As much as I carry Costa Rica in my heart and loved my trip to the country, San Jose isn’t a highlight of my time there. I was expecting something completely different from the capital of the country. I didn’t read it anywhere online, so let me give you my point of view on San Jose:
The city
Honestly, San Jose is a very disgusting city. There are big mountains of trash everywhere. The city has a foul odour. The streets are dirty.
I dislike “bashing” another city, especially San Jose since Costa Rica has a special place in my heart. However, this was my experience and I want to share the truth with you.
The people
This breaks my heart, but there are so many homeless people in San Jose. I am not exaggerating when I say at least one person sleeps on the concrete every 20 meters in the town center.
As a solo female traveller, I didn’t feel safe both times I was in the city. Nothing happened, but I felt so stressed whenever I got out of my hostel. Please be careful when walking outside, especially at night.
What to do
There’s not much to do in San Jose. I looked online and walked to different recommendations. These are the only 2 places worth my time: Cafe Rojo & San Jose Central Market.
Café Rojo is an incredible Vietnamese-inspired café. The food is so good and the staff is awesome. I went there 3 days in a row, be sure to check it out!!
San Jose Central Market is a great activity to do in San Jose. Lots of different markets under the same roof. A cool experience.
