San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the oldest democracy in Latin America with no military. It is highly governmentalised with universal public schooling, health care, a pension system and other aspects of what is essentially a somewhat paternalistic social democratic government.
Its exports were formerly largely agricultural. It has extensive sugar Cane "plantations" and cattle but it is industrializing rapidly. Intel has built a large chip fab plant there which tells one something of the educational standards. However the service sector is the largest sector now. The GDP per capita is roughly USD $9,600 but in terms of purchasing price parity it is double that. The growth rate is a respectable 3%.
Eco tourism is a central focus of development and it shows. The country is stunning and unspoiled and the will is there to keep it that way. However one would have to exempt San Jose itself from this assessment.
San Jose, the capital, is on a plateau in the Central Valley at 1500 m (4,900 ft) elevation. It is ringed by lush green mountains and valleys. The population of this city is probably half of the whole country. It contains the primary airport, the University of Costa Rica, the US' and other embassies and many museums, cultural venues, hotels, markets, etc. It is the hub of the country.
PLACE TO VISIT
Museo Oro Precolombino (The Gold Museum), under Plaza de la Cultura. Tel 243-4202,. Tu-Su 10AM-4:30PM. Entrance fee $9 for foreigners (or $4.5 with a student ID card). The collection consists of 1600 pieces of Pre-Columbian gold work dating from 500 AD to 1500 AD. Information is given on the processing and making of the pieces as well as their social, cultural and religious meanings. At the same place you will also find The Numismatic Museum and The Temporary Exhibition Galleries. There is a nice museum shop and a tourist office at the entrance.
Museo del Jade (The jade museum), Avenida 5-7, Calle 11-13 bis, INS, now on the 1st floor. Tel 223-5800. Mo-Fr 8:30AM-3PM. Entrance fee 500 Colones.
Museo de los Niños (The children's museum), antigua penetenciaría (the old prison). Tel 258-4929. M-F 9:30AM-3:30PM, Sa-Su 10AM-4PM. Entrance fee 600 Colones for adults and 300 for children.
Museo Nacional, Calle 17 Avenida 2. Tel 257-1433. Tu-Su 8:30AM-4:30PM. Entrance fee 2000 Colones. The museum includes a large butterfly garden and a collection of large stone spheres from the Diquis Valley near the Pacific Ocean. The museum building is an old fort last used during the 1948 revolution.
Museo de Arte Costarricense, east end of Sabana Park. This used to be San Jose's main airport terminal back when La Sabana was the airport. Tel 222-7155. Tu-Sa 10:00-16:00, Su 10:00-14:00. Entrance fee $5 (students $3).
Insect Museum at the Universidad de Costa Rica A very elegant collection of exotic bugs. Only a few dollars, but check the times when they are open.
Museo de arte y diseño contemporáneo (MADC) Definitely the main institution in Costa Rica dedicated to the broadcasting of contemporary art. Centro Nacional de la Cultura, Antigua Fábrica Nacional de Licores. Avenida 3, calle 15/17. San José, Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 2257 7202 / 2257 9370 Fax: (506) 2257 8702. Info related to current exhibitions, schedules and admission fees can be found at their oficial website www.madc.ac.cr
WHAT TO DO
There are a lot of tours and local events and doings in and from San José. Buses are well marked, pretty reliable and crowded.
Butterfly farm
Coffee farm
Canopy
Rafting
Volcanoes: Buses to volcano Poas leave from Parque La Merced at 08:30h daily (2990 CRC).
Casinos Many hotels have gaming.
Decent gym facilities can be found at the Spa Corobici (telephone: 231-5542) located behind the Hotel Corobici. The taxi ride from the airport is approximately $10 - $20 USD and entry into the gym is 5,300 CRC or $10 USD. The club has a good selection of free and machine weights as well as a cardio theater. The club also has an outdoor swimming pool for lap swimming, a jacuzzi tub, and a sauna.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens An hour away from San Jose you can find lovely trails through primary rainforest that take you past five beautiful waterfalls. The La Paz water fall gardens also offer a hummingbird gallery, serpentarium, frog exhibit and large butterfly observatory.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - The airport is 17km or about 20 minutes by car from the center of San José. There is a local bus stop outside the airport, but you might have to change buses to get to the city center. The taxis charge around 15 US Dollars to take you to the city, be sure to take one of the licensed reddish-orange taxis that say "Taxi Aeropuerto." There are many unlicensed taxi drivers who will charge you almost twice as much as Taxi Aeropuerto. The taxis gladly take Dollars, but the local bus only takes Colones. There is an ATM by the entrance to the departures that will give you both Colones and Dollars.
By bus - Buses from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama both, arrive to and leave from San José.
The Tica Bus terminal is the most common choice for locals and foreigners alike when it comes to traveling around Central America and even Mexico. Please take note that it has recently been moved to the other end of town, near the Mercedes Tower. (Address: 200 meters north and 100 meters west of Torre Mercedes (Paseo Colón), in front of the Magisterio Nacional Mortuary)
King Quality is a new choice available, their prices are considerably more expensive or cheaper than Tica Bus depending on the destination. There is also Transnica, note they don't have a website up, for information their phone number is (506)2223-4123.
Of course most local buses start or end here. There are several bus terminals in San José. It is important to know which bus terminal serves your bus route. Bus stops are usually every few blocks in the city. Take always a taxi, when traveling with luggage.
