Santa Ana is a city in the Central District of Santa Ana, Santa Ana Canton

Santa Ana Canton

Santa Ana is the name of the 9th canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 61.42 km², and has a population of 36,963...

, San José Province

San José Province

San José is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the central part of the country, and borders the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Limón and Puntarenas. The provincial capital is San José. The province covers an area of 4,965.9 km²...

, Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

. It is located at around 9°56′N 84°11′W. The city acts as seat to the municipal government of the Santa Ana Canton. Since the Central District is mostly comprised by the city of Santa Ana, they are often treated interchangeably.

General information

The city of Santa Ana still maintains its traditional feel of a typical Costa Rican town with its small stores, bars, restaurants offering local and international cuisine and Sunday fresh fruit and vegetable markets. Nonetheless, Santa Ana has been recently experiencing real estate and commercial development unprecedented in the entire Central Valley. It has become the place of choice with upscale grocery stores, gourmet restaurants, banks, gas stations, medical and dental clinics, beauty salons, coffee houses, hotels, private schools, and small commercial centers springing up everywhere. The city itself is within a few minutes of the surging business locale of Lindora, in the Pozos district, adding to the availability of commercial, lodging and residential areas.

Important Routes and Transportation

National Highway CR-27 Próspero Fernández connecting San José

San José, Costa Rica

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

 and Caldera, Puntarenas

Puntarenas Canton

Puntarenas is the name of the first canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 1,842.33 km², and has a population of 109,798. Its capital is the provincial capital city of Puntarenas....

, passes within a mile of the city of Santa Ana. This has recently allowed faster travel to the Pacific coast, an average of 45 minutes from Santa Ana. The capital city of San Jose is also within 15-20 minutes thanks to this route.

Education

There is a variety of private bilingual schools within short driving distance serving the international population of the Central Valley. Many are accredited by U.S.-based associations of colleges and schools and focus on the American High School Diploma program and a wide range of Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses along with the Costa Rican national curriculum.

Santa Ana hosts the United World College of Costa Rica

United World College of Costa Rica

The United World College Costa Rica , located in the Santa Ana suburb of San José, is the 11th United World College and the first to offer instruction in both English and Spanish...

, Saint Jude School (in the neighboring Pozos district but still in the Santa Ana Canton) and Tree of Life International School.

Other private schools within driving distance include:

• Costa Rica Country Day School
  Costa Rica Country Day School
  - Foundation :The school was founded in 1963 by Marian Baker to give a correct U.S. American style education in Costa Rica. It started off as a small school and grew to about 150 students by 1968. It has since grown into a large school enrolling more than 1000 students...
  
  
• British School of Costa Rica
  British School of Costa Rica
  - Brief Description :The British School of Costa Rica is an independent, bilingual, international school in San José, Costa Rica. Founded in 1981 by the present Directors General, David and Liliana Lloyd, the school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and has...
  
  
• Blue Valley School
• Saint Mary’s School
• Saint Paul's School
• Pan-American School
• Lincoln School
• Humboldt School

Sports

Golfers in Santa Ana have access to the Parque Valle del Sol

Parque Valle del Sol

Parque Valle del Sol is a residential and golf community located in Santa Ana, Costa Rica....

golf course located in Santa Ana. It is the first and the only professional golf course in Costa Rica open to the public in the Central Valley. The 18-hole championship golf course was designed by Tracy May in 1994 to be challenging and fair under most conditions and downright tough when the strong winds come down from the surrounding mountains. Due to its diverse layout, golfers are required to use all of the clubs in their bag throughout the game.