All activities in San José
Our detailed guides appear first, followed by highly rated places around the city.
See it on your own
What you can visit without a tour in San José, with the gate price.
24 activities
Mercado Central
must-seeFreeCovered aisles since 1880, sodas — the local canteens — and the country's best coffee at the counter.
Pick a soda with regulars at the counter and ask for the casado of the day: a few thousand colones, and the cheapest meal in San José. Have the coffee brewed to order through the chorreador cloth filter — not the one waiting in the flask.
public market, free entry
View detailsCésar Badilla Miranda · Unsplash
Poás Volcano
must-seePrice unconfirmedAn active crater a kilometre and a half wide, seen from a lookout fifty minutes' drive away.
The crater clouds over from the middle of the morning. The first slot, at eight, is the only one that guarantees the view.
national park entry on a booked slot, rate to be confirmed; helmet provided
View detailsNational Theatre
must-seePrice unconfirmedAn Italian-style opera house built with coffee money, in the middle of the capital.
The foyer and its café are free to walk into, no ticket: the marble, the staircase and the gilding are already there. Pay for the tour only if you want the auditorium and the painted ceiling — or buy a concert ticket, which often costs less than the guided visit.
guided tour charged, rate to be confirmed; the café in the foyer is free to enter
View detailsManuel González Asturias, SJ · Unsplash
Pre-Columbian Gold Museum
8400 CRC≈ 17.8 $Sixteen hundred pieces of gold worked before the Spanish arrived, beneath the Plaza de la Cultura.
Hours9.15am – 5pm, every day
The ticket covers all three collections in the same basement, and almost nobody pushes open the door of the coin room: the five-colón note with the coffee allegory is on show there — the very painting that is on the ceiling of the Teatro Nacional, a hundred metres away.
general foreign visitor entry: the pre-Columbian gold museum, the numismatic museum and the temporary exhibitions. 6,300 ₡ for a foreign student, free under 12. · Checked on 30 August 2026 at Central Bank of Costa Rica Museums — ticketing.
View detailsCésar Badilla Miranda · Unsplash
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Price unconfirmedFive falls in succession on the volcano road, in cloud forest.
The public road passes several freely accessible waterfalls before the paid entrance. Stop before the gate.
paid entry to the private park, a high rate to be confirmed
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San José Central Market
Price unconfirmedWWM9+R59, C. 8, San José, Paso De La Vaca, Costa Rica · 4.4/5 · 31,589 Google reviews
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Plaza de la Cultura
must-seePrice unconfirmedSan José Province, San José, Quesada Durán, Costa Rica · 4.5/5 · 17,421 Google reviews
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Villa Amphitheater
must-seePrice unconfirmedDel FreshMarket de Ciudad Colón 600m al Oeste San José Ciudad Colón 247, WQH3+JHM, San José, Costa Rica · 4.7/5 · 4,346 Google reviews
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Parque Nacional
must-seePrice unconfirmedAvenida 3. Calles 15 y, WWMH+QXX, C. 19, San José, El Carmen, 10101, Costa Rica · 4.6/5 · 6,803 Google reviews
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Museo del Jade y la Cultura Precolombina
must-seePrice unconfirmedy, 13 bis, Av. Central, San José, Bella Vista, Costa Rica · 4.7/5 · 4,068 Google reviews
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National Theater of Costa Rica
must-seePrice unconfirmedAvenida 2, C. 5, San José, Catedral, Costa Rica · 4.8/5 · 7,078 Google reviews
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Winchester Mystery House
must-seePrice unconfirmed525 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128, USA · 4.5/5 · 16,368 Google reviews
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Costa Rican Center Of Science and Culture
must-seePrice unconfirmedC. 4, San José, Bajos de La Union, Costa Rica · 4.6/5 · 4,069 Google reviews
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Refugio Animal de Costa Rica
must-seePrice unconfirmedSan José Province, Santa Ana, 10094, Costa Rica · 4.6/5 · 1,813 Google reviews
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National Museum of Costa Rica
must-seePrice unconfirmedCuesta de Moras, Av. Central, San José, Bella Vista, 10101, Costa Rica · 4.7/5 · 8,972 Google reviews
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La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park
must-seePrice unconfirmed6R3Q+Q9P, Alajuela Province, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica · 4.7/5 · 11,112 Google reviews
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Natural Science Museum La Salle
must-seePrice unconfirmedAv. 12, San José, Sabana Sur, Costa Rica · 4.7/5 · 1,248 Google reviews
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Parque Metropolitano La Sabana
must-seePrice unconfirmedSan José Province, San José, Sabana Norte, Costa Rica · 4.5/5 · 19,960 Google reviews
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Costa Rican Art Museum
must-seePrice unconfirmedSan José Province, San José, Sabana, Costa Rica · 4.7/5 · 2,873 Google reviews
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Parque Braulio Carrillo Colina
Price unconfirmedAv 2A, San José, Merced, Costa Rica · 4.1/5 · 8,392 Google reviews
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Santana Row
must-seePrice unconfirmed377 Santana Row, San Jose, CA 95128, USA · 4.5/5 · 16,718 Google reviews
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Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
must-seePrice unconfirmed748 Story Rd, San Jose, CA 95112, USA · 4.5/5 · 5,504 Google reviews
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Hispanity Fountain
Price unconfirmedP.º de la Segunda República 2, San José, San Pedro, Costa Rica · 4.2/5 · 3,025 Google reviews
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Fossil Land
must-seePrice unconfirmedVXCJ+7QQ, San José Province, Patarra, Costa Rica · 4.6/5 · 320 Google reviews
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