Many towns and beaches in Costa Rica have the same name. For example, there is a Playa Hermosa in the Province of Guanacaste west of Liberia and two other Playa Hermosas in Puntarenas Province. There is a Peñas Blancas north-east of Puntarenas and another on the Nicaraguan border. A bus to Naranjo will take you to a town near San José in the Central Valley, whereas a bus to Playa Naranjo will take you to the north-eastern coast of the Nicoya Peninsula. There are three Pavones, seven San Isidros in the central valley alone and four others large enough to be shown on maps, seven San Ramons and (at last count) eleven San Antonios! Be sure that your destination is correct.

Equipment varies from a few old Blue Bird school buses on local routes to luxurious Mercedes and Volvos with reclining seats. Long distance buses have overhead racks and storage compartamientos abajo (compartments below) but local and short distance buses have little or no room to store bags. Travel light. Use a soft bag that you can stuff under your seat or carry in your lap. Some international buses, such as Tica Bus, have air-conditioning, toilet facilities, and even peliculas (movies), but domestic buses do not. Although old Cantinflas movies might have you think so, no chickens, pigs, or other livestock run up and down the aisles of Costa Rican buses.

Bus drivers often stop at paradas (street-side bus stops) only when people are getting off or waiting to board. Pull the bell chord, press the buzzer button, or shout "la parada" and walk to the exit at least a hundred meters (about 300 feet) before you plan to get off. Drivers and ticket sellers usually speak only Spanish and schedules are often not posted and are seldom published, so plan your itinerary and obtain travel information in advance.

When traveling beyond the metropolitan area of San José, buy your boletos or tiquetes (tickets) in advance. Long distance buses are often full, especially on weekends and holidays. If you arrive at the station just before departure time, you may find yourself riding a pie (standing), waiting for the next bus, or staying over at a hotel for an unplanned morning departure.

Tip:  On Holy Thursday and Holy Friday of Semana Santa (Holy Week), which may occur near the end of March or in early April, bus service may be reduced on certain routes. Bus service is also reduced during Christmas week. On Christmas Day some bus companies do not run at all.

Finding Your Way In San José

San José is laid out in a rectangular grid consisting of north, south, east, and west quadrants. Despite the fact that the city is logically planned, getting around can be difficult because of the shortage of street signs and the Tico tendency to give directions with respect to the number of meters north, south, east, or west of landmarks known to them but unknown to out-of-towners and tourists. They rarely rely on Calle and Avenida numbers. Some addresses are given with respect to Barrios (neighborhoods), which are poorly identified on maps and hardly ever on street signs; finding them is a challenge. Ask for "direcciones." Ticos and Ticas are friendly, helpful people.

Few edificios (buildings) are numbered. When asking for directions, remember that a city block is considered to be 100 meters long regardless of its length. Therefore, "trescientos cincuenta metros sur del Gran Hotel" means "three and a half blocks south of the Grand Hotel." Tico addresses often refer to landmarks that no longer exist, such as the failed "Antiguo Banco Anglo" on A2/C1-C3 (the building is now occupied by the Ministerio de Hacienda). The most popular imaginary reference point is the Coca Cola bottling plant, which was torn down years ago.

I told you but you never listen!
It's 300 metros norte,100 metros
este del Antiguo Banco Anglo!

The majority of buses leave from "Coca Cola" (the non-existent bottling plant) at C16/A1-A3 and from nearby terminals and paradas (street-side bus stops) but many others are scattered throughout the city.Most buses in San José> stop running at about 10:00 p.m. and some stop running earlier. After that, you must rely on taxies. Taxi fares are 420 Colones ($0.86) for the first kilometer and 380 Colones ($0.77) for each additional kilometer in the metropolitan area. There is a waiting charge of 2,275 ($4.63). Tips are not expected, but let the driver keep the menudo or plata (small change).

Note: Local buses in San José have laser bars that count passengers as they enter and leave. Do not stand between the bars or pass through them more than once. The driver must pay for any discrepancies between the fares collected and the passenger count.

Finding Your Way With Our Complete Guide

Costa Rica by Bus is the only travel guide that provides all the information you need to travel on Costa Rica's outstanding bus system, a system that will take you border-to-border and coast-to-coast throughout this beautiful country. Our guides are organized for easy retrieval of the information you need to get around and our e-Books are densely linked to help you navigate from one place to another and to visit interesting websites.

What our Customers Say:

“I now have had an opportunity to thoroughly read your book. It is a treasure. I cannot imagine anyone traveling to CR, either as a first time visitor or a frequent traveler, and not having a copy of this tome in their suitcase. I do not think that even the residents have your knowledge of the country or your ability to navigate around it. Thanks for all of your help." -- Myles Cunningham

“I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your guide. It has a good deal of useful information not found in any of the other Costa Rica books that I have been reading. I like your style of writing and you organized the information extremely well. " -- Frank Muschal

And What they Say About the Multi-Media e-Book:

“I was lucky to get an advance copy of Costa Rica by Bus. I'll be taking 30 of my students on a field trip to Costa Rica in April and the information in your guide is priceless. It's become almost a textbook for my kids. As we are traveling on a very restricted budget your guide has saved us time and money. We'll let you know how the trip went on our return .. Again, thank you sooooo much!" Rachael Gordon ... Edmondton, Canada

“WOW ... I don't know how you do it John but the printable posters, maps, and schedules alone are worth far more than what I paid. Absolutely the most incredible travel guide I've ever seen! Anyone going to Costa Rica ... MUST HAVE THIS BOOK!" ... Richard Knox ... London, UK

Currency

Costa Rican billetes (bills) are printed in four denominations: 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 colones. Coins are available in six denominations: 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 colones. New coins are gold in color, old coins are silver. Coin-operated telephones accept only the old silver coin. On April 14, 2009 the exchange rate was 565 colones per US dollar. To make a quick and rough conversion to US dollars, simply move the decimal point three places to the left and multiply by 2. One thousand colones equals about $2.00 USD.

 
Bus Fares

These are subject to change. Fares are current with the latest increases approved by ARESEP and published in the official goverment document La Gaceta. For current bus fares see www.aresep.go.cr. Click on Tarifas Vigentes, Transportes, and Buses and search on the route number. Additional increases are likely later this year but they should not appreciably increase the cost of travel by bus.

Telephones

Most public phones, abundant in the center of San José often hard to find elsewhere, use one of three types of telephone cards. Old coin-operated phones take only old (silver) coins in denominations of 10 and 20 colones.

The following web pages give samples of what you will find in our guides. For complete information, click on the "Order Now" button at the top or bottom of any page.

     Now Click on your interests:

San Jose    Beaches   Parks/Volcanoes   Cities/Towns   Other Places

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Timeshares

As soon as soon as you step off the plane after your Costa Rica vacation you will wonder how soon you can return, and after exploring the country using its outstanding bus system you will probably know which region is your favorite. The option to buy a timeshare here is a great way to secure affordable annual accommodations.

With Guanacaste rentals, for instance, you can enjoy Costa Rica's wonderful people, weather, striking topography, and vibrant culture every year.

Opportunities

Costa Rica is home to one of the largest American expat communities. People are drawn to the "Pura Vida" lifestyle that is foreigner friendly. Often times, foreigners travel to this small country on vacation and decide they want to move here indefinitely. Costa Rica real estate varies in price depending on the location of the property. The pacific coast remains the most popular place to buy real estate. Guanacaste is currently one of the most common choices for expats, retirees and investors, however the entire country has different opportunities. To view thousands of real estate listings in Costa Rica and the rest of Latin America, visit VivaReal.net.

Map compliments of the University of Texas

This web site was updated on April 29, 2009.

Copyright 2009 by John R. Wood