Amazing Places to Work & Play: San Jose, Costa Rica
As you may know, Bootstrap HQ has no roots. In fact, the business was built to be completely locationally independent, allowing our team to live and work from just about anywhere.
Working remotely has allowed us to live and work in some pretty unique places. The “Amazing Places to Work & Play” series highlights some of the places we’ve called home. We share what it’s like to live, work and adventure there, offering our candid insights and non-expert opinions about being a digital nomad in a variety of destinations worldwide.
The Destination: San Jose, Costa Rica
San Jose, Costa Rica: an underrated, diverse and affordable city with plenty to explore and enjoy.
The capital city of San Jose is both the literal and figurative entryway into Costa Rica. Located in the center of the country, just midwest of the Central Valley, San Jose is home to more than a third of Costa Rica’s population. While many travelers claim the city is dangerous and dull, simply just a necessary pitstop, we found San Jose to be a worthwhile destination for many reasons.
First and foremost, as digital nomads, San Jose’s strong wifi made it a helpful stopover to get heads down on projects before heading to either coast to disconnect and unwind. But, we also found it to be so much more than that. The city is welcoming and versatile with many incredible museums, parks and eateries to explore. The energy is young, fun and fast paced. Even after our third 4 day mini trip to San Jose, we found ourselves wanting more.
The Takeaways:
Neighborhoods & Accommodations
When booking accommodations for your trip to San Jose, it’s important to consider what neighborhood you’ll be in for both convenience and safety purposes. While the city is generally safe, there are some areas worth staying away from. Our suggestions:
Barrio Escalante: This is the trendiest neighborhood in San Jose. That being said, it is very high-end and not necessarily a true representation of the city as a whole. If you’re looking for a super safe, happening spot, Escalante is likely it.
Aranjuez: Our personal favorite, Aranjuez, is walkable to Escalante and just about anywhere in the city. Mostly residential, the centrally-located Aranjuez neighborhood has a beautiful park that hosts the city’s weekly farmers market (we’ll get to that later.) We personally loved staying at La Vecinda – the host, Alex, is awesome!
San Pedro: A bit further out of the hustle and bustle of the central city, San Pedro is located in a commercial district of San Jose. Accommodations are more affordable and it is still safely walkable to popular attractions. There are also some worthwhile spots here – like Mundo Loco – our favorite place for great music and beer. We stayed at Studio Alchemy and had a wonderful experience.
Pro-tip: Do not walk to or from any of the main bus terminals as they are located in some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. A DiDi or Uber should only run you a few bucks no matter where you’re coming from. Anyways, a perfect segue into our next topic, transportation…
Transportation
Walk it out: Prior to arriving, we read that San Jose was an incredibly dangerous place that was not at all walkable. As two women traveling alone, we felt as comfortable walking there as we would in any other bustling city. Keep your wits about you, stay out of poorly lit areas at night, and trust your instincts as you always should. With that in mind, San Jose is an ideal place to forget about motorized transportation and simply walk your way about the city.
Uber & Didi: For moments you need a rest or for traversing notoriously dangerous neighborhoods, both Uber & DiDi are available. We relied primarily on Uber to get around San Jose and the surrounding areas and found rates to be very fair. Note, there is apparently legislation that outlaws Ubers in the city center, so a driver may ask you to sit in the front seat with him. This is normal and happened to us semi-regularly!
Bus to Puerto Viejo (MEPE): Navigating the bus systems was slightly challenging for us and all of the blogs we read on the subject were outdated. If you’re looking to head to the Caribbean coast hotspot of Puerto Viejo, you’ll want a MEPE bus. As of January 2022, they do not take online bookings. You’ll need to go to their terminal and buy in advance. We suggest doing so a day prior to your travel date as buses sell out, especially during high season. Remember to Uber here – not the best place to walk!
Bus to Jaco (Transportes Jaco): If you’re looking to head in the other direction towards Jaco, you’ll want the Transportes Jaco bus which is just around the corner from MEPE terminal. You can buy tickets online here, which made the process pretty simple for us. We read the terminal was a dangerous place to wait for your bus. We did not have this experience and actually found the terminal to be clean, comfortable and pretty friendly. Once again, keep your bags close and your wits about you.
Places to Work
Starbucks: Okay, yes maybe it’s cliche, but we found the Starbucks located in the city central to be the best place to work. This location has a sprawling upstairs lounge area, ideal for camping out all day to meet deadlines. We love working at Starbucks because we feel less guilty sucking up their electricity and wifi, rather than possibly taking advantage of a small business.
Cafe Otoya: Located in Aranjuez, Cafe Otoya has amazing breakfast and lunch options and is a relatively popular spot for digital nomads. We try not to spend too much time taking up a table, but it’s definitely a good spot to answer some emails (while sipping on a delicious mimosa).
Apotecario: Also a great restaurant for drinks and dinner, Apotecario doubles as a vibey cafe by day. We liked the atmosphere for a late afternoon work session and it’s conveniently located in Escalante.
Things to do
Free Walking Tour: Our favorite activity on day one in any new city is to partake in a free walking tour if one is available. It’s a great way to get your bearings, learn about worthwhile attractions and get a local’s insight. We found the San Jose Free Walking Tour to be an awesome gateway into the city. Note, remember to tip well on any free walking tour. This is how the awesome guides support themselves!
Saturday Farmer’s Market: The Feria Verde de Aranjuez or Saturday Farmers Market (7AM-12PM) is an energetic weekly event with tons of fresh produce and hot food vendors cooking up an array of delicious treats. Located at The Aranjuez Sports Center (our favorite place to exercise in the city), there is typically accompanying live music – making it an ideal place to sit, sip and sing along for a while. They also have a vendor offering free books (with a tip box) which was a great place to stock up on some English language reads, a rarity when abroad.
Parks: San Jose is bursting with lush, shaded parks that are ideal for reading and people watching. Some of our favorites are Parque Nacional and the Polideportivo Aranjuez Park, location of the farmers market and a well kept track and field.
Starbucks Farm: When looking up things to do just outside of San Jose, you’ll likely read about the Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park and The Irazu Volcano. Both awesome spots. We’re here to add what might sound like a very basic white girl recommendation – but is in actuality a totally awesome destination – Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks’ one and only coffee farm, located just an hour drive outside of San Jose. We loved visiting and learning about all Starbucks is doing to help develop fungi resistant coffee seeds to support coffee farmers worldwide. It’s also the only place to enjoy coffee grown by Starbucks themselves as well as some unique one-of-a-kind drinks and treats. You can take a tour to learn about Starbucks’ efforts here and then hang for a while in the scenic cafe.
Pre-Columbian Gold Museum: Learn about Costa Rica’s indigenous history at the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, an ideal place to spend a rainy (or super hot) afternoon in this underground, air-conditioned museum –our favorite in San Jose!
Places to Eat
La Esquinita De La Abuela: For traditional Costa Rican cuisine and a warm, homey atmosphere, we highly recommend La Esquinita De La Abuela. We frequented this lovely eatery for breakfast quite a few times and were never disappointed.
Amor De Barrio: For a more international, young feel, check out Amor de Barrio, a food & drink hall near Escalante with beautiful mountain views and cold beers on tap. There are lots of other popular bars in the area as well.
Frontón: For the best empanadas you’ll ever have, try Frontón, a tiny hole in the wall with massive flavor. Our guide on the Free Walking Tour told us about this local spot and we found ourselves coming back almost everyday to eat a pork empanada at their communal counter.
Soda Yogui’s: If you go to Costa Rica and don’t frequent their “Sodas,” you’re doing it wrong. Not only are these economic kitchens affordable – they are also where you’ll find the most authentic flavors and experiences. There are many on both coasts and everywhere in between, but to get your fix in the city, we recommend Soda Yogui’s which has an expansive menu and generations of history in San Jose.
COVID Testing:
We highly recommend Laboratorio San Jose for fast, convenient and affordable Covid testing. The cost for a rapid test was $45 and we received the results by text within a few hours.
All in all, San Jose is great for the digital nomad that appreciates a bustling metropolis and eclectic culture. We recommend removing any preconceived notion that San Jose is just a stopover and begin thinking about it as a potential highlight of your time in Costa Rica, as it became for us.
You can check out all of the businesses mentioned above here. We also created an IG Reel on San Jose linked here for your viewing pleasure.
