San Jose
At first blush, San José seems little more than a chaotic jumble of cars, buses, buildings, and people. The central downtown section of San José exists in a near-constant state of gridlock. Antiquated buses spewing diesel fumes and a lack of emission controls have created a brown cloud over the city’s sky. Sidewalks are poorly maintained and claustrophobic, and street crime is a serious problem. Most visitors quickly seek the sanctuary of their hotel room and the first chance to escape the city. This is why we never recommend people actually staying downtown. Just off the green and onto the fringe is where you’ll find the good stuff.
San José is the most cosmopolitan city in Central America behind Panama City. Costa Rica’s stable government and the Central Valley’s climate have, over the years, attracted people from all over the world. There’s a large diplomatic and international business presence here. As a result, there has been a proliferation of small, elegant hotels in renovated historic buildings, as well as innovative new restaurants serving a wide range of international cuisines.
San José is the capital of Costa Rica, and has been since 1823. It’s one of the oldest capitals in Central America. The metropolitan area has about 1.7 million inhabitants, while the actual proper city of San José only has about 350,000. Being the largest city in the country, by far, San Jose is still the top entry point to Costa Rica by air. It is also the main transportation hub for the entire country. If you are planning on visiting Costa Rica, a flight into San Jose is the best option if you are planning on visiting parts of Costa Rica other than the northwest province of Guanacaste.
If there is one thing that is dead certain in San José, is that the residents know how to have a good time. there seems to be an endless amount of nightly entertainment, and each night of the week definitely has a few hot spots. The upside for backpackers, is that the local hot spots are void of the Four Seasons/all inclusive types. San Pedro and Los Yoses easily lay claim to the highest concentration of bars and restaurants, due in large part to being home to Costa Rica’s largest university, the Universidad de Costa Rica. If you’re looking for some high end fancy shmancy, Escazu, a well to do area west of San Jose, resembles Scottsdale or South Beach more than Costa Rica. The establishments are certainly upscale, and expect to pay for it.
An easy and relatively inexpensive way to get around in San Jose is by taxi. A couple of things to remember though; Always make sure that the driver uses the meter, which we call the maria. If he refuses, tell him to shove it and catch another cab. Unless there’s a national soccer match, taxis are as common as mosquitos. When you go to pay, be aware that on most older meters, there is an extra zero. So when the ride starts or at the “flag drop” as they call it, the meter reads C.4750, that’s really C. 475. This comes from days past when there was actually a half Colone coin. A lot of cabbies still have it, and if you give them 4750, they’re not going to stop you. Another neat “trick” they use is doing you a big favor and calling the hostel where you have a reservation for you. they’ll pretend to call, tell you that the hostel has given away your reservation or burned down, or anything, and then take you to another place where they’ll get a commission for bringing you. Reputable hostels in San Jose do not pay taxi drivers to bring them clients, the good hostels don’t have too. The bottom line, if you think a cab driver is trying to take advantage of you, don’t be afraid to pay him what you tihnk is fair, or he can call the police. 99 times out of 100 you’ll be right and he’ll back down. The instances that have been shown here are not common practice, but do happen.
There has also been a huge crackdown on drunk driving in Costa Rica, so taxis are even more plentiful in the evenings nowadays. If you are driving, don’t drink, as you are risking an 8 year prison sentance for DUI.
