The drive from San Jose to Manuel Antonio is about 2hr 30min, but expect to take closer to 4 hours if driving at night.
Costa Rica Driving Tips:
- Your driver’s license is usually valid. Most visitors can drive in Costa Rica with a valid driver’s license from their home country
- Gas stations are full service only. stay in your car and the attendant will pump for you. credit card and tap to pay are common.
- Most of the bridges in Costa Rica are one lane. You may have to stop to let opposing traffic through first.
- When going down long steep grades. you can use your engine break to avoid overheating the breaks. You can do this by shifting into L or 1. Dont forget to shift back into drive before going up again.
- Center lane markers are the same as in the USA. Lanes are marked with double solid lines when passing is not allowed, and hatched (dotted) lines when passing is permitted. Beware, locals may ignore this rule and pass at any point. Be polite and slow down a bit to let someone by if it looks dangerous.
- For motorcycles, lane splitting is legal. watch your left side in heavy traffic.
- Police may set up checkpoints. This is usually harmless and they just wave you through, but always wear your seatbelt and have your documentation handy.
- pedestrians do not have the right of way. people trying to cross the street won’t expect you to stop for them. If you do stop, just be careful not to get rear-ended.
- Apple Maps does not have driving directions for Costa Rica. Make sure to have Google maps installed and always download maps for offline use. We had great cell coverage, but it’s best to have a backup option in case your service goes out. Learn how to download Goole Maps for offline use here
The route
DISTANCE
156 km
ESTIMATED TIME
3 hr
Actual time with a traffic jam and nighttime driving: 4 hr 30 min
Due to the delay getting a rental car, we Drove this route at night. While we had been advised against this, we didn’t have a choice. we found the route to be fine at night as long as you are careful. we followed other vehicles as much as possible to give us a heads up on the switchbacks.
Remember it gets dark by 6 PM everyday in Costa Rica!
Costa Rican roads are well maintained for the most part and we’d recommend renting a car over a bus or flight any day. Make sure to read up on renting a car in costa rica, as we were surprised by some add-ons that seemed sketchy but turned out to be legit.
We start out from San Jose near the airport and immediately get caught up in traffic as there is construction along route 1.
Maps takes us off this route and onto Radial El Coyol, which is a bypass to route 27. the road is smaller, but in good condition and less traffic.
Expect some toll booths along the way. the booths accept credit cards, American cash, or Costa Rican Colones.
Dark curves ahead
After a short while, we are out of the city and the switchbacks start. unfortunately for us, this also coincides with sunset.
We stop at La Casita Del Cafe to admire the views before the sun is gone and to prepare ourselves for the night drive.
Drive slow and be careful! there are no streets lights and the road drops off very quickly. Pay attention to the right side also, as there are ditches that can be pretty deep. you don want to get caught up in this and blow a tire or lose control.
From here, the road twists and turns up and down the mountains. Fortunately we were able to follow some cars in front of us until Orotina. at that point we were on our own.
After Orotina the road gets a little better and we continue on. Expect more twist and turns, going up and down the mountains until you reach Pozón. Here you’ll exit to route 34. follow this a LONG way down the coast until you reach Manuel Antonio.
Was it safe to drive at night?
We had read that it was not safe to drive at night in Costa Rica, but really it all comes down to being careful and paying attention. Having a Copilot helps, as does caffeine. Be sure to take your time and enjoy the adventure.
Would we do it again? Absolutely.
