San José – Much More Than An Entry And Exit Point for Costa Rica

Flying into Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) from the USA provided wonderful views from the plane as San José, Costa Rica, is situated in a valley surrounded by cloud-forest covered mountains.  It looked lush, green and extremely inviting for the starting point of our Costa Rica road trip.  We had initially viewed San José just as the entry and exit points for our trip to Costa Rica but, was it a more significant stop on our road trip?  Here’s how we found it:

Arriving at Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO), San José, Costa Rica

Juan Santamaria Airport is not particularly large and so we were through security with bags in hand pretty quickly.  On exiting the airport, we were met by a wall of sound due to the chaotic crowd of taxi and bus drivers touting for business.  A taxi would have been quite reasonable and only have taken about 20 minutes to the city centre, however we needed to collect our hire car and so searched for the AVIS sign with our name on it amongst the crowd.  

An AVIS representative drove us to the car hire depot which was about 3 minutes down the road from the terminal.  Unfortunately AVIS were not able to give us the 4WD (4 wheel drive) which we had booked (check out the consequences of this in my Monteverde blog).  ADVICE – if this happens to you, then fight for a 4WD as the roads out of town really do require one.

First impressions of San José, Costa Rica

Our first impressions of San José, Costa Rica were of corrugated roofs, free roaming dogs, buildings which had seen better days and old-fashioned hotels.  It was much less ‘shiny’ than the American city we had travelled from and so a bit of a culture shock at first.  

We had booked a family room in an IHG Hotel (as we collect InterContinental Hotel Group Reward Points) which sounded perfect for what we wanted, but on arrival the room smelt very strongly of damp – we don’t think that it had been used for a very long time, perhaps since before the Covid pandemic.  

The hotel did change our room, which eliminated the damp issue, but sadly did not improve the out-dated décor, although it was clean.  After the promise of the views from the airplane, we were left feeling a little underwhelmed and decided to have an early night before exploring the city in the morning.

Take a walking tour and see the National Theatre, San José

The best thing we did in San José, Costa Rica, was to book a walking tour of San José, with Barrio Bird Walking Tours on our first morning.  We were told to meet our guide for the tour in the foyer of the beautiful National Theatre, San José, and so we took a taxi from our hotel to the centre of town.

Arriving early, we waited outside the National Theatre and watched green parrots flying between the trees (nice!) but couldn’t help noticing armed guards on the doors of the hotel opposite which was a little unnerving.  

Then we met our guide, Chris, for the walking tour of San José and our experience began to look up.  Chris was a young and enthusiastic local who had spent quite a bit of time in Europe and spoke perfect English.  His enthusiasm was infectious, and he kindly translated the official tour of the National Theatre, San Jose, for us from Spanish.  NOTE – there is an English-speaking tour, but it did not coincide with our timings.

The National Theatre, San José, is a ‘must-see’ in the city and the walking tour of San José was extremely interesting, giving historical context about the impact of immigration from Europe and information about how the country made riches from coffee “back in the day”.  Once the tour of the National Theatre, San José ended, Chris encouraged us to grab a coffee or freshly made smoothie at the theatre’s lovely Café Alma.  

We then set off on foot with Chris on our walking tour of San José to the Barrio Amón district, an area filled with large, once impressive houses, many of which were now deserted or run down in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.  However some home-owners in the Barrio Amón of San José, Costa Rica, had taken enterprising post-Covid measures to earn extra income by converting their ‘stables’ or out-house buildings into small coffee bars.

When the people make all the difference

Our walking tour of San José took us to several parks where citizens were relaxing, children were playing and artists were painting in the shade of the trees.  Then in one of the parks, we came across a group of dancers in traditional costume who were making an advertising commercial for an insurance company.  

The Director ushered us closer to the action so that we could take photographs, even when they were working, which was kind and thoughtful.  Along with Chris’s warmth, I started to realise that it was the people who are going to make this place – polite, kind, welcoming and usually with a big smile.  

The walking tour of San José set us up well for our Costa Rica road trip and we left excited about what/who we might discover along the way.

Visit the Poás Volcano and La Paz Waterfalls

After a ‘planning malfunction’ (yes, they do happen!), we ended up with an additional day in San José, Costa Rica, at the end of our holiday and so decided to book the Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfalls and Coffee Tasting via Get Your Guide.  

We were picked up in a minibus at 6.30am to head to the Poás Volcano, however the bus tour stopped twice before we got there: first at a coffee plantation, and secondly for a traditional breakfast of rice and beans with eggs, plantain and squeaky cheese (‘gallos pintos’).  

It had been lovely weather when we set off in the morning, but by the time we got to the Poás Volcano, after our stops, the weather had turned against us and the volcano crater was hidden by cloud cover – would we would have seen it if we had headed straight there in the morning?  Maybe.

Then the tour headed to the La Paz Waterfalls and animal sanctuary.  We are not keen on animals in cages, but they were quick to reassure us that all the animals had been rescued and were being rehabilitated (and we were a captive audience already being on the bus).  

The walkway around the five La Paz waterfalls was very pretty and we enjoyed viewing the fast-flowing waterfalls set amid tropical greenery, so at least that part of the extended trip was worthwhile.  The tour was expensive for four people and, left to our own devices, I think we would have been more focussed in heading straight to the Poás Volcano when the weather was good, and being able to wait longer to see if the cloud cover cleared which apparently it does quite frequently on a cloudy day.  

We therefore concluded that, even though we felt like a rest from driving, as we already had a hire car, we should have visited under our own steam.  That said, it was an easy day and the guide did the heavy lifting on the organisation, so it depends what you’re looking for.

Our final night of the holiday spent in San José, Costa Rica

15 nights after we had landed in San José, Costa Rica, we returned to the city after having fallen in love with this beautiful country.  This time we stayed at the Grano de Oro Hotel for 2 nights, a beautiful converted ‘Tropical Victorian mansion’ with a large wooden bar and al fesco courtyard restaurant serving decent quality Costa Rican food.  

The hotel had nostalgic black and white photos of the old-fashioned City on its walls, including photos of the National Theatre which we had visited on our arrival, bringing the trip full circle.  

Final thoughts on our time in San José

As stated at the outset, our visit to San José, Costa Rica, was only ever planned as an entry and exit point, however the walking tour brought the city, country, and people to life for us.  It helped make our stay in San José, Costa Rica, a more significant part of our trip itinerary and importantly, set the context for the rest of our road trip.

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