Compiled September 2026. Schedules, fares and even which airlines are flying change frequently in Costa Rica — several domestic carriers suspended scheduled service after 2020 and never resumed. Confirm directly with the operator before you travel, especially around Christmas, Easter and local festivals. Prices below are indicative, not quotes.
Choosing Between Them
Public busCheapest by a wide margin — often 10× less than a shuttle. Slow, crowded, and generally cannot be booked online. Best if time is flexible.
Tourist shuttle~$50–70 per person. Door-to-door, air-conditioned, English-speaking drivers. The default for most visitors without a car.
Domestic flight~$40–180 each way. Transforms trips to the Osa, Tortuguero and the Nicoya tip. Strict baggage limits.
FerryOnly genuinely useful for the Nicoya Peninsula, but saves hours versus driving around the gulf.
Private transferMost expensive, most flexible. Worth it for groups, families with gear, or awkward timings.
Domestic Airlines
Read this before booking a "domestic airline" you found online. Costa Rica's domestic aviation market contracted sharply after 2020. Nature Air ceased operations in January 2018. Aerobell/Macaw, SkyWay and TAC suspended scheduled flights around 2020 and have not resumed regular published schedules — several may still fly charters. Older articles and booking aggregators frequently still list these as if they run scheduled service. As of 2026 there are effectively two scheduled domestic carriers: SANSA and Costa Rica Green Airways. If a site sells you a scheduled seat on anyone else, verify directly with the airline.
| Airline | Details | Routes |
|---|---|---|
| SANSA flysansa.com | Founded 1978, originally a LACSA subsidiary, now within the Avianca group. The largest and most established domestic carrier. Mostly 14-passenger Cessna 208-B Grand Caravans, with aircraft from 10–46 seats. Operates from SJO's domestic terminal (~5 min walk from international). | The widest network: Liberia, Tamarindo, Nosara, La Fortuna, Quepos, Tambor, Cóbano, Drake Bay, Puerto Jiménez, Golfito, Limón, Palmar Sur, Tortuguero, plus Managua (Nicaragua). |
| Costa Rica Green Airways | Launched 2019, part of the CarmonAir group. Generally the more user-friendly booking site. Fleet includes the 9-seat Daher Kodiak 100, 7-seat King Air F-90, 8-seat Islander and 19-seat Twin Otter. | Narrower: primarily San José–Tambor (around six daily) and San José–Quepos (around two daily). Expansion to Tamarindo, Nosara, Liberia, Puerto Jiménez and Golfito has been announced repeatedly without firm dates — don't plan around it. |
| CarmonAir Adventure Air Macaw / Aerobell | Charter operators flying from Tobías Bolaños (SYQ) in Pavas. Aircraft plus, in some cases, helicopters. | Charter only — anywhere with an airstrip, on request. Practical for groups where the per-seat cost of a charter approaches scheduled fares. |
Flying domestically, practically. Fares typically run $40–180 each way. Baggage limits are strict and genuinely enforced — often 25–30 lb (12–14 kg) per person on small aircraft, well below international allowances. Arrive 60–90 minutes early; domestic terminals have minimal facilities. Flights sell out in high season, so book early. And note that the network is hub-and-spoke through San José: there is generally no direct Tortuguero–Puerto Jiménez service, for example, so cross-country hops mean two separate bookings via SJO. Where flying genuinely transforms a trip is the Osa, Tortuguero, Barra del Colorado and the Nicoya tip — places where the road alternative is many hours or nonexistent.
Public Buses
Costa Rica's bus network is extensive, reaches nearly every town, and is startlingly cheap. It is also slow, and the booking process is nothing like what most visitors expect.
You generally cannot book public bus tickets online. For most routes, tickets are sold in person at the terminal — there is typically no online or phone reservation system at all. Websites advertising "Costa Rica bus tickets" are, in the large majority of cases, selling tourist shuttle seats at $30–140 per ride — roughly ten times the public bus fare. Shuttles are a legitimate and often sensible product, but know which one you are buying. Advance reservation genuinely matters only around Christmas, Easter and local festivals, and even then must usually be done at the counter.
| Route | Terminal / operator | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| San José → La Fortuna | Terminal 7-10 / San Carlos | ~₡2,850 (~US$5). Around 4–6 hours depending on stops. |
| San José → Monteverde | Terminal Atlántico Norte · Transmonteverde · 2222-3854 | Departures typically 6:30 and 14:30; ~167 km, about 4.5 hours. |
| Puntarenas → Monteverde | Terminal Empresarios Unidos | Afternoon departure; returns from Monteverde early morning. |
| San José → Paso Canoas (Panama border) | Terminal Alfaro | ~349 km, about 8 hours. Multiple daily departures. |
| San José → Alajuela / SJO airport | Tuasa · 2222-5325 | Every ~5 minutes, 04:00–22:00. 17 km, ~30 minutes. The cheapest airport connection by far. |
| San José → Jacó, Tamarindo, Flamingo, Playas del Coco, Quepos, Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Puntarenas | Various terminals | All served daily. Terminals differ by operator — check which one before you go. |
Bus practicalities. San José has multiple terminals and they can be miles apart — the station you arrive at is often not the one you depart from, so check before planning a same-day connection, and tell your driver where you're ultimately headed. Watch your luggage carefully; routes to Limón, La Fortuna, Puntarenas and Monteverde are specifically flagged by local sources for opportunistic theft. Buses stop frequently and fill up — a four-hour shuttle route can take six hours standing. The official national bus itinerary is published by the ICT at visitcostarica.com/bus-itinerary, and Moovit, Rome2Rio and Passer are useful for route-finding.
Ferries
Two vehicle-and-passenger crossings matter to visitors, both from Puntarenas to the Nicoya Peninsula. They save hours over driving around the Gulf of Nicoya.
Puntarenas ⇄ Paquera — Naviera Tambor
| For | Santa Teresa, Montezuma, Mal País, Tambor, Cóbano, Paquera |
| Schedule | Eight daily each way, same times both directions: 04:00, 06:30, 09:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00. (Published as applying from April 2026 until further notice — confirm before travel.) |
| Crossing | 60–80 minutes. Vessel takes ~170 vehicles and ~700 passengers, so the gulf swell is barely noticeable. |
| Fares | Priced per person and per vehicle, in colones. Indicative vehicle rates plus VAT: bicycle ₡2,200 · motorcycle ₡3,400 · ATV ₡6,800 · light vehicle (most rental cars) ₡11,400 · microbus ₡18,300 · bus ₡22,900. A car with two people has been reported at roughly ₡13,700 (~US$26) total. |
| Tickets | At the terminal or online via Naviera Tambor. Visa and Mastercard now accepted; US$100 notes are not. |
| Arrive | 60 minutes early with tickets, 90 minutes to buy in person or during holidays and peak weekends. |
The navigation trap. Do not enter "Puntarenas ferry" into Waze or Google Maps — it routes you to the terminal on the peninsula side. Enter "Naviera Tambor Ferry" or "Ferry El Carmen Puntarenas" instead. The dock sits at the tip of the Puntarenas spit, 2 km past the town centre, and you drive through downtown traffic lights to reach it. There are separate vehicle boarding lines for the Paquera and Naranjo ferries — get in the right one. Driving times from Paquera: Tambor 25 min, Montezuma 60 min, Santa Teresa/Mal País 60 min. Puntarenas back to SJO airport is about 2.5 hours via Ruta 27.
Puntarenas ⇄ Playa Naranjo — Coonatramar
| For | Nicoya town, Sámara, Nosara, Playa Coyote, northern Santa Cruz area |
| Schedule | Roughly 4–5 sailings daily; similar morning/afternoon/evening pattern to Paquera. |
| Crossing | ~1 hour 10 minutes. Vehicle fares approximately US$25–35 by size. |
| Note | Naranjo lands ~20 km north of Paquera by road. For Santa Teresa and Montezuma, Paquera is the better crossing. |
Other water routes
| Jacó ⇄ Montezuma | Water taxi (Zuma Tours and others) — a genuinely useful shortcut across the gulf mouth that avoids the long drive round. |
| Tortuguero | No road access. Reached by boat from La Pavona or Moín, usually as part of a lodge package, or by air. |
| Barra del Colorado | No road access. Boat or small plane only. |
| Drake Bay | Boat from Sierpe is the classic approach — a river-and-mangrove run that is an experience in itself. |
Tourist Shuttles
Costa Rica has the most developed tourist shuttle network in Central America. Shared shuttles run door-to-door between hotels on fixed routes; expect roughly $50–70 per person on major corridors.
| Operator | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Interbus | The largest network — San José, La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, Tamarindo, Puerto Viejo and dozens more, plus airport and ferry-dock connections. | The default for most itineraries. Shared and private options on nearly every route. |
| Gray Line | Major tourist corridors nationwide. | The other long-established operator; broadly comparable to Interbus. |
| Easy Ride | Nearly every major destination, including less-trafficked ones like Drake Bay and the Osa. | Air-conditioned vans, English-speaking drivers, hotel pickups. Reported to confirm by email within an hour and allow changes up to 24 hours before departure without a fee — more flexible than most. |
| Caribe Shuttle | Specialist on the San José ⇄ Puerto Viejo corridor, plus onward connections to Bocas del Toro, Panama. | Typically departs San José around 8am, reaching Puerto Viejo mid-afternoon via Limón and Cahuita. |
| Monkey Ride, Tropical Tours, Pura Vida Rides | Regional operators, often stronger on specific corridors. | Worth comparing on routes the big two serve infrequently. |
| Bookaway, Spring Bus | Aggregators comparing multiple operators on one route. | Useful for price comparison; book direct if the fare matches. |
How shuttles actually work. Shared shuttles collect from a series of hotels, so the first pickup can be well before the stated departure and the last drop-off well after arrival — budget more time than the headline duration. Peninsula routes to Santa Teresa, Montezuma and Mal País are sold as one ticket but are three legs: shuttle to the Puntarenas dock, ferry across, connecting shuttle from Paquera. That is normal, not a problem, but know it before you board. Private transfers cost more but collect you alone, leave when you want, and make sense for families with luggage and gear, awkward flight times, or groups of four or more where the per-person maths often works out close.
Airports
| Code | Airport | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| SJO | Juan Santamaría, Alajuela · 2437-2626 | Main international gateway. Domestic terminal ~5 min walk from international. Best for Central Valley, Caribbean, Arenal, Central Pacific. |
| LIR | Daniel Oduber, Liberia · 2668-1010 | Second international airport. Far closer for Guanacaste — a genuine time-saver if your trip is northern-Pacific-focused. |
| SYQ | Tobías Bolaños, Pavas · 2232-2820 | Charter hub — CarmonAir, Macaw/Aerobell, Taxiaéreo. |
| Regional | Tambor (TMU), Quepos (XQP), Tortuguero (TTQ), Puerto Jiménez (PJM), Golfito (GLF), Limón (LIO), Drake Bay (DRK), Nosara (NOB), Tamarindo (TNO), Palmar Sur (PMZ) | Small airstrips served by SANSA and Green Airways. Most have minimal facilities — arrive early, expect a shed rather than a terminal. |
Planning rules of thumb. Costa Rica is small on a map and slow on the ground — mountains, single-lane bridges and unpaved sections mean distances translate badly into times. As a rule: fly for the Osa, Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado; ferry for the southern Nicoya; shuttle for everything else if you're not driving; bus if you have time and want the cheapest option by an order of magnitude. Build slack around ferry sailings and domestic flights — missing the last ferry of the day is a genuinely long detour. And whatever you book, reconfirm the day before: this is a country where schedules move.