How to get to Dominical, Costa Rica

Vacation are supposed to be fun.  The travel part of vacationing can be tricky.  Here are a few tips to make your voyage to Dominical as easy as possible. Pura vida! 

Flying to Costa Rica

The best way to get to Costa Rica is by air. SJO Juan Santamaria Airport is the biggest international airport of Costa Rica. Although it is the airport of the capital San Jose, it is located a little outside San Jose, very close to a city called Alajuela. If your destination is Dominical, you want to use this airport to fly to Costa Rica.

You can fly directly to San Jose International Airport (SJO) from numerous cities throughout the world. European travelers should try to avoid a stopover in Mexico or the United States, since these countries make you go through customs. This is in most cases a time-consuming and unpleasant activity with potentially costly delays. A transfer in Panama or Europe will be far more relaxing and more efficient.

From the San Jose International Airport, you have three main options to get to Dominical. Before we describe those options, if you do decide or need to stay in San Jose, book a hotel close to the airport, in Alajuela or Santa Ana/ Escazu. This way you are already on the right side of the busy central valley, which means you avoid the traffic jams of busy San Jose. It is also not worth it to stay in the city center of San Jose; Costa Rica is a nature destination, not a city destination.

Driving Yourself: Car or Motorcycle Rental

Hmm.  Is this recommended?  Driving around San Jose is an adventure sport.  It takes two people: one to drive and the other to direct and often, redirect when you miss the turn. If you are a timid or nervous driver, or if you simply want to enjoy your vacation, hire a professional shuttle or private car to get you out of the city.  Rentals are available in Dominical, and the Villas Rio Mar front desk staff can help.  If your budget allows, take a shuttle from San Jose to Dominical, then rent the car.  The drive to Dominical will take at least three hours. 

If you rent in San Jose, you will shuttle from the airport to the car rental of your choice.  Then the fun begins. This is not a quick process, no matter how seasoned and privileged a traveler you are. Buy the insurance. Traffic around the airport and around San Jose is crazy, and no matter the story, anything that happens is your responsibility.  Most roads are narrow, traffic is often heavy and, in the city, even the friendliest, laid-back Ticos (Costa Ricans) become warriors.  Merging is a combat sport; and even if you figure that out, you will need shots of some adult beverage to recover from constantly looking for ever weaving and darting motorcycles. 

Once away from San Jose, the best way to travel in Costa Rica is by rental car. You have the freedom to go whenever you want, to wherever you want. The roads in Costa Rica are quite good. But if you want to go to some remote areas it is better to rent a 4×4; because you might have to cross some rivers and/ or drive up some steep unpaved roads.

Hint: For those using a hotel in San Jose: let the rental car company bring the car to your hotel, so you don’t have that hassle when arriving in Costa Rica. It can also shorten your rental period.

Fly to Quepos to get to Dominical

There are no domestic flights to Dominical Costa Rica; but you can get close by plane. The airport of Quepos/ Manuel Antonio (Managua Airport, XQP) is just a 30 minutes’ drive away from Dominical.

Both Costa Rica Green Airways and SANSA offer regular daytime flights to Quepos for around $135 per person with one bag.  The flights are 20-30 minutes long and beautiful on clear or partly cloudy days.  Book carefully, since you are limited to a small carry on unless you upgrade your ticket. 

The Quepos airport is tiny, so you will need to arrange a taxi or shuttle prior to arriving.  Rental agencies will meet you at the airport.

Travel by taxi or shared shuttle service to Dominical

A quick “Shuttles in Costa Rica” search will provide several options for reserving a shuttle. As of this writing, we are looking for a company we can recommend. Rides should cost between $170 and $250 per transport (not per person.) If you are willing to be patient with additional stops, you can save money with a shared service. WhatsApp is highly recommended to communicate with your driver.

By public transportation to Dominical Costa Rica

Dominical is fairly easy to visit by means of public transport, but it is the most time consuming options. It will take around 5 hours to get to Dominical from San Jose by bus. The buses are in good shape and because they are usually not that full, it is also quite comfortable. However, you must a patient traveler to use this option. It is best to use a taxi to go to the bus terminal of Tracopa in San Jose (on Calle 5). Here you can get on a bus with direct service to Dominical, it leaves daily at 6am and 3pm and costs around $15 USD per person. You can also use buses that go first to Quepos or San Isidro; buses to Dominical leave very frequently from both places.