What to do Over the Weekend
Ben Espinola
Ben is a traveling educator, writer, and musician originally from Greensboro, NC. He has done a wide variety of teaching, youth work, freelance writing and tourism temp jobs across numerous countries on four continents. He can usually be found struggling to learn a new skill or down at a nearby watering hole sharing a drink with local characters.
Published December 9th, 2022
These locations are all at least an hour away, some farther than others. Some would make great all day trips, others would make more sense to do with an overnight stay.
Spend a weekend in Monteverde
Monteverde is an area of Costa Rica most well known for its cloud forests. It is a superb location to see fascinating flora and fauna and makes a great weekend trip. Reachable via direct bus from San Jose
Valle Escondido Nature Reserve
Featuring nature trails and a variety of birdwatching and flora and fauna tours as well as a night tour, this park is great for animal lovers to see animals in their natural habitat. The park also features several picturesque waterfalls.
Here you can see 4 stunning waterfalls, 10 suspension bridges and several natural pools. There are several self guided hike options as well as the unique opportunity of Zipline Biking
Visit Farms and Gardens
Created in the 1970’s by the University of Costa Rica, this garden is home to a massive collection of orchids and many other plants. A pleasant stroll that takes about an hour, the park is easily reached by car (about an hour and a half from Heredia) or in Uber (around 35$) or by bus via San Jose.
This is a farm and estate home to natural hot springs, a coffee plantation, a resort and hotel as well as a web of hiking trails and bird watching opportunities. It’s a great weekend getaway where you can do a little bit of everything in one place. Close to Cartago and the Lankaster Botanical gardens, it’s between 1.5 and 2 hours from Heredia and can be reached by car, bus via San Jose or Uber (around $50)
Hacienda La Chimba
This destination offers a high ropes course, a canopy tour, a coffee tour and several hiking trails. A great location offering a little bit of everything it’s reachable by car, Uber (around $10) and by bus via San Jose
This chain of adventure parks has two locations in Costa Rica: Inside Braulio Carrillo National Park about an hour from Heredia and one in Jaco Beach about 2 hours away.
The Braulio Carrilio location features an aerial tram ride, zipline, forest trekking, gardens and a terrarium. There are a variety of tour packages to choose from.
Reachable by uber ($45-50) Or via direct bus from San Jose
The Jaco location has a high ropes course and a climbing wall in addition to ziplining, trekking, gardens and terrarium.
Reachable by direct bus from San Jose
Take a Day trip to San Jose
San Jose gets a bad rap from a lot of international tourists, and while it’s not universally recognized as a must see city, there are still a lot of fantastic sights to see and places to visit. Easily reached by bus or Uber, San Jose is a large global city with everything you could possibly be looking for. There are many great museums, markets, charming neighborhoods, unique and diverse restaurants
Visit a Museum
For history lovers, this museum is a great introduction to the fascinating history of this unique country. The museum resides in an old military building and features a butterfly garden as well. The main exhibit explores the history of Costa Rica beginning in the pre columbian period and running through present day. There are also several traveling exhibits and a beautiful courtyard.
Uber: About 30 min and costs 6000-7000 (approximately $10)
Public Bus: Take Buses Heredianas bus (around $1) from near the central market of Heredia to terminal in San Jose. You can then walk down the pedestrian street heading east or catch a local bus (link to moovit or how to get around blog or something)
Did you know that Jade had immense cultural significance in Precolumbian societies throughout Mesoamerica? The Jade Museum in San Jose has the largest collection of Jade artifacts in the world. Many of the artifacts are thousands of years old and are stunning in their detail and beauty. Located just around the corner from the National Museum, this museum located in an austere modern building and is both educational and fascinating.
Uber: About 30 min and costs 6000-7000 (approximately $10)
Public Bus: Take Buses Heredianas bus (around $1) from near the central market of Heredia to terminal in San Jose. You can then walk down the pedestrian street heading east or catch a local bus (link to moovit or how to get around blog or something)
Located in an series of old vaults that once belonged to the National Bank, the Gold museum hosts a wealth of precolumbian gold artifacts that bear a variety of different meanings in the indigenous societies of Costa Rica. There’s also an exhibit on the history of Costa Rican Currency. The museum is centrally located and is easy to visit while walking along the central pedestrian road of the city.
Uber: About 30 min and costs 4000-5000 colones (approximately $8)
Public Bus: Take Buses Heredianas bus (around $1) from near the central market of Heredia to terminal in San Jose. You can then walk down the pedestrian street heading east or catch a local bus (link to moovit or how to get around blog or something)
Museum of Contemporary Art and Design
This museum features a variety of exhibits on new and different types of art. Many of the exhibits are temporary and traveling so there’s always something new to see. It’s located in an old liquor factory and also features some exhibitions of architecture, making it a must visit for architecture lovers. Located in an interesting neighborhood, it is well paired with a long walk down winding streets and through charming nearby parks.
Uber: 30-45 minutes, 5000-6000 colones (around $8)
Public Bus:Take Buses Heredianas bus (around $1) from near the central market of Heredia to terminal in San Jose. You can then walk down the pedestrian street heading east or catch a local bus (link to moovit or how to get around blog or something)
Explore charming neighborhoods and parks on your own or with a walking tour
This charming San Jose neighborhood is home to countless trendy and hip restaurants and bars. It’s a great place to grab a meal, a beer or just walk around. It’s also a great place to go shopping. There’s an iconic farmers market as well as many cute shops for picking up souvenirs for your friends and family back home.
Uber: 30-45 minutes, 6000-7000 colones (around $9)
Public Bus:Take Buses Heredianas bus (around $1) from near the central market of Heredia to terminal in San Jose. You can then walk down the pedestrian street heading east or catch a local bus (link to moovit or how to get around blog or something)
Take a walking tour or food tour
Knowing where to go and what to do in a foreign city can be overwhelming. A great opportunity to overcome this problem is with a guided tour of the city. Urban Adventures offers several tours, both during the day and at night for participants to get a glimpse of the real San Jose, see all the important sights and experience the city like only a local could.
Ben Espinola | Contributing Editor
December 9, 2022
