Historically and culturally, the southern zone is a peculiar part of the country. In a way, it’s where the country’s many attributes converge in a single place. Intense nature, indigenous communities, the legacy of the all powerful United Fruit Company, a duty-free zone, and the modern bustling city of San Isidro (apparently the fastest growing

There are two ways to drive to the Southern Zone from San José. The quickest is down through San Isidro del General, which then connects you to either Dominical on the coast, or straight down to Palmar, the Osa Peninsula, Golfito and finally the border with Panamá at Paso Canoas. This route takes about four

By Christopher Howard The idea of costal highway linking Quepos in the Central Pacific with Dominical in the South Pacific was originally conceived during the government of José María “Don Pepe” Figueres Ferrer in the year 1970. Work was begun in 1976 under the government of Daniel Oduber Quirós, but the concession was cancelled when

The Southern Zone has unfortunately suffered a tremendous amount of deforestation at the hands of farmers clearing pasture land and of the United Fruit Company, which cleared the jungle for its banana plantations. Some developers are now reforesting large proportions of the land they’ve bought from these farmers to make it more valuable for real

For three areas located so close to each other, the diversity in residents, land prices and development outlook is remarkable. The fact that development in this part of the country is just starting in earnest means that there are still many good investment opportunities, for both large and small investors. Though they’re in an awkward,

1. Desarollo Armónico de la Peninsula. This foundation was about to be born at the time of writing. The brainchild of the project manager for Punta Piedra Amarilla Marina Project, Angel Coello, the foundation is being set up to join the forces of developers, the three municipalities of Cóbano, Paquera and Jiquaral, the local MINAE

With a different profile of visitor and slower pace of development, rental prices in this area are much lower than in Northwest Guanacaste. In the surfing areas like Malpaís and Santa Teresa, visitors can expect to pay about $800 per week for a studio, $1,200 per week for a three-bedroom house on the beach, and