Photos: San Jose, Costa Rica by Bernard Gagnon, CC0; Ubud by Pinterpandai, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.
San Jose, Costa Rica or Ubud?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose San Jose, Costa Rica for
- nightlife
- getting around
What lies behind each score is written up on San Jose, Costa Rica’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: San Jose, Costa Rica and Ubud.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on nightlife and getting around with your weighting.
Wins on wellness and beaches with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
San Jose, Costa Rica in July
Ubud in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
San Jose, Costa Rica's station stands 241 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.
Ubud's temperatures are measured 29 km from the centre, at Denpasar / Ngurah-Rai.
Ubud's station stands 209 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.
Ubud has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. San Jose, Costa Rica: 1991-2020 normals, Juan Santamaria (16.8 km from centre). Ubud: 1991-2020 normals, Denpasar / Ngurah-Rai (29 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | San Jose, Costa Rica | Ubud |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish | Indonesian |
| Currency | Costa Rican Colon (CRC) | Rupiah (IDR) |
| Sockets | AB120 V, 60 Hz | CF50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Left |
| Time zone | UTC-6 | UTC+8 |
| Emergency number | 911 | 112 |
| Elevation | 1,161 m | 210 m |
| Main airport | Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)16 km from centre49 non-stop destinations | Denpasar I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS)29 km from centre64 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 11 days | - |
By the numbers
| Measure | San Jose, Costa Rica | Ubud |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 335,007 | - |
| People per km² | 7,511 | - |
| Museums within 10 km | 9 | 14 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | - | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow San Jose, Costa Rica or Ubud somewhere new.