There is a direct bus to/from San José and also buses that pass frequently through Ciudad Quesada. In the past the trip from Monteverde via Tilaran by local bus was very long and uncomfortable but these days it’s much better. You can even go by horseback!
** please note the schedules on this page need updating. Please read traveller comments about updates and check the 7-10 website for the La Fortuna schedule or here at fortunatwelcom.com. Here is a photo of a schedule sent by a traveller on Mar 16, 2019
La Fortuna to San José:
This schedule has changed a bunch lately! Please leave us a comment if you’ve taken the bus and what time! We were told there was only one bus per day from La Fortuna to San Jose at 2:45pm – though this may be different now. The price is about 2495₡ and takes about 4hrs. The other buses route through Ciudad Quesada – have a look at the schedule above for those times or check the 7-10 website for the La Fortuna schedule or here at fortunatwelcom.com. The cost from La Fortuna to Ciudad Quesada is 1915₡ and the expresso from Ciudad Quesada to San Jose is 1245₡. The expresso leaves frequently when full.
San José to La Fortuna: From the 7-10 Station in San José : 5am, 6:15am, 8:40am, 11:50am. BUT, we had reports lately that only the 8:40 bus is running. See photos of schedule and prices below.
Sorry for not having any confirmed times, it’s been difficult getting them.
If you are arriving by plane you can get a taxi to the station in Alajuela that has buses to La Fortuna. Taxi is 2000₡
San Jose Airport in Alajuela to La Fortuna
There is no bus going directly from the airport in Alajuela to La Fortuna. You can however get a taxi to the Alajuela bus station near the airport and then get a bus to Ciudad Quesada and then continue on to La Fortuna. Here is one traveller who did this recently: Alajuela to La Fortuna.
Monteverde to La Fortuna
This may be the coolest way to get to go: Arenal to Monteverde – by horseback! Check out this unique and awesome looking way of going between these two mountain paradises. A half day adventure that is quicker than taking the bus!
You can take a shuttle from here that will get you there in 3hrs for $25. It goes something like this: 4×4 Jeep – boat – 4×4 Jeep. Normally we don’t promote shuttles since this is a BUS travel site – but it is an option since the local bus is quite long. The full trip is about 9hrs by bus.
Local bus: Go from Monteverde to Tilarán @5am, 7am, 11:30am or 4pm (TilaránTransportes 2695-5998.). See photo below. The cost as of June 2017 is 900₡ and the trip takes about 2hrs and 15min. Then Tilarán to La Fortuna (7am and 12:15pm and 3:30pm), 2.5hrs. Check the Tilarán page for more details
Tilarán to La Fortuna
There are 3 buses each day to and from Tilarán:
from Tilarán to La Fortuna: 7:00am, 12:20pm; 3:30pm
from La Fortuna to Tilarán : 6:30am, 11:30pm, 3:55pm
The cost as of Jan 2019 the cost is 2950₡ and takes 2-2.5 hours. See photo of schedule below from June 2017.
Liberia to La Fortuna
We haven’t done this route but were told this is what you do to get from Liberia to La Fortuna:
“In Liberia take the bus to Cañas (~$3), from Cañas straight on the bus to Tilarán at 12pm (~$1.50), from Tilarán straight on the bus to La Fortuna at 12:30pm ($4) and arrive around 2pm. The next one is at 3:30pm and you will arrive around 5″.
Anther traveller, Tanja, did it with this timing:
8:30 Liberia – Cañas (Puntarenas) 1475₡ 1h,
10:40 Cañas – Tilarán 600₡ 45min,
12:15 Tilarán – La Fortuna 2750₡ 2h
Arenal to Manuel Antonio
One awesome traveller submitted the info from her trip to Manuel Antonio, have a look at it here – Arenal to Manuel Antonio
If you are coming from Nicaragua then check out this post about how to get to La Fortuna from San Juan del Sur.
Border (Peñas Blancas) to La Fortuna
One helpful traveller named Theo has shared this info:
“We got to the border at Peñas Blancas and found a direct bus to La Fortuna. It was from the second bus store in the line of booths. We caught it at 2.30pm and it dropped us off at Tanque which is 7km from La Fortuna. There is a connecting bus at this point or can easily get a cheap taxi. Cost of the bus was 3000 Colone. Trip took 4.5 hours, hence its easier, faster and cheaper than taking the 3 buses that it would take going via Liberia. I got the impression this bus only left once a day so I believe we were very lucky.”
La Fortuna to Peñas Blancas
I haven’t done this but one great traveller named Louise shared her knowledge (March 2018), she says:
“If you take the 6.30am bus to El Tanque, which takes around 10 minutes, you can then wait for the 7.30am(edit Feb 2019 – now 7:00) bus to Penas Blancas. The bus only goes once a day and arrived/departed 5 or so minutes early. The shops and cafes in El Tanque open at 7 so you can use up the last of your local money. This bus arrives around 12.30 and then departs back to El Tanque at 2:30pm. The bus was full when I got on it and I had to stand for the first two hours. This might have been because of Semana Santa, but as there’s just the one bus a day it wouldn’t surprise me if this happened often. The bus stopped after about two hours, for 15 minutes, so you could use the bathroom or buy stuff. They allow original passengers back on the bus first so they have priority on the seats then let new people on. They bus stops many many times along the way as its used as a local bus service too. It was super cheap, something like 3500 colones.
Price update June 2108: La Fortunat to El Tanque: ₡790, El Tanque to Border: ₡3700
Help your fellow traveller
Thanks to bus traveller Brian Driscoll for the 2017 update at the La Fortuna station.
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, what is the name of the station in San Jose where I can catch buses to la Fortuna?
Thanks 🙂
Hi there, its the 7-10 station https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/san-jose-7-10/
If you take the 6.30am bus to El Tanque, which takes around 10 minutes, you can then wait for the 7.30am bus to Penas Blancas. The bus only goes once a day and arrived/departed 5 or so minutes early. The shops and cafes in el Tanque open at 7 so you can use up the last of your local money. This bus arrives around 12.30 and then departs back to el tanque at 2pm. The bus was full when I got on it and I had to stand for the first two hours. This might have been because of semana santa, but as there’s just the one bus a day it wouldn’t surprise me if this happened often. The bus stopped after about two hours, for 15 minutes, so you could use the bathroom or buy stuff. They allow original passengers back on the bus first so they have priority on the seats then let new people on. They bus stops many many times along the way as its used as a local bus service too. It was super cheap, something like 3500 colones.
Bus leaves the border at 2.30pm sorry.
Thanks! I added this to the main info above. 🙂
We got to the border at Peñas Blancas and found a direct bus to La Fortuna. It was from the second bus store in the line of booths. We caught it at 2.30pm and it dropped us off at Tanque which is 7km from La Fortuna. There is a connecting bus at this point or can easily get a cheap taxi. Cost of the bus was 3000 Colone. Trip took 4.5 hours, hence its easier, faster and cheaper than taking the 3 buses that it would take going via Liberia. I got the impression this bus only left once a day so I believe we were very lucky.
Thanks, Theo! I have added this info above.
Hey,
In case someone is looking for the info :
It is possible to go to La Fortuna from the Airport (SJO)
– Take a taxi (2000₡) to the bus station of Alajuela. Or walk (20min walk in the sun) . I choose to take a taxi
In the bus station there is only one company selling direct tickets from Alajuela to La Fortuna.
I took the 9:30 am bus.
Sorry I can’t remember the schedule but there were about 4 or 5 buses during the day.
I paid something like 2500₡ or 3500₡, and it took 3 hours.
Keep your backpack with you if you can, keep your small bag with you too (never put it in the overhead compartment) & enjoy the view !
It is a public bus so there are many stops. The bus makes a 10 min stop midway in Ciudad Quesada (you can buy food & use the bathrooms). Keep an eye on your luggage and everything will be fine (99,9% of the costa ricans are helpful, nice & adorable; however I saw a girl got her bag stolen in that bus, that is why I insist) .
Did that trip on March 4th, 2018
Thanks, Laurie! Great info!
Hi! Does anyone know whether it is possible to go from La Fortuna to Puerto Viejo in one day? From this site I know there is a 9.15am bus to San Jose and there is a 2pm (or 4pm) to Puerto Viejo but I guess that is not the same San Jose station? Does anyone know if it is doable? Otherwise we might just plan one night in San Jose and take it slowly. Thanks!
Hi Melanie! Yes the bus to Puerto Viejo is this one https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/san-jose-terminal-mepe/. It’s is about 1km from the 7-10 station where you arrive from La Fortuna. I haven’t had an update on the PV schedule for a bit but the last update in May 2017 has the last bus to Puerto Viejo at 6pm. The trip to PV is ~4.5hrs with a price of 5590C. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible if you left La Fortuna early. It looks like a combined total of about 8-9hrs of bus travel. One of my favourite things when travelling Central America is these epic distances but definitely a LOT of bus time! The only tricky part may be getting a seat on the bus to PV if you don’t get there a bit early as I am told it’s a busy bus.
Hi,
i just did this trip and it worked out great!
Took the direct bus from La Fortuna to San José at 9:10am, got to San José at around 1:35pm, asked taxi drivers for the way to the Mepe Terminal which was only a 4 minute walk;
Easily got a ticket for the 2pm bus to Cahuita! (It was a wednesday)
We just came from Arenal (not La Fortuna) to Manuel Antonio and the bus route and times was as follows:
7:15am Arenal to Tilarán
8:30am Tilarán to Cañas (the Cañas bus might be waiting in the station for the Arenal bus so jump off your bus straight into this one).
9:30am Cañas to Puntarenas
11:15am (we think this was a late 11am bus as we literally jumped off our bus straight onto this bus) Puntarenas to Quepos
Arrived around 2:45pm
Buses run every 15/20 mins from Quepos to Manuel Antonio.
The whole journey cost us around $10 dollars each.
We had amazing connections but doing this route gives you the most options as they are all busy bus stations.
Thanks so much Kate, I hope you don’t mind but we made a new Route from your directions. This one is a popular one that people ask questions about all the time 🙂 https://centrocoasting.com/routes/arenal-manuel-antonio/
Hi,
Thanks for your information.
We did the same tour like Tanja, leaving Liberia at 8:30 am (1500 c), then went in Canas at 10:40 am (600 c) with the Bus to Tileran to get the final bus at 12:15 pm to Fortuna (2700 c) arriving there at approx. 2 pm.
I think this ist the best timing die the Route 🙂
Thanks for adding your input! Traveller comments like this are so helpful to everyone. Keep us posted if you have any additional info to add with other routes and stops. 🙂
Hi! I did this one too yesterday – really simple. The bus times have changed slightly from Cañas to Tilaran so I took photos – where shall I send them?!
Sarah 🤗
Great! You can send them to centrocoasting at gmail com
Hey guys, I took the bus from Liberia to la Fortuna on 17th of August.
Your information helped us a lot!
8:30 Liberia – Canas (punta arenas) 1475 ¢ 1h
10:40 Canas – tilaran 600 ¢ 45min
12:15 Tileran – la fortuna 2750¢ 2h
Hey Tanja! So glad we could help you and thanks for paying it forward with some extra info for the next traveller!