Costa Rica Blog » Costa Rican Cities

Zarcero

Patrick Brunelle — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:20:19 +0000

Cute little town located in the Central Valley in Costa Rica, about an hour out of San Jose. Zarcero is one of the most famous historical towns in Costa Rica, that continues to hold onto its customs and values. People are so friendly in the typical town. The church serves as the main draw in town because of its beautiful hedges. Each hedge bush is unique from the other, making it quite the site at night when they are all lit up for Christmas.

Drake Bay

Patrick Brunelle — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:22:55 +0000

Drake Bay is a sports fishing and scuba diving paradise. Located in the Osa Pinnisula on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, the Coastal town is as hard to get to as any other place in Costa Rica. Most tourist arrive by either boat or plane as the road is closed half of the year during the rainy season.

The water at Drake Bay is as clear as you can get. You can swim in the Ocean and see the details of the toes. There is a small community at Drake Bay of locals that depend almost entirely on tourism. Most hotels are on the high end range and cater to the wealthy, although there are a few options for those not traveling with a large budget.

Another major attraction is the relative proximity to Corcovado National Park, one of the most well known parks in all Costa Rica. There are endless hiking trails and full day tours are the best way to get to know the park.

Another popular activity is Coastal Kayak, as people can rent a kayak for a day for only $20 a person. One of the nice aspects of the kayaking is that you go against the current on your way out but get pushed back in on your way back. Special note to those thinking of doing activities near Drake Bay, make sure that you are in relatively good shape as you are far from any hospitals and qualified doctors.

San Jose

Nelson Sanchez — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:12:56 +0000

Although San Jose is currently undergoing revitalization it is still considered by many a site well worth skipping altogether. And yet, San Jose does still offer many nice sites for the traveller who does decide to stay. These include: the national theatre, the gold museum and the unique central market.

Heredia

Patrick Brunelle — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:09:02 +0000

Heredia is the capitol of Heredia province in Costa Rica. Heredia is one of the most important education centers in the country due to its large number of colleges and language schools. Many people travel to Heredia from Europe and North America to learn Spanish at these specialized language schools.

Most of the nightlife takes place in the Boulevard district. Boulevard is actually the name of one of the bars in the area, however it has also become the official name of the entire block where numerous bars such as La Choza and Fofo´s can be fond. The legal drinking age in Costa Rica is 18 and most of the patrons are between the ages of 18 and 25.

Heredia also has a professional soccer team, Club Sport Herediano, which has not won a championship since 1993. The soccer team enjoys much support from the city of Heredia, especially when they play against their main rivals from San Jose, Saprissa.

The downtown center is a busy area with lots of traffic and one way streets. Most of the stores are locally owed and specialize in selling particular things. The is a new area being built on the outskirts of the city in Paseo de las Floras, where a large shopping center stands. There is constantly new developments, both residential and commercial making this the most important area in the city.

Quepos

Patrick Brunelle — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:28:36 +0000

Quepos is located just outside the famous Manual Antonio national park. The main industry in Quepos is tourism and has many hotels and restaurants. Hotels and restaurants tend to be significantly cheaper than it´s neighbor Manual Antonio. The Pacific ocean is visible from Quepos, however there is no beach and it is used more as a port for private fishing boats.

Quepos is ideal for the traveler on a budget but who still wishes to see the beaches of Manual Antonio. Buses depart from Quepos every 30 minutes, so transportation to the beach is simple.

Lomas del Volcan

Nelson Sanchez — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 22:08:24 +0000

Best view in Arenal period! Located a few miles inland, this hotel offers pure seclusion. All of the rooms are private cabins with beautiful patios out back looking at Arenal volcano. Lomas del Volcan is not located on the lava side which means you will not see any lava, but I don’t think I would want to be on that side in any case! This hotel is not recommended for those who do not have a car, as it is too far from the road to walk anywhere else.

EXT Hotel Rating

Overall 4.5/5
Value 5/5
Luxury 3/5
Cleanliness 5/5
Amenities 4/5
Location 5/5
Romance 5/5
Family 4/5

Cartago

Patrick Brunelle — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:35:06 +0000

Founded in 1563 by the Spanish, this settlement served as the capitol until 1823 when it handed over those duties to San Jose, the current capitol. With a population just over 140 000, it makes it one of the largest city centers in all of Costa Rica. Cartago enjoys all of the large city qualities such as large and modern shopping centers and even a professional soccer team.

Locally, Cartago is most well know for its Basilica, which was erected in honor of the Black Madona. Each day on August second, Costa Ricans walk from their homes, some for days, until they reach the Basilica. From there they will get on their knees and crawl until they reach the statue and kiss its feet.

La Fortuna

Patrick Brunelle — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:29:57 +0000

La Fortuna is located in the San Carlos district of Costa Rica. La Fortuna was given it´s name after the fatal eruption of Arenal volcano of 1969 where it killed 87 people. Although there was no fortune in the event, most of the deaths were to the north of the volcano caused by the toxic fumes being carried over to the aboriginals living in the area. The town of Arenal was actually spared from this catastrophic event and was hence given the name La Fortuna, meaning lucky.

La Fortuna is a tourist town today where over 80% of the local population is supported by tourism directly. There are many hotels in the region and the construction of new hotels continues today. Many popular activities in the area include canopy tours, horseback riding, jungle kayak and volcanic hot springs. The hot springs are underground mineral rivers that are heated at Jacuzzi levels by the volcano.

Barva

Patrick Brunelle — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:52:14 +0000

Barva is located in the province of Heredia. It is located at the base of a mountain that is home to Poas volcano. Barva is known as the city of artists due to it´s passion for art and the numerous artists that live or are from Barva. Painting and sculpting are the two most popular forms of art practiced in Barva.

Barva at times holds an art symposium where sculptors around the world come to show their skills. The last symposium was held in Febuary of 2007, where sculptors from Canada, United States, Australia, France and Costa Rica participated.

Another popular attraction is Barva volcano. Not many people travel to Barva volcano because of the long hike that is required to get there. A two hour hike and back is what it takes to see the volcano. The best time to go is between the months of January and April due to the low chances of rain.