Getting there & away
Land
Bus
Buses arrive and depart Terminal Liberia (Av 7 btwn Calles 12 & 14) and Terminal Pullmitan (Av 5 btwn Calles 10 & 12). Routes, fares, journey times and departures are as follows:
Cañas US$1, 1½ hours, departs Terminal Liberia 5:45am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm and 5:10pm. It’s quicker to jump off the San José–bound bus in Cañas.
La Cruz/Peñas Blancas US$1.25, 1½ to two hours, departs Pullmitan 5:30am, 8:30am, 9am, 11am, noon, 2pm, 4:45pm and 8pm.
Managua, Nicaragua US$10, five hours, departs Pullmitan 8:30am, 9:30am and 1pm (buy tickets one day in advance).
Nicoya, via Filadelfia & Santa Cruz (Alfaro Buses) US$1.25, two hours, hourly from 4am to 8pm.
Playa del Coco US$0.75, one hour, departs Pullmitan 5:30am, 8am, 9am, 12:30pm, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm.
Playa Hermosa, Playa Panamá (Tralapa) US$0.75, 1¼ hours, departs Terminal Liberia 7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm, 5:30pm and 7pm.
Playa Tamarindo US$1.25, two hours, departs Terminal Liberia 5:15am, 7am, 10:15am, 12:15pm, 2:30pm and 6pm.
Puntarenas US$1.40, 3 hours, seven services from 5am to 3:30pm. It’s quicker to jump off the San José–bound bus in Puntarenas.
San José US$5, four hours, departs Pullmitan hourly 6am to 7pm.
Car
Liberia lies on the Interamericana, 234km north of San José and 77km south of the Nicaraguan border post of Peñas Blancas. Hwy 21, the main artery of the Península de Nicoya, begins in Liberia and heads southwest. A dirt road, passable to all cars in dry season (4WD is preferable), leads 25km from Barrio la Victoria to the Santa María entrance of Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja; the gravel road to the Las Pailas entrance begins from the Interamericana 5km north of Liberia (passable to regular cars, but 4WD is recommended).
There are several rental-car agencies in the region (none of which have desks at the airport) that charge about the same amount as those in San José. Most can arrange pick-up in Liberia and drop-off in San José, though they’ll try to charge you extra. Rental agencies are on Hwy 21 between Liberia and the airport, but should be able to drop off your car in town. La Posada de Tope arranges the cheapest car rental in Liberia. At last count, there were 28 car-rental agencies in Liberia, though here are a few of the more popular ones:
Adobe (667 0608; www.adobecar.com)
Avis (666 7585; www.avis.co.cr)
Budget (668 1024; www.budget.com)
Dollar (668 1061; www.dollarcostarica.com)
Economy Rent-A-Car (666 2816; www.economyrentacar)
Europcar (668 1022; www.europcar.co.cr)
Hola (667 4040; www.hola.net)
Mapache (665 4444; www.mapache.com)
National (666 5595; www.natcar.com)
Payless (257 0026; www.paylesscr.com)
Toyota Rent a Car (666 8190; www.carrental-toyota-costarica.com)
Tricolor (665 5412; www.tricolorcarrental.com)
Air
Since 1993, Aeropuerto Internacional Daniel Oduber Quirós (LIR), 12km east of Liberia, has served as the country’s second international airport, providing easy access to all those beautiful beaches without the hassle of dealing with less-than-pristine San José. It’s a tiny airport, jam-packed with increasing traffic, and a serious (and potentially schedule-busting) overhaul is planned for the ‘near future.’ All international flights are through the USA, though there are talks of starting direct flights to Europe.
NatureAir and Sansa both make multiple daily runs between Liberia and San José, with connections all over the country, for about US$80 one way, US$160 round-trip.
There are no car-rental desks at the airport; make reservations in advance, and your company will meet you at the airport with a car. There are plans to open a tourist-information desk, but at press time, there weren’t even racks of flyers available. A taxi to Liberia costs US$10.
It is likely that this list of airlines will have expanded by the time you read this. Although there’s a lot of talk about airport expansion, at time of writing the first three are still the only airlines that actually fly into and out of Liberia from the USA.
American Airlines (800-421 0600; www.aa.com) Fights to/from Miami, Florida.
Continental (800-231 0856; www.continental.com) To/from Houston, Texas.
Delta (800-241 4141; www.delta.com) To/from Atlanta, Georgia.
NatureAir (220 3054; www.natureair.com) To/from San José.
Sansa (668 1047; www.flysansa.com) To/from San José.
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