Quepos has a main bus terminal in the centre of town. It is tiny for how many busses come and go through there and you will often bare witness to a bus jam out front as you wait for your own departure. Anything you could possibly need is within a short distance of this station. There is a bank and a bakery (coffee!) just down the street. There is also a pharmacy right across the street and even a subway sandwich shop with a/c if you should happen to have a long layover between buses.
Quepos is a key hub in this area of Costa Rica. If you are going to Manuel Antonio then you will be passing through here. Here you can also find buses heading to Uvita, Dominical, Puntarenas, San José and Jacó. Possibly more, we will keep adding to the page each time we travel though. Have a look below for recent photos of schedules.
There are a few different companies that operate buses in and out of Quepos. One of the main ones is Tracopa. You can check the Tracopa website for a list of their schedules and times in addition to what you read below. Note that the Tracopa website is pretty limited as it only shows major routs in and out of San José. When searching leave either the destination or the origin portion as ‘any’ or you may not get any results.
Quepos to Manuel Antonio
Buses go to Manuel Antonio every 30 minutes starting at 5:45am and then every hour after 7pm. The trip takes 25min. As of Jan 2019 the price was 335₡
Quepos to San José
From San José: There are multiple buses heading to Manuel Antonio from San José every day and leave from the Plaza Gonzalez Viquez diagonal from the Tracopa Station.
From Quepos: It is a good idea to purchase this ticket in advance during the high season. The ticket can be purchased at the station in Quepos. We asked and they do not let people stand. You must have a seat. As of August 2018 the cost is 4790₡, though the directo and colectivo are slightly different prices. The length of the trip varies depending on what time of day you travel. We are told that the 10 a.m. and the 6pm directo buses take about 4 hours. All the other directo buses take about 3 to 3.5 hours. The Colectivos take about 5-6 hours.
To and from the San José Airport:
Quepos to SJO Airport: When you look at the schedule for Quepos to San José you will see buses either labeled Directo or Collectivo. Only the Collectivos pass the airport. Before you purchase your ticket check confirm that the bus you are taking does pass the airport to be sure.
SJO Airport to Quepos: The bus does not pass the airport heading to Quepos or Manuel Antonio. You will need to take a taxi or local bus to the Tracopa Station in San José.
Quepos to Uvita
Bus leaves for Uvita at 6am, 9:30am, 2:30 and 5:30pm. I had the ticket vendor write out the schedule (May 2017). Price is 1700₡. Trip takes about 2hrs.
There are also 2 buses per day that go from San José to Uvita. They leave San José at 6am and 3pm. They will pass by Quepos on the way.
Quepos to Dominical
Schedule posted below for Dominical. Price is 1500₡ and takes about 1hr 45min. We are told there is also an 11:30 bus going to San Isidro that also stops in Dominical. 1350₡
Quepos to Puntarenas
Buses going to Puntarenas run from 4:30am to 6pm. See the photo of schedule below. As of Jan 2019 the price for a ticket was 2605₡. The trip takes about 3hrs.
Quepos to Jacó
Buses run to Jacó from 6am to 7pm. See the photo of schedule below. As of May 2017 the price for a ticket was 1375₡. (Nov 2018). The trip takes about 2hrs
Quepos to Santa Teresa
Grab the bus heading to Puntarenas. Take a 5 min taxi or walk 15 blocks to the Ferry. (See Puntarenas page for more info) Cross on the ferry. In Paquera there will be a bus waiting for you to take you to Cóbano. This trip takes about a 1.5hr and will cost around 1800₡. If you end up connecting with the bus coming from San José you may be able to stay on all the way to Santa Teresa. If not, you get off in Cobanó. The rest of the trip form Cobanó to Santa Teresa takes about 40min and costs 1000₡.
Quepos to La Fortuna
Take the bus to Puntarenas (~2.5hrs). From there get the bus headed to San José. You are going to get off in San Ramon (~1.5hrs), a stop before you get to San José so check with the driver to be sure he passes San Ramon on the route he is driving. From there you can catch the bus to La Fortuna (~2hrs). This is a long journey but can be done for about $14.
Quepos to David
It is possible to get to Panama from Quepos. You’ll need to purchase your ticket ahead of time from the station in Quepos and then take a taxi to the main highway and wait at the hospital. One helpful traveller named Ian left a comment for you below to tell you how his trip went.
Help your fellow traveller
If you have taken any of the buses on this page, please drop us a comment below about how the trip went, what time you left, how long it took and what it cost. And, definitely let us know if we have anything wrong.
Lets help each other in our travels!
Does anybody know if it’s possible to take a bicycle on the buses. I’m planning on cycling from San Jose to Quepos thru the mountains but would rather get a bus back. I’ve heard you can do it but not seen it written down anywhere.
Manuel Antonio Bus price is 340 colones as of August 2019
And directo from San José to Quepos is 5020 colones
Please help try to understand my plan/work out any concerns you may see. I am visiting during Easter week, my understanding it is a very busy time. My flight lands at 11:35 am on a Monday morning. I am staying at a place just a little bit passed Quepos.
Now I know that I need to take a lyft, taxi, or bus to get to the Trapoca station in Plaza Vasquez in San Jose. Correct? Getting to Quepos I can take either colectivos or directos but I want the trip to be faster so I should try to get one for directos, right?
Based on a picture from April 2018, then I might be able to get onto a directivo at 1:15 or 2:30. When I am checking on the Trapoca website there are a few options I am not sure to put. When I check for the fares it gives me two options for Quepos: Costanera and Puriscal. Which one should I pick? Does it matter and what’s the difference?
When I look online, all the services say regular so which ones are the colectivos/directivos? And then there is the via column. Does that just mean the route/way it takes?
My last question is if I wanted to take a bus from Quepos to the airport in San Jose then from what I read on your site I need to take the collectivo. But my flight is at 11:20am. In order to make it with enough time and provided by the scheudle that is posted online in the photos, would you reccomend me to take the 5 am bus which means I might get there around 10? Or could I take the directo at 6 and be in San Jose by 9 and then take a taxi to the airport?
Thanks for this information, I’ll travelling from Quetos to David in March
Took the bus from Herradura, just north of Jacó, to Quepos. The trip was about an hour and a half; cost was c2000. January 2019
Quepos to Manuel Antonio is every half hour and costs c335. February 2019
I’m looking to travel from Manuel Antonio to Jaco and then Jacó to Uvita. Do these buses accommodate a large suitcase? If so, is it out in an outside compartment on the bus? Thanks.
Hi Paula, the bus From Manuel Antonio to Quepos will likely be more of a regular style bus and likely without an luggage compartment below. It is very likely you can still bring the large suitcase but you’ll have to drag it onto the bus for you. Have a look at this page here for info about buses in/out of Manuel Antonio https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/manuel-antonio/ You could always take a taxi to Quepos and then get on the bus to Jaco from there. The Quepos-Jaco bus will have an luggage compartment below.
As recently as 1/5/19, the bus between Quepos and Manuel Antonio was 335₡
I would like to take the bus from quepos to San Jose C @ 5am. Do buses from Manuel Antonio run to quepos that early (4am?) or will I need to take a taxi. Thank you.
You will need to take a taxi to leave that early. As mentioned above, buses start at 5:45am.