Overview

Costa Rica’s busy capital, San José, is a city on the move, where the choking traffic and crowds are mitigated by the eager friendliness of the people. There are some good museums and excellent restaurants but no colonial core: it’s a modern place, full of offices, North American style bars and malls - many US citizens visit or are resident in the country and their cultural influence is strong. The landscapes around however are delicious, both in the rolling coffee country of the highlands and in the fertile central valley, watched over by the smouldering Poás and Irazú volcanoes.

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Holidays San Jose, central highlands and central valleys

Discover our range of holidays taking in Costa Rica’s central highlands and valleys. Book now with Journey Latin America.

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Costa Rica

Costa Rica Wildlife Discovery

15 days from £5,020pp

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Costa Rica / Panama

Explore and Relax Costa Rica and Panama Coast: Pacific route

13 days from £3,990pp

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Explore and Relax in Costa Rica: Volcanoes to the beach

11 days from £6,500pp

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Family Costa Rica: Jungle walks and turtle spotting

14 days from £3,610pp

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Things to do

Discover Costa Rica's capital San Jose and enjoy a trip to the rolling hills of the coffee country. Book now with Journey Latin America.

Where to go when - our guide to San Jose, central highlands and central valleys

San José

The weather in San Jose, central highlands and central valleys is wide and varied

The capital and surrounding fertile valleys and coffee highlands lie at around 1,000m above sea level. As such they enjoy a pleasant, temperate climate all year round.

View our San Jose, central highlands and central valleys weather guide

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Millie
    Millie Davies - Travel Expert

    Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

  • Lina
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

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