** 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!
Hey there I’m finishing an event in Montezuma mid morning on a Saturday and have a flight out of San Jose at 8am. Can you suggest the most reliable way to get to San Jose on that Saturday? Or perhaps instead to Alajuela to be close to the airport. Thank you!
I’d take the afternoon direct bus to San Jose with Transports Cobano. It will pass the airport and you can ask to get off there (tell the driver when you get on the bus. There are a few hostels near the airport but I would book a reservation.
Thanks for the quick reply! Do you know where the airport stop is- is it at one of the terminals or is it at a bus station in Alajuela? I ask because I’m also planning on catching the bus from there to get to Montezuma on a Sunday morning
Well according to the booking service at https://www.laterminalcostarica.com/ there’s Puente Villa Bonita in Alajuela, since it looks like you need to pick either that or Terminal 7-10 for pick up location. Seems like it’d be a good bet to buy these tickets in advance since I’m pretty sure of my itinerary but could you see any reason why advance reservation could be an issue?
Sorry for the slow reply, yes it is Villa Bonita. You can check the page here. https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/villa-bonita-station/. Yes, I would buy your ticket in advance with La Terminal so you know for sure the bus will stop there. I don’t think there would be any issue buying in advance.
This page has been amazing for our travels. Thank you.
Today we travelled from Cabuya to Playa Hermosa (the one by Jaco). We took the bus which leaves Cabo Blanco NP at 7.20 and connects with the 8am bus from Montezuma to Cobano which also connects with the 8.55am to Paquera. You can pay the driver on the bus from Montezuma all the way to Paquera. You change buses in Cobano but they know by magic who has paid!
We then connected onto the 11am ferry and a quick taxi ride (the taxis outside the gates are cheaper and actively trying to pool people) and we got on the 1pm bus with allocated seats.
It was all surprisingly smooth and easy. We are a family of 4 with 2 young children.
Awesome, thanks for the trip info!
We just rode the Directo from San Jose to Montezuma. It leaves 7-10 at 6 am. We were surprised to have to change to local bus from Cobano to Montezuma. Hang on to your ticket. They let us from the Directo get on the back door of the local bus and we were able to get a seat. Long trip because of road construction out of Paqueta, but the bus from San Jose to Cobano was brand new, air conditioned, and had wifi.
Thanks, Mary.
Fyi, it look like there will be no Ferry service from nov. 23 to dec. 02 2018 for the PaqueraPuntaneras route : http://navieratambor.com/horarios-y-tarifas
What does this mean then?? No bus? Do I take the direct bus from montzuma like normal or should I arrange something else?
Hey Sidney, check with your hotel with what they recommend doing. You’ll need to cross with the Playa Naranjo Ferry. This is just a temporary disruption so we don’t have any bus details for the Playa Naranjo ferry. Other travellers have told me they are taking private shuttles but if you ask around I’m sure you can find out if buses are going via Playa Naranjo. You can also ask on the Facebook Page Costa Rica By Bus to see if someone has done the trip.
We took the bus this week from Montezuma to Cabo Blanco and it still is at 8:15 and the last one is at 15:20.
On saturday the bus didn’t come due do extreme precipitation
There are some changes on the ferry due to maintainence. The ferry at 3pm from Puntarenas to Paquera is suppressed for instance.
Thanks, Silvia!
Hey,
I can confirm some infos :
– Paquera (ferry arrival) -> Montezuma: There is a direct bus that waits for you immediately right after the arrival of the 9am ferry (the ferry that leaves at 9am from puntaneras, arrives around 10:15 in Paquera; the bus leaves around 10:30) There was a stop in Cobano & an immediate connection to go to Santa Teresa. I can’t confirm it is the case for every ferry arrival but it seamed like everything was well planned to welcome the people coming out of the ferry.
All the bus depart right where you disembark the ferry.
Be quick, the bus is full and some people have to stand up in the bus
Did it on thursday 8 march 2018
-Montezuma -> Cabo Blanco. I took de 8:15 am (1000₡) & Cabo Blanco -> Montezuma at 3:30 pm (1000₡) on saturday 10th, 2018
-Montezuma -> San José. There are indeed 2 buses at 6:30 am & 2:30 pm. However be careful there is a connection in Cobano.
We actually didn’t have to pay anything to do Montezuma -> Cobano in a public bus; and in Cobano we had to leave the bus.
In Cobano, leave the bus, quickly cross the street to buy a ticket to San José (7320 ₡). You’ll have an assigned seat in a clean big coach with AC. Put your luggage in the trunk and the driver will give you a matching label.
We can still call it direct has everything is organized so that the buses match.
During the Ferry you’ll have to leave the coach (but your luggage stays in it); disembark the Ferry in Puntarenas by foot & then get back in the same coach.
There was a stop at the airport. Even though the driver was very careful & gave back himself each one of the luggage (and you give your label in return) we saw some people/thieves who were clearly standing by the bus to see if they could grab something. Be careful.
You arrive at the Terminal 7-10 in San José. The area is not very safe at night, try to get a taxi to reach your final destination if you can (I didn’t and I was fine, but it was a little bit creepy).
Did it on monday 12 march 2018
Solid post, Laurie! Thanks so much for confirming that a bunch of stuff is still working the way it has in the past and thanks for the extra traveller tips!
Hi !
Just to confirm the previous comment . A friend and I took a direct bus from Parquera Ferry port to Montezuma , leaving after the 2.00 clock ferry from puntarenas got in. It costs around 1800 crc and takes just under 2 hours.
🙂
Thanks, Laerke!
Hi there, your site is very helpful- thank you, though I have some minor things to add. There is a direct bus to Montezuma from Paquera. My partner and I took this bus a few days ago. Also, I see there is a photo of the local bus times back to Cobano / Paquera – which are a lot more often than stipulated.Also, the price is 350 colones from Montezuma- Cobano (That is what the schedule here in Montezuma says) – we will test that out today. Thanks again for the info- taking the ferry here was a breeze!
Thanks so much for the information Leandra! The schedules for this area are some of the hardest to pin down, they are always changing and they are always displaying incorrect schedules! Any detail you can provide is greatly appreciated. I was just there and got the update, but I am not surprised it has changed again! One question, was the bus from Paquera to Montezuma an old bus or the newer fancy a/c bus? Also, if you are there and would take an updated photo of any schedules you find we’d be grateful! This page has an image uploader centrocoasting.com/add-info