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 hours to Dominical and six or more to the rest of the southern zone. Alternatively, you can take the Jacó/Quepos route that winds down the coast to Dominical and then continue south. A substantial part of this so-called Costanera (Coastal) Highway north of Dominical is still unpaved, a fact that adds significantly to travel time.

The drive from San José is a scenic one through Cartago and over mountainous terrain, passing remote farms and villages and dramatic scenery before dropping down to the bustling city of San Isidro de General and turning right onto the road to Dominical.

If you drive the route past Jacó and Quepos, you’ll need to endure about an hour of very bumpy road conditions. Depending on the time of day you’ll also be sharing the road with trailers heading either to Nicaragua or Panamá. The trip takes you past some pretty fishing villages, pineapple plantations, and worker villages with traditional wooden two-story architecture.

Once the Quepos-Dominical road is paved and the highway from Ciudad Colón to Orotina is completed, the drive time from San José should be reduced to between two and three hours.

Public buses serve the area, but they aren’t frequent and the towns are quite a distance from each other. The best option for transportation if you can afford it is to buy a four-wheel drive vehicle. Although the main roads are generally very good, they worsen substantially the further south you go, and the Osa Peninsula is mostly dirt roads.

Three domestic airstrips serve the area. The closest to Dominical is in Palmar Sur, just under an hour’s drive away. Golfito and Puerto Jiménez (on the Osa Peninsula) also have airstrips. Both of Costa Rica’s domestic airlines serve these airstrips. They run several flights daily during the tourism high season and at least one daily flight apiece to Golfito and Palmar Sur during the low season.