San José Travel Forum

I have never been to Costa Rica; I will be in San Jose for about six days and was told The Hotel Del Rey had a nice casino, several nice restaurants but is a "haven" for prostitutes. Is the area around this hotel safe? I will be by myself for a few days and I love walking - even at night; but I am concerned about staying away from any problems - in other words, I just want to gamble a little bit, do some sightseeing and have a good time. Is this hotel going to be all right for a 6 day stay AND is there a travel department where I can make arrangements to see the rainforests, volcano and pyramids? I will await a reply. e-mail at giozano@aol.com

I walked by this hotel several times while in San Jose, and was not impressed with the people I saw lurking about, inside or out. There is a Holiday Inn or Super 8 which are close to downtown, which may suit your purpose, both hotels looked very nice.

To be quite honest, San Jose as little in the way of attractions and I would find that other than gambling and the Museo de Oro, that six days there is a waste of time. As for safety, San Jose is becoming increasingly crime ridden. DO NOT walk alone at night. You will be mugged with severe violence! To see the attractions that Costa Rica has to offer, it is best hightail it out of San Jose and go to Monteverde or some other mountain resort. Finally there are no pyramids in Costa Rica.

Paul is right about San Jose and it becoming increasingly dangerous, you can walk alone at night as long as you stay to well traveled streets. That seems common sense to me though. There is also another hotel, the Sleep Inn, in downtown, near the Del Rey. And to say that it´s a haven for prostitutes may be an understatement, there may not be a woman there that is NOT a prostitute. There are other casinoa to gamble at in San Jose, as well as most beach towns. Maybe you´d like to stay at the beach while you´re there and do day trips from there.

We stayed in San Jose our first night because our flight landed at 10:30 pm. We ventured out to the casino.....very sketchy! We hightaled it out of San Jose first thing in the morning and headed to the Pacific. I would not spend 6 days there if I had the choice. You won't have a real Costa Rican experience unless you get out of there. Stay away from the bus terminal (Coca Cola) at the airport - lots of pickpockets....check out Lonely Planet for more info. Outside of the city is paradise.

I've been to Costa Rica and travlled alone. You will be warned, and with good intentions of walking at night alone. Even if it is one or two blocks away. During the daytime...no problem. However, at night a very different story. Be aware of your surrounding and keep valuables very hidden. As with any country, there are some people who are out to make their own kind of living. I did not have any bad or negative experiences ever. But, I was also cautious. Your hotel should be able to provide you with some travel information. Also, I hired drivers for the day. Check out Alex in front of Hotel Presidente. Cute, straight and married, yet very honest, reliable and showed me some sights that were incredible. He even drove me from San Jose to Manuel Antonio and we had a great lunch along the beach that only the Ticos know about (that's where I fell in love with him...too bad for me). Consider staying at Sleep Inn, I did on my last night in San Jose and regret that I did not book there for my first 3 days. Very safe, secure and convienently located. There is a casino across the street/parking lot if you wish to gamble. Enjoy..... I will be there again May 3...!!!!