17 Uniquely Costa Rican Things to Buy in San Jose

Forming part of Costa Rica’s dynamic arts scene are jewelry designers working in gold, silver, glass, semi-precious stones, clay and recyclable materials. Boutique shops throughout San José sell a variety of unique designs. Prices range from $10 to the hundreds. The gift shop in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum sells Pre-Columbian replicas and modern designs in gold (14K solid and 24K plated) and silver (950). The jewelry is designed and made by artists producing pieces exclusively for the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (www.museodelbancocentral.org or 506-2243-4214).

Tienda EÑe displays jewelry by Costa Rican and Latin American designers. In Escazú, Atelier Diseño Organico sells jewelry and belts made of recyclable products by Reciclarte, as well as pendants and necklaces by the local artists working with glass.

Brightly painted wooden oxcarts are one of the most representative symbols of Costa Rican traditional culture. In a country with strong agricultural roots, the carreta, or oxcart in English, recalls the days when most people worked on farms. Colorful oxcarts have not entirely disappeared: you can still see farmers using them in towns just outside of San José, such as Turrialba, to harvest coffee and transport goods. In November, Costa Rica celebrates its agricultural heritage during the annual Oxcart Parade, a celebration which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Souvenir shops around the capital sell miniature oxcarts big enough to hold a planter and small enough to fit in your pocket. The oxcarts can be separated into pieces for easy packaging. Prices range from $5 to $70.

In step with the country’s reputation as a leader in sustainability, Costa Rican artists create handbags using recyclable and environmentally-friendly materials. Hipn’ Verde is a popular brand that mixes ethnic fabrics and recyclable products to produce casual, stylish purses (www.hipnverde.com). Peruse a range of styles from dozens of local designers at Tienda EÑe. Atelier Diseño Organico also carries the Hipn’ Verde line (www.artecassia.com or 506-8883-4344).

Cacique Guaro has been produced and sold in Costa Rica since 1853. Guaro is a clear liquor (or a purified cane brandy) made of sugar cane. It often shows up on drink menus around Costa Rica mixed with 7Up or Fresca; though, it can be used to spice up everything, from daiquiri to martini. Customers share their favorite Cacique Guaro recipes on the company’s website www.guaroliquor.com. The red-labeled and black-labeled bottles can be found in just about every supermarket and liquor store in the city. The relatively inexpensive alcohol comes in 365 ml bottles for $3 and 1000 ml bottles for $8.

Centenario is a rum produced in Costa Rica, and is also readily available at local supermarkets and liquor stores. You can find pints and liters aged for 5, 7 and 9 years. One liter of Centenario rum aged 5 years costs $20. Pint-size bottles run around $6. Their website www.centenariorum.com also shares recipes. Café Rica liqueur is another popular beverage often seen accompanying bags of coffee in gift shops. It can be found at Auto Mercado supermarkets.

Calderón has been producing fine footwear in Costa Rica for over 85 years. The label offers an affordable collection of men’s and women’s shoes created with a level of craftsmanship representative of the days gone by. The conservative styles range in price from $20 to $60.

For those in the market for hip shoe styles, Tienda EÑe carries hand-crafted shoes stitched with colorful textiles and recyclable materials.

Local artists craft stunning lathe bowls from wood and knots found of the forest floor. Some of the bowls are functional, while others are purely decorative. Biesanz Woodworks in Escazú is one of the most notable galleries (www.biesanz.com or 506-2289-4337). Prices range from $20 for a set of wooden combs to $280 to $850 for bowls. Small galleries around the country showcase realistic and abstract museum-quality wood sculpture. Several galleries line the west side of Morazán Park in downtown San José.

Galeria Zukia showcases wood sculpture from renowned Costa Rican artists such as Alexy Palenzuela Ramos (www.alexypalenzuela.com) and Manuel Vargas. Prices run in the low thousands depending on the artist and the type of wood used. Amir Gallery, across the street, also displays wood sculpture. Souvenir La Casona sells bowls, sculpture and all kinds of household wood products.

Costa Rica has a vibrant and emerging contemporary art scene. Art galleries are popping up around the capital, showcasing talent from around Costa Rica and Latin America. Prices range as wide as $100 to $10,000. Surprisingly, a number of striking pieces are available in the hundreds and low thousands. Several notable art galleries spread throughout San José.

The National Gallery in the Museo de los Niños (Children’s Museum) is the largest exhibition space dedicated to the visual arts in Costa Rica. Alianza Francesa (506-2222-2283) dedicates a couple of rooms to young artists.

In a country renowned for its environmental prowess, it’s no surprise that you can find a variety of 100% certified organic and eco-friendly beauty products. Capturing the essence of Costa Rica, moisturizers, aromatic oils and exfoliating scrubs are made with local ingredients, such as coffee, cacao and coconut. The four most popular organic product lines are Bio Bella (www. biobellaorganics.com), Aromaflor (www.aromaflor.com), Magga Natural and Aromas para el Alma. Prices range from just a dollar for travel-size samples to $15 for hand-made soap and moisturizing lotion combinations. Multiple locations sell these product lines, including some spas.

For a wide selection, visit Bio Salud in the Plaza del Sol (a small indoor mall) in Curridibat, San José.

Costa Rica refers to the coffee bean as a “grano de oro,” or gold nugget. Coffee has played a major role in the country’s development. Big name brands and boutique labels decorate supermarket shelves, and hand-weighed pounds pass straight from the roaster to the customer in coffee shops. One-pound bags, selling for as little as $3, are sure to please even the most discriminating coffee palate.

From funky t-shirts to evening wear, Costa Rican clothing designers are filling boutique shops with unique pieces that are sure to complement any wardrobe. As is the case in all Spanish-speaking countries, the local culture has shaped the language. Costa Rican Spanish is filled with costaricanismos, or typical Costa Rican expressions.

Arteria boutique sells tank tops, t-shirts and dresses made with high-quality cotton decorated with costaricanismos. T-shirts cost between $10 and $20. Several boutiques selling locally-designed clothing are within walking distance of Arteria. Tienda EÑe has two small rooms filled with unique outfits by local clothing designers. Atelier Diseño Organico on the west side of town, in the Mall Buena Tierra in Escazú, carries the Nabruk line, perfect for the yoga enthusiast looking for casual and elegant designs that conserve comfort.

Costa Rica has tremendous biodiversity as well as ethnodiversity. Each of the country’s eight indigenous groups creates unique arts and crafts, including hand-carved and painted masks, hand-woven textiles and straw goods, intricately carved gourds, hand-sewn clothing and jewelry. Outside of purchasing goods on a visit to an indigenous community or at an artisan fair, the best place in the capital to buy indigenous arts and crafts is Chíeton Morén. With the help of the La Dolorosa Catholic Church and the La Flor Group in Boruca, San José now has a museum and gallery dedicated to Costa Rica’s indigenous people. The space is designed to educate visitors and provide an opportunity for all indigenous groups to sell their arts and crafts without an intermediary. Prices range from $5 for a hand-woven change purse to $20 for a small ceramic vase to $40 for a hand-woven straw hat.

Namu Gallery is a staunch advocate of fair trade practices and has been selling and educating the public about indigenous art in Costa Rica and Central America for over a decade. Prices range from $10 to the thousands. The gift shop in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum also sells high-quality indigenous arts and crafts. The vendors lining Plaza del la Democracia in front of the National Museum sell a wide variety of relatively inexpensive arts and crafts from all over Latin America.

The fact that Costa Rica is home to 4% of the world’s biodiversity makes it a stunning place to photograph. It’s no surprise that stacks of coffee table books grace the shelves of bookstores. Just hitting the stores is "Magical Trees" by Juan José Sergio and Giancarlo Pucci (2nd Edition), a soft-covered book about the trees of Costa Rica with text in English and Spanish ($38). There's a large selection of creative bilingual children’s books on offer. You can also find coffee table books highlighting the guaria morada (orchid), which is Costa Rica’s national flower, and birds. Costa Rica is home to 860 recorded bird species. (That’s more than the recorded number in the U.S.A. and Canada combined!)

Costa Rica’s diversity is best explored through its music. From calypso to folk music to rock, the geographically tiny country offers a surprising variety of music styles. Papaya music is a local label representing a variety of Costa Rican musicians. A music CD runs around $15.

Check the Universal department store and the Libreria Internacional. On the west side of town in the Multiplaza Escazú, Vertigo has a dedicated section for Costa Rican music, including the Papaya label. There is also a large Libreria Internacional in the Multiplaza Escazú.

Lizano is a sweet and spicy vegetable-based condiment. Lizano has been used to flavor a variety of Costa Rican dishes for close to a century. Visitors will often find it decorating the breakfast table when enjoying a traditional dish of gallo pinto (black beans and rice). The popular condiment is sold in a variety of sizes at supermarkets and pulperias, or mom-and-pop grocery stores. Lizano “suave” is the low sodium version. A tiny 135 ml bottle costs less than $1. As popular as a bottle of ketchup in the United States, Lizano also comes in a family-size 700 ml bottle for around $4. Many gift shops also sell Lizano, so it is easy to pick up a bottle if you are doing last-minute shopping. Together with one of the many available cookbooks on Costa Rican cuisine, this would make a great gift set for the foodie in your life.

From ceramic art with Pre-Columbian roots to brightly colored, hand-painted coffee cups, pottery enthusiasts will find an array of unique pieces in Costa Rica. Cecilia Facio de Figueros mixes floral designs and geometric shapes to create one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces. Starbucks commissioned her coffee mugs a few years ago, so some people may recognize her work. Namu Gallery carries several of Cecilia Facio’s pieces. Coffee mugs sell for $28. Namu Gallery also sells replicas of ceramic art on display in the city’s museums.

The Chorrotega, one of Costa Rica’s eight indigenous groups, have been making ceramic art since the Pre-Columbian era. To learn more about their culture and to purchase their ceramic artwork, visit Chíeton Morén (Look for a yellow façade with red triangles).

The Boruca, one of Costa Rica’s eight indigenous groups, still weave textiles following their ancient traditions. Women use naturally-dyed, locally-grown cotton to weave tapestries, as well as placemats, purses and belts. The Boruca sell their textiles at artisan fairs, markets and galleries. The Chíeton Morén museum and gallery offers a wide collection of textiles from Boruca. Prices for hand-woven goods start at $5 for a small purse.

For shops selling only the highest-quality textiles, visit Namu Gallery and the gift shop in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. Innovations in textile art are also sprouting from the country’s emerging fine arts scene.

In a country where the annual rainfall measures 250 centimeters nationwide, an umbrella is a must-have accessory. Rego is a household name in Costa Rica that has been selling paraguas (for men) and colorful sombrillas (for women) for over sixty years. Close to the equator, it is also popular to carry a sun umbrella here. If you are planning to spend several days at the beach, you can pick up a beach umbrella at Rego. Compact designs, small enough to fit in a purse, start at $8. Beach umbrellas range in price from $60 to $85.

While many stores and supermarkets throughout Costa Rica sell the Rego brand, it’s fun to make a purchase from the tiny shop on the corner of Avenida 2 and Calle 10, which tends to customers over the counter. Rego offers a similar, intimate and customer-oriented environment in a slightly larger shop just up the street on Avenida 4, one of the capital’s pedestrian walkways.