** 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.
Cóbano is the main town closest to both Santa Teresa/Mal Pais and Montezuma. When heading to either of these places, you will most likely pass through here.
There is a covered bus stop on one side of the street where you wait for the direct bus heading to San José. On the opposite side of the street is the pick up location for busses heading to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais – it’s general location is in front of a small store that sells vegetables and there is a tiny sign indicating that it is a bus stop. (See if you can find it!) All busses are very clearly labeled when coming to and going from Cóbano so you shouldn’t have any problems.
Direct bus to/from San José
The direct bus from San José leaves from the Terminal 7-10. This bus takes about 6hrs and leaves San José at 6am and 2pm. This is one of the more expensive buses in Costa Rica and as of 2017 the cost is 7020₡, which includes the cost of your ferry ticket of about 800₡. The trip takes about 5.5hrs.
Surfers, you will pay an extra 2000₡ for your surfboard.
We have a photo of the schedule below which is current as of May 2017 but here it is in writing:
- Cóbano to San José: 7:00am / 3:00pm
- San José to Cóbano/Montezuma: 6:00am / 2:00pm
- Santa Teresa/Mal Pais to San José: 6:00am (take local bus at 2pm local bus to connect in Cóbano with the 2:30pm. extra 1000₡)
- San José to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais: 6:00am / 2:00pm
- Montezuma to San José: 6:30am / 2:30pm
** you have to pay the whole fare to San José even if you want to only go part way.
** 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.
Cóbano Local Bus Schedule (2017)
- Cóbano to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais: 06:50am, 10:30am, 11:30am*, 2:30pm, 5pm:00, 7:30pm*
- Santa Teresa/Mal Pais to Cóbano: 5:50am, 06:00am*, 7:55am, 11:55am, 2:00pm*, 4:00pm
* connection with the direct bus to/from San José
*be on time. This bus starts from the far end of Santa Teresa and may take 5-20+minutes to reach you depending on where you are standing.
1000₡, 45 minutes
- Cóbano to Montezuma: 5:30am, 7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:50pm, 7:45pm
- Montezuma to Cóbano: 6:20am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2:20pm, 4:15pm, 5:45pm, 8pm
400₡, 25 minutes *see photo of schedule below
- Paquera to Cobano: 6:15am, 8:15am, 10:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:15pm, 6:15pm
- Cobano to Paquera:4am, 6:45am, 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:45pm, 4:30pm
1800₡, 1.5hrs *see photo of schedule below
Ferry Schedule
Puntarenas to Paquera
- 05:00, 09:00, 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:30*
(*no connecting bus heading all the way to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais, Montezuma)
Paquera to Puntarenas
- 05:30, 09:00, 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:00
***here is an extremely useful number = call tel: 26612084 (then press 4) and you can get the current ferry schedule.
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!
¡Hola! I was wondering about the bus from Cobano to Santa Teresa and if the schedule posted above on this page is still accurate (2:30pm, 5pm, etc)? My brother and I are taking the terminal 7-10 bus from San Jose to Cobano September 5th so we wanted to make sure that the schedule is still up to date so that we are prepared in time to get on the 2:30pm bus. Also, where can we buy tickets for this bus? Finally, does the Cobano / Santa Teresa bus leave from the same bus station we arrive at when coming from San Jose?
¡Mucho gracias por toda tu ayuda!
The Schedule of the bus from Cobano to Paquera has changed from the 7th of Match 2022.
It’s is now
Cóbano – Paquera (ferry)
4:00 a.m.
7:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
01:00 p.m.
4:15 p.m.
Paquera (ferry)-Cóbano
06:45 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
01:30 p.m.
04:30 p.m.
07:30 p.m.
I took a picture if needed.
The local bus from Cobano to Mal Pais / Santa Teresa charges 1000₡ for a surfboard (as of August 2019).
3 Jan 2019.There is no bus service past Rio Grande going north. Apparently the road is too bad. But we were told by a local they are fixing and paving all the way from Paquera to Playa Naranjo and should be ready in 2 yrs.
Jan 3 2019. We took a bus for 600 colones from Paquera to Rio Grande to check out some local beaches, Mango and Pajaros. The bus came from the ferry so it follows the ferry arrival schedule. Had a nice lunch at the Soda by the store then walked half hr to Mango passing 7 howlers in a tree. The return schedule said last bus was 5:00pm but it didn’t show. The store clerk called a local guy and drove us back to Paquera for 6000 colones…about $10us. Great day!
On a Thursday morning 12.13.18: We (2 adults) took a bus from Santa Teresa @ 8am to Cobano @ 2000 colones. Arrived in Cobano at 8:50am.
Bus to the Paquera ferry was waiting in Cobano. Cost a little under 1500 colones total for 2 adults. The bus left right away @ 8:55am.
Not sure if this bus from Cobano to the Ferry is normal leaving when it did, but, Hell Yeah! We thought that we would be waiting until 10:30 from Cobano to Paqeura.
Fyi, it look like there will be no Ferry service from nov. 23 to dec. 02 for the PaqueraPuntaneras route : http://navieratambor.com/horarios-y-tarifas
Do you know if the 11th june 2018 the bus from San José to Cobano leaves at 6am, from Terminal 7-10?
Does it arrive in Cobano around 12am?
Is it possible to buy the tickets in advance?
thank you
Hi Marina, we can’t say for sure what a bus schedule will be like in the future. You can book your ticket online with laterminalcostarica. The trip from San Jose to Cobano takes a while with the ferry. I can’t remember exactly when it gets to Cobano if you take the 6am bus but it is around 12pm-1pm.