We get a lot of emails from out Contact Us page asking for information about hostels in Jaco and in San Jose. I often thought “why would anyone stay at a hostel in San Jose?” But it was your comments that explained it. The answer is many backpackers need to come back to San Jose the night before they are scheduled to depart and return home. This is a great reason because the bus system is usually good, but being Costa Rica there really is not consistent services. It is very wise to get to San Jose the night before you leave to avoid any hassles. We have heard about a few in SJO but not enought to write about them now. We will update the blog with a article about San Jose Costa Rica hostels when we get the information.

Here in Jaco there are a few choices for hostels but only one that this site will suggest. Prior to moving to Jaco we stayed at Hotel Haan and we did not like it. Now that we live here in Jaco we know all of the places to stay and eat at. What we always suggest is the Las Camas hostel. Honestly, we did not know the name of this hostel until we stopped by to talk to Edit the owner/manager. There is not sign on the hostel that says “Las Camas” but we never had any problem directing people to the location. Simple directions, the hostel is located in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken and everyone in Jaco knows where this place is. If you are coming in by bus to Jaco tell the driver to let you off at KFC but say it in Spanish. I have seen many times people getting off the bus at Mas por Menos only because a majority of the locals leave the bus at this stop. Travelers unsure of where to get off, usually get off at this stop and hike the rest of the way to the hostel. There is no need to do this, stay on the bus until you go over the bridge and then yell for the bus to “parada” the bus will stop in front of Subway fast food place and then the Las Camas hostel is less than a 100 yards on your left going in the direction of your arriving bus.

This is the only place here in Jaco that we would suggest. The hostel in Hermosa is too far and secluded for backpackers. Las Camas is centrally located and you can get around on foot everywhere. When you need the bus, they are always available here in Jaco. We also suggest Las Camas for security reasons because it is located in a good area. A few people have said the hostel is not clean but you cannot judge a hostel by a few people. We are sure the hostel gets dirty and sometimes areas are overlooked but we are confident that if you tell Edit, the situation will be taken care of right away. There is a certain smugness to Edit being that the hostel is booked all of the time, and this is evident in her attack on a customer review left on Hostel World website.

Here is what the customer said “Hostel is cool but not clean! Also the rooms are extremely small, which isn´t a huge problem but when componded with the dirty bathrooms its not as much fun as its made out to be.”

Edit’s response was this “im sorry You found our place that dirty. we are at the beach and there will be sand and water everywhere always….but, that night the entire hostel was up on the roof bbq-ing together with us. its Your choice that You didnt feel like coming upstairs but than saying that the place is not fun might not be proper from You….” We feel this is not very savvy of the owners but when you are booked around the clock you can get cocky.

Overall, Las Camas is the place to stay and your enjoyment of the hostel is what you make of it. Some nice features of this hostel is the roof top deck where you can view the whole rain forest and beach plus it has a BBQ area. Another nice feature is the close proximity to the beach but not on the beach where it can be dangerous at night. As with all hostels, if you are sociable your stay will be more fun than staying in a private room. Please continue to send in your questions and comments so we can help you create a better vacation here in Jaco Costa Rica.