San Jose Airport Hotel - Alajuela, Costa Rica

Airport close, base camp Costa Rica

Poas Volcano just did a spectacular burb - ask us about access to the Volcano . . .
Taking care of your tropical adventure . . . welcome to Costa Rica where the national "hello" and "good-bye" is "Pura Vida!" The Pura Vida Hotel is simply a place we'd like to stay. We are the best option for arrivals or departures near SJO airport - #1 on Tripadvisor and Booking.com.

FROMMER'S 2017: ". . . private casitas (“little houses”) are spread around a spacious compound and lush gardens . . . Nhi is an amazing chef specializing in Asian cuisine, but her dinner menus range far and wide to almost universal acclaim."
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER: "Lush gardens"
SLEEPING WITH THE TOUCANS - 100 Great Places to Stay in Costa Rica: "Our stopover of choice"
A FODOR'S CHOICE HOTEL: "Highly recommended."
MOON HANDBOOK: "The best place, highly recommended"
NEW KEY TO COSTA RICA: Ecotourism green rated hotel listed here
"Better than my Castle and free Wi-Fi! Gee willikers!" Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
From a guest review ". . . the best dinners we could have imagined . . . creativity and aesthetic presentation" Sharon, California on TripAdvisor.
"Here (Costa Rica) I hoped to have the leisure to mature my thoughts on these baffling problems." Alexander F. Skutch, A Naturalist in Costa Rica written around 1940 (one of the greatest naturalists to adopt Costa Rica).

Reservations restricted to those with a sense of humor or accompanied by one. One free airport taxi service for international arrivals. Late model car rentals/4WD delivered to your breakfast table in a partnership with Toyota . . .

We wonder if it may be time to explore your options for retirement or the future . . . it's Costa Rica or Canada eh? . . . start your exploration with one of our private drivers or a rentacar and our advice on places we enjoy. Ask us for ideas - we are happy to help, Berni & Nhi

Make a booking INSTANTLY (well almost) - no credit card requested.

Just enter the dates you are interested in. Or click here to send a quick email.

Click here for our low low season car rental deals till end of November.

Visit Poas Volcano

LARGEST ACTIVE VOLCANO CRATER (in the world?): There are very few places in the world where you can drive up close to the edge of an active volcanic crater. Gasses puff from vents below the observation platform. Surrounding the huge crater is a dense forested area with a unique volcanic flora and fauna. Poas is a stratovolcano in a state of nearly continuous mild activity. Most of the eruptions are phreatic. Phreatic eruptions are steam-driven explosions that occur when water beneath the ground or on the surface is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks, or new volcanic deposits.

In June of 2017 a series of minor eruptions eventually closed the volcano. On August 31st 2018 the volcano was partially opened after some infrastructure changes to build shelters in the event of eruptions. Today the acid lake which was burnt off during the ruptions has partially returned. Visits are now possible with some restrictions. Let us show you how to do a visit.

Read more about former guests' Trip Advisor reviews of Pura Vida Hotel

Our Reviews

“We departed Pura Vida in a Toyota rental car that was delivered within a few feet of that amazing breakfast” Greg in Florida
“I have lived in Costa Rica for two years now and travelled extensively throughout the country . . . Pura Vida Hotel is by far my favorite place to stay" Ruth, Peace Corps Volunteer
“The cuisine the night we were there was the freshest of fish picked by chef Nhi at market, delicately prepared . . . and a solid wine selection” BH in CA

Read more on TripAdvisor or Booking.com

Read more about how to rent a car in Costa Rica

Car Rentals with Toyota

FREE delivery at the Pura Vida breakfast table, free drop off at any Toyota office in the country
1 additional driver at no cost, unlimited mileage, free cooler when available
1 booster (kids under 12 or under 1 meter 45cm), 1 child seat (under 6 years) or 1 roof rack at no cost to Pura Vida guests
GPS or Wifi on board (unlimited data) available extras
We quote the car model and year (not “something similar that does not look a bit like it”)
Throw us the keys at the end of your trip - the "Pura Vida check in"
Pura Vida guests have been so reliable that Toyota no longer asks a deposit on your credit card with full insurance - so all of your card is available for your trip

Read more about how to help local schoolchildren through the Pura Vida Hotel

A School Visit?

Can you Pack for a Purpose? Would you like to see something of the future of Costa Rica? Kids are our future - think about packing an old duffel with an unused laptop, a few books or supplies - ask us about visiting our local primary school (Escuela Tuetal Sur) and see how it all comes together in this Costa Rican village.

In our "let's do a little for the future of our planet" department - maybe you'd like to do a little for children's literacy in Costa Rica? Reading materials are impossible to find and are very expensive here. Translation - "the kids have literally no books".