Some people will probably get annoyed with this post, but honesty I promised and so honest I will be. I would not waste my time in San Jose. It is a city that does not have much to offer to the tourist. We did stay a month and a half there, but that is because my parents live there. If that was not the case, I would not have spend more than a day in San Jose.
Why? You may ask. Well, for starters the city is congested, trafic is a nightmare. If you do not pay attention at what time you go for a drive, you could be stuck in traffic for a very very long time. Also in my opinion San Jose has lost the charm that comes with smaller cities. In San Jose people live behind bars, and the criminals are all running around free, mugging people. The level of security homes have, has reached the ridiculous. Most homes have bars in every window, barb wire in the fenced yards and an alarm. The usual defense for this sad reality goes like this: but it is no more dangerous than other cities. But that is not true. It is much more dangerous than other cities, depending where you come from. Maybe no more than some other Central American, or South American cities, but that does not make it normal or right.
Now if you must stay in San Jose there are a few places you might want to visit or take advantage of.
There are a couple of nice malls were you can find anything you need, and I mean pretty much anything. There are also a few very good restaurants to eat in. If you want to see some museums there is one I would recommend and then there is the Teatro Nacional. I would not go anywhere else. Downtown is dirty and runned down, and full of criminals, specially if you go for a walk on Avenida Central.
San Jose is nice to use as base camp if you want to see the Poas and Irazu volcanoes, which are totally worth it. But perhaps my advise to you would be to stay in Heredia, or Escazu or on the hotels on the outskirts of the city and go from there.
Why? You may ask. Well, for starters the city is congested, trafic is a nightmare. If you do not pay attention at what time you go for a drive, you could be stuck in traffic for a very very long time. Also in my opinion San Jose has lost the charm that comes with smaller cities. In San Jose people live behind bars, and the criminals are all running around free, mugging people. The level of security homes have, has reached the ridiculous. Most homes have bars in every window, barb wire in the fenced yards and an alarm. The usual defense for this sad reality goes like this: but it is no more dangerous than other cities. But that is not true. It is much more dangerous than other cities, depending where you come from. Maybe no more than some other Central American, or South American cities, but that does not make it normal or right.
Now if you must stay in San Jose there are a few places you might want to visit or take advantage of.
There are a couple of nice malls were you can find anything you need, and I mean pretty much anything. There are also a few very good restaurants to eat in. If you want to see some museums there is one I would recommend and then there is the Teatro Nacional. I would not go anywhere else. Downtown is dirty and runned down, and full of criminals, specially if you go for a walk on Avenida Central.
San Jose is nice to use as base camp if you want to see the Poas and Irazu volcanoes, which are totally worth it. But perhaps my advise to you would be to stay in Heredia, or Escazu or on the hotels on the outskirts of the city and go from there.
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