The Liberia Airport is located about a 30 minute bus ride from the centre of town.There is no schedule posted but busses run very regularly. The bus stop is mostly shaded, so have a seat and relax and enjoy the heat! Busses to Nicoya and Liberia centre will pass approximately every half hour and busses to Tamarindo will pass approximately every hour. Should you chose a taxi you are looking at about $20USD and about a 15minute drive. Taxis are easy to get and a bunch will be waiting for you outside the airport. Before you agree to hire the driver, be sure you confirm your fare.
Liberia Airport to Nicoya
This bus passes about every 1/2hr and as of 2016 the cost is 1240₡. The trip to Nicoya takes about 2hrs.
Liberia Airport to Nosara
In Liberia the bus to Nicoya will pass by the airport very regularly. You can grab this bus to Nicoya and then from there you can switch to the bus to Nosara. Have a look at the Nicoya page for the schedule to Nosara. In Nicoya you need to change terminals. Don’t worry they are only about 5 blocks apart. Check the Nicoya page for more information.
Liberia Airport to Samara
In Liberia the bus to Nicoya will pass by the airport very regularly. You can grab this bus to Nicoya and then from there you can switch to the bus to Samara. Have a look at the Nicoya page for the schedule to Samara. In Nicoya you need to change terminals. Don’t worry they are only about 5 blocks apart. Check the Nicoya page for more information.
Liberia Airport to Tamarindo
The bus going to Tamarindo from Liberia will pass right in front of the airport. They don’t come quite as often as the Nicoya bus but they do come almost every hour. As of May 2017 the trip to costs 1365₡ and takes about 2hrs (with some routes taking a longer route. Check the Liberia Municipal Station Page for the Schedule)
Normally the bus going both to and from Tamarindo will pass right in front of the airport. However, we have had reports of the bus coming from Tamarindo sometimes not making the detour off the main highway to the airport doors. The distance from the highway to the airport doors is about 2km. This is one of the annoying inconsistencies in the CR bus service! If you are headed to the airport make sure you ask the driver if he is going to the airport.
Liberia Airport to Liberia Municipal Station
Wait at the bus stop in front of the airport and if the bus says Liberia on it, then it is heading to the station. This bus will pass about ever 30 minutes and will cost about 500₡. It’s a short trip. A taxi on the other hand will cost about $20.
Liberia Airport to Santa Teresa or Montezuma
Grab the that says Liberia on it. This will take you to the Municipal Station. Have a look at the page for more info about this station. From there switch to the bus heading to Puntarenas. These buses leave about every hour. Once in Puntarenas you need to get to the ferry. This is about a 15block walk or a $5 taxi ride. Check the Puntarenas page for more details on the location of the terminal and the ferry schedule. Once you get to the other side (Paquera) there will be buses heading to Cobanó and from Cobanó you can switch to the bus to either Santa Teresa or Montezuma. Sometimes if you are lucky you will get be in Paquera at the same time as the direct bus from San José to Santa Teresa or Montezuma and you can get on that one and avoid having to switch in Cobanó.
Trip Planning
If you are still planning for your upcoming trip, I am told this Trip Planner from Gecko Trail is quite useful to help you prioritize where you want to spend your time! Gecko Trail is a ICT certified Travel Agency that has great core values and gives back to the community. So much to see and do in this beautiful country!
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!
I wrote yesterday about a seat to Tamarindo this Saturday from Liberia airport for about 1pm (I land Aeromexico from Mexico City at 11am,) but can’t find your whole message, just a quick banner. Could you email me directly with the answer at coastbound2@gmail.com?
Thanks
Anngret Hendry
All of the information you need about a bus from Liberia airport to Tamarindo is written above.
Hey there!
First of all, thanks so much for the helpful information! I do have a couple doubts. 1) the doors through which you exit the Liberia airport are almost always incredibly busy and right across from a parkade , will I need to walk around to the other side of the airport to get to the bus stop? 2) where do I purchase the bus ticket ??
Thanks a bunch! Looking forward to being back in Costa Rica 🙂
Hi Samantha, its been a few months since we have been at the airport in Liberia but in the past to get the bus you just walk out the front doors and then head to the bus stop, which is just to the left down the sidwalk after you exit, you dont have to cross any parkade. The photos above show really clearly where it is. IF this has changed in the past few months then we apologize but I’m pretty sure it’s the same! Maybe we have been lucky but the airport is always really quite and calm when we go to wait for the bus. Tickets are purchased from the driver and all the buses are labelled. Some heading to Liberia and some to Nicoya and Tamarindo. If you mean San Jose airport then yes, there is a large parking area and it’s very busy, but you just head down to the highway to the other side of the parkade and follow the sidewalk. Again, tickets are purchased from the bus driver.
Thank you!
I realized that I was definitely thinking of the wrong airport! Oops 🙈
Another question, do you by chance know if the bus to/from pulmitan Liberia and the airport run later than 8pm??
Have a look at the page on this website for the Pulmitan station. All the schedule information we have is there.
What’s the best way to get to Paraiso from Liberia Airport?
Hi Akesa, I haven’t done the trip to Paraiso before but I am told: you go to Tamarindo first. The bus to Tamarindo will pass right in front of the Liberia Airport. Once in Tamarindo you will need to get another more local buses. I am told you need to two buses and the first to a stop called “27 de Abril”, then another from there to Paraiso. Sorry we don’t have better information than that. If you do this trip by bus please write us back with the details so we can post it here on the site!
Hi there – thanks for this awesome site, super helpful!
If you have time, can you let me know if the plan below makes sense?
I arrive at LIR Airport at 10pm on a Sunday night 2/4/18, and am headed to Nosara (ultimately, to Pachamama near Nosara but I think the last leg will have to be a taxi from Nosara to PM).
The schedule says the Nicoya buses run past the airport regularly (I think it said somewhere about every 30 minutes), but does that include on a Sunday night at 10pm? Maybe that is a stupid question as it’s probably obvious to people familiar with CR buses but since I am not I guess I need to ask :).
Otherwise I have to figure somewhere to stay overnight where I can arrive late and get up early to catch either the ~5am bus from Liberia city station, yipes!?
TIA.
Hi Nicrohr! There are no stupid questions when it comes to CR buses 🙂 I am not 100% sure what time the last bus passes the airport heading to Liberia but I believe it is before 10pm. And, there is definitely not a but going to Nicoya that late. You’re going to have to take a taxi to Liberia and spend the night there. Maybe you can meet other travellers on your flight and share a taxi. There are a few places to sleep in Liberia. There are a couple close to the station but my favourite is Hotel Liberia. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the bus station. They have some dorm type beds they don’t advertise on their website and a quick google will find them. They are always booked so reserve if you choose that spot. It’s a long trip to Nosara (but all explained on this site) and so it’s worth having a nice sleep in Liberia and enjoying the day the next day.
Hi,
What bus can I take to go from Liberia airport to Riu Palace Guanacaste? Thanks!
Hi Gagan, I would contact the hotel directly and ask them for the best bus to take just to be sure. The schedules for this area are constantly changing these days. There are 2 buses per day from the Municipal station in Liberia that go to Tamarindo and pass Playa Matapalo along the way. But, it is a special route. The last time we were at the station we asked which times they were and you can find them on this page. https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/liberia-municipal/ Have a great vacation!
Hello, are there buses that run to Playa del Coco from the airport? Where can I find their schedules and where would they drop off? Thank you!
Hi David! The bus to Playa del Coco leaves from the Pulmitan Station, which is just a block away from the Municipal station in Liberia. https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/pulmitan-de-liberia/ The schedule in the busy season has the bus leaving every half hour but it may be every hour in the off season (now). I don’t believe that the bus passes the airport on the way. I will see if I can find out for sure, but in all of my time sitting in front of the airport watching for buses I have never seen one for Playa del Coco. The bus will take you to close to town centre in front of the Pollo Crispy in Playa del Coco, which isn’t too far away from the Pulmitan station. I will get back to you with whether the bus passes the airport, but if you are on your way right now, you can ask someone at the airport and if it doesn’t then grab the bus passing labeled Liberia (there are many and frequent) and head into Liberia, get off that bus, walk the 200m to the Pulmitan and get the bus to Coco.
Is there a bus from Liberia to the airport? If so, how early does it run during weekdays? Thanks
Hi JP, both the buses heading to Nicoya and Tamarindo pass by the airport on the way. I haven’t updated the schedule since last year ( I will update this info soon). The times may have changed but the schedule last year is this – the first bus heading to Nicoya left at 3:20am (aprox every 30 minutes from 3:50 to 8:20, 1240₡, 1.5 to 2+hrs), and the first bus to Tamarindo left at 3:50am, then at 4:30am, 5:15am , 6:10am, 7:10am, 8:10am, 10:10am, 11:10am*, 12:30pm(Sat+Sun),1:10pm, 2:10pm, 4:10pm, 5:10pm, 6:10pm,~1400₡, 2+hrs
*longer route – through Flamingo, Brasilito, Matapalo (3+hrs). You will need to get the bus from this station https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/liberia-municipal/
where do i catch a bus in liberia airport to go to liberia bus station
Hi Natasha, as you can see in the photos above there is a bus stop right outside of the main doors of the airport. You can see that there bus labeled Liberia is approaching the stop in one of the photos. There will be airport workers everywhere and you can ask them where to go if you don’t see the stop. You can also ask them when the next bus passes heading to Liberia. Last time I was there they passed often. You can also confirm with an airport employee that the bus still passes this location. I am on my way there soon to confirm nothing has changed.