Travel Information Costa Rica

Driving Directions to Mead Brown at Plaza Herradura. Print this page!

Mead Brown is located at Ocean Plaza, immediately before the entrance to Los Sueños Resort & Marina and only 10 minutes from the beach town of Jacó and a scenic, ninety-minute drive from Juan Santamaría International Airport near the capital city of San José.

Driving from the airport to destinations on the Central Pacific Coast is generally not difficult. However, in Costa Rica there are no addresses; streets and highways generally have neither names nor numbers.

You’re eager to get here and we’re eager to see you. Before you start the drive, set your trip odometer to zero and read these directions all the way through before you depart. You’ll be glad you did!

Ask your car rental agency to point you in the direction of Jaco via the Pan-American Highway, also known as Costa Rica 1. (It’s not marked as such; it’s the main road outside the airport). Once on the highway, follow signs initially to San Ramon (in the opposite direction from San Jose) and to the Marriott Los Sueños Resort & Marina. Go approximately 9 km.
Take the right-hand exit marked La Garita and Atenas (both with green signs) and Nativa and Los Suenos (both with blue signs). Go to the top of the off-ramp.
Turn left at the top of the ramp. You’ll see signs pointing left to Quepos and Punta Leona. Follow the road; you’ll pass through Atenas. Keep going! As you approach the summit of the mountain (approx. 32 km from the airport), you’ll come upon La Casita del Café on the left. This is a good place for a bathroom, coffee, Coke or snack break.
When your trip odometer reads about 44 km, you’ll go through a small town. Stay on the main road; follow signs to Jaco and Los Suenos.
After about 47 km from your trip’s start, you’ll take the right exit onto Costa Rica 27, following the signs to Quepos, Jaco and Caldera.
When the trip odometer reads 54 km, look for the right-hand exit to Costa Rica 34 and follow signs to Quepos, Parrita and Jaco. Stay to the right as you go all the way around the ramp!
Around the 59th km of your trip, look for the 60 km per hour sign. Do not exceed 65 km/h until you see the 80 km per hour sign or you will likely be cited for speeding! This stretch is a major source of revenue for law enforcement officials.
At the 64th km, you’ll enter another 60 km per hour area. Again, proceed with caution.
At about the 65th km, you’ll come upon the Tarcoles River Bridge. We recommend that you park on either end of the bridge and walk onto the bridge to see wild crocodiles below. You must put laptops out of sight and carry wallets and passports with you! Lock your vehicle doors. Sure, you’ll only be a few minutes and you’ll keep an eye on the car. Thing is, thieves in this area are expert at the quick hit on tourist vehicles. LOCK THE DOORS! Don’t become a statistic, but do feel free to feed bad guys to the crocs.
OK, you’re nearly there! One more speed trap-we mean “zone of reduced speed”-around the 67 km mark. Again, keep it to 65 km/h as you drive by the Carara National Park.
Once you pass Nativa (on your right), you’re only 16 km from Mead Brown. This is a good time to ask your passengers to keep an eye out for the lighthouse.
At the 83rd km you’ll approach Plaza Herradura, which will be on your right. Turn right off the highway and on to the road to Los Sueños. Go about 1.5 km. Ocean Plaza is on the right side of the road, immediately before Los Sueños. We are located on the second floor. Bring the whole gang on up, we’d like to meet them and make copies of their passports (you should carry photocopies and leave the originals in the safe of your vacation rental).

The office is open every day from 8:30 AM until 6:00 PM. If you anticipate arriving outside of those hours, you must pre-arrange for us to meet you at the office. We are happy to do so, we just need to know when.

From Costa Rica:

Office phone: 2637.8561 After-hours phone: 2637.8727