Alajuela

Alajuela is a city in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, near San José.

Understand
There is not very much to see in the city itself, but Alajuela is an excellent spot for beginning and ending a trip in part due to "San José" Airport being here.

By train


From San José (Estación Alantico) tickets are ₡1,005 (April 2020).

On foot
Alajuela is small enough to take in by foot. You can see the entire downtown in one afternoon.

By bus
There are lots of public buses that criss-cross the city or travel to nearby towns. There are two main bus companies, TUASA and Station Wagon, that provide service between Alajuela and the capital, San Jose. The buses are cheap, less than US$1, and run every few minutes. There are also buses that depart to other nearby towns like Sarchi, San Ramon, Heredia, and Poas. Also, you can catch buses to farther destinations that regularly travel through Alajuela on the way to Pacific destinations.

By car
Taxis are often the easiest and a cheap way to get around the town. Taxies are red and there are many taxi stands scattered around the city. While the orange airport taxies will accept US dollars, the red taxies will only accept colones. Tipping is not expected, but you can let a taxi driver keep the change.

Do

 * For the nearby Braulio Carrillo National Park and Poás Volcano National Park see region article on Central Valley.

Budget
There are small hotels and hostels catering to budget travelers. However, they tend to be somewhat overpriced due perhaps to the city's proximity to the international airport.



Go next

 * Atenas, in Alajuela Province – It had been ranked as the best weather worldwide. Atenas town in well known by the American community here. It is on the way to the central Pacific beaches becoming a mandatory stop on the way to Jaco or Manuel Antonio National Park.
 * San Ramon
 * Grecia
 * Palmares