Manuel Antonio to Dominical
 

Anybody drove from Manuel Antonio to Dominical. How is the road that way. Is it better to take the road that goes through san isidro general?

This coastal road is pretty rough. We drove it once over 10 years ago and while unimproved, it was passable. We then drove it again a couple of years ago and it was worse! I guess the people in that region have no political pull with San Jose. I would say if you dont mind going slow on a rough dirt road, try it. We did it both times with a regular sedan, not 4wd, though the weather was fine, no rain. If you do go, be sure to check out Haciendo Baru' just north of Dominical. The funny thing about roads in CR is that the road south from Dominical is now newly paved....

How long did it take to make that drive? Is the scenery worth it? I noticed that a lot of the roads dont hug the coast, so its hard to find some beaches. Is that the case with this drive?

The drive took most of the day; we stopped for lunch in Matapalo. The scenery is not really exciting - palm oil plantations mostly, though we did see a deer. The beaches seem to be mostly a mile or so west of the "highway" but there are plenty of access roads to the ocean and the few hotels that are scattered around there. Plenty of other tourists around - this is surfer country.....

I drove the road in jan in a toyota tercel. It is rocky and dusty but i could drive 30mph most of the way. It should only take a few hours to drive. We had to ford a river as they were working on a bridge. They are planning to pave it in the future. Not a bad drive just take it slow and maybe Matapalo for lunch.