** 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. 

There is one main bus stop in Montezuma where the bus parks and picks up the majority of it’s passengers. Montezuma is quite small so anything you need is right there. The local bus schedule can change often, but for travellers coming from and going to San José the bus times don’t change much since they are timed with the Ferry.

Cóbano Local Bus Schedule (2017)

• Cóbano to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais: 6:50am, 10:30am, 11:30am*, 2:30pm, 5pm, 7:30pm*
• Santa Teresa/Mal Pais to Cóbano: 5:50am, 6am*, 7:55am, 11:55am, 2:00pm*, 4pm

* connection with the direct bus to/from San José

*In Santa Teresa 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

Direct bus to and from San José

The direct bus from San José leaves from the Terminal 7-10. This bus takes about 6hrs. This is one of the most expensive buses in Costa Rica and as of July 2017 the cost is 7320₡, which includes the cost of your ferry ticket of about 800₡. The trip takes about 5.5hrs.

If you are near the Airport you don’t have to head all the way to the 7-10 Terminal. Instead, have a taxi take you to the Villa Bonita Bridge in Alajuela. The bus to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais/Montezuma passes this spot about 6:20am and 2:20pm – or basically however long it takes to get there after leaving downtown so this time could be a bit longer. Have a look a the Villa Bonita page to see what this spot looks like and more info on how to get there.

We have a photo of the schedule below (May 2017), but here it is in writing:

Transportes Cóbano Schedule:

From Montezuma to San José:  6:30am and 2:30pm

San José  to Montezuma: 6am and 2pm

Cóbano to San José: 7am and 3pm

** 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. 

Cheaper option with non-direct bus:

Local Buses from Montezuma to San José

Take the local bus to Cóbano. Bus takes about 30-40mins and costs 1000₡. It will pass around 6am and 2pm. When you arrive there will be a bus going to Paquera at 7am and 3pm (to connect with the 9am and 5pm ferry) which costs ~1800₡. Buy your ferry ticket, get on and cross, 810₡. Then make your way to the Puntarenas bus terminal (1500₡ taxi) and buy your ticket to San José with Transportes Unidos for 2585₡. Check the Puntarenas page for more info on schedules. All of the indirecto buses from Puntarenas to San José bus pass the airport on the way. That’s 6195₡ plus the taxi, which you could share.

Ferry

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.

Bicycles

We are told it is possible to take a bicycle with you. Both wheels need to be off and it costs 3000₡ (Jan 2018).

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!