I spent several days in San Isidro last February, and overnighted there again last week on the way back to SJ from the West Coast. The drive back to SJ from San Isidro took about 2 1/2 hours.
San Isidro del General is a very clean, and from what I have observed... safe town. You will find prices there significantly less than in SJ. San Isidro has a population of around 45,000. The area, known as Perez Zeledon, is largely agricultural. The small city is located in the Rio General valley on the western slope of the Talamanca range and is only a 35 km drive to Dominical on the Pacific. Hwy 243, between San Isidro and Dominical, offers some awesome views of the mountains and Pacific Ocean. The Interamerican Hwy runs through the middle of San Isidro to points south like Panama, Golfito and Coto Brus. 23 km northeast of the city is San Gerardo, an idyllic little mountain village at the base of Mt Chirippo, the highest mountain in Costa Rica (12,500 feet). Because of its location, San Isidro is an excellent launching point for exploring the southern Pacific Coast and the Talamanca mountains. The infamous Cerro de la Muerte (Hill of Death) stands between the San Jose meseta and the Rio General Valley. This is a stretch of the Interamerican where a driver must endure 90 km of winding mountainous road up...and then down a 10,000 ft ridge of the Hill of Death... a beautiful, but dangerous drive. (Also, be on the look-out for Transitos with radar guns who love to prey on unsuspecting tourists.)
Getting back to San Isidro, you will not have any problems finding stores, restaurants, hotels and ATMs. I have stayed twice at the Hotel Los Crestones for $30 per night. It is a motorcourt accommodation located on on Calle 0 (Hwy 243) just across from the futbol stadium. The hotel offers ample parking, clean and modern accommodations, a friendly staff and breakfast. There are other accommodations in the $15 - $25 range (e.g. Hotel Chirippo) that appear to be more than adequate, but do not offer secure parking.
The ladies of San Isidro are among the most beautiful I have seen in CR. Since most of the men in town have left to seek better employment opportunities, the ratio of females to males is overwhelmingly in our favor. Although there are many available women in San Isidro, do not count on picking them up for a quick lay like in SJ. This is a conservative, working-class town where old-fashioned morals are still valued. As someone stated earlier in this thread, there is one P4P joint in town (Mexican Bar), Neither I or any of my wingmen have tried this place out.
There is one disco in town, LaCascada, that fills up on weekend evenings with plenty of young, pretty ticas...as well as most of the available ticos. The place is very classy...and both ticas and ticos dress to impress. My wingman and I spent last Saturday evening there, and we stuck out like sore thumbs (read: old gringos). Drinks are very cheap, and the restaurant offers some pretty good inexpensive food. By 11:00 pm, the place begins to clear out...probably because all the young lovelies have a parental curfew to observe. If my memory serves me correctly, Club LaCascada is located at the corner of Calle 2 and Avenida 4.
I hope this info helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me.
_________________ Blue Devil
Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...
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