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About San Jose
Costa Rica’s capital, San José, is located on a valley at a height of about 1200 meters. The city, which has a history as a center of tobacco, has transitioned to coffee production, and is now primarily recognized for that. The most important thing to do before leaving San José is to drink as much as possible of this delicious coffee. These high quality coffee beans, which are also found in many tourists’ return luggage, are imported to many different parts of the world.
The Melico Salazar Theater, considered to be the symbol of the city, is one of the top places to see and visit. The building was inspired by the famous Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. There are many museums scattered throughout the city. To get a better understanding of the culture, history, and the way of life, tourists can visit these museums. One of the museums that must be visited is the Jade Museum. This museum must be visited not only because of the architecture but because it has the world’s largest collection of jade stones.
An alternative option to getting to know the city of San José, its people and their habits, is going to the public markets. In these markets, farmers come from their villages to sell the products they grown in their farms. It’s a great environment to get local delicacies and some cultural amenities. Local dishes called ‘gallo pinto,’ and ‘casado’ made of local tropical fruits are always recommended to foreign visitors in the city.
The Barrio Amon district, which is considered to be the arts center of the city, is remarkable with its ancient beauty. For this reason, it is a place frequently visited by professional or amateur photographers.
San José is located in the tropical climate zone. The temperature varies between 17 and 30 degrees celsius throughout the year. It is not recommended to visit the city during May through November as the city is known to be the rain season.
The city is surrounded by tropical forests. By participating in hiking tours, you will be able to join in and see the beauties of nature. You will also be able to participate in tours where you will encounter trees and plants you have never seen before.Nightlife in the city is also very lively. Bars and clubs are mostly concentrated in the El Pueblo region.
Local buses are preferred for transit to urban as well as rural areas. Taxis, which are red, are easily found in the city. It is not advised to rent a car because the traffic is usually dense and the majority of drivers do not adhere by the traffic rules.
The government of Costa Rica does not require visas from Turkish citizens interested in visiting their remarkable city.
Transportation to San Jose City Center from Airport
Juan Santamaria Intl. Airport
Juan Santamaria International Airport, which is located near the city center of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, is one of the busiest airports of the country. If you are travelling with your private car, you can follow the highway General Cañas while travelling to the city center from the airport, which is located 11 miles of San Jose. You can also benefit from the transportation alternatives such as taxi or bus which carry passengers to San Jose city center by departing from the airport terminal. If you want to travel in the city comfortably or travel to different parts of the city, you can rent a car before leaving the airport terminal. The shuttles of tour operators are generally preferred by crowded groups who want to travel to the city center from the airport. If you plan to use the shuttles which are more budget-friendly for crowded groups, you should make a reservation in advance. If you consider renting a car for your transportation, it would be a good idea to get in contact with the car rental company in advance and make a reservation before your travel. In this way, your car will be ready for you at the airport and you won’t have any trouble in finding a car especially during busy seasons. You don’t have to make a reservation in order to use taxis or buses. At any time of the day, you can easily find a taxi at Juan Santamaria Airport. There are also buses operating frequently and carrying passengers to the center.
Bus
TUASA buses, which start operating at 04:30 am, carry passengers to San Jose city center from Juan Santamaria Airport until 11:00 pm. You can get to the center of Alajuela in about 15 minutes by getting on a bus for an affordable price. If you need to travel in the direction of Heredia, your travel will last 40 minutes by bus. If you need to travel to Jan Jose, it will last about 35 minutes. Buses departing from the airport terminal offer a fast and economical transportation. Station Wagon buses operating for 24 hours offer service between the city centers and the beaches located in Guanacaste and Puntarena. You can benefit from these vehicles in order to travel to Alajuela and San Jose. If you want to get information about TUASA buses, you can call (506) 2442-6900. For Station Wagon buses, you can call (506) 2441 1181 and get detailed information.
Car Rental
At Juan Santamaria Airport, many international car rental companies offer service for passengers wanting to rent a car. You can get in contact with Dollar, one of the car rental companies located at the airport, by calling (506) 2443-2078 or make a reservation for the car you want to rent over the internet and receive your car when you arrive at the airport terminal. If you choose Payless for renting a car, you can contact (506) 2430 4647 or (506) 2256 0101 and get detailed information about car reservation. In addition, there are many other companies at the airport such as Hertz and Firefly Rent a Car, Economy, Solid, Advantage, Nu, Solid, Alamo, National, Enterprise, Budget and Apex and you can also contact one of these companies for your transportation. In order to rent your car from Hertz and Firefly, you can call (506) 2221-1818 or (506) 2258-4343 and (506) 2430-7707. National, Enterprise and Alamo can be reached from (506) 2242-7700. In addition, you should keep in mind that you can speed up your car rental process by reserving your car through the internet. All of these companies offer online services for their customers. In order not to confront any problem while receiving your car from the car rental office located at the terminal, you should have your travel documents such as international driver’s license and passport with you.
Taxi
You can easily distinguish the orange-colored taxis waiting in front of exit door of the airport terminal. Taxis Unidos vehicles offer service for 24 hours at Juan Santamaria Airport. If you want to get in contact with the taxi office located at the airport, you can call (506) 2443-7544 and get information. Furthermore, taxis are one of the fastest transportation alternatives that you can use for travelling to San Jose and other important centers located near it. In addition, the fare you will pay for travelling to San Jose from the airport is not very high. The distance between these points is 11 miles. You can get on these in front of the airport terminal and reach your destination in the city center within minutes. There is not much chance to bargain with the driver but you can get in contact with the drivers in advance and learn how much you need to pay for travelling to your destination. If you need to travel as a crowded group or have heavy luggage, you can prefer one of the bigger vehicles. The cost of travelling to the center from Juan Santamaria Airport by taxi is not very high but you can travel to the center by using a means of public transportation such as bus. After reaching the city center by bus, you can continue your travel by getting on a taxi from the center and in this way, you can reduce your travel cost.
Tour Operator Shuttle
Another transportation alternative offered to the passengers travelling to the center from Juan Santamaria Airport is the shuttles of tour operators. You can choose one of the two different companies offering service in this field. These companies are Gray Line Airport Express and Interbus. When you come to the shuttle rental points located in baggage claim area, you can get information about the fares which can vary depending on your route and travel date. After getting detailed information, you can make your decision. If you decide to benefit from the shuttle service offered by the tour operators, you can contact Gray Line Airport Express by calling (506) 2220-2126 and (506) 2291-2222 and make a reservation after you ask the questions coming to your mind. For Interbus, which is the other alternative offering service at Juan Santamaria Airport, you can call (506) 4100-0888 and get information about these shuttles. You can use the shuttles of the tour operators for travelling in Costa Rica or to any other destination abroad. These shuttles are one of the most ideal transportation vehicles for those travelling in group or trip organizations.
