** October 26th, 2018: There has been a temporary change in Ferry hours and the bus from San Jose to Santa Teresa/Montezuma now departs at 7:30am and 3:30pm.
The bus stop in front of the Villa Bonita Station in Alajuela is a great spot to grab the bus if you are arriving at the Airport and don’t want to go all the way into San José to catch the bus from the main station. Essentially it is large covered bus stop with a gas station about 40metres away. People are often confused on how to exactly use this stop and also have some level of discomfort with the idea of taking a taxi to the side of the highway to wait. Have no fear, this is a very well used pick-up spot. There will almost surely be others waiting and there are even some very nice locals selling water, soda and plantain chips who can help you catch your bus.
It takes about 20-40 minutes for the bus to get here from central San José (depending on traffic) but I would recommend being here no later than 20 minutes after your bus was scheduled to leave from its station in San José.
Getting a taxi here
A taxi from the airport should cost no more than 2500₡. It seems close but its a bit of driving. Chances are they will fist quote you $10 for the ride.
Walking from the Airport to Villa Bonita?
Have you ever wondered if you can walk to this spot from the airport? No? – well I have! And, so I did. Turns out you can walk about 25minutes along the side of a busy highway to get here. Would I recommend this option? Probably not. There is no sidewalk and most of the journey is along a small worn foot path next to the highway (see photos).
Help your fellow traveller
If you have taken any of the buses on this page, please drop us a comment below about how the trip went, what time you left, how long it took and what it cost. And, definitely let us know if we have anything wrong.
Lets help each other in our travels!
Hi! I arrive to SJO at 12:40 pm and I hope to catch the bus to Santa Teresa at Villa Bonita.
Does anyone know if the afternoon bus still departs at 3:30 pm from Terminal 710 or is back to the original 2 pm departure time?
If the bus departs at 2pm (arrives to Villa Bonita around 2:20 pm) is that enough time (<2 hours) to clear customs in SJO and taxi to the bus stop?
Also is it better to buy tickets in advance or pay the bus driver in cash?
Thank you!
Hi,
can I book this bus in advance? Or do i just show up and pay the Ticket from the Bus driver?
***caution*** at the Villa Bonita bus stop in Alajuela.
Took an Uber to the stop and arrived well in advance of the bus to Monteverde which i expected at around 6:50. At around 7:05 still no bus. No one else there was waiting for the Monteverde bus (I asked). It’s a popular stop with lots of buses stopping. Someone with taxi badge and red taxi approached and asked if I was waiting for MV bus and that he just took another person to the new stop for that bus 600m from there.
I speak Spanish (well) and know my way around transportation etc in Costa Rica. But with some “kind” and clever conversation about San Jose bus drivers going on strike until Monday and no afternoon bus to Monteverde and “supposed” calls to the bus company to see where the bus was and if I could still catch it, he swindled me into taking the cab and paying a sh*t ton of money to get me to the bus. First time ever in years of travel here that i ever fell for this.
Don’t be fooled!!! The Monteverde bus stops at that bus stop (big gas station on the corner nearby) . Stay put and wait for your bus. It’s a good (but really bad!) example of how one moment of doubt can allow us to fall victim to a predatory driver. Sad truth
hi!
I intend to take the bus from San Jose to Montezuma, and am wondering if there is an update on Ferry times and Bus times?
My girlfriend and me took that bus from Villa Bonita to Santa Elena at 14:30. But it only arrrived at Villa Bonita at around 15:00. I guess the bus leaves at 14:30 from San José and takes a while to reach Villa Bonita. We were there well before that just to be sure. We bought the ticket with the busdriver. I think it was just less than 4.000 ColonesEven though it doesnt appear to be a legit bus station, there were many people waiting for various buses. They slow down and let passengers step on on request. They all have their destinations very clearly written at the front of the bus. So you just need to keep an eye on them. But there were even some locals, that looked out for it and helped us. The ride was smooth until we reached the hilly area, thats what the roads became bad including lots of turns. We made a 20min break at a café/restaurant/shop in between. The total journey took about 4:30h (close to 5h actually I think). Coming back to San José was a bit quicker, just 4h
Hi there. I booked the tickets for the Puente villa Bonita bus. Has the time changed now to 3:30 pm for when it leaves San Jose bus station?
This is for a trip to Santa Teresa. Our plane lands at 12:25 pm. That should be enough time to get to the bus stop that’s on the side of the highway ?
Thank you
Hello, I’m going to drop my friends off as they take the 6 am bus from villa Bonita. I’ll be coming from Ciudad Colon by car. Is the bus station at the same side of the road or is it on the other side?