"San José - Rain or shine" San José by Robin922

San José is like many capital cities, it has good areas and not so good. For the most part if you use a little common sense you should have a great time.

For those rainy days there is always a great indoor place to visit, like the National Museum, National Theater, and my favorite the Gold Museum.

The Gold Museum is what the name implies, here you can see more gold than you will normally see in one place. Examples of Pre-Colombian gold are abundant, along with many other interesting exhibits.

National Theater

For those rainy days there is always a great indoor place to visit, like the National Museum, National Theater, and my favorite the Gold Museum.

The Gold Museum is what the name implies, here you can see more gold than you will normally see in one place. Examples of Pre-Colombian gold are abundant, along with many other interesting exhibits.

When you first approach the museum, it appears to be a small building. Don’t let this fool you it has three floors below ground!

When it comes to holidays, this country knows how to party. Independence Day starts early and goes into the night. The picture shown was taken on independence. The local children were doing what all kids love to do, make handcrafts and get their faces painted. While having fun they were also learning about their own history and culture.

When the feet get tired and/or the rain starts there is always a place to eat close by. The Costa Rican coffee is wonderful. However, it isn’t cheap. For a tourist the price would be about normal, however for locals it’s expensive. For this reason if you go to a ‘coffee shop’ you will most likely see more tourists than locals.

The people in this country are about as friendly as you will find anywhere. Even if you don’t share a common language, they will try to commutate if you ask a question. I was lucky and made a great friend. It was one of those rare cases where you meet someone and it feels like you have known them for years. Three years later and we still stay in touch with each other.

Last but not least the city make a great base station if you want to see the country. Being centrally located and a capitol accessing any other part of the country can be done with ease. Many of the more popular places can be done as day trips.

• Pros:Central location
• Cons:Does have a few unsafe areas
• In a nutshell:A true Costa Rica city