Jade Museum
Jade Museum
4.5
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The Jade Museum and of precolumbian culture is positioned as an innovative state-of-the-art cultural proposal in the protection and conservation of archaeological heritage in Central America. Located in the center of Costa Rics's capital, the building was especially constructed to house the museum's collection, its architecture evoking a cut jade block. Its five levels exhibit objects crafted by artisans specialized in solving their daily subsistence needs, their spiritual and political world.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • CLMoo7
    Chesham, United Kingdom49 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    An interesting place for a short visit
    An interesting and well ordered display of jade, pottery and other artefacts that provided a good understanding of how they were used. The visit has also given us a reasonable summary of the lives of the pre Colombian peoples. There seemed to be some repetition in the items displayed, but certainly worth a visit for an hour or two.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 21 November 2023
  • Peter m
    Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent and informative museum
    We were looking for something interesting to do on our one day in San Jose Costa Rica and the Jade Museum was perfect. Beautifully laid out and covered multiple aspects of Costa Rican culture, not just the jade artifacts. We booked an amazing airbnb (Cando) right across the street that featured a courtyard garden and had a wonderful time.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 26 November 2023
  • G C
    Anchorage, Alaska999 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful exhibits and info about early Costa Rica culture
    We really enjoyed our visit to this wonderful museum in downtown San Jose :). While it features lots of beautiful jade artifacts and info about how these were made, there’s also a lot of well curated exhibits that describe the early cultures of Costa Rica (several additional floors of displays). Definitely recommend seeing this place while you’re in the capital city!
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 24 December 2023
  • Lee L
    Valhalla, New York2,292 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice Museum
    Very nice museum with 5 floors of exhibits on Costa Rican History. A lot of the items were jewelry and other similar items. But they also had some artifacts and other items. They did have a temporary exhibit as well. Like the National Museum a little pricey for non Costa Rican citizens at about $20. Didn't spend as much time here as at the National Museum.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 2 May 2024
  • Jazmin P
    4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gorgeous Collection of Jade Art
    The Jade Museum is a must visit location if you visit San Jose City. There are many indigenous mesoamerican jade art pieces, carving tools, and ceramics to admire. There is also an exhibit on Costa Rican fauna. The museum has five floors, with two exhibits on each side from floors 2-4 and one final exhibit on floor 5. Overall a culturally enriching experience unique to San Jose City.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 28 June 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,402 reviews
Excellent
805
Very good
386
Average
165
Poor
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Terrible
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Hel M
Arlington, VA13 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
The Jade Museum is clearly a place to visit when in San Jose. However, the quality and presentation varied a lot between the different floors. The exhibitions on the upper floors entailed a lot if pieces but had close to none descriptions and lagged information. Also the amount of pieces was a bit overwhelming — less can be more, The presentations on the lower floors were way more engaging and the pieces were put very well in context. It felt a little to me like we were in two different museums. I would clearly recommend a visit since this is a unique place.
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sharon B
Alta Loma, CA65 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
There are 6 levels. The threshold has a big snakelike showcase with a great variety of jade pieces. It ends with a piece of natural jade about 2 or 3 feet in diameter that was found in the surf. The Jade Hall shows how jade is worked and how it was traded and how it was used symbolically. The Day hall showed how jade was used in daily life and the activities of the pre-Columbian natives and their relationship with the environment and animals, which are represented in jade. That is as far as we went, but there is also a night hall, a hall of ancestral memory, and a hall showing a visitable collection that comes from the 3 different archeological regions.

The displays are beautifully arranged and labeled. Very interesting in the many colors that jade comes in, and the various ways it was used.

There are wheelchairs available if you ask.
Written 5 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JATM
Washington DC, DC46 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
More jade to see here than anywhere else in Central America. But also lots and lots of pre-columbian art and pottery. Could not believe the extent of their collection. On the top floor there is a gallery that is case after case and drawer after drawer of artifacts. Definitely worth a visit while in San Jose.
Written 9 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Treacletart
Fairfield,CT101 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
My husband and I actually found this museum quite boring. Not sure why it's called the jade Museum when in fact there really isn't that much jade on display. We breezed round in half an hour and at $16 per person we felt it was way over priced. Beautiful building just disappointed with the artefacts. And the current Dali exhibit is just a weird addition. Not a fan...
Written 6 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

H Lynn T
Leonard, OK86 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
There are five floors of exhibits in the Jade Museum which include hundreds of artifacts, many dioramas, some interactive displays (although the interactive displays were disabled due to Covid). We spent about an hour there but we were a bit rushed because we arrived late the afternoon and the museum closes at five. We really enjoyed the exhibits. I think we could have spent another half hour there had we not had to leave because of our late arrival. It was very informative and easy to understand as the exhibits included English translations as well as Spanish descriptions.
Written 14 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AAron
Ankeny, IA60 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
I always try and add a bit of culture when we travel. The jade museum and it's artifacts as well as the artwork are worth spending a few hours with.

The first floor can be a bit drab (besides the entry mural) but once you're in the five floors of galleries you'll definitely be impressed. There is an absolutely stunning number of artifacts on display, absolutely priceless cultural artifacts... definitely a must see if you're in San Jose.
Written 18 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Liliane M
Buger, Spain536 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
This museum has 5 floors and it is advisable to take a minimum of 2 hours to visit it.
It is very central. The entrance costs about 8,200 colones but it is really worth it.
Each floor is made by artisans.
The place is very clean, large, well lit and you can take photos.

It is a museum that is not very crowded, which allows you to visit it quietly.
It has an impressive collection of Jade and ceramic pieces.
It was for me an excellent and complete experience to learn about the history and rituals of the ancestors of Costa Rica and pre-Columbian society.

I recommend it.
Google
Written 24 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jules409
Hudson, OH74 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Couples
San Jose itself was a bit of a letdown after our time in the national parks however we did enjoy this museum. It is well-laid out with beautiful pre-columbrian artifacts and informative displays that tell of the everyday life and spiritual beliefs of early inhabitants of Costa Rica. There are a lot of jade artifacts but also beautiful gold and pottery all in remarkably good condition.
Written 13 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Drucilla S
14 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Friends
We attended this museum because the National Museum was unexpectedly closed for a private event. It was ~$16 per person, and took us only about one hour to explore fully. I would say this was a $10 museum, not $16. There are not so many exhibits, and many of the artefacts are presented without details. If money and time are no issue to you, then it is fine. Otherwise I would not recommend.
Written 2 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mb
Westfield, MA22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
If your visit to Costa Rica stirred any curiosity about the original peoples and the cultural archeology here, then take the time to visit the Jade Museum. A gorgeous space, with top notch use of technology and varied display methods to engage the viewer. Helped us connect to the land and history of this beautiful place. We are now curious about the archeology museum for our next visit.
Written 7 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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JADE MUSEUM (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

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