San Jose General Reports

[D Cups]

This girl from DR was great! Had her 3 nights in a row from Del Rey.

Nice one, Mayo. Thanks.

[MayoMan1969]

This girl from DR was great! Had her 3 nights in a row from Del Rey.

[Grandnash84]

Thank you for all the great info.

I am from CA where marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes. What is the situation in CR? Do any of the hotels welcome ganj? More tolerant? It's not the most important aspect of my trip but I rather smoke a little and be in control and relaxed than drunk.

Thanks

As long as you don't have weight on you its all good. You can smoke in the street and everything. The weed aint that bad bad too compared to Cali bud. Its like mid grade at best. Stayed at Sportsman last month and had a room in the bar area. I would smoke with chicas in my room and when I opened my door, I filled the whole bar with weed smoke. Never heard one complaint. a lot of the people from the states grow in sj.

[Gfm9280]

Thank you for all the great info.

I am from CA where marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes. What is the situation in CR? Do any of the hotels welcome ganj? More tolerant? It's not the most important aspect of my trip but I rather smoke a little and be in control and relaxed than drunk.

Thanks

[Jonesie]

i think your comparison of the cities needs an asterisk that qualifies the statement 'for those who don't speak spanish'. a simple glance at each city will show a contrast in cultures.

medellin looks like a modern american city, san jose looks like the poor area of an american city. the education level and median income is about the same. i think employees in medellin are required to be much more productive for the same income than their counterparts in costa rica. this is reflected in most transactions across any industry. costa rica's economy is heavily dependent on foreign capital in the form of investment, tourism, and assistance, the amount of english spoken reflects this. i would also say that the quality to price ratio is much better in medellin.

there are more casas / massage parlors in medellin than san jose, but none of them are marked. there are guys and girls in the streets handing out cards for the places. my guess is this to make the casas invisible to the normal passers by, but easy to find for those looking for it. i think your term 'subdued' is right on the nail. it is widely available, yet forced to maintain a level of discretion.

while i would agree that ticas are generally pretty, the paisas are simply better looking on average and much more plentiful.

if you don't speak spanish, and want a festive, open environment, costa rica is your place. if you speak a little spanish, and enjoy a world class city, medellin won't disappoint.

i had to give this a lot of thought. over the past 10 years i have met guys who regularly go to sj who have complained about mde, and i could not understand that cause i thought man you are in paradise what do you have to complain about. the best way i can put this is that you can not compare san jose to medellin. they are two completely different worlds.

first i will be returning to both places, it will depend on my mood at the moment when i make the reservation.

sj has many advantages if you are a first timer or someone with smaller comfort zone then sj is your place. my reasons are simple, one starting at the airport. sjo is much more organized and set up to receive foreign nationals. the airport is still relatively in the city and there are many safe forms of transportation. mde, the airport is generally chaotic at best with immigration generally over burden and the airport is a ways out of the city. while transportation is available you still have to use caution getting a taxi at the airport in mde.

safety wise i never felt in danger in sjo i walked around the gulch up to midnight, one of the girls told me i would be safe generally until about 1am. i started mongering in boys town in nuevo laredo, used to never think about walking around there i was there two years ago, i would never walk around there alone again. bogota when i went there you could just feel uneasiness there, i felt i could get in a lot of trouble really quick there. mde is fairly safe, safer then bog, but i like to go out to clubs and local restaurants, and i have had a couple of small issues at the clubs, mainly young kids who did not like me being with the one of the their girls at the club. i am still pretty cautious in mde i do not drink too much and keep my wits about me when away from the place i am staying. cartagena i felt completely safe, walking around with my girl going different places very comparable to sjo. the only other safer place i have been than sjo is st. martens in the caribbean, which i loved that place but the cost of the hotels there suck.

english, sjo i found very refreshing that most of the girls spoke english as did most of the people in the community. you do not find that in mde, just the opposite, however most of the people of mde are very helpful and if you have a spanish dictionary and try to speak spanish you can get around very easy, they will help you..

[The Dirty Pirate]

Hey I know its a month away, but I was wondering if anyone has some good ideas for New Year's Eve. Where are the best parties / specials, etc? I'd be interested to know about the normal places like Sportsmans, etc, but also maybe a non-pro kinda place that may offer some good chica opportunities. Is New Year's Eve normally a big deal in SJO? I'm will ing to start early afternoon. Watch some football along the way, along with the booty parade maybe.

Thanks

San Jose is a ghost town on New Years, everyone goes to the beach.

[PuntangPounder]

Hey I know its a month away, but I was wondering if anyone has some good ideas for New Year's Eve. Where are the best parties / specials, etc? I'd be interested to know about the normal places like Sportsmans, etc, but also maybe a non-pro kinda place that may offer some good chica opportunities. Is New Year's Eve normally a big deal in SJO? I'm will ing to start early afternoon. Watch some football along the way, along with the booty parade maybe.

Thanks

[Member #4427]

I had to give this a lot of thought. Over the past 10 years I have met guys who regularly go to SJ who have complained about MDE, and I could not understand that cause I thought man you are in paradise what do you have to complain about. The best way I can put this is that you can not compare San Jose to Medellin. They are two completely different worlds.

First I will be returning to both places, it will depend on my mood at the moment when I make the reservation.

SJ has many advantages if you are a first timer or someone with smaller comfort zone then SJ is your place. My reasons are simple, one starting at the airport. SJO is much more organized and set up to receive foreign nationals. The airport is still relatively in the city and there are many safe forms of transportation. MDE, the airport is generally chaotic at best with immigration generally over burden and the airport is a ways out of the city. While transportation is available you still have to use caution getting a taxi at the airport in MDE.

Safety wise I never felt in danger in SJO I walked around the Gulch up to midnight, one of the girls told me I would be safe generally until about 1AM. I started mongering in boys town in Nuevo Laredo, used to never think about walking around there I was there two years ago, I would never walk around there alone again. Bogota when I went there you could just feel uneasiness there, I felt I could get in a lot of trouble really quick there. MDE is fairly safe, safer then BOG, but I like to go out to clubs and local restaurants, and I have had a couple of small issues at the clubs, mainly young kids who did not like me being with the one of the their girls at the club. I am still pretty cautious in MDE I do not drink too much and keep my wits about me when away from the place I am staying. Cartagena I felt completely safe, walking around with my girl going different places very comparable to SJO. The only other safer place I have been than SJO is St. Martens in the Caribbean, which I loved that place but the cost of the hotels there suck.

English, SJO I found very refreshing that most of the girls spoke English as did most of the people in the community. You do not find that in MDE, just the opposite, however most of the people of MDE are very helpful and if you have a Spanish dictionary and try to speak Spanish you can get around very easy, they will help you.

Now why do I say you can not compare the two. SJO the lifestyle is right out in the open and in your face. The community has accepted it. It is easy and to many degrees promoted. There are many gringos there easy to hook up and make friends. There are many options for alternate entertainment. SJO has more energy. In MDE the lifestyle is still subdue. There are a couple of places, but nothing in comparison to the Del Rey or Sportsman, and there will never be the people of MDE will never allow that. The city of MDE keeps a close watch on the places and adjust local laws to keep the lifestyle subdue. It seems about every 18 months or so the local news does a segment about gringos coming to Colombia as tourist. They usually have videos of the places, so that is a consideration. I have gone to MDE and stayed at a couple of the nicer hotels with girls that I have met on trips before, it is tolerated but you will find the staff unfriendly and very standoffish. Also they will put you through the ringer when you check the girl in (many questions) and there is a fee.

There are also casas in MDE that are not hidden but just fit in with local surroundings and take out is always available. There are some strip joints in MDE many locals and take out available. The ladies in MDE when they see a gringo they still see the chance of getting out of poverty and the lifestyle and will treat you nice. The ladies of SJO are more realistic of why the gringos are there but still I had a good time. I think probably every girl in SJO still has hope but a little more subdue, and not easily offended when they see you with a different girl that night.

Both places have very beautiful women, there is no difference in that. Money wise I think SJO the trip as a whole is cheaper, I think food is more expensive but hotels and ladies are cheaper, depending on what you are looking for.

In conclusion if you are new to the lifestyle, do not speak Spanish, looking to meet other gringos, and just looking for ease of the lifestyle, and have alternate entertainment want to party I say SJO is your place. If you are looking for a more quieter experience, speak some Spanish, then MDE is your place. The main thing about MDE is it quiet.

Like I said I will be returning to both places it will just depend on my mood when I make the reservation. I have read this a couple of times and I still did not make my point, it is hard to put words to it but they are both really different places. You may ask why I am going back to MDE, the main reason is that I have friends there and I now have a comfort zone that has taken me about 10 years, I am going to SJO to party and to lifestyle my brains out, and feel safe about it. That is the best way I could put it.

[The Dirty Pirate]

No trolling or anything intended here, just my opinion as someone who's regularly traveling out of SJO. It's not a bad idea to pay your exit tax at a hotel or somewhere other than the airport, but after dozens of flights out of SJO I have never waited more than a couple minutes to pay my exit tax right before checking in.

[Member #4427]

These are just my observations as a first visit to CR. I have read on hear some debate San Jose Vs Medellin, I will add my observations on this subject in a different report. I will say I will be returning to San Jose.

Airport and customs were set up nice and easy to navigate. I had a driver waiting from the hotel ($25) , but as you went out door plenty of types of transportation to get you where you are going. The departure tax is $28, the line was crazy. Luckily I paid for mine at the hotel there was a $6 convenience fee for this making it $34. Well worth it than standing in line. The hotel told me many hotels and banks provide this service.

Hotel Dunn Inn, the hotel was clean, quiet, the rooms are small and had hot water. The staff was very pleasant and very helpful and arrange my ride to / from airport before I arrived. I walked from here all over the gulch and never had an issue. Included a free breakfast fruit, juice, toast, ham, coffee, and cheese. No charge for a guest. The guest just had to leave an I'd at the desk. On the premises is a small restaurant and Rick's Sports Bar. Rick's I really enjoyed Ricks, covered outside bar, Friday night had music, but generally real quiet. I talked to one of the waitresses if they have girls show up she said on an occasion a girl will walk through trying to make a quick dollar, usually after finishing with another customer. Occasionally will sit and talk on the phone at the bar, but nothing regular at all. I did observe this a couple of times as I sat in the bar at night. Important point about the Dunn Inn is that they have families staying there also so it is really a low key kind of place that is close to the action and tolerant of the lifestyle.

Next, I do not believe there is any need to convert dollars to colones. I did but everywhere I went quoted me in dollars and colones. Everywhere I used my card the receipt had dollars and colones.

Massage parlors I thought Fantasies had the best line up Friday / sat night 10-15 girls or so. C25, 000/$50 for an hour. However the place is crawling with locals almost one for every girl, some of the really dirty and smell, the common room / bar is so small you can not even move or talk to one of the girls to negotiate. I ended up going to ZoneII on Friday about 6 girls all ok. Same price as above. The music is a little on the loud side, but better set up then fantasies, you actually had room to talk to the girls, the staff was very nice and helpful. I only saw gringos here. There was another down the street from the Dunn Inn / Mona Lisa maybe VIP's, it was dirty dirty, and maybe 4 girls I was the only one in the place.

Hotels, by far the Del Rey has the best line up. Many girls passing through all the time. The girls here are aggressive. The bar is nice and big, many locals at the bar. I ended up taking a couple of girls out of here. The girls all started at $100 I ended up paying 60/70, and a tip since I enjoyed both of their company. A side note on Sunday the last girl that I was with, if I would have found her the first night I would have spent the whole trip with her. We just kind of connected, said she had been coming for about 3 months, which I normally do not believe, but when I got her back to the room she was really nervous and not confident. After we finished, she was relaxed and back to being funny like she was at the DR. She asked if I was interested in going out or if she could stay. I had to be at the airport so early in the morning I just ended up going down to Ricks with her had a drink and pizza gave her an extra tip for taxi. (she did not ask for taxi money and when I gave it to her and she asked what is was for I knew she was kind of new at this.) I did do the Del Rey breakfast buffet, I will pass on next trip.

Hotel Amistad, looked clean had a couple of very good looking girls but were taken by other guys.

Sportsman Lodge, many girls to choose from. Semi-aggressive, not to0 crowded seem to be mainly gringos. You could talk to the girls here and the same price as the DR. Not bad place.

Mona Lisa big difference between Fri and Sat. Friday night a few girls sitting at the bar, not bad at all a lot of locals playing in casino and walking around. Saturday night about 8 girls. 2 were fantastic, the rest were all very approachable. Again many locals walking around. I went by Sunday morning and had a drink and two more girls came down stairs that I did not see the night before both drop dead gorgeous. They did not make it to the front door before guys picked them up and they were heading back up stairs.

Notes: I enjoyed Pappi's sports bar down the road from the DR. I watch football here, people are nice, food and drinks cheap. I went to Ave Central many places to eat here, I was surprised not to see many gringos walking around in the area during the day. I also walked to centro market on Ave Central Many places to eat in the market, you need to have a strong stomach and not be sensitive to smells here, a lot of raw meat / fish and disinfectant. Generally good food and cheap. If you can not read menu there are plenty of places here with pictures of their food. I did buy some coffee here and had it ground. There is a couple of pastries shops on Ave Central that are pretty good opposite direction from the McDonalds. One other place to eat down by the Dunn Inn, Mona Lisa and the Zoo is a place called JR Ribs. Very clean, comfortable, very well lit. Mainly locals, one other gringo with a date there. I will be going back to this place when I come back. 1/2 slab ribs. 3 sides and drink $23. 00.

Well I am going to go, I am going to think about my next report comparing SJO to MDE and will report later this week.

[DosLuna]

Thinking about going to SJ between Christmas and New Year.

How is the action that time of year?

Do the chicas go home to their families or is there still lots left? Or only mongerers looking stupid without any girls around? Or is it too crowded with tourists?

[Joey Smith]

Gents. Thinking about coming down from the 13. 17 Dec. What's your opinion? Are the ladies still in town or departed back to Colombia or DR?

[Nixonbd]

A better choice would be the newly opened Scores or next door at Zona II, now distinctly owned, separated with different entrances, and both remodeled but before were one place you will remember as either Zona Blue or HLH. Good reviews, lots of tv's, in the heart of the gulch, food at Scores can be brought to Zona II, both gringo owned, both MP's w / girls.

Scores sounds interesting. I'll have to research it.

[Mfp79]

Airport:

The airport is San Jose is fairly well laid out;

(snip)

It Is Good To Be Chris Long

You're Friend,

Chris

Awesome post. Thanks for the detailed info.

[Dgfd]

Thanks for the response. I have been to Chubb's several times and like my "alone" time there, LOL. The open air place I'm thinking of has been there for several years, maybe closer to the main drag from the walk down to Central Ave from the HDR, but I know it's been there for years. I think they might have karaoke (sp) at night too (not a fan). Have a lower level too, then you have to walk a staircase to the 2nd floor (obviously) ; big place with lots of fried foods. Live, laugh, love!

OK sorry, there was one opened up on a roof top that didn't last long same general location. If you go past, or if anyone else knows, please post the name and exact spot. The cafe in front of the Presidente was the cream, now long gone as you know.