San Jose

One of the youngest capital cities within Latin America, San Jose was originally founded in 1738. Situated on a plateau in the Central Valley at an elevation of 3,700 feet above mean sea level, San Jose is encircled by a lush green mountainside. Served by the Juan Santamaria International Airport, San Jose features several museums, hotels, bars, discos and restaurants which make it an attractive tourist destination. San Jose is a great place for golf enthusiasts and provides an excellent opportunity to improve your Spanish, where special classes are available in many private homes.

Locally called ‘Chepe’ by the Ticos, this cosmopolitan capital in Central America is now packed with office towers and shopping malls which lure numerous business travelers and visitors. Generally considered as a necessary evil, a stopover in San Jose is eventually unavoidable for tourists wanting to plan and venture into the interior regions of Costa Rica.