When we went to Costa Rica in April, we decided to stay in the Manuel Antonio National Park area the whole time. Having Manuel Antonio as our home base helped ensure we made the most of our week in Costa Rica, rather than spending half our time traveling from one place to another. But our flights from the U.S. would take us to San José, Costa Rica, which meant we would need to decide how we’d get to Manuel Antonio from San José.
Manuel Antonio is on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast, while San José is basically in the dead center of the country and would require several hours of driving in any direction to find a beach. Luckily, there are plenty of options for getting from Manuel Antonio to San José — it just comes down to your personal preferences and your budget.
Of course, being the adventure travelers we are (and the budget-conscious travelers we are), we opted for the cheapest option: taking a bus from San José to Manuel Antonio. While renting a car and splitting it three ways wouldn’t have been very expensive, it sounded like more of a hassle than it was worth. So after arriving into San José late on Saturday night, we crashed at a hotel near the bus station and woke up early, ready to begin the journey to Manuel Antonio from San José with Costa Rica’s Tracopa bus service.
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Here’s everything you need to know about taking the Tracopa bus to Manuel Antonio from San José.
Logistics
If you’re used to traveling cross-country by bus in Europe (like I am), you know that you typically need to book your ticket in advance. But with the Tracopa bus, you can’t. You have to go up to the ticket window at the bus station and buy your ticket for the same day. That’s a little bit stressful for a planner like me, but I was able to find the Tracopa bus station’s address in San Jose and book a nearby hotel within a short walking distance, so we’d be ready to get an early start on our journey the next morning.
Start by taking a look at the bus schedule on Tracopa’s website to see what times the buses are departing on your travel date.
Note #1: You can take the bus to either the Manuel Antonio stop OR the Quepos stop. We had planned on going to Manuel Antonio, but our Airbnb host suggested getting off one stop early in Quepos where there are more taxis available. (Here’s what you need to understand about Quepos vs. Manuel Antonio.)
Above is a sample schedule for the buses going to Manuel Antonio on a Sunday, all of which would also stop in Quepos. You can click on the blue “detalles” button (details) to see all the stops, as well as the estimated time of arrival in Quepos/Manuel Antonio. If you set your destination as Quepos rather than Manuel Antonio, there will be other buses that may take more or less time to arrive, though you can typically count on 3-4.5 hours.
We knew we wanted to take the 9 a.m. bus, so we arrived at the Tracopa bus station around 8:15 a.m. (Just to be safe.) Considering it was a Sunday morning, there was no need to worry because the bus didn’t end up being busy at all. But when we arrived, I went up to the window, said I wanted the 9 a.m. bus to Quepos, and paid for our three tickets. It cost 4,695 Costa Rican Colones, or about $8.65 USD per person. Also, you must pay for the tickets in cash.
My bus ticket (on the way back to San Jose from Manuel Antonio). Your seat number is listed by “Asiento.”
“Asiento” means seat, so that’s how you find your seat assignment. Mine was seat 51. If you’re with a group and buy all your tickets together, they should be chronological.
Note #2: Turns out it’s actually slightly cheaper to get off in Quepos instead of Manuel Antonio, which I’m just now realizing. Going from San Jose to Manuel Antonio, the cost of the bus is 6,085 CRC, or about $11.20 USD per person.
As I received our tickets, I asked the ticket window worker which “dock” our bus would be leaving from — there were several buses going in and out of the station, but no clear instructions on which was which. They told me they’d make an announcement 10 minutes before departure, and they did, though it was only in Spanish and it can be hard to hear over the noise. The ones going to Quepos/Manuel Antonio will always be big, pink buses, I think, so that should help narrow it down.
My rule of thumb is, any time I’m confused, I just keep asking people questions until I get the answer I need. I’m pretty sure that when our bus arrived, it did indicate “Manuel Antonio” on the front somewhere, but I still asked the bus driver the bus’s destination, just to be sure as I boarded. Keep in mind that you do have an assigned seat, and you’ll need to put your luggage under the bus because there isn’t a lot of room for it inside. They do give you a little ticket/bag claim number which makes it feel safer, but I still kept my most important things with me.
Convenience
With the Tracopa bus station’s location in the middle of San José, it was really easy to get to, especially if you’re staying nearby. The bus station’s address is:
Bus Terminal Tracopa
Calle 5
Laberinto, San José Province
San José, Costa Rica
Addresses in Costa Rica can be a little weird, but it’s on the corner of Calle 5 and Calle República de Panamá. The hotel we stayed in — which I would totally recommend not only because of its proximity but also because of quality and price — was called 935 Lodge, just a 5-minute walk from the bus station.
Besides buying your tickets a bit before you want to catch the bus, there’s really no need to be there early or anything. If you’re hungry, the bus station also has a café that actually looked like it had pretty good stuff? And I was able to grab a coffee which was super convenient.
Security
There is no security checkpoint at either bus station.
Experience
A few days before our Costa Rica trip, I started wondering whether it was a mistake to plan on taking the bus. While most of my bus experiences around the world have been good, I had a flashback to the four-hour bus ride in Morocco from Fez to Chefchaouen through the winding Atlas Mountains, which had made me feel a little car-sick.
But, wanting to save money and stick to our original plan, we moved forward with taking the bus. And it was a great decision! The bus was comfortable, clean, and had air conditioning (which was super important to the overall positive experience we had). One thing to note is that the bus did not have a bathroom on board.
However, a little over an hour into the trip, we made an unexpected stop at a roadside restaurant/rest area. We were a little confused about why the bus driver was telling us that everyone had to get off. Eventually, we understood that it was for security purposes because he wanted to safely lock everyone’s stuff inside. About 15 minutes later, after everyone had the chance to use the restroom and get some snacks, we boarded the bus and continued on our journey.
We arrived in Quepos right on time, around 12:30 p.m. after departing San José at 9 a.m.
Another note: We did the reverse, taking the bus from Quepos to San José at the conclusion of our week in Manuel Antonio, and everything was essentially the same. The biggest difference was that the trip took longer because we got stuck in a bit of traffic due to construction on the way back to San José, and also because it was rush hour on Friday afternoon in the city instead of early Sunday morning. So keep that in mind — not all bus trips will go as smoothly as our first one did!
Value
The Tracopa bus got us halfway across the country in just a few hours. It was comfortable, efficient, and convenient. And it cost less than $10 USD. How could I possibly complain?!
While three and a half hours (or more, depending on traffic) can be a long time to spend on a bus, stopping partway through the trip really helps break it up.
Your only other road-based options for getting to Manuel Antonio from San José are taking a private shuttle or renting a car. Neither of those are going to really save you any time, but they would provide a more private experience. Although renting a car comes with additional responsibility and sometimes additional costs.
I also just found out that you can fly, only with an airline called Sansa, which provides direct, 30-minute flights to Quepos from San José for about $120 round-trip. However, if you factor in getting to the airport, going through security, flying, and transport from the airport to the city, you might not save too much time after all.
I’m perfectly happy with the experience we had taking the Tracopa bus! I would recommend it to anyone who wants a hassle-free, budget-friendly option for getting to Manuel Antonio from San José.
Have you ever taken the Tracopa bus to Manuel Antonio from San José, or anywhere else in Costa Rica? Let me know how your experience went in the comments!
-Cathy
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Originally Published on August 2, 2023.
I just wanted to say that as someone who is making this exact same trip and didn’t want to and couldn’t (because of timing) shell out for a private shuttle that I am so grateful you wrote out your experience in such detail that it makes me feel that I’m on the right track. I was literally searching up other peoples experiences as I was in San Jose and I feel much better. Thank you again!
Hey Khanan,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing! I’m so glad you found the blog post useful, and I hope your bus ride was/is just as smooth as mine was!
-Cathy
I’m in 2 minds. If the bus stops several places between San Jose and Quepos, did it not concern you that your luggage in the luggage compartment could be snatched when you couldn’t see?
Hey there!
I was a little concerned beforehand, but it actually didn’t worry me too much at the time. The main reason was probably because I had all of my most important things (passport, wallet/IDs, money, computer, other electronics, etc) with me in a smaller bag that I could put either above me or under the seat in front of me. If anyone had taken off with my other luggage, they would have been disappointed to only find clothing. It would have been inconvenient for me, but not the end of the world. Another thing was that they put “claim” tags on our bag before putting it under the bus and gave us the other half — I can’t say how strict they were with actually checking the numbers when giving people their bags, but it’s a mitigation measure. And finally, most people were just like random families and stuff traveling for the day. I know not all thieves “look” shady but really I never got the vibes from anyone else on the bus either time that they would be up to no good. In the end, it was similar to other bus trips I’ve taken in other countries, and a lot of the times you just have to put your big bag below and hope for the best. As long as you have your important stuff with you, it’ll most likely turn out okay.
I hope this helps!
-Cathy
Thank you for your response. I read, not to put your luggage in the overhead rack either. What I’m worried is that the passerby- opportunist might snatch it as they walk along. This is the last leg of my journey. And so, if I lose it, it won’t be the end of the world…I will think about it…
I really didn’t ever feel like anyone was concerned with anything other than their own stuff. I definitely wouldn’t think putting your stuff above you would be a problem, especially because it’s so narrow that you usually have to shove it in to fit and wouldn’t be easy to quickly grab on the run. I feel like as long as you aren’t flaunting wealth in any way, you’d most likely be fine. When people saw me, all they saw was a sweaty, dirty, sunburned traveler on the way home, lol.
Good luck!
Hi! Does the Quepos bus leave from the main, big bus terminal? Also, does this take you to a bus station to San Jose or the airport? I’m trying to get to the airport and the information on their website is a bit unclear. Thanks!
Hi Kelsey,
Yes, the Quepos bus leaves from the main bus terminal. Not sure I’d call it big 😂 but I’m pretty sure it’s the only one they have.
The bus from Quepos to San Jose will leave you at the bus station in San Jose. From there, you’d probably want to take an Uber to the airport (just don’t order it right in front of all the taxistas at the bus station. Walk a block or two away.)
I hope this helps!
-Cathy
How do you get to TRACOPA from the airport? Is it walking distance
Hi Cidney,
Unfortunately, Tracopa station is in central San Jose and not walking distance from the airport. I recommend booking a Taxi or an Uber to take you to Tracopa Station.
I hope this helps!
-Cathy
You can buy tickets in advance can’t you by using the Passer app?
Hey, thanks for the comment! I was not aware of the Passer app, but it seems like that may be a good option for those who don’t want to buy same-day tickets. Thanks for sharing.
-Cathy
Hi
We’re hoping to do the reverse route from Quepos back to the airport. How easy (and how long) is it to get from the bus terminus to the airport?
And any idea of taxi cost?
Hi Linda,
Thanks for stopping by, and for your question!
We also did Quepos back to San Jose to go to the airport, though we stayed overnight in San Jose. The bus from Quepos to San Jose took longer because it was Friday afternoon so there was some traffic as well as construction — both which we didn’t hit while traveling the opposite direction on a Sunday morning.
As for time and cost of getting from the San Jose bus station to the airport, I just put it into the Uber app (keeping in mind that it’s Sunday morning in Costa Rica right now) and it seems it would take about 30 minutes, with a cost of about $15 USD.
I hope this helps!
-Cathy
Thank you for this review! I was researching how to get from SJ to Quepos without having to rent a car or get a private driver. Do you have the address to the bus stop in Quepos?
Hi Trang!
I feel like addresses are a little funky in Costa Rica, lol, but it’s just called Quepos Bus Station or Terminal de Buses de Quepos. The only additional information Google provides if you type that in is that it’s in Puntarenas Province. I hope that helps!
-Cathy