San Jose

Advantages: Good night life, relaxed.
Disadvantages: Crime, not much culture.

...I lived In Costa Rica for 6 years and I spent most of my time in the capital, San jose, which is what I am writing about now. The city itslef is quite small for a capital city but it makes it easyto navigate (up to a point!!). San Jose is located right in the middle of the country in what is called the 'central valley' although it isn't actually a valley. The airport is in the north west of the city, actually outside San Jose. Actually most of the decent hotels are outside the center too. I cannot really recommend and as I have not really used one but I did stay in the Hampton Inn once and it was fine. Taxis Use them, they are cheap. A 30 minute drive could set you back the enourmous cost of £1.20!! They are red with a yellow triangle on the door. They are official but there are pirates around. Don't use them is my...

crizo 28.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of San José (Costa Rica)

The Beautiful Girl and the Penis Bowl

Advantages: Good weather. And some different ice creams.
Disadvantages: Not much else

...we made the 500 step climb to see the 5 waterfalls - most of these are going down not up, so it's not as bad as it sounds. If you're travelling at this time of year, I would recommend the half day version that just covers La Paz since Poas is unfortunately not worth it. OTHER STUFF In Costa Rica they don't reply to a "Gracias" with the usual "De nada". They come back with "Con mucho gusto", literally, "With much pleasure". The first time someone said this to me it sounded filthy - it was the bellboy in my first hotel, and it was probably less what he said and more the way he said it, but it threw me for a minute. I quickly realised that everyone - shop assistants, taxi drivers, waiters, men, women and children - all say this, but I still remember that first time. I found the people in San Jose very friendly if a little odd...

zoe_page 25.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of San José (Costa Rica)

Get out of here and discover beautiful Costa Rica

Advantages: Friendly, small, interesting museums
Disadvantages: There are FAR better places in Costa Rica

...I have spent quite a lot of time recently in San Jose, Costa Rica - what with spending time there on my gap year and going back to visit. This review will be about San Jose itself , but in my opinion, any tourist would be well advised to visit other places in Costa Rica (eg. coast, beaches, mountains). Many hotels in San Jose organise tours, so if you use San Jose as a base than that is fair enough! If you come to Costa Rica and only see San Jose, you will have really missed out! San Jose itself is a smallish city. The best way of getting around if you are a tourist is to use one of the official cabs . These are red with yellow signs, or orange at the airport. They are incredibly cheap, and a reasonably safe option. Always sensible to agree a price with the driver beforehand just in case he tries to rip you off later, but I never...

celticwiccagirl 21.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of San José (Costa Rica)

a small city but a lively city

Advantages: restaurant, views
Disadvantages: crime

..., and it is a buffet lunch, so you help yourself. Lankester gardens is a botanical garden, so you can see all types flora. There are about 800 different species. San Jose has quite a few interesting museums. One that I went to was Fidel Tristán Jade Museum which has the best Jade Collection in Costa Rica. Nightlife There are many bars open through the night. Each one is individual and plays its own chosen style of music. Some of them are: Café Loft ? plays electronic and trance music and there?s usually a live DJ. Club Bash ? plays techno and house music. This club is very popular and is extremely overcrowded. It?s a good thing the building is huge. Patogonia ? this place is very lively and you?ll find it attracts more of the younger crowd For anyone who likes gambling, San Jose is the best to go. Gambling is very much legal here...

madhatter7880 23.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of San José (Costa Rica)

Backpacking in Costa Rica

Advantages: Scenery, friendliness of people, public transport, beaches!
Disadvantages: Cold showers, more expensive than rest of S.America, mosquitoes

...I spent a couple of weeks backpacking in Costa Rica during the rainy season (specifically, August - September). I had a fabulous time and learnt a lot about living on a budget. It is possible to live on around $15-17 dollars a day if you don't mind cutting back on the activities you do. One thing you will have to get used to is converting prices from colones to dollars to pounds. Generally, if a price is given in dollars straight away, be wary because its probably hugely marked up for tourists. I visted Monteverde, San Jose, Ciudad Quesada (In San Carlos), Montezuma and Tamarindo. Out of all these places, Montezuma was my favourite. We stayed in a hostel called Hotel Lys which I would not recommend at all. It was filthy and the manager was extremely unwelcoming. However, the beach was amazing. Quiet and beautiful with shallow, warm...

kittykatty31 15.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Costa Rica

Costa Rica - Caribbean Coast

Advantages: spectacular and exotic wildlife, relaxed atmosphere
Disadvantages: hot & humid, possibility of storms, difficult access

...Costa Rica is a country of spectacular natural beauty having an array of attractions including exotic beaches and coral, volcanoes, mountains, tropical rainforests, scarlet sunsets and a very diverse range of wildlife covering everything from the mighty jaguar to the elusive resplendent quetzal. There is an extensive system of national parks and wildlife refuges which has helped the country become a prime eco-tourism destination. It is also a stable and prosperous nation with a long democratic tradition. The country has had no national army since 1948 and the former president, Oscar Arias, is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. On the eastern Caribbean coastline, Costa Rica's main attractions include the tropical wildlife paradise of Tortuguero which is also one of the most important nesting sites in the world for green sea...

stuartmelvin 21.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Caribbean Coast (Costa Rica)

Monteverde Costa Rica cloud forest

Advantages: Lush, green & refreshing!
Disadvantages: Ca be wet at times

...not see anything!), some binoculars and plenty of film. If you plan on renting a car, get a 4x4, the dirt roads are very bumpy. I travelled by bus from San Jose, and it was ok (4 hours). From Monteverde to the active volcano Arenal, it takes 8 hours by bus, so I took a 3 hour tour combining 4x4 and boat for $25. The views on the lake of Arenal were simply fantastic. Costa Rica has beautiful beaches, but I think that Monteverde and other parks like Manuel Antonio is what makes this country special. If you want info on the area, check this site: http://www.monteverdeinfo.com. Have a nice trip, Pierre...

joli65 05.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Monteverde (Costa Rica)

I See Trees of Green, A Quetzal or Two...

Advantages: Unusual Cloud Forest & Quaker ice cream to boot...
Disadvantages: Time spent on rickety roads in rickety minibusses

...In 2007, Costa Ricans voted Monteverde (literally 'Green mountain') one of Costa Rica's Seven Wonders, though to be fair there's not all that much to choose from in such a tiny country. That said, I have visited this place as well as two of the other entries on the list (the Arenal and Poas Volcanoes) and I think the country folk made the right choice. Located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, Monteverde is a destination often teamed with the Arenal volcano (see previous review). We stayed here for a few days while on a whirlwind tour of the country, and having arrived (on horseback, no less) from Arenal, the difference between the two areas was stunning and immediate. Monteverde is known for its Cloud Forest reserves, and sits at an altitude of 1400m which is still almost 1000m lower than Mexico City. We stayed in Santa...

zoe_page 26.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Monteverde (Costa Rica)

The Fortunate Few

Advantages: Pretty town, not too far from San Jose, with good weather
Disadvantages: Not a lot to see in town, and tours can be pricy

...La Fortuna is a town about 80 miles from the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. You can visit as a day trip, but many people chose to stay a night or two, to take advantage of the many activities on offer in the area. We spent 2 days and 2 nights there, having Christmas Eve afternoon, all day Christmas Day, and Boxing Day morning in the town. To be honest, anywhere where you have 30oC weather over Christmas is going to get a thumbs up from me, but we really did enjoy our time here. The trip from San Jose takes about 3 hours, but there are a number of interesting places to stop along the way. For example, we took a slight detour to Zarcero, to stretch our legs in Parque Francisco Alvardo, known for its interesting topiary. Reminiscent of Leven's Hall in the Lake District, this was well worth a 15 minute break, and the bakery...

zoe_page 30.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Volcán Arenal National Park (Costa Rica)

A beautifull walk near San Jose Spain

Advantages: Beautiful
Disadvantages: you really need a car

...A pretty cove and a beautiful walk near San José Spain We went on holiday to San José in Almeria Spain this Easter hols. This is a description of one of the best bays/beaches we found and a good coastal walk. We used the tourist hiking map Capo de Gata-Nijar (1:50.000 same scale as an standard OS map here) which we bought from the tourist information in San José, it comes with an accompanying book about the routes marked on the map. It also contained information about camping, apartments and other local information in Spanish. Dearly beloved can read some Spanish and I found I could follow a lot of the instructions fairly simply, you may be able to get an English copy. I will check this out .We found this a very good map and guide I would certainly recommend it. One morning we set out in our hire car, with a loaf of bread, some...

mumsymary 24.09.2002 (23.11.2007) · Read review
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Review of Almería (Spain)