In San Jose, we stayed at Hotel Aranjuez, which is in a quieter part of the city, but still within walking distance to downtown. I enjoyed the tasty buffet breakfast here and took advantage of the free internet access.

Inside Hotel Aranjuez

Downtown San Jose

Driving through San Jose

We walked around the downtown area in the few hours we had, visiting the Mercado Central and various shops along Avenida Central. Vegetarians should enjoy a meal at Vishnu, a local veggie chain restaurant. I should also mention the yummy fresh fruit drinks they serve everywhere in Costa Rica. My favorites are papaya en leche, pina y agua, and the amazing guanabana en leche.

Tip: San Jose is a good place to load up on cash at the ATMs. However, you may end up with big bills that aren't as easy to change. I would recommend taking those big bills into the bank and exchanging them for smaller denominations.

Tip: Taxi rides around downtown are pretty cheap (typically a few US dollars), but the decimal point on the meter is not always in the right place. This, combined with the language barrier and the American saying "keep the change", could result in accidentally spending USD$20 on a $2 cab ride. ;)

Driving to Volcan Arenal

Road to Arenal

Wall in Sarchi

The next day we would head out to La Fortuna and Volcan Arenal. We knew that we wanted a rental car for getting around the Arenal area, so we decided to rent one in San Jose. This let us take a more leisurely drive and allowed us to stop at some of the villages along the way. San Jose’s maze of one-way streets and lack of signage made driving interesting. Be sure you have a good map and someone to count the blocks.

Tip: Poas Rent-a-Car let us pick up a car downtown and return it in La Fortuna.

We drove to Alajuela and then northwest through the towns of Grecia, Sarchi, Naranjo and Zarcero. Sarchi is the handicrafts center of Costa Rica and it’s worth taking a look around, especially if you are planning to take souvenirs home.

Zarcero town square

Volcan Arenal in the distance

Zarcero is another fun place to stop, if only to see the see the shrubs in the town square that are carved into cute shapes. It is noticeably cooler in Zarcero due to the elevation.

After a few hours, we arrived in La Fortuna, the little town that sits in the shadow of the Arenal Volcano. »