Transporte en Costa Rica

Passengers are allowed to bring a carry-on bag and a big piece of luggage. If you have any additional luggage, there's a fee of $10 USD for each extra item. This needs to be both reported to the shuttle company and paid for in advance.

With the exception of a seeing eye dog, passengers cannot travel with animals in shuttles. If you do have a guide dog and will be using a shuttle service, we need prior notification.

Public buses are the most common means of transportation for Costa Ricans and connect nearly every city, town and village. Public buses are economical, but they are less comfortable, slower, and less secure for your belongings. If you plan on spending a lot of time in Costa Rica or are on a tight budget, it is advisable to utilize the public bus system at least once - this way you can decide whether or not it works for you and your travel plans. Shuttles, private transports, and domestic flights are alternative modes of transportation that are recommended if you have less time in the country or prefer to be secure and comfortable.

There are no shuttle services directly from the SJO or LIR airports. For visitors arriving to SJO and wanting to schedule a shuttle, the meeting spot is at the Dennis Restaurant, which is located about 5 minutes away from the airport. You'll need to take a taxi to get there, and it should cost approximately $4 USD. The Liberia airport meeting place is at the Best Western El Sitio, which is located about 15 minutes away from the airport. The cost for a taxi ride there is about $15 USD. Notice this info does not apply when you book private transfers which are certainly able to pick you up right at the SJO or LIR.

If your international flight arrives at 2 PM we don't recommend reserving the 3 PM shuttle. It usually takes about 45 minutes to pass through customs, although it can take much longer. The shuttle does not leave from the airport and if you miss the shuttle there isn't a refund. If you're arriving from any of the airports, you should arrive at least 2 hours before a scheduled departure time.

There are two airlines in Costa Rica that offer daily domestic flight service, Sansa and Nature Air, and both have different luggage restrictions.Sansa's policy allows for 1 piece of luggage with a maximum weight of 25 lbs/12 kgs and a maximum size of 45 linear inches/114 centimeters (length + height + width) and 1 carry on with a maximum weight of 10 lbs, each additional pound is charged at a rate of $1 per pound.

Nature Air's policy allows 40 lbs per person for checked-in baggage free of charge.

In addition a small handbag up to 10 lbs can be carried on (please note that these aircraft's don't have overhead baggage compartments).

Total baggage weighing over 50 lbs will be charged an additional fee at a rate of 1-5 pounds $7, 6-15 pounds $20, 16-30 pounds $40, 31-60 pounds $60.

For more information about luggage restrictions for both Sansa & Nature Air follow the links below:

• Sansa.

• Nature Air.

Domestic flights are available to and from the following destinations: downtown San José, Alajuela-SJO, Arenal, Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Liberia, Sámara, Tortuguero, Drake Bay, Puerto Jiménez, Golfito, Palmar Norte, Barra del Colorado, Tambor, and Bocas del Toro in Panamá. For more information about schedules, prices and booking, please vist our domestic flight page.

A taxi-boat-taxi is a transfer service between destinations where travel along both land and water is necessary. Minibuses pick up customers at hotels in the starting destination (i.e. Arenal) and then bring them to a place where they board a boat for the next segment of the transfer (i.e. Lake Arenal). Finally, on the other side of the water, they are met by another minibus that will drop them off at their destination hotel (i.e. in Monteverde). The Monteverde and Arenal taxi-boat-taxi service runs between the destinations two times a day. A taxi-boat-taxi shuttle also operates between Montezuma and Jacó, which is a significant time saver for visiters wishing to avoid the long transit by ground and car ferry which is the traditional way to navigate between those two places.

The travel time can vary significantly between destinations, but a general rule of thumb is 30 mph (50 km/hour).Thus, if the distance between destinations is 125 miles (200 km), you should plan on it taking about four hours to get from one place to another.

The main roads that connect destinations are two lane highways with no, or very little, room to pass. These are the same routes that transport the freights arriving and departing from the seaports.

These very large and heavy trucks struggle on the hills and can often slow the pace of travel to an excruciatingly slow rate.

The time it takes to get between destinations really depends on the destinations that you are traveling to. The following is a rundown of the amount of time it will generally take to travel between some of the more popular places:

• Alajuela-SJO to Manuel Antonio - 3 hrs.

• Alajuela-SJO to Arenal - 3 hrs.

• Alajuela SJO to Monteverde - 4.5 hrs.

• Arenal to Tamarindo - 4 hrs.

• Monteverde to Sámara - 3.5 hrs.

• Liberia to Tamarindo - 1 hr.

• Liberia to Arenal - 3 hrs.

• Alajuela-SJO to Puerto Viejo, Limon - 5 hrs.

• Alajuela-SJO to Mal País - 5-6 hrs.

The roads in Costa Rica vary significantly depending on the route that you are traveling. Roads between most destinations are two-lane, paved roads that wind up and around the mountainous terrain throughout the country.If you find yourself driving in the country, it is best to drive defensively and avoid driving at night, since the reflective paint that outlines the roads is faded or non-existent, making the curves extremely dangerous for unfamiliar drivers. Lots of hotels or smaller destinations are without a paved road or entrance, so chances are good that at some point you will find yourself along a dirt road during your trip to Costa Rica. Many bridges narrow to a single lane, so drivers must be ready to yield (ceda) to the direction with the right of way.

For your first visit to Costa Rica we generally recommend taking private transports or shuttles to get a feel for the driving conditions. This way, the next time that you visit you will already understand the driving conditions and can decide whether or not to rent a car.

The roads of Costa Rica are no doubt navigable, but the terrain prohibits a freeway system throughout most of the country, and without street signs it is very easy to get lost. Vehicles equipped with GPS devices have significantly improved visitors' ability to tour the country at their own pace. Should you decide to drive, we strongly suggest equipping the vehicle with a GPS unit.

Private transportation is a door-to-door service that exclusively transports your party only. Departure times are scheduled based upon the time of your choosing and each route allows for one hour of free stoppage time - for meals or breaks - along the way.You can take side trips to national parks and souvenir shops, or even enjoy a tour that is located between your travel destinations (although it needs to be prearranged and may require paying additional fees).

In contrast, shuttles are a shared and scheduled ride that is not always door-to-door. Shuttles will not pick you up at airports, they will not pick you up or drop you off at all a hotel, they can take longer to get travel between destinations, and they do not always arrive exactly at the scheduled time (usually, it's +/- 10-15 minutes of the scheduled time). When using both private transportation and shuttle services, please remember to have both your voucher on hand and your luggage ready.

The driver will have your flight arrival time and airline details, so he'll be prepared to meet you even if your flight is delayed. After going through customs and getting your luggage, you'll exit the airport terminal and spot your driver. He'll be wearing an Anywhere Costa Rica t-shirt and holding a sign with your name written on it.

You can plan to do a day trip, but you should know a few things first. The daytime in Costa Rica lasts from about 5:45 AM to 5:45 PM year-round. The distance between Arenal and Monteverde takes about 3 - 3 1/2 hours to drive if you go around Lake Arenal, and about 2 1/2 - 3 hours via a boat across Lake Arenal. Thus, a day trip requires between 5-7 hours of transit, which leaves only a few hours to enjoy your time in Arenal or Monteverde before you must return. Try and stay at least one night at a hotel in either Monteverde or Arenal if possible.However, even worse than a day trip from Monteverde to Arenal or vice versa is a day trip from the beaches of Guanacaste to Arenal or Monteverde for the day. From the Guanacaste coastline, it requires 8 hours of driving time to reach these destinations in a single day.

No doubt you can find companies that sell day trips to Arenal or to Monteverde from the coast, but rarely do the visitors realize the logistics involved because "it looks so close on the map." In general, we are able to provide round trip service for people if they insist on a day trip but only as a last resort if it is impossible to re-organize the itinerary to include an overnight stay at a hotel. Logistic trip planning is an important service we provide for our customers who want to see different places around the country. We can recommend the best order of travel to maximize vacation time and minimize travel time.