When choosing where to go on vacation and booking flights, we try to avoid layovers that may disrupt travel plans, especially on departure day. The most convenient airport to Norfolk, VA with direct flights to San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) was Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), a 4 ½ hour drive from Norfolk. We could have booked a 6am flight to from Norfolk for the 11am SJC departure from BWI, but we chose to instead go the night before and stay in an airport hotel, giving us a later wake-up on departure day and less anxiety about missing our connection.

The flight on Southwest Airlines to San Jose, Costa Rica, was less than 5 hours. The line to enter through immigration took less than 30 minutes. Visas are not required for short trips to Costa Rica; to enter we had to provide US Passports and explain the reason for our visit, our first night’s stay location and our departure date to the Agent. After collecting our bags we went through customs easily, with all luggage put through a large scanner.

Arrival in Costa Rica

Because we were arriving in San Jose in central Costa Rica, traveling through multiple parts of the country, and leaving from Liberia, Guanacaste (LIR) on the northwest coast we opted to rent a car for the week. The car rental companies had a small lobby just outside customs, and after checking in at the counter we took a 10-minute van ride to the car distribution center. Four-wheel drive vehicles are a must for tourists leaving the immediate city area.

National Museum of Costa Rica

Our only planned stop in the city of San Jose was the National Museum of Costa Rica. Prior to our trip we read a few guidebooks and blogs to get the basics of Costa Rican history and culture, but we were counting on diving deeper into it at the museum so it would be fresh on our minds during the trip. The museum provided an extremely deep dive into Costa Rica, from the indigenous people who lived there pre-Colonial conquest, then through independence from Spain and to the current system of government.

The museum is in the former Bellavista Military Barracks in the heart of historic San Jose. We found parking in one of the many public outdoor lots, where an attendant gave us a ticket and told us to pay when we returned. We had read that it would be easy to use USD in the more populated areas of Costa Rica, but in hindsight we should have exchanged some cash as soon as wee arrived at the airport to be prepared for smaller transactions with local businesses and car tolls.

We could have spent much more time at the museum, with outdoor gardens, a permanent collection of objects that chronologically explain the full history of the country, and temporary exhibits. The garden at the center of the barracks integrated exhibits about crops plants, urban gardening, the history of the pre-Columbian carved spheres that are found throughout what is now Costa Rica, and native plants, with indoor exhibits surrounding the central space.

We spent a lot of time in the Stone Memories exhibition of sculptures created by pre-colonial societies and a temporary exhibition devoted to explaining the process of returning cultural artifacts (many from indigenous cultures) to their lands of origin.

Where we stayed: Alta Las Palomas, an SLH Hotel

We chose to stay just out of the city for our first night at the Alta Las Palomas. The hotel was a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, bookable through Hilton. It was located in the Santa Ana neighborhood in the hills overlooking the Valle del Sol. With more time the location would have been a great jumping off point for nearby activities (the visitor center for the wildlife rehabilitation center Refugio Animal Costa Rica was on the adjacent property) and excursions outside the city.