Uvitaxi
Uvita by Car or Bus
The small coastal town of Uvita is an excellent choice. The gateway to the Marino Ballena National Park, it’s got gorgeous protected beaches, fantastic whale-watching year-round, a laid-back atmosphere between the dusty roads and waves.
San Jose to Uvita by Car
Costa Rica is made for a road trip if you’ve got the budget, and the drive from San José downtown or straight from Juan Santamaría International Airport is very manageable.
The distance is 139 mi / 223 km, which should take you around four hours given that most of it is along the coastal highway. If your flight arrives in the early evening or later, we’d suggest staying in a hotel in the nearby Alajuela area (many offer a free shuttle service) and collecting your car the next day so you can be well rested and enjoy the scenery!
You could opt for this door-to-door private transfer from San Jose to Uvita with Amigos del Sol ☀️
Distance: 139 miles / 223 km.
We offer daily private-shuttle up to 4 people.
SJO to Uvita by bus
As is common across much of Latin America, large cities have a variety of bus stations tied to specific companies or routes, rather than a single central bus terminal.
The company that travels towards and along the Pacific Coast from San José is called Tracopa, and all their buses leave from the same station: the Tracopa LTDA Bus Terminal in the south of the city.
You can find it here on Google Maps.
This is also the terminal you should head to for journeys to Jaco, Sierpe (for onward travel to Drake Bay) or Manuel Antonio National Park.
The station is quite small, has some seats, a few snacks for sale, toilets, several ticket desks, and screens detailing routes and departures.
If you’re flying into San José Airport (SJO) and want to go straight to Uvita, then simply get a taxi at the airport to take you to the Tracopa terminal. Travel time is 30-45 minutes depending on traffic.
You could opt for this door-to-door private transfer from San Jose to Uvita with Amigos del Sol.
To reach Uvita, you can take any bus going along the Ruta 27 x Costanera, not just those terminating in Uvita.
Although some routes will list ‘Uvita’ as the final destination, most won’t, so it’s a good idea to just ask at the ticket desk for ‘el proximo bus para Uvita, por favor’.
There are multiple departures each day and, at time of writing, the last bus leaves San José for Uvita at 18:40.
You can view full routes and timetables on Tracopacr.com.
As far as we’re aware, the only way to purchase a ticket is in person from the kiosks at the Tracopa bus terminal, and it’s cash only. As it’s a popular route, we recommend arriving at the station at least 30 minutes beforehand to ensure you can get a seat.
Bust ticket price is 6,025 colones per person (approx. £8/$10), and your ticket includes a designated seat.
The bus journey from San José to Uvita takes four hours in total, which included a stop for the driver and travelers to have food.
The Tracopa bus should pull in and stop at Uvita bus station (Flor de la Sabana), which is situated on the right hand side of the busy Costanera Sur highway. The station has waiting areas, a small restaurant and snack shop, toilets, and there’s a tourist information centre next door to it. However, if the final stop isn’t Uvita, it may simply just pull up quite abruptly alongside the station and the driver will shout for people to get off.
You can find the Uvita bus station here on Google Maps.
Uvita has a bit of of unique layout though and, depending on where your accommodation is situated, you’re going to have a short walk, long walk up a hill, or a quite long walk along the highway and down some dusty roads.
The last bus leaves San José for Uvita at 18:40.
Getting around Uvita
Several buses back and forth every day for Dominical. The trip takes about 20 minutes and the buses these days are quite comfortable! You grab the bus from the side of the road at one of the bus stops. There is one obvious bus stop right across from the Tracopa station. If you are looking for things to do in the area check out this awesome surf experience with Amigos del Sol or this exciting hike to the Nauyaca Waterfall. Lots of fun things to do!
4:45am, 5:30am, 6:00am, 9:30am, 11:40am, 13:30, 14:00, 16:00, 17:30.
(20 minutes) Bahia Ballena and in front of Flor de la Sabana (Tracopa).
Getting around Uvita
In Uvita there is a nice, big, clean and comfortable Tracopa bus station for buses heading to San José – Tracopa Terminal. The terminal in Uvita has great bathrooms and pretty good food too. A photo of the schedules are posted below with show all of the times when the bus passes Uvita going north or going south. You can find the schedule posted right where you purchase your tickets. Uvita to San José : ₡7000 (Jan 2023), 5hrs.
5:30am, 11:40am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm.
La Flor de la Sabana (Tracopa).
Getting around Uvita
If you are heading by local bus from Uvita towards Ciudad Neily or from Uvita to Quepos then you can find covered bus stops right on the main road. There is one bus stop directly across from the Tracopa Station for buses heading north, as well as another bus stop next to the Vet Costa Ballena office for buses heading south. Quepos to Uvita Price is ₡2500 (Jan 2023) . Trip takes about 2hrs.
5:30am, 11:40am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm.
In front of La Flor de la Sabana (Tracopa).
Getting around Uvita
Going from Uvita to Jacó? You can take the bus Tracopa to San José if you like. But be aware that they will charge you full fare and drop you on the side of the highway in front of a large Maxi Pali supermarket – not in the town of Jacó. From the highway you can take a taxi to town or walk – it’s about 25 minutes. The plus side to this trip is that the Tracopa bus is quick and you will arrive in Jacó faster than if you had just taken the regular bus.
Other option – go to Quepos and switch to bus to Jacó.
5:30am, 11:40am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm.
La Flor de la Sabana (Tracopa).
