If you need to drive from San Jose to Tamarindo or vice versa, this post will help you with the drive. This drive takes you through half the country from the Central Valley to the North Pacific in the Guanacaste province. It’s a long drive to Tamarindo from San Jose so you will want to plan your travel day accordingly with this guide.
This post also works if you are driving from San Jose to Playa Langosta, Playa Negra, Playa Avellanas, Nicoya, Santa Cruz and Huacas.
Renting a car? Get our Costa Rica car rental discount and extra freebies in the link to save some $$! Plan your trip to Tamarindo and San Jose in the links to our blog guides.
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Map of Route from San Jose to Tamarindo
Map of route here on Google Maps. However for GPS navigation apps in Costa Rica, we recommend you to use Waze as it is the most widely used GPS app by locals.
How Far is Tamarindo from San Jose Airport/How Far is Tamarindo from San Jose, Costa Rica?
The distance from San Jose International Airport (Juan Santamaria International Airport) to Tamarindo is 247 kilometers (153 miles).
The distance from San Jose to Tamarindo is 258 kilometers (160 miles).
On average, this drive takes around 4.5 hours without traffic. However, this drive can take anywhere from 4.5 to 10 hours if there are traffic accidents, strikes and lots of cars. Additionally, if you depart between 3-5 PM from San Jose on a Friday or during a busy holiday weekend, there is always a lot of congestion and slow moving traffic.
There is a lot of construction on the Interamericana highway 1 so it’s usually slow on that section.
We Do Not Recommend to Drive to SJO Airport from Tamarindo on the Day You Fly Out
It is too risky. We have to drive from Tamarindo to San Jose at least 2-3 times a month and the travel time differs all the time due to various factors. The longest it took us was 10 hours as a fatal accident happened on one of the one lane sections and the road was blocked for hours, waiting for the ambulance, coroner and police to arrive. Another was 9 hours as there was a strike and they blocked multiple sections of the route. The shortest was 4 hours and 20 minutes departing at 10 AM on a Tuesday in October (lowest tourism season month and rainiest month in Costa Rica for most of the country). No traffic whatsoever and we took only one bathroom break.
Don’t risk missing your flight. Travel to the airport the day before you fly out and stay at an airport hotel. Need a place to stay near SJO Airport? Here are our recommended hotels near San Jose International Airport. We also have a 10% discount for Adventure Inn, a fun, cozy hotel near the airport with free airport shuttle – use promo code mytanfeet on their website booking page for a 10% discousnt.
Pro planning tip: Always fill up on gas before you depart and bring snacks/drinks/water with you in the car in case you get stuck in traffic.
We Do Not Recommend Driving This Route Late at Night
Even though we drive to Tamarindo from San Jose at night sometimes, we are incredibly familiar with this route and driving in Costa Rica. For tourists, especially first time visitors to Costa Rica, we do not recommend driving this route late at night. It’s very long and there’s not much open at night. Most restaurants, convenience stores and supermarkets close around 8-9 PM. Only gas stations in Costa Rica are 24 hours.
This is especially true during the rainiest months like September and October, as it tends to rain heavily at night. Although it’s completely paved, there is a long section of this route that does not have any street lights.
If you absolutely have to drive this route late at night, we highly recommend to get a prepaid SIM card so you can have a local phone number to make calls in case of emergency.
Remember it gets dark at 6 PM everyday in Costa Rica! Read about other important things to know about Costa Rica before you visit in this post.
4×4 Required to Drive from San Jose to Tamarindo?
No. This route goes on main roads and highways the entire time. A 4×4 is not required.
Toll Booths (Peaje)
There are three toll booths are you exit/enter San Jose and the San Jose International Airport area. The costs range from 200-1200 CRC. You can pay in cash (USD or CRC) or credit card but we recommend to pay in CRC. If you pay in USD cash, they don’t give a great exchange rate.
Pro tip: As you approach the toll booth, there will be a sign that says “peaje” with prices. Make sure you do NOT go in the lane that has a white sign that says “Quickpass.” Some of the booths have a lane for credit card only (has a credit card symbol).
Safety Tips for the Drive from San Jose to Tamarindo
If you are driving with all your luggage, please be extremely careful and aware of your surroundings. Unfortunately car breaks in and car theft do occur and it just takes thieves a minute to get in and out. Do not ever give them any opportunity or tempt them to target your car. Stop at well trafficked places, the best would be where all the other tourism buses stop.
- If possible, when you stop to use the bathroom or take photos, take turns so you always have one person at the car.
- Do not to leave anything visible in the car.
- When you are leaving San Jose/Tamarindo, take what you need to have with you in the car during the drive. Pack everything else in the trunk or under the luggage cover. This is to avoid having to take out all your luggage in the parking lot in case you forgot something that you packed in your suitcase.
- Take your valuable belongings with you whenever you get out (passport, cash, credit cards, cell phone, cameras, etc.). Do not leave those in the car.
- Park where you can see your car from the restaurant or wherever you stop. When you park, roll up your windows and lock your doors.
- Do not park in empty, unlit or dimly lit streets.
- Avoid taking out all your stuff in plain view.
- Read more Costa Rica safety tips in this post. We also highly recommend to get travel insurance just in case.
The recommended stops in this post are well trafficked, well lit areas where many locals and international tourists stop at. The only exception is the Puente de la Amistad as there are no facilities there. Sometimes there are a few other tourists, sometimes there isn’t.
Recommended Stops on the Drive from San Jose, Costa Rica to Tamarindo
Starting from San Jose, here are our recommended stops along the drive from San Jose to Tamarindo. To see all the places we recommend for food, bathroom, photo stops, etc. in this post (and more), click on our drive from San Jose to Tamarindo My Map link here!
Bathrooms
For clean bathrooms, we highly recommend the Delta Gas stations. Their bathrooms have always been super clean and all have air conditioning. There are several Delta gas stations along this route (see our map above). You can fill up on gas at the same time and buy snacks and drinks. The convenience store also has coffee to go.
Orotina Fruit Stands
About 1-1.5 hour from San Jose near Orotina, there is a nice fruit stand area as well as local restaurants.
This spot is about a 1 hour drive from San Jose so it’s a nice first stop. You can pick up some fruit or eat at one of the local sodas. Be VERY careful if you cross the highway here!
Caldera
Caldera is a popular beach for city Costa Ricans since it’s not far from San Jose. It’s home to the Pacific coast port so you can see lots of big ships out there. Along the boulevard are tons of small food stalls for shaved ice, food and other Costa Rican treats.
Although it’s the beach, we don’t recommend swimming in Caldera beach because of strong waves and rip tides. But it’s a nice place to stop and get a shaved ice or treat.
Plaza Limonal (this is approximately halfway ish)
From Caldera, Plaza Limonal is about a 1 hour drive. Plaza Limonal has bathrooms, a pharmacy, pizza, Taco Bell and Subway. They have a good sized parking lot and this is a very popular spot for tourists and locals.
Another option is to go to Restaurante Mi Finca which is right next to the plaza. It’s a local cafe with snacks, coffee, pastries and bathrooms. They also have free flying Scarlet Macaws in their trees. Lots of tour buses stop at this restaurant.
Puente de la Amistad
From Limonal, the Friendship bridge is a 30 minute drive. There is nothing here at the bridge, sometimes there may be a local guy selling coconut water. You can stop here if you want or not, as it’s not like super exciting. This is the longest bridge in Costa Rica so that is something notable but that’s it.
There are no facilities here like bathrooms and sometimes there aren’t any cars. I recommend to have someone stay with the car if you stop here and walk on to the bridge to take pictures.
Nicoya
As you turn from Route 18 to Route 21, that intersection has some restaurants and fruit stands. There is also a gas station there (Rio Tempisque gas station).
Keep going about 10 minutes and you’ll arrive at the Nicoya intersection that has KFC, Pops Ice cream, Burger King, clothing stores and clean bathrooms. We like to stop here to use the bathroom.
Another stop is a local restaurant really close by that has an ample parking lot and clean bathrooms called Rancho de Sebas.
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is the next biggest town near Tamarindo, about a 30-45 minute drive away. This town has a gas station, many restaurants including fast food like Subway and supermarkets. If you need to stop to fill up gas or get something to eat, this is a good option.
In between Santa Cruz and Tamarindo, in a small town called Lagunilla, there is a quite good bakery called Sanchez Bakery. They have coffee, sandwiches and pastries. They have parking spots right outside the front door so you can keep an eye on your car the entire time.
Tamarindo
And you’ve arrived in Tamarindo! Hopefully you didn’t get stuck in traffic for too long. Now you can enjoy your time at the beach.
Read all of our Tamarindo guides below to help plan your trip
Things to do in Tamarindo and Day Trips
Taking the bus from Tamarindo to San Jose
Looking for a hotel in Tamarindo? Check out our review of the beach front Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort!
Planning to drive to La Fortuna from Tamarindo? Check out our similar guide to this drive!
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica. Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet”
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Nicole Prime says
This will be our 1st trip to Costa Rica. I can’t even e plain how grateful we are to you for sharing all of your knowledge and information. Truly so very grateful