Transportation Guide

If you want to rent a car and drive instead, it won’t cost much more than the shuttle if you have two or more people. We recommend Budget. Caution! Many companies hide some fees, especially insurance, so be very careful. Budget is very upfront about their fees, and they have two local offices so they’re a good bet. If you do drive, then you can get from the airport to the Puntarenas Ferry in 1.5 to 2.5 hours.



New Shortcut! There’s a new road from San Jose to Caldera, and you can use this superhighway to rapidly get to the ferry… saving up to an hour of driving time. As of this writing, there are no signs for how to do this, so follow these instructions: Drive west from the airport on the main freeway (Interamericana) until you see an exit for Atenas. Take that exit and cross over the freeway to your left. Drive for approximately 2km and turn left between a soccer field and a blue school. There is no sign here for the freeway. If you get lost, ask for “La Pista por Caldera”. Drive for 3.5km the then you’ll see an overpass. Don’t go under it but instead turn left just before the freeway, and that will take you to the onramp. Get on that and head west (right) again. It will take you to Caldera, which is the main port next to Puntarenas, and from there, drive north along the coast. You’ll pass a big development called “La Roca” and eventually you’ll pass up and over the top of the road you want to turn right onto. There’s a sign for Puntarenas, but it’s been covered with tree branches for several years, so it’s difficult to see. Loop around to the right and get onto this road, heading west again, and follow that in a straight line all the way to the very tip of the Puntarenas peninsula, and then turn right and it will curve around to the ferry line.



The ferry times are shown here: Ferry to Montezuma/Malpais Area. Or better call the Ferry to hear the times. 2661-2084 ext 4. It’s only in Spanish, so a good way to do it is to ask the person at the rental car desk to help. There are two ferries. One is to Paquera and one to Naranjo. Take the Paquera Ferry, and from there, drive to the left and go to Cobano, which takes 45 minutes normally. From Cobano, turn left and head to Montezuma. From Montezuma, head south along the beach road and at Hotel Amor de Mar, you’ll see a paved road up the hill. Drive up about 1/2 km and you’ll see Anamaya’s sign on the right.