Traveling to Costa Rica by bus -

As for many countries in Central and South America, bus network is relatively developed in Costa Rica like at Guatemala. Although the majority of travelers choose to rent a car to discover this country, many tourists still decide to travel by bus inside the country.

There is obviously several reasons for this.

Traveling in Costa Rica by bus: the bus companies

You should know that in Costa Rica there are private bus companies and others that are public.

If you want to travel with a small budget, you will need to borrow the public buses who charge very correct prices with longer journey times.

Conversely, if you travel with private buses which are more luxurious, you have to pay more and the journeys will necessarily be faster.

You will find easily information about the different bus companies and their connections with hotels all over the country. Indeed, the hotels can easily arrange reservations for you to reach a particular city with private shuttles or specific bus companies.

Here when I you talks about bus trips, I am referring to public buses.

Traveling in Costa Rica by bus: travel time

You should know that bus journeys can be relatively long depending on the cities you want to link together.

Know that depending on the distance you want to cover, it is not uncommon to have to change the bus one or more times. By choosing this means of transport, for long journeys you may need to complete the journey over several days.

You should often pass through San Jose to cross the country, it is really a central point with regard to the bus network.

On the way, the buses often have several stops, so you will undoubtedly put more time than by car by choosing this means of transport.

To give you an idea the duration of a trip you want to make, meeting on this site to calculate your route. Do not hesitate to use this site to help you prepare your itinerary. However, be aware that the hours are not always good, it is therefore necessary to better inform yourself on the spot rather than relying only on this site.

Traveling in Costa Rica by bus: budget

Regarding the budget for bus trips in Costa Rica, it is the most economical way to travel. Indeed, you can easily make long journeys for less than $ 20. According to travel time you can have between $ 2 and $ 30.

To give you price orders, here are the approximate prices I paid by bus :

Alajuela to La Fortuna : 4-5 $
Monteverde to Tamarindo: $ 8
Samara to Montezuma: $ 30 (very long journey by public bus)
Montezuma to San Jose: $ 17
San Jose to Puerto Viejo: $ 11

Traveling in Costa Rica by bus: good to know!

If you travel to Costa Rica by bus, it is good to know some things:

Feel free to book your bus tickets the day before for morning departures ou well you can book the same day but in this case meet at the bus station at least 30 minutes before departure from the bus
As I said above, you will probably have to go through San Jose for long journeys who cross the country
A San Jose, there is several bus stations depending on the direction that you will take. Take into account the travel time in the city when making your reservations.
Don't just look at the timetables on this website before taking your buses. Find out in cities, bus stations or hotels to find out the bus timetables depending on the day.
Sometimes if there is no more room on the bus, we can suggest that you make the trip standing in the middle for a slightly lower price
The seats are numbered for long journeys but not for small buses
The buses are not always very comfortable buses. Sometimes there is air conditioning but often it is not.
Your suitcases will be placed in the hold. You will be given a numbered ticket to collect your bag on arrival
When the journeys are long, the driver can stop to buy food or take a toilet break.
Sometimes your bus changes are in the middle of nowhere. It happened to me to get out of a bus and wait more than an hour for another bus on the side of the road without knowing what time it was going to pass. You have to be patient !