San Isidro, Southern Pacific, Costa Rica

San Isidro (full name: San Isidro del General Perez Zeledon) is located in the Valley of El General, a fertile valley at about 600 meters above sea level. 120km (74 miles) SE of San José; 123km (76 miles) NW of Palmar Norte; 29km (18 miles) NE of Dominical.

Driving there from San Jose is about 150 kilometers or 100 miles, and takes about 3 hours. The drive is spectacular, and will take you over 3500 meters (10,000 feet) of altitude. Conditions can be foggy, especially at both slopes of this mountain range, but when it is sunny, the views are spectacular. Many people prefer taking a bus from San Jose to San Isidro, which costs about $5 and takes about 3 hours, almost as fast as driving. 

Downtown San Isidro

Local Amenities

San Isidro de El General is the largest town in this region and is located just off the Interamerican Highway in the foothills of the Talamanca Mountains.You can find pretty much everything you need here. Supermarkets have a very diverse selection, there are large hardware stores, many banks, and a wide variety of stores. Most foreigners who live in the area go to San Isidro at least once a week for shopping and taking care of business.

There are several decent restaurants in San Isidro, and nightlife is pretty good. La Cascada is popular and several discos offer you the opportunity to do some salsa and merengue on the weekends. A local cultural center offers weekly theatre performances (in Spanish) and local artists regularly have expositions of their work. This is also the principal transfer point if you're coming from or going to Dominical, and most buses traveling the Interamerican Highway stop here.

Nearby Attractions

With its medium size, and full services, yet very relaxed atmosphere, San Isidro is a perfect combination of City and Country. The higher elevation makes for a slightly cooler climate than the nearby beaches, and at night it can even get chilly. Though the city itself is, as most Costa Rican cities, by no means pretty, the valley it lies in certainly is. The nearby Chirripo National Park is home to Chirripo Mountain, Central America's highest peak. Dominical is a 40 minute drive. This quiet, relaxing little town is popular with the surfers.