The "current" state of the road from Dominical to Quepos?

This past weekend I spent in Manuel Antonio, so I thought along the road I would take some photos in order to give a definitive answer to the popular question of just how far along the road to Quepos from Dominical is coming?

From the Dominical intersection, the road from there until Hatillo is still only graded and not completed with asphalt. Once you enter Hatillo the asphalt begins.  Between Hatillo and Matapalo, there are brief sections that are incomplete however they are few and far between. 

After Matapalo the highway is a dream.

Once out of Matapalo the highway becomes a full four lanes, with even enough room for a convoy of ox carts, until Quepos.  

This road has been along time in the waiting, some even claiming that this road was promised some 20 years ago! So how long does it take to get from Dominical to Quepos now?  Driving with baby onboard it takes approximately 20 minutes.  Not bad compared to the 2 hours it use to take!

So now from my home in Tinamastes to Quepos only takes about 45 minutes which makes for a great beach trip to Manuel Antonio and still able to return home for dinner. Who'd have thought?

But what does this all mean for Dominical? Well as I've said previously in the article, "Dominical, Costa Rica the next Jaco?", I feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg for Dominical's success.  For the first time in the history of Dominical, it is finally connected to San Jose via the coastal route, opening up Dominical to tourists and locals alike who are looking to experience the many features Dominical has to offer including it's world class surf.

I'm sure we will begin to see more and more large events being held in Dominical as it's popularity grows.  For many years, tourism reliant businesses in the Quepos area were monopolizing on the tourists coming to the beach from San Jose by telling many that there wasn't much to see south of Quepos and that the road was like driving on a washboard for 2+ hours.  Of course this deterred many tourists from venturing south of Quepos.  Not anymore.

Another benefit of the paving of this central route is the benefit to many of the property owners between Quepos and Dominical that had, for many years, waited for the day to come whereas this road would be completed and in turn increase the values of their Costa Rica property. However timing is everything and unfortunately for many of these property owners, the timing could have been better because, yes its true, the highway is now near completion and "in theory" their values should have increased however, with current economic struggles throughout the world, most of these properties are no longer 

worth what was originally anticipated. The current Costa Rica real estate market is no longer supportive of the premium prices of previous years.

On a parting note I would love for my readers to see the incredible view of the entrance to Manuel Antonio beach.  This is not a doctored photos by any means and this is how the beach road along Manuel Antonio looks.  Even more beautiful in person to be honest.

I'm now confident that the short trip from Quepos to Dominical will now be part of many tourists itineraries.