Visiting Costa Rica during Christmas will provide you with a wide range of things to do, places to visit, and traditions to explore. Options will be at hand as live concerts, choral and dance festivals burst into San Jose´s theaters.
As summer settles in, warm, clear-sky days, overwhelming sunsets and beautiful windy nights become part of the daily scenario. So many things are on the way: family reunions, special foods and drinks, such as tamales, Christmas cake and eggnog, and a long list of special events organized by the Municipality of San José as part of each year's Festejos Populares.
Join thousands of Costa Ricans standing along Paseo Colón and Second Avenue, as they attend each stage of the Lights Festival, featuring a special display of lights, original floats, live music, and outstanding fireworks; or watch the horse parade known as El Tope, which runs down Second Avenue, and takes place after Christmas Day. Grano de Oro Festival is an opportunity to watch amateur actors, musicians and folk dancers perform their arts. You can also visit Zapote's Fair, featuring roller coasters, dancing music, improvised restaurant and bar-like settings (chinamos), special shows, fireworks, and bullruns (Costa Rican-style bullfights).
But Christmas celebrations take place countrywide. Towns and rural communities outside Central Valley organize seasonal activities as well, such as carols, plays and fairs, to be held in the open air under the stars, or inside city halls and churches.
Most of these activities are cost free, allowing a vast majority of Costa Ricans to attend. Other important celebrations include Boruca's Fiesta de los Negritos and Nicoya's Fiesta de la Yegüita.
But so much action going on means only crowds, and this may not be your dream of a trip to the tropics. December - specially during Christmas holidays- is Costa Rica's highest season when it comes to tourism. Most public institutions close down for up to two weeks, including state banks; also schools and universities are out, and most Costa Ricans prefer taking time off work now that children are free, and families can travel together.
If you are planning to stay downtown San José, ready yourself with an overdose of patience, since traffic and line-ups will easily become part of your journey. Also, don't forget that this is the season when shopping tops everybody's priority list. You will certainly have a chance to meet many Costa Ricans as they do their Christmas shopping walking up and down Central Avenue, which by the way is a nice way to see the city.
But crowds don't rule all of Costa Rica's territory. Once you reach the countryside, no doubt you will find silence and solitude. It takes only a fifteen minute ride from San José to find a place where a beautiful landscape and natural settings will overwhelm you with peace. Beaches are hardly ever as crowded as to become annoying. But do plan your trip carefully, since resort, hotel and car rental reservations must be made far in advance, and confirmed with a credit card slip most of the times. Don't forget to check for local seasonal activities. Most towns have their own turnos, which are small versions of Zapote Fair, and they are an amazing way to be in touch with the human side of tourism.
The festivity of local and national traditions, and signs of summer's new arrival everywhere, will be an inviting call for visitors to pass by crowds, and to taste the deep roots of this country's culture. This is a good chance to learn the best of Costa Rica.
As summer settles in, warm, clear-sky days, overwhelming sunsets and beautiful windy nights become part of the daily scenario. So many things are on the way: family reunions, special foods and drinks, such as tamales, Christmas cake and eggnog, and a long list of special events organized by the Municipality of San José as part of each year's Festejos Populares.
Join thousands of Costa Ricans standing along Paseo Colón and Second Avenue, as they attend each stage of the Lights Festival, featuring a special display of lights, original floats, live music, and outstanding fireworks; or watch the horse parade known as El Tope, which runs down Second Avenue, and takes place after Christmas Day. Grano de Oro Festival is an opportunity to watch amateur actors, musicians and folk dancers perform their arts. You can also visit Zapote's Fair, featuring roller coasters, dancing music, improvised restaurant and bar-like settings (chinamos), special shows, fireworks, and bullruns (Costa Rican-style bullfights).
But Christmas celebrations take place countrywide. Towns and rural communities outside Central Valley organize seasonal activities as well, such as carols, plays and fairs, to be held in the open air under the stars, or inside city halls and churches.
Most of these activities are cost free, allowing a vast majority of Costa Ricans to attend. Other important celebrations include Boruca's Fiesta de los Negritos and Nicoya's Fiesta de la Yegüita.
But so much action going on means only crowds, and this may not be your dream of a trip to the tropics. December - specially during Christmas holidays- is Costa Rica's highest season when it comes to tourism. Most public institutions close down for up to two weeks, including state banks; also schools and universities are out, and most Costa Ricans prefer taking time off work now that children are free, and families can travel together.
If you are planning to stay downtown San José, ready yourself with an overdose of patience, since traffic and line-ups will easily become part of your journey. Also, don't forget that this is the season when shopping tops everybody's priority list. You will certainly have a chance to meet many Costa Ricans as they do their Christmas shopping walking up and down Central Avenue, which by the way is a nice way to see the city.
But crowds don't rule all of Costa Rica's territory. Once you reach the countryside, no doubt you will find silence and solitude. It takes only a fifteen minute ride from San José to find a place where a beautiful landscape and natural settings will overwhelm you with peace. Beaches are hardly ever as crowded as to become annoying. But do plan your trip carefully, since resort, hotel and car rental reservations must be made far in advance, and confirmed with a credit card slip most of the times. Don't forget to check for local seasonal activities. Most towns have their own turnos, which are small versions of Zapote Fair, and they are an amazing way to be in touch with the human side of tourism.
The festivity of local and national traditions, and signs of summer's new arrival everywhere, will be an inviting call for visitors to pass by crowds, and to taste the deep roots of this country's culture. This is a good chance to learn the best of Costa Rica.
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