San Jose

Don’t bypass the urban jungle: San Jose, Costa Rica’s cosmopolitan capital, is worth a stopover.

There’s a dazzling collection of gold at the Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática, while the state-of-the-art Museo de Jade houses the world’s largest collection of pre-Columbian jade, or you can tour the architectural splendor of the Teatro Nacional.

The buzzy Mercado Central is perfect for souvenir shopping, and trendy Barrio Escalante is the city’s gastro hub, where you can feast on farm-to-table fare and sample local craft brews – there’s organic coffee for the morning after.