As most tourists are likely to wander out of their hotels or accommodations and stop at the first crowded venue they pass, it is not surprising that visitors go home with so many versions of what one should expect from Costa Rica’s entertainment circuit. The fact is the variety is enormous and encompasses all tastes and age groups. So to answer one of the most asked questions, “Where should we go for a night of entertainment?” Here are some of the highlights.
San Jose, the capital city, has many theaters. The Teatro Nacional offers the best of Central American architectural designs. Performances staged here vary from orchestral music to reggae as well as from classical to modern. The National Symphony Orchestra performs from March through November with concerts roughly every other weekend held at the Teatro Nacional and at the Auditorio Nacional located at the Museo de los Ninos. The National Festival of Arts features Costa Rican talents and international artists. This festival runs for the whole month of March and staged in different venues around the city.
Costa Rica also hosts large arts festivals. El Festival Nacional de las Artes features purely local talent. El Festival International de las Artes offers a variety of dance, theater, music and monologue from around the world.
Movie theaters are all over San Jose as well as in malls that surround the city. Moviegoers get to watch films in their original language usually in English as dubbing is rare in Costa Rica.
For those who crave for a more daring form of entertainment, there are the casinos where one can gamble on a wide range of games. Costa Rica has about twenty casinos, most of them located in the San Jose area and a few at beach resorts. There are four legal casino games – rummy, a variation of blackjack; craps; roulette played lottery style and tute, a type of poker played against the house. Slot machines are also legal. Most casinos offer 24-hour gambling while some are open from 6pm to 4pm. In most casinos, drinks are on the house for those who are playing.
If you are looking for Vegas-style action and excitement, odds are you will love the new Fiesta Casino and the Gran Hotel Costa Rica Casino. They offer great gaming action and world-class service. The casino on the top floor of the Holiday Inn affords gamers and spectators a panoramic view of the San Jose area.
However, if your choice of entertainment consists in having a relaxing and revitalizing experience, Costa Rica has a number of spas and health clubs to soothe and calm frayed nerves. If you want to combine a variety of recreational activities with a luxurious spa experience, opt for the resort spas. At these vacation resorts, such as the Four Seasons Resort, the Makanda-By-The-Sea in Manuel Antonio, spa treatments and services complement activities such as golf and water sports. Day spas, on the other hand, are designed to provide pampering experience that last for as little as an hour or the whole day. Day spas are freestanding or located in health clubs and in most of the hotels.
In Costa Rica, the possibilities for entertainment are endless.