Day Trips & Tours To San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose is the largest city in Costa Rica and its capital. It is the only really big town in the country, there being settled some of the best rated resorts and most luxurious hotels in Costa Rica. Located in the central region, San Jose is surrounded by volcano ranges and consequently from there can be taken with ease sightseeing tours to these natural wonders, as well as trips to other vacation places such as all inclusive beach resorts and national parks.

For a city from Central America, San Jose is surprisingly well organized and, of course, very lively! Tourists can spend pleasant evenings in coffee shops, restaurants or visiting different points of interest and historical buildings. In fact, there cannot be found a huge number of tourist attractions to visit, but this is the place where arrive most international flights. However, voyagers interested in excursions and sightseeing tours to the most famous landmarks of the country can organize with ease customized day trips by car due to the good road network.

Until 1824 San Jose was a very small village, without any political or economical importance, but in that year the first elected president in Costa Rica, Juan Mora Fernandez, decided to move the government from the old Spanish colonial-style city of Cartago. San Jose grew rapidly, extending into the entire Central Valley. Due to the late establishing, San Jose has little of the Spanish colonial architecture that is common in most Central American capitals. Hotels in San Jose are largely modern and offer comfortable accommodation facilities, along with attractive vacation packages. "University of Santo Tomas", the first university in Costa Rica, was established in 1843. San Jose is served by Juan Santamaria International Airport, located 14.5 miles (23 kilometers) west, near Alajuela. In this point gather most international participants who booked tour packages organized by local voyage agencies.

In the capital are not available too many tour packages, however the most important points of interest in San Jose include the central bank of Costa Rica - Banco Central de Costa Rica, the national bank - Banco Nacional, the metropolitan park, and Avenida Central, one of the major commercial areas in the town.

The Central Park and Plaza de la Cultura are visited every day both by vacationers and thousands of locals. The National Theater of Costa Rica, named Melico Salazar Theater, and the Cathedral are other important spots to visit during city tours in the central area of San Jose.

San Jose features numerous coffee shops in the downtown area, where the national coffee is prepared and served in the typical way of Costa Rica. There are several museums like the Gold Museum, where can be seen rare and various gold artifacts of the ancient Central American civilizations.

Nature lovers can visit the Lankester Botanical Gardens, located in the outskirts of San Jose.