I’m a real lover of city breaks, absorbing myself in the culture of a cosmopolitan city and its vibes therefore I was super excited to be ending our Costa Rica escapades with 3 nights in San Jose.
A BIT ABOUT THE CITY
San Jose has been quoted as being Latin America’s most safest city and I have to admit we never once felt threatened or intimidated, infact the Costa Rican’s seemed very friendly and accommodating at all times. San Jose is a political, cultural and commercial centre in Costa Rica
San Jose is the country’s largest city, located in the Central Valley. It is about 1150 meters (3770 ft) above sea level. Lucky for us, the weather is warm with temperatures between 17 – 30°C, year round and an average humidity of 68%.
We took a couple of walks into the city, and the place was bursting with culture, with a European influence, it is home to several theatres and museums and the historic centre features several architecturally beautiful old buildings. As the cultural heart of the country, the night life offers a variety of options for entertainment. There are dance clubs, bars, restaurants and cinemas.
The National Symphony Orchestra performs several presentations throughout the year, usually these are held at the National Theatre. There was also a Jazz club we were told about in Escazú, which has raving reviews and is not so far from the Hotel Grano de Oro.
San Jose is located well to access a variety of one-day tours, which is exactly what we did. We incorporated a visit to The Poas National Park to discover Poas volcano and the neighbouring wildlife. But it poured down – apparently it’s very rare to see the volcano. This is something you get used to if you visit Costa Rica. The country sits on a divide so its very usual to get the warm weather of the Caribbean sparring with the Atlantic weather fronts.
We also spent the afternoon of that same day visiting the Doka Estate for a quick lunch and tour of the coffee growing region as it was en route back to San Jose City. After such a adventure filled trip, we decided to spend our evenings in San Jose enjoying our hotel amenities but also taking a walking tour to get an orientation for the city and some local food sampling in the main markets of San Jose. Just to mention all of our day trips were pre-organised by Costa Rica Expeditions and were private.
Here’s what we got up to in San Jose…
POAS VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK
The park is located approximately a 90 minute drive out of town and comprises of an active composite volcano which erupted a number of times between 1955-2017. It is famous for the active crater with smoking fumaroles where you can also see the tree fringed lake. If you enjoy hiking there are a number of trails that will lead you into dwarf and cloud forest in the area. Due to the location and surrounding there is the opportunity to view plenty of wildlife, including a large species of birds (black billed nightingales, hummingbirds, quetzals, emerald toucans and masked woodpeckers) and an opportunity to see plenty of flora such as epiphytes, bromeliads, ferns and mistletoes.
The park itself was created back in 1971 and the protected wildlife area spans from 4,000 feet to 8,860 feet.
There is about an 85% chance of viewing the crater between March-November, however as I mentioned previously it was rainy, cloudy and very dark on the day we went, which is usually how things turn out up there in the cloud forest. The earlier in the day you go the better. We got there at 8am and that is the best time to get a glimpse of the crater. If you don’t see it then the chances of seeing if after this point are pretty non-existent.
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