Gateway to Costa Rica

Located in the heart of Cost Rica, the Central Valley, San José has an elevation of 3,839 feet (1.149 meters) above sea level and year round spring-like temperatures (70 °F / 23°C).

Because of the International Airport and the variety and quality of accommodations, the Valley is the perfect gateway city to other destinations in the country, as well as a strategic location offering easy access to most of the country’s attractions!

The Valley offers many romantic hotels, from intimate boutique hotels to properties for all-out celebrations. You may find them hidden away in coffee plantations, next to spectacular waterfalls, featuring breath taking views of the valley.

San José is our capital city and is also a fast growing city with historic and modern buildings. The capital of Costa Rica features an array of museums, colorful souvenir markets, department stores, shopping malls, casinos, hospitals, several excellent museums and great restaurants.

The Central Valley also houses the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago.

The province of Alajuela is strategically located on the way to the Pacific Coast and it has beautiful attractions hidden in its mountains, such as the Poás Volcano and the La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Heredia has its own peculiar beauty with enchanted forests and small pleasant towns with cozy hotels in the mountains, offering the perfect environment for romantic getaways with inspiring nights in front of a fireplace.

Cartago is a natural paradise with high mountains, pristine and wild rivers, ancient monuments, towering volcanoes and exuberant nature offering the necessary components for an unforgettable vacation.

The national parks located in the Valley - Poás, Braulio Carrillo, Irazú and Turrialba - protect the region’s main volcanoes. All featuring good infrastructure so that visitors can enjoy hiking, bird watching, craters, lagoons and forests.

Other tourism zones in the Central Valley are two extraordinarily beautiful areas that in and of themselves are true tourist destinations: Turrialba and Valle de los Santos. The rural towns are highly picturesque, and offer a glimpse of old Costa Rica, with their houses of bahareque, Guayabo archeological site, large coffee plantations and sugarcane mills.

Some of the activities in the area are white water rafting, aerial tram rides, hiking, river floats, horseback riding, bird watching (resplendent Quetzal), biking, canopy tours, train rides and visits to museum, cultural & archeological sites, orchid gardens, national parks, volcanoes, coffee plantations, butterfly gardens, waterfalls and much more.