San Ramón
San Ramón is a city in the Central Valley and also one of Costa Rica's agricultural centers. The Canton of San Ramón is the largest in the Province of Alajuela.
Get in
[edit]San Ramón lies just off the Inter-American Highway north-west of San Jose.
Get around
[edit]See
[edit]Consider relaxing for awhile in the area of San Ramon, west of San José on the edge of the Central Valley in Alajuela Province. San Ramón lies on the common driving route to Arenal Volcano, just off the Inter-American Highway. This small, mountainous municipality has much to offer for a vacation, from cloud forest and dry forest eco-lodges and gourmet dining to hiking trails and canopy tours for the intrepid adventurer. Bird lovers will find rare quetzals alongside hummingbirds, trogons, and motmots. See monkeys, coatis, deer, and sloths in pristine environments. Learn to cook at Coyote Mountain and marvel at Costa Rica's agricultural abundance at the weekly farmer's market in the capital of San Ramón. Climate varies from warm tropical forests, galleria habitats along the Rio Barranca, to stunning, bio-diverse cloud forest in places like Los Angeles and Piedades Norte. This is the heart of Costa Rica, with friendly people, a relaxed lifestyle, and practically no crime.
The Tico Times says: "Really, it's not so hard to imagine the hills of San Ramón as the Tuscany or Provence of Central America."
- 1 San Ramon Regional Museum (Museo Regional San Ramon), Costado norte del Parque Alberto Manuel Brenes, Av 1, ☏ +506 24477137. Tu-F 9am-5pm, Sa 9am-2pm, closed Su-M. Follow the history of Costa Rica and the San Ramón region, from the era of dinosaurs through today. Well-presented exhibits with explanations in Spanish and English.
- 2 Museo Historico José Figueres Ferrer, San Ramon, ☏ +506 2447 2178. Tu-F 10am - 6pm, Sa 10am - 4pm, closed Su-M. Museum dedicated to the father of the country, whose philosophies of peaceful growth endure to make Costa Rica the country it is.
Do
[edit]- San Lorenzo Canopy Tour, About 32 km north of San Ramón. Two zipline options: (1) 13 platforms, 8 cables, and 2 hanging bridges spanning 2 guided trails; or (2) the “Adventure Cable Tour” by zipline using 6 cables (the longest is 850 m) in which one achieves a speed of 80 km per hour!
- Parque Aventura, El Silencio de Los Angeles, Los Angeles de San Ramón, ☏ +506 4461-0643. The private cloud forest park has 3 hiking trails (guided or unguided), horseback riding, and a canopy tour with 10 platforms. A nice and less touristy alternative to Monteverde.
Buy
[edit]San Ramón has a variety of shops, and one of the best farmers' markets in Costa Rica every Friday and Saturday.
Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- Ecolodge Inn at Coyote Mountain, near La Guaria de Piededades Sur, ☏ +506 8383-0544. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Coyote Mountain offers guests a small & secluded place--with 4 guest rooms--and a true eco-lodge, sister property to the renowned Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia. The hotel is managed by Costa Ricans from this traditional coffee-growing region, hires locals, uses alternative sources for electricity, maintains its own organic vegetable and fruit tree plantings, conserves energy and resources, and engages in local reforestation and nature preservation. $89,219.
- Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel, Los Angeles de San Ramón, toll-free: +1-877-256-8399. Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel and Spa is a 75 acres (30 hectares) boutique hotel surrounded by the Los Angeles Private Biological Reserve. There are 35 casitas to choose from, including 5 romantic Honeymoon Casitas, each with great views of the cloud forest.
- Casa Amanecer Bed And Breakfast, Apartado 567-4250 (3 km NE of San Ramón, road to Zarcero), ☏ +506 2445-2100. Situated in the nearby mountains of San Ramón, Alajuela this family-owned, four-room, eco-friendly, bed and breakfast is surrounded by rolling coffee farms, sugar cane fields and banana plants. The owners are two former Habitat for Humanity employees from the US and Peru. Local organic foods are prepared and served, biodegradable soaps are used, waste materials are recycled and the owners pride themselves on their home compost project. US$55.
- Vista Valverde Pacific View B&B (Vista Valverde), Calle Valverde (7 min outside of the town center), ☏ +506-8873-8714, ilovevistavalverde@gmail.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. A small family-run and part Tico-owned B&B in the mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the entire Gulf of Nicoya. Overnight or rent short term for up to 3 months. US$75-160.