For the record, I want to say that I will probably never again fly into SJO unless I actually have business in the capitol. For beach-going and surf vacationing I suggest you just fly direct to Liberia (LIR) if at all possible, as it basically shaves an entire day off your travel time at each end of the trip. Yes, it usually costs a little more to get a flight to Liberia instead of San José, but I think we'll both soon agree that it's worth the price. Now the professional advice is dispensed, I'll also tell you how I did it last time.
My wife and I decided to take our first big trip together as a married couple and we set our sights on Costa Rica. I spent a semester there in high school and it was absolutely unforgettable, and Pamela had heard hours upon hours of stories about what a naturally-beautiful country it is, and how warm the people are. She had to see for herself, and she knew I'd be up for a trip down memory lane.
Holidays and Rainy Season
So after the typical several bouts of planning online and shopping for tickets, it was time to make our move. There are a few things I recommend you keep in mind if you're planning a trip. The first is to stay away from Christmas and Easter week unless you are specifically going to visit friends and family who live there. Basically the entire country is on vacation for Easter week, the last 2 weeks of December, and the first week of January. If everybody is off work, this typically means smaller stores or restaurants could be closed, the streets will be packed with pedestrians and motorists, and everywhere you want to go will take longer to reach, and every attraction you want to see is likely to have an insanely long line. Renting a car, getting a hotel room, or booking a cross-country bus passage could be anywhere from frustrating to impossible. Don't go unless you're visiting Grandma, in which case you don't need me to tell you any of this anyway.
Secondly, I recommend the dry season. Unless you already live somewhere tropical with a rainy season and you know what to expect, then don't waste your time and money during rainy season. If it's close to booking time, you can ask your local travel agent how it's been going, as rainy and dry seasons do tend to fluctuate a couple weeks one way or the other. Dry season can start around the middle of December, but I feel like we got really lucky to miss the rain when we went last time, which was the second or third week of December. Dry season should hold until sometime around the end of June or beginning of July. From July until early December, expect it to rain for at least a half-hour every afternoon, but don't be surprised if for some reason it rains all day. Seriously, I don't recommend rainy season if you can avoid it, or unless maybe if you are just going to get away and relax, and you don't really want to do anything. I'm not one for sipping Mai Thais at the hotel bar, I prefer surfing, snorkeling, hiking and zip-lining, so rain is a real buzzkill for me. Your mileage may vary.
Getting There Easily
If you fly into San José, then you will either want to relax for the afternoon and spend the night in town, or if you are real high-energy, you can try to make it to the coast on the same day. It really depends on you, but there are plenty of nice places to catch a night's sleep around the airport.
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| Our hotel in San José was quite comfortable. |
The Scenic Route
Now, if you don't mind a little adventure and you want to get to know the local flavor, you can take a taxi or a city bus over to the interstate bus station. The place is called el Pulmitan de Liberia, and they run a route from San José to Liberia and back. Getting to the Pulmitan is best done by taxi, but if you opted to stay the night in a hotel, you should be able to negotiate a fair rate for the hotel van or shuttle to take you over to the bus station. Scheduling information online is spotty at best, so you will want to call ahead to see what the schedule is for the day or days you intend to travel. The phone number is 2222.0610. If you are not in country, you should just send them a message on Facebook (follow this link) requesting information for the dates you plan to travel. They will typically respond same-day. I do not know if anyone speaks English down there, but these days it's easy enough to use translator programs and get you the information you need. Arrive with plenty of time to purchase tickets, I'd say at least an hour before your departure time, but an hour and a half is advisable. Every bus I have been on with them has really been very nice, I'm talking clean, non-smoking, and air-conditioned, and I have been using them since 1998. If you take "the local" you will find it honestly gets quite tedious, stopping at every two-horse town along the way, and adding needless hours to your journey. Take the express, or "el directo" as they call it, and you will only have one stop along the way, typically at an exceptional, cafeteria-style restaurant where you can stretch your legs and partake of the local culinary delights. My wife and I both wished there would have been time for seconds. As of 4 December, 2015, the Pulmitan representative told me the directo costs 3,897 colones, approximately $7.40, per person.
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| Typical scenery you will see out the bus window. |
Also worth mentioning, the foods, fruits, and other treats available for purchase at the San José Pulmitan terminal are worth trying. If you're used to taking the bus in the US, I have to tell you this is nothing like the "sandwich from a machine" you may have been forced to eat. The small selection they have here is actually palatable and clean.
You will arrive in Liberia about 4 hours later at a medium-sized, open-air bus hangar, about large enough to hold 8 buses. Incidentally, I once saw a six-foot iguana walk into the very middle of this garage, stop right in the center among the parked buses, pivot his head to look all around, and then take off like a flash out the other end. From the bus station in Liberia you can catch another bus down to Playas del Coco, or you can take a taxi out to the airport, where all the rental car places are.
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| Liberia International Airport |
Conclusion
Since I've thrown a lot of options at you, all the way from the very convenient to the very complicated, I want to recap here. My best recommendation to get to Tamarindo or any of the northwest coast beaches is to fly straight to Liberia International, rent a car across the street, and then drive to your hotel at the beach during daylight hours. My second option would be to fly to San José and then catch the tour guide shuttle all the way to Tamarindo, assuming you purchased a guided tour package that includes transport from San José. My very last option would be the long Pulmitan bus route, but if you want to have some fun, take in some of the local culture, and be the only gringo on the bus, then by all means, have yourself and adventure and take the bus. Just get a good night's sleep first.
Next installment: Up to Arenál
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