Getting To & From Santa Teresa on 03/06/10 by Alexandria Prain

Getting to and from the Malpais and Santa Teresa Area:

There are a number of ways to reach the Santa Teresa and Malpais area from San Jose.

Economic: The cheapest way to arrive to the area is by taking the bus from the San Jose. From the Coca Cola Terminal there are two or three buses depending on the day that take you directly to Malpais/ Santa Teresa. Tickets cost about 10USD and you don's have to change buses until you hit Santa Teresa. The whole trip takes between 6-7 hrs and includes a ferry. If you can't catch the direct bus head over to the bus terminal on Avd 12, Calle 16 and take the express bus to Puntarenas, which departs about every 40 minutes. The bus ride should take around 2 hours, if you are lucky a little less. You will need to take the bus to the last stop in Puntarenas. Once you get off grab a taxi and ask to be take to the ferry. Ferry crossings happen a few times a day at 8am, 12pm, 3pm, 5 pm and 8pm. From here you will take the ferry to Paquera, where you will hop on another bus that will take you to Cobano- Santa Teresa.

Getting Back: On your way back to San Jose there is a direct bus that makes stops in Santa Teresa and will take you all the way to the International Airport and then to San Jose. The bus passes through at 6am and 2 pm. It costs approximately 6,000 Colones.

Moderate: A more comfortable, though slightly more expensive option is to take a shuttle all the way to Santa Teresa. Shuttles run from both the International Airport or any San Jose/ Alajuela accommodations. The cost is approximately 40USD. The shuttles run at 9am arriving at 3pm or 1:30pm arriving at 8pm. To make reservations contact: reservations@shuttlebussantateresa.com

Expensive: If you have a little bit of money to spend and prefer not to be on a public bus for seven hours, you can always take a flight from San Jose to Tambor  and then take a forty minute taxi to Santa Teresa. Sansa airlines has flights direct from San Jose to Tambor, and their airport is located right to the right of the International airport. Flight tickets cost between 60-90 USD depending on the booking. Flights run all day. For flight schedules, prices and reservations check out: www.flysansa.com