Driving directions to Jaco and Points South

Trip Planning - Getting Around

To: Atenas, Orotina, Puntarenas, Jaco, Quepos, Dominical and points in between

To All:

From San Jose: Take Hwy 1 (the Autopista) from San Jose following signs to the airport. Pass the airport on your left and continue straight ahead following the signs to San Ramon for ten to fifteen minutes.

From the Airport: Exit the airport. Once you leave the airport road, you will want to be going in the opposite direction that you just traveled. In order to go in the direction of San Ramon, Jaco, Quepos, etc. go to the first rotunda and go all the way around so that you make a giant U-turn and begin following the signs to San Ramon. Traffic merges from all sides, so be very careful here.

Then:
Once on Route 1 - follow signs to San Ramon, and continue straight ahead for ten to fifteen minutes. After the second time the two lanes of traffic merges into one lane (at each of the bridge crossings), get in the right lane and take the very next exit for Jaco and Quepos / Manuel Antonio. There is also a sign here for Punta Leona and for Atenas (14km). Turn left at the stop sign (there is a brown park sign here for Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio), crossing back over Route 1. Reset your trip odometer here to follow our detailed directions.

The road from here on out is relatively good, but very curvy and steep in some of the mountain passes. Passing should be done with extreme caution, though there are several long straight sections. If there are no lines on the road, assume it is two ways all the time. About 2km or 10 min from where you exited the autopista is the Fiesta del Maiz restaurant serving good Costa Rican style food using corn and corn flours. They have a tall sign, with a triangular tip that rotates around when they are open. There is often a traffic jam here as Sundays are very popular at the Fiesta del Maiz.

The road gets curvy shortly after this and as you descend, the 1st bridge goes over Rio Grande. (It is one of the first and oldest bridges in Costa Rica.) Next up is Atenas — a small town with a gas station and other amenities.

In San Mateo, there is a well-marked left turn as you go around the central park, follow signs for Punta Leona.

Go straight through next town of Orotina. This is a good place to stop for fruits and snacks. There are several markets on the left near the railroad tracks and a gas station with clean restrooms.

After crossing the railroad tracks, take the next exit to the right to Route 27, the sign says Jaco, Quepos, Caldera

Then, take the next right exit to Route 34, follow signs for Jaco / Quepos. This exit has a rotunda and at the base, continue to bear right, following signs for rain forest aerial tram. There is a sign a little ways up for Jaco so you know you are going the correct way.

Next, you will cross over the Tarcoles River Bridge at km #54—Crocodiles! Park either before or after bridge along the road and get out and walk over the bridge to get a great view of many enormous crocodiles. (We are talking 18' long crocs here!) Carara National Park is 10 more minutes up the road on the left.

The first view of the ocean is at km #60 after exiting from Hwy 1. There is a gas station here, too. Pass Punta Leona. Jaco is only 10 more minutes away.

To Jaco:

The first turn off for Jaco is well marked at km #76 from Hwy 1. There are three other entrances to Jaco, the last one being immediately after passing the large Servicentro Enersol (gas station). This road takes you to the end of Jaco beach where there is a good surf break.

To Quepos / Manuel Antonio:

Continue south along Route 34, passing all Jaco turns. Playas Esterillos are the next span of beaches after a short, curvy, hilly section of road. If you are hungry, there is a Castrol Service Center (gas station) after passing the signs for Esterillos east and central. There is a restaurant that shares a parking lot with this gas station. They serve good food, a little expensive, but worth it.

Good ceviche place: After crossing one of the one lane, decrepit bridges, look for the Iguana Verde restaurant on your right. They serve some of the best ceviche in the area using only fresh snook.

It’s another hour or so to Quepos from Jaco. Follow the very straight road through acres of African palm plantations (Elaeis guineensis). There are several one-lane bridges that are in desperate need of repair. Enter and exit bridges slowly, as there are often big bumps, and long lines of traffic. Continue straight, staying on the paved road and central Quepos is just after a short one land metal bridge.

Make sure to read the Return Trip Notes below.

To Dominical (via Quepos):

The turn off for Dominical is just before you enter Quepos, and goes to the left. The road changes to gravel to go to Dominical.

You continue down this poorly maintained gravel road, for an hour or more (42km), passing several teak farms and small lodges, including the Hacienda Baru. Dominical is 10 minutes (3km) further up the gravel road from the Hacienda Baru. Thus road is prone to washout and flooding during the rainy season. Travel should be done with caution and not without inquiring about the status of the road ahead of time. (See directions to Dominical and points south for an alternate route via Route 2 and the Cerro de la Muerte and San Isidro General.

Return Trip Notes:

There are a few turns on the way back to San Jose that are not well-marked or were not obvious on the way to the beach.

1) When passing through Atenas, there is a fork in the road towards the end of town. There is a triangular piece of land here with a statue in the middle—bear right here.

2) Shortly after this, there is a left turn that is marked (but not super obvious) for San Jose —turn here (on the way to Quepos or Jaco;, this turn was a natural turn bearing to the right and was unnoticed as a turn you made while driving in the other direction.)

3) After passing the Fiesta del Maiz, go 2 km and look for the right exit onto the Autopista. The only sign that marks the turn for Route 1 (the Autopista) is an unobtrusive sign on the right mixed in amongst some shops that says "Aeropuerto", take this exit. If you go over a bridge that crosses the autopista, you will know you missed the turn. On the way back to San Jose or the airport, look out for two instances where two lanes of traffic merge into one for fifty feet or so as you cross over bridges.

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