Experience Costa Rica: San Jose + Arenal
Costa Rica seduced the young solo traveler in me with visions of tropical beaches, smoking volcanoes, abundant wildlife and friendly locals. I took a spontaneous trip to Costa Rica and had two days open for exploration. Trying to experience a country in just two days is a kind of sweet torture in which you’re stricken by decisions you never thought you’d have to make: Beach or jungle? Volcano or waterfall? And by the time you make a decision the trip is over and there’s still so much you haven’t seen. I found a perfect split between interacting with the locals and capturing the abudant wildlife.
Day 1
Cafe Brit
Costa Rica is known for its gourmet coffee beans. Whether you’re a coffee fan or not it’s interesting seeing the amount of work that coffee beans go through to bring out their best taste. Cafe Brit offers an hour and a half long comedic take on the coffee making process from import to export. During the tour you get a closer look at the effort it takes to create coffee, while enjoying savory smells and tastes of several blends along the way.
Downtown San Jose
Most people stray away from San Jose in lieu of Costa Rica’s beaches, volcanos & hot springs but at least a day in San Jose is worth a trip.
National Museum of Costa Rica
I headed to the National Museum of Costa Rica. On the drive we passed Morazan Park, which I learned is a notorious center of prostitution. During the daytime it’s pretty calm, but this place becomes flooded with prostitutes at night.
The National Museum of Costa Rica is very well organized and gives you an extensive walk through the history of Costa Rica. The museum isn’t very large but it’s a site to see. It features beautiful gardens, great views of the city and pleasing architecture.
La California
The true graffiti artists often represent the hard times of the local population, the ideas and what inspire people to grow, to stand up for their values and against the hardships of live, poverty or regime. You can find the artistic expression of these difficult times in La California neighborhood. It’s just a few block from the National Museum
Nightlife in San Jose
NIghtlife in San Jose is worth the experience. The city comes to life! I hired a local who to show me some of San Jose’s nightlife as I was traveling alone and didn’t know what neighborhoods were safe / unsafe. My guide was a graphic designer who spent her time being invited to restaurants as a guest so she picked some of the best spots to see in the area.
We meet around 7:00PM and headed to Barrio Escalante, which is a large area with several restaurants and bars with a lot of diversity of flavors to choose from. We spent the night trying different local drinks and local beers. We started a Hoplers, a unique and relaxing bar for hanging out. We had shots of Chiliguaros, which I’d describe as a Costa Rican Bloody Mary, followed by a local Imperial Silver beer. Next, we made our way to the Costa Rican Beer Factory, a bar that offers a variety of craft and international beers, several meals, and table games in a very large open space. I tried the Costa Rican rendition of Ceviche which they make with pineapples, if you decide to visit, this is a must have.
By 10:30 PM we headed over to Barrio La California which is know for it’s great nightlife. The highlight and end of the night was our visit to a a place that has 3 different bars/restaurant/club in one: Casa Fenix, Mercadito la California and La Concha de la Lora. You don’t have to leave this place once you enter, you can eat, drink, lounge & dance all in the same area.
Day 2
Sarchi
In addition to coffee, Costa Rica is known for it’s grand ecotourism efforts. I booked a tour to Arenal Volcano and the Tabacon natural hot springs to take a look at the greener side of Costa Rica. The drive there took about 3 hours total, and we made several stops along the way. Our first stop was in Sarchi where we saw the world’s largest ox cart. The cart is 2 stories high, nearly 45 feet long and weighs 4400 lbs., and took 70 days to complete according the Guinness World record.
Next we went stopped at artisan market in Sarchi, where you can buy alcohol, coffee, chocolate, crafts and other souvenirs Costa Rica has to offer. I was super grateful for this spot especially being that I was strapped for time. I bought a few blends of coffee and picked up a chorreador, drip coffee maker.
Then we contonued the the long haul up to La Fortuna to see the Arenal volcano. We were advised that there would be no guarantee that we would see the full volcano since we were there during their rainy season so there could be a lot of overcast. Arenal volcano is known for its cinder cone and being the world’s most active volcanoes although it hasn’t erupted in year. I managed to capture a shot but was not able to the full volcano because of the fog
Although we didn’t get a clear view of the volcano the thermal hot springs at Tabacon Grand Spa made up for that. The spa has several pools that increase in heat the higher up you go. It’s recommended to acclimate your body by starting at the lower temperatures and gradually making your way up. When it’s not foggy, you can see views of Arenal as you sit in the hot springs.
San Jose may not get a good reputation but there are, a number of historic and artistic gems scattered all over town. Even though it was a short trip, I was able to explore San Jose and still get a taste of the rich and beautiful views Costa Rica has to offer. I can’t wait to go back and next time visit the beaches and rainforests!
If you enjoyed or would like to me to add receipts and a price breakdown for this trip, drop a comment below!
~Pura Vida
