San Jose is the gateway to Costa Rica for many visitors with its international airport. There is so much to do in the capital city and day trips nearby. There are incredible volcanoes, rainforests and places to explore just an hour from town. Recently, I ended my monthlong Central America trip in San Jose. Here is my suggested 1 or 2-Day San Jose Costa Rica itinerary.
San Jose is the largest (almost 1.5 million people) and capital city of Costa Rica in the Central Valley. It’s also one of the safest and least violent cities in Central America. Founded in 1736, it didn’t get its first city government until 1812. The weather is a tropical wet and dry climate. The temperature changes very little all round averaging about 71 to 74 F (21 – 71 C).
One or Two Day San Jose
Costa Rica Itinerary
San Jose Walking Tour
You can easily spend a whole day just exploring the town center of San Jose. It offers most of the main attractions close together within walking distance. When I was there, we explored many of the sites mentioned below. San Jose has some lovely European-styled theatres that are wonderful venues for architecture, culture and musical events. There is a 2.5-hour San Jose Free Walking Tour, leaving every morning at 9 am from the Holiday Inn downtown. Here are attractions to explore on a walking tour.
National Theater of Costa Rica
Colegio Superior de Señoritas
Democracy Plaza
Plaza de la Cultura or Central Market
National Museum of Costa Rica
The National Park
Jade Museum
China Town
Where to Eat in San Jose
There are numerous restaurants close to the town center. I discovered Pandeli, a delicious place to stop for breakfast or lunch with a Mediterranean menu. There are numerous options for healthy fresh meals or snacks. Our tour group enjoyed a dinner at L’Olivo, a lively Italian Bar and Restaurant with tapas, pastas, salads and wines. If you are looking for a good vegetarian/vegan restaurant Arobol de Seda is a great place to eat. Also, don’t miss the San Jose Central Market for various food options. Soda Tala is popular stop at the market for antojitos “little cravings” or combo plates.
Day Trip from San Jose:
Doka Coffee Plantation, Poas Volcano & La Paz Waterfall Gardens
I set up my day tour going to Doka Coffee Plantation, Poas Volcano and La Paz Waterfall Gardens through Viator. I have an important suggestion. While, I loved the 3 main destinations, I was not happy with the time spent picking everyone up. Because I was in the town center, I was one of the first tourists in a shuttle bus picked up at 5:20 am. Then the shuttle continued to pick up other tourist for almost 2 hours. And guess who was last getting off afterwards getting home about 7:30 pm.
This meant that I traveled almost 4 extra hours than the last ones picked up in the morning for the same price. This is unacceptable, so I want to give the forewarning. If this sounds like a problem for you, then check out other tours or even a private tour for this day trip. Now that I got that out of the way, the stops were fantastic and glad I experience them. Overall, I recommend going to these destinations for a day trip, just be aware of other tour options.
Doka Coffee Plantation
We made our first stop at the Doka Coffee Plantation. First, they served us a traditional Costa Rican breakfast with coffee tasting samples. Then, they took us on a guided tour of the coffee plantation, learning about growing, process and producing the coffee beans. This world class coffee here grows in the mineral-rich, fertile soils of Poas Volcano, our next stop on the day trip.
They display beautiful gardens and a shop to buy coffee products. From their delightfully ornate, red oxcart I learned about the Costa Rican tradition. During late 19th to early 20th century, these wheels with no spokes on ornate oxcarts hauled the coffee across the country. The wheels were an artistic blend of the Aztec disc and the spoked wheel introduced by the Spanish. Artists painted each oxcart in unique designs to represent a family.
Poas Volcano National Park
Our next stop was the Poas Volcano, an active 2,697 meter stratovolcano. It erupted 40 times since 1828, including the most recent time in 2019. In April 2017 the eruption caused evacuations and closing the volcano until September 2018. Currently, Poas Volcano provides limited access to the crater observatory and you must go on organized groups. The summit has 2 crater lakes, Laguna Caliente (“hot lagoon”) and Lake Botos filling an inactive volcano. It is surrounded by a cloud forest.
On my tour, we walked about 10 minutes to the observatory and saw nothing. There was a thick fog mixed with steam from the volcano blocking the sight. I literally saw nothing only thick haze. We were allowed only 20 minutes up there before the next group got their try to see the crater. I included a picture from another photographer showing how beautiful it is.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Our final stop is the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, a privately owned sanctuary comprising 70 acres with wildlife, rainforest and waterfalls. This is about a 1.5-hour drive from San Jose. This paradise offers 3.5 km of trails showing a diverse refuge for wildlife and goes along the La Paz River, 5 waterfalls and Trout Lake.
The wildlife includes an aviary, butterfly garden, monkeys, frogs, jungle cats and serpentarium. Overall, it’s the largest animal sanctuary in Costa Rica. I got the best views up close (behind glass) of jaguars wrestling and playing, of which I could have watched for hours.
On site is the rustic open air Colibries Restaurant with a buffet of traditional Costa Rican food. The Peace Lodge onsite is a Boutique 5-Star Hotel, blending into the rainforest. This award winning eco lodge was featured on the Travel Channel’s Honeymoon Hotspots International. They awarded it as most romantic place to spend a honeymoon in Costa Rica.
Enjoy San Jose!
San Jose is much more than just a gateway to Costa Rica. The city is one of the safest in Central America and close to some of the most incredible volcanoes, rainforests and coffee plantations in Costa Rica. If your travels bring you to San Jose, please share any tips below in the comments.
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