There are two stations in Nicoya which you will likely use in your travels. The Traroc is a main hub for several destinations and the other is where the bus heads back to Liberia (see map). The two stations are only about 5 blocks apart and connected to the same street. This means, for instance, if you are arriving from Liberia and heading to Samara or Nosara(Playa Guiones) you will need to walk those five blocks to the other station.
Nicoya to San José
Have a look at the schedule photo below to see when this bus heads to San José. As of 2016 the cost is 4000₡ and it takes about 5.5hrs.
Nicoya to Liberia
Make sure you are at the right station (see map). This bus leaves every 30min from 4:30am to 8pm.
Nicoya to Nosara
From Nicoya to Nosara the bus leaves at: 4:45am (not Sunday), 10:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 4:30pm (Sunday only), 5:30pm (not Sunday).
From Nosara to Nicoya the bus leaves at: 5:00am (not Sunday), 5:30am, 7:00am, 12:00pm, 3:00pm.
See photos below.
TIP: If you are heading to Nosara (Playa Guiones) from Liberia be aware that the bus from Liberia to Nicoya can be anywhere from 1.5hrs to 2hrs+. To make the 12:30pm bus leaving Nicoya to Nosara it is recommended to leave from Liberia no later than 10am, or you will risk sitting in Nicoya waiting for the 3:30pm bus. Note that the station you arrive at and the station you leave from are different. Only 5 blocks apart but you need to factor that in along with bathroom breaks.
Nicoya to Samara
There are several buses every day to Samara from Nicoya. Have a look at the photo of the schedule below to check the times. As of 2016 this bus was about 1800₡ and took about 1.5hrs.
Samara to Nicoya
For buses heading back to Nicoya you can wait at a covered bus stop right at the exit of town – about 20 meters away from the Alfaro office. Check the Samara page for the schedule. This bus will pass La Bomba – which is where you need to get off for buses to Nosara, see below. As of 2016 this bus was about 1800₡ and took about 1.5hrs.
Nicoya to Playa Naranjo
Check out the Transportes Arsa website for the schedule.
Liberia Airport to Nicoya
You are in luck! The bus from Liberia to Nicoya will pass right in front of the airport. It passes very frequently and you can have a look at the Liberia Airport page for more info.
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!
Hello,
I am traveling from the Liberia Airport to Samara, via Nicoya. I see that there are two bus stops, and you need to walk from one to the other to make the connection. Just to be clear, which bus stop in Nicoya do I use to go to and from Liberia Airport, and which bus stop goes to and from Samara? There is a mention of Trarac bus stop, but it is not marked by name on the map.
Thank you,
Anna
Hi Anna, if you click the little red map marker they are labelled. The Trarac is also the one labeled for Alfaro. You will see the photo of the schedule which has all of the buses from that station and their schedules. Hope this clears it up. Basically if you are coming from Liberia, you need to change. The Samara station is bigger and you’ll see more activity and buses. The pictures above of the stations should help. Have a great trip.
We like to take the bus from Monteverde to Tamarindo or anywhere on the coast, any recommendations for a beginner surfer and a seasoned surfer(in 1 place)?
Hi Anna, I’d take the bus from Monteverde to Puntarenas and then head out to your next spot from there. Lots of bus options to different spots on the coast. You can go direct to Santa Teresa, or head towards Dominical or head to Liberia and then onward to Nosara or Tamarindo etc.
Hiya ~ trying to get from Nosara to La fortuna. Do I catch a connecting bus in Nicoya? Any idea how long the trip would take? Thanks in advance for this awesome site and service.
Sorry we were slow on this, things are busy lately! If you have a moment please let us know how your trip went and what you did!
Do you know if the Nicoya to San Jose public bus stops at the airport?
Many thanks,
El
Sorry for such a slow reply. I am not 100% sure if it does. Did you take it? Can you confirm here for future travellers? Thanks!
I have a new timetable from today – times are still the same, but there are more destinations now. (write me an email, that I can send it to you)
And another thing – if you come from Tamarindo/Santa Cruz you arrive at another bus station than the busses to Sámara go. It is not far away – so just ask somebody and the will help you.
I made the trip today from Tamarindo to Samara and all in all it costs me about 4 hours (because i missed one bus because another one was too late 😉 ) and it costs be about 3000 Colónes (the first and the last bus are payed directly in the bus)
Do you know if you can get a bus from Nicoya to Mal Pais/Santa Teresa?
Hi, there is no bus direct to Santa Teresa from Nicoya. The easiest way to do this is to get on the bus to Liberia https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/liberia-municipal/ and then switch to the bus to Puntarenas and then get to the ferry. https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/puntarenas/ I know it may seem crazy to go all the way back to Liberia but there just aren’t regular buses the other direction. Tons of nice buses leaving Liberia for Puntarenas. This trip is a long day and the only way to avoid it is by taking a $60+ shuttle! Have a great trip!
Stay with this guys, you’re hepling a lot of people.
Thanks, Lorena. Glad we could help you out. I hope you have a great time in Costa Rica!
This is super helpful! I was looking around online and found conflicting information. Thankyou!!
You are very welcome, Christy! Thanks for using the site. Let us know if you have any extra travel tips or advice you can leave for other travellers. Bien Viaje!
I am pretty sure this page covers everything you need to know. great job great info 🙂
cb