Bookstores in San José
San José, San José has 108 bookstores on the map. That's 108 bookshops mapped around San José, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide. Give yourself an hour minimum — bookshops are the one errand that always takes longer than planned.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around San José (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Librería Internacional and ABC, plus Librería Atai. If a bookshop's missing from San José's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The San José bookstore lineup
108 mapped within about 40 km — showing 60:
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore.
ABC
Bookstore
ABC is Bookstore.
San Juan de Tibás
Librería Atai
Bookstore
Librería Atai — Bookstore.
San Juan de Tibás
Librería Tibas
Bookstore
Librería Tibas — Bookstore.
San Juan de Tibás
Librería La Central
Bookstore
Librería La Central is Bookstore.
Librería El Mar
Bookstore
Librería El Mar — Bookstore.
Escazú
Librería Isabel
Bookstore
Librería Isabel is Bookstore.
San Rafael
Liibrería Las Brisas
Bookstore
Liibrería Las Brisas — Bookstore.
San Rafael
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore.
Librería Cesaru
Bookstore
Librería Cesaru is Bookstore.
Librería Nicolet
Bookstore
Librería Nicolet — Bookstore.
Librería UCR
BookstoreRun by Universidad de Costa Rica
Run by Universidad de Costa Rica, Librería UCR is Bookstore, found on Calle de la Amargura in San Pedro.
Calle de la Amargura, San Pedro
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore on Vía 2, San Pedro.
Vía 2, San Pedro
Librería Kiara
Bookstore
Librería Kiara — Bookstore, found on Calle 53 in Guadalupe.
Calle 53, Guadalupe
Books & Dreams
Bookstore
Books & Dreams — Bookstore.
Liberia Catolica
Bookstore
Liberia Catolica is Bookstore on Calle 6, Alajuela.
Calle 6, Alajuela
Librería Cristiana
Bookstore
Librería Cristiana is Bookstore on Avenida 2, Santo Domingo.
Avenida 2, Santo Domingo
Librería Vino Nuevo
Bookstore
Librería Vino Nuevo is Bookstore on Avenida 2, Barva.
Avenida 2, Barva
Librería Cartago
Bookstore
Librería Cartago is Bookstore on Avenida 2, Cartago.
Avenida 2, Cartago
Bazar Onix
Bookstore
Bazar Onix is Bookstore.
Jiménez y Tanzi
Bookstore
Jiménez y Tanzi is Bookstore.
Pasamanería El Trebol
Bookstore
Pasamanería El Trebol is Bookstore.
Librería San Francisco
Bookstore
Librería San Francisco — Bookstore.
Novedades Vithi
Bookstore
Novedades Vithi — Bookstore.
Pino Suplidora
Bookstore
Pino Suplidora — Bookstore.
El Olmo
Bookstore
El Olmo is Bookstore.
Artemanía
Bookstore
Artemanía is Bookstore.
Lehmann
Bookstore
Lehmann — Bookstore.
Kibo
Bookstore
Kibo — Bookstore.
Artea
Bookstore
Artea is Bookstore. Artea also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 08:00-18:00; Sa 09:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Hours: Mo-Fr 08:00-18:00; Sa 09:00-16:00
Phone: +50622241010
LIHSSA Librería e Imprenta Hermanos Segura S.A.
Bookstore
LIHSSA Librería e Imprenta Hermanos Segura S.A. is Bookstore. LIHSSA Librería e Imprenta Hermanos Segura S.A. also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 08:00-18:30; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Sa 08:00-18:30
Phone: 2279-5579
Goodlight books
Bookstore
Goodlight books is Bookstore.
Librería Pluma
Bookstore
Librería Pluma is Bookstore on Calle 53, Guadalupe.
Calle 53, Guadalupe
Librería Fersa
Bookstore
Librería Fersa — Bookstore.
Mon
Bookstore
Mon is Bookstore.
Librería Mora
Bookstore
Librería Mora — Bookstore.
Librería
Bookstore
Librería is Bookstore.
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore.
Librería Internacional
BookstoreRun by Librería Internacional
Librería Internacional is Bookstore run by Librería Internacional.
La Librería Andante
Bookstore
La Librería Andante is Bookstore. La Librería Andante also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 10:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-18:00
Phone: +506 2253 1876
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore on Acceso Este, Pozos.
Acceso Este, Pozos
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore.
Librería Erial
Bookstore
Librería Erial is Bookstore on Avenida 8 Simón Bolívar, San José.
Avenida 8 Simón Bolívar, San José
Libro Azul
Bookstore
Libro Azul is Bookstore.
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore.
Librería Internacional
BookstoreRun by Librería Internacional
Librería Internacional is Bookstore run by Librería Internacional. Librería Internacional also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Phone: +506 40012797
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore.
Office Depot
Bookstore
Office Depot — Bookstore, found on Calle 70 in San José.
Calle 70, San José
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore. Librería Internacional also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:30-21:00; Su 11:00-20:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Heredia
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:30-21:00; Su 11:00-20:00
Phone: 2237-2887
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore. Librería Internacional also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:30-21:00; Su 11:00-20:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Heredia
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:30-21:00; Su 11:00-20:00
Phone: 2237-2887
Librería Internacional
Bookstore
Librería Internacional is Bookstore. Librería Internacional also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Su-Th 10:00-20:00; Fr-Sa 10:00-21:00.
Hours: Su-Th 10:00-20:00; Fr-Sa 10:00-21:00
Librería del Sur
Bookstore
Librería del Sur is Bookstore. Librería del Sur also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Phone: 22277044
Feelings
Bookstore
Feelings — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Feelings: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 10:00-8:00; Fr-Su 10:00-9:00.
Hours: Mo-Th 10:00-8:00; Fr-Su 10:00-9:00
La Casa de las Revistas
Bookstore
La Casa de las Revistas is Bookstore. La Casa de las Revistas also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 10:00-21:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-21:00
Phone: 2201-5858
Universal
Bookstore
Universal is Bookstore. Universal also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-21:00; Su 10:00-20:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-21:00; Su 10:00-20:00
Phone: 4031-4800
Universal
Bookstore
Universal is Bookstore. Universal also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-21:00; Su 10:00-22:00; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-21:00; Su 10:00-22:00
Librería Lehmann
Bookstore
Librería Lehmann is Bookstore on 0033 Avenida Central Rogelio Fernández Güell, San José.
0033 Avenida Central Rogelio Fernández Güell, San José
Expolibros
Bookstore
Expolibros is Bookstore on 0004 Avenida 2 Libertador Juan Rafael Mora Porras, San José.
0004 Avenida 2 Libertador Juan Rafael Mora Porras, San José
Corella
Bookstore
Corella is Bookstore on Avenida Central, Guadalupe.
Avenida Central, Guadalupe
Librería El Poás
Bookstore
Librería El Poás — Bookstore, found on Avenida Central in Guadalupe. Also worth knowing about Librería El Poás: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00.
Avenida Central, Guadalupe
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00
What the map tells us about bookstores in San José
13 of the 108 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
4 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
There's a cluster: 4 of them sit on Avenida 2, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
The San José bookstore crawl
Making a day of it in San José? Work this order: Librería Internacional, ABC, Librería Atai, Librería Tibas, Librería La Central, Librería El Mar, Librería Isabel, and Liibrería Las Brisas. That's the bookstore crawl in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 100 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for San José
Browsing in San José? A little strategy helps:
- Look for local history at Librería Internacional. The local-interest shelf tells you what a town thinks of itself. Great for visitors, better for new residents.
- Note the shop's specialties at ABC. Sci-fi, travel, art books, philosophy — every good shop leans somewhere. Find the lean that matches yours.
- Bring a tote bag. Bookshops and tote bags are a natural pair. You'll need it — nobody leaves with the one book they came for.
- Don't overlook the classics wall. Every shop has one. Cheap editions of the books everyone claims to have read — your chance to actually read them.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around San José — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in San José can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 108, or a bookstore we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 108 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for San José: 108 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.