vida' means hello, thanks, fine and goodbye.
- Addresses use landmarks ('200 m north of the church'); use Waze pins instead.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: 'Buenas' and a handshake; cheek kiss among friends; avoid: Skipping the greeting
- Conflict: Stay polite and indirect; avoid: Raised voices
- Time: Be on time for tours; avoid: Expecting social events to start on time
- Nature: Stay on trails, keep quiet; avoid: Feeding animals
Red lines
- Ask before photographing people, especially market vendors.
- Cross at lights and crosswalks: drivers do not stop for pedestrians reliably.
Scams (Costa Rica page)
- Flat-tyre 'helpers': Drive to a busy petrol station before stopping; keep bags locked in.
- Rental insurance add-ons at the desk: Book a quote that includes mandatory liability; bring the card-issuer CDW letter.
- Unofficial 'parking guards': Small tip is normal; never leave valuables in the car.
- Fake park-ticket sellers: Buy only on the SINAC site; guides are licensed with ID.
- Currency switch: Check whether the price is in dollars or colones before paying.
One and two days
1 day
The first day of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Teatro Nacional, the gold museum, a 12:30 market lunch
- 09:00Teatro Nacional
- Museo del Oro Precolombino
- 12:30Lunch around 12:30 (Mercado Central)
- Back to the hotel by 15:00, before the rain; dinner in Escalante by car.
2 days
The first two days of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Teatro Nacional, the gold museum, a 12:30 market lunch
- 09:00Teatro Nacional
- Museo del Oro Precolombino
- 12:30Lunch around 12:30 (Mercado Central)
- Back to the hotel by 15:00, before the rain; dinner in Escalante by car.
Day 2 — La Sabana: art museum and a soda lunch
- 09:30Museo de Arte Costarricense
- Soda Tapia
- Evening: dinner in Barrio Escalante by booked car.
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Costa Rica Tourism Board (official): www.visitcostarica.com/en
- Municipality of San José (official): www.msj.go.cr/
- Wikivoyage — San José (Costa Rica): en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Jos%C3%A9_(Costa_Rica)
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/san-jose). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.