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Adam St. Simons
Music Industry & Marketing Professional | Surfer | Rum Connoisseur

Reggae To The Rescue — Ground Transportation: SJO>DOMI

This is the fourth entry in a series of short blog-style articles about visiting Costa Rica from the United States. The specific motive behind sharing this information is to help first time visitors prepare for their trip and make their way down to the coastal surf community of Dominical for this month’s Reggae To The Rescue benefit concert featuring Rebelution (July 16th).

ENTRY #4: Ground Transport — SJO>DOMI

Your passport is up-to-date (see Entry #1), your flights are booked (see Entry #2), and your bags are all packed up and you’re ready to go (see Entry #3). Now you need to make preparations for the three to four hour trip (or longer depending on your method of travel) from Juan Santamaría International Airport to Dominical.

There are three primary methods of transit: Bus, private shuttle, or rental car. There’s also the option of taking a domestic flight on a small twin turbo prop from SJO to Quepos (about half an hour north of Dominical) via Nature Air and then sorting out ground transportation from there. Let’s take a look at each option.

BUS

While Juan Santamaría International Airport is Costa Rica’s main airport and services San José, it’s actually located in the city of Alajuela which is about 20 km west of downtown. (Note: Costa Rica, like the rest of the world outside of the U.S., uses the metric system.) If you plan on making your way down to Dominical by bus you’re going to have to take either a city bus or taxi into downtown San José in order to get to the Tracopa bus terminal.

When you exit the airport you will be immediately greeted by a mob of taxi drivers fighting for your attention. If you want to skip the process of taking a local city bus and walking from the drop off point to the Tracopa bus terminal then negotiate a fare in advance with one of the taxi drivers. It should run you around 10000 colónes ($20USD).

If you’d rather save the cash and are up for a small adventure than walk past the mob to the left and turn right on the main airport road. There you’ll see the bus stop. Take the first bus that reads SAN JOSE. Double check with the driver that it’s the correct bus and that it will get you close to the Tracopa terminal. When you do this they’ll often notify you of your stop. The fare is around 500 colónes ($1USD) and must be paid in the local currency. Depending on where you get off you’ll likely have to walk a few blocks. If you purchased a local SIM card for your unlocked phone at the airport (See Entry #3) then you can use a navigation app to help you the rest of the way.

Note: Waze is widely used and the preferred navigation app in Costa Rica.

Once at the Tracopa terminal you’ll have the option of taking either an indirect bus called a “collectivo” (which stops to let people on/off) or a direct bus called a “directo” (which will only stop to let people off). For this reason taking the directo will save you time but might cost you a little more money. The reason I say might is because your fare on the directo is determined by the final destination of the bus. You can take any bus that routes past Dominical. Uvita is the nearest destination and will cost around 5500 colónes, but you can also take buses headed for David (Panama), Paso Canoas, or San Vito. When you get to the terminal check in with the attendant and see what’s available.

When traveling from San José to Dominical I always recommend the direct bus. However, when returning to SJO a collectivo will drop you off right in front of the airport minimizing the need to take local city bus or taxi from downtown San José.

For a complete listing of routes and schedules (Rutas y Horarios) visit the Tracopa website here.

PRIVATE SHUTTLE

If you don’t mind spending the additional cash and would prefer to skip the ordeal of taking a bus or renting a car than booking a private shuttle service is probably for you. A quick Google search will provide a number of shuttle services that will pick you up at the airport and drop you off directly at your hotel in Dominical for around $50USD each way.

RENTAL CAR

Again, a quick Google search will provide you with a variety of options so I won’t go into too much detail here. If you reserve your pick up in advance from the airport then a shuttle will be waiting for you out front by the mob of taxi drivers to take you to the rental car lot.

A couple point worth mentioning.

  1. I can almost guarantee you the price you are quoted online does not include the mandatory insurance coverage. Do your research and call the rental car company before booking.
  2. Be prepared for a sizable hold on your credit card to cover the insurance deductible and know that debit cards will not be accepted for this hold.
  3. If you are strictly coming down to Dominical for Reggae To The Rescue and are staying in town then you do not need to rent a four-wheel drive vehicle. However, if you’re staying outside of town (maybe an AirBnB up one of the mountain roads) or if you plan on doing any exploring then a four-wheel drive vehicle may not only be preferred but necessary.
  4. Make sure you have at least 5000 colónes on hand for the tolls between San José and Jacó.

NATURE AIR

Taking a domestic flight between SJO and Quepos, and then renting a car or taking a bus from Quepos to Dominical, is your fourth and final option. Flights typically range from $44 to $69 each way depending on the weight of your baggage with an additional $25 tax. Departure times typically range between 8am and 11am so depending on when you arrive in Costa Rica Nature Air may not be an option if you want to get to Dominical on the same day. You can search available flights on Nature Air’s website here.

Get your tickets to Reggae To The Rescue here.