HELP! WHAT TO DO W/ ONE DAY IN SJ??
Sep 11th, 2005, 10:30 AM
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HELP! WHAT TO DO W/ ONE DAY IN SJ??
ruthie,shillmac, et al who are great contributors...thank you. we are gearing up for our october trip. spending 4 nights in MA at mango moon,and driving back up for an afternoon/evening saturday in SJ before early flt back to atlanta. what would you do in SJ? looking at your advice, i think i will book at quideas inn (sp??) 10 minutes from airport. would love an opinion on what to do, museum? coffee plantation? right place to stay?
thanks, molly
thanks, molly
Sep 11th, 2005, 11:02 AM
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Definitely go to Old San Juan. Beautiful colonial neighborhood with forts and other architecture, great shopping and restaurants, beautiful views, the Governor's Palace. Lose yourself in Fortaleza and Cristo Streets, the Morro Castle, and the Paseo Princesa.
Sep 11th, 2005, 12:00 PM
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My daughter lives in Puerto Rico and she loves Old San Juan. However, in this case, Armando, the SJ refers to San Jose, Costa Rica!
mrsdarwin,
You'll have an afternoon and evening? Hmmm. . .I'm thinking you might enjoy staying in the city rather than Las Orquideas. But really, I guess it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other!
You will have a car? I would strongly advise against trying to drive into San Jose and get around unless you know the street system pretty well, which I'm thinking you may not. Especially when night is involved. That is, of course, unless you are driving in to a hotel and parking. Then you can let the taxis take you here and there in the city.
If you stay at Las Orquideas, you would take a taxi into town probably? It will cost you about $15 each way. Have them drop you off at the Plaza de la Cultura. At that point, you are right there at the Teatro Nacional (well worth a visit inside and maybe even an evening performance if they have something special going on). From this point you can also visit the Museo de Oro (very close), or take a stroll down Avenida Central to the Mercado Central (very interesting!). In the evening, get a taxi to take you to El Pueblo, a mall of restaurants, artisan shops, and discos.
It might work out better for you to drive into town, stay somewhere in San Jose, do a walking tour of the city in the afternoon. Then you could have a taxi take you wherever you want to go for entertainment in the evening. Your car rental agency could probably pick the car up at the hotel where you are staying and it would then cost you about $15 to get to the airport the next day.
If you DO stay in town, we have always liked the Hotel Don Carlos because of the friendly management, huge gift shop, and close proximity to all of the places listed above. BUT, based on what we hear from other posters, we would like to stay at the Grano de Oro sometime. From there, you could take a taxi to the same areas. As a matter of fact, if you are driving into town, it might be easier to drive to the Grano de Oro than the Hotel Don Carlos (it is closer, I think, to the west side of town).
I've probably thoroughly confused you, but with your car, a lot depends on when and how you plan to return it and whether or not you care to drive it into San Jose.
Another thought: if you enjoy evening entertainment and want to extend your cultural experience a little, the Teatro Melico Salazar (may be spelled wrong, but it's close!) nearly always has something interesting going on. It is on the main road (Avenida 2) through town.
mrsdarwin,
You'll have an afternoon and evening? Hmmm. . .I'm thinking you might enjoy staying in the city rather than Las Orquideas. But really, I guess it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other!
You will have a car? I would strongly advise against trying to drive into San Jose and get around unless you know the street system pretty well, which I'm thinking you may not. Especially when night is involved. That is, of course, unless you are driving in to a hotel and parking. Then you can let the taxis take you here and there in the city.
If you stay at Las Orquideas, you would take a taxi into town probably? It will cost you about $15 each way. Have them drop you off at the Plaza de la Cultura. At that point, you are right there at the Teatro Nacional (well worth a visit inside and maybe even an evening performance if they have something special going on). From this point you can also visit the Museo de Oro (very close), or take a stroll down Avenida Central to the Mercado Central (very interesting!). In the evening, get a taxi to take you to El Pueblo, a mall of restaurants, artisan shops, and discos.
It might work out better for you to drive into town, stay somewhere in San Jose, do a walking tour of the city in the afternoon. Then you could have a taxi take you wherever you want to go for entertainment in the evening. Your car rental agency could probably pick the car up at the hotel where you are staying and it would then cost you about $15 to get to the airport the next day.
If you DO stay in town, we have always liked the Hotel Don Carlos because of the friendly management, huge gift shop, and close proximity to all of the places listed above. BUT, based on what we hear from other posters, we would like to stay at the Grano de Oro sometime. From there, you could take a taxi to the same areas. As a matter of fact, if you are driving into town, it might be easier to drive to the Grano de Oro than the Hotel Don Carlos (it is closer, I think, to the west side of town).
I've probably thoroughly confused you, but with your car, a lot depends on when and how you plan to return it and whether or not you care to drive it into San Jose.
Another thought: if you enjoy evening entertainment and want to extend your cultural experience a little, the Teatro Melico Salazar (may be spelled wrong, but it's close!) nearly always has something interesting going on. It is on the main road (Avenida 2) through town.
Sep 11th, 2005, 12:42 PM
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shillmac,
we are going to be doing the interbus from MA. so, we can stay anywhere. flight leaves at 8 am sunday, so it will be an early morning. assuming be at airport by 6:30?? the teatro definitely sounds interesting. having grown up as a child in nigeria, i am for experiencing culture! so, in SJ, gran de oro? or don carlos?
we are going to be doing the interbus from MA. so, we can stay anywhere. flight leaves at 8 am sunday, so it will be an early morning. assuming be at airport by 6:30?? the teatro definitely sounds interesting. having grown up as a child in nigeria, i am for experiencing culture! so, in SJ, gran de oro? or don carlos?
Sep 11th, 2005, 12:49 PM
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mrsdarwin, hard to say! Grano de Oro is more $$, but it sounds just lovely. Never a bad review--that I've seen. We like the Don Carlos for the reasons I mentioned earlier and the moderate price. But the Grano de Oro definitely has the rep for excellence in SJ--remember taxis are cheap.
I would definitely be IN the airport by 6:30 and 6:00 would be even better. It's just busier now than it used to be. And you can't really predict when it might be more so. It WILL save you some time if you buy your departure tax when you first arrive and just hang on to the receipt (tightly!). Then you can just enter and go straight to the airline to check your bags and get boarding passes.
Word of warning! We made the mistake of purchasing our departure tax with our credit card and we were charge $10 for a cash advance. Would definitely have paid cash had I known that!
I would definitely be IN the airport by 6:30 and 6:00 would be even better. It's just busier now than it used to be. And you can't really predict when it might be more so. It WILL save you some time if you buy your departure tax when you first arrive and just hang on to the receipt (tightly!). Then you can just enter and go straight to the airline to check your bags and get boarding passes.
Word of warning! We made the mistake of purchasing our departure tax with our credit card and we were charge $10 for a cash advance. Would definitely have paid cash had I known that!
