Usually when travellers say they are going to Nosara they mean Playa Guiones. When reading bus schedules be aware that the time listed is usually the time the bus leaves/arrives Nosara proper. Playa Guiones is about 20-40 minutes away from Nosara depending on how fast your bus is going. So if you are leaving Playa Guiones and you have arrived at your bus stop on time, don’t stress if it takes a while for it to pass. There are several marked bus stops located at the junctions to beach roads branching from the main road (see map). To grab the bus, you just need to walk to the main road and give it a wave as it approaches.
The bus going all the way to San José is a nicer more comfortable bus with a/c. Buses going only to Nicoya are more basic.
Nosara to San José
There is a direct bus to San José which leaves Nosara once per day at 12:30pm and arrives at 7-10 Terminal. The price is 4585₡ (May 2017) and takes about 6hrs.
San José to Nosara
There is one bus per day from the San José 7-10 Terminal that leaves at 5:30am. The price is 4585₡ (May 2017) and takes about 6hrs.
If you don’t want to leave that early then you can go to Nicoya first and then switch to a bus going to Nosara. Although the bus to Nosara from Nicoya will not be as nice as the direct one from San José.
From San José the bus to Nicoya leaves at 5am, 7am, 10am, 12pm, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and according to the ticket lady, there is an extra one on Sunday at 6pm (2017). Always double check the schedule on the Empresa Alfaro website. Continue reading below for information about the bus from Nicoya to Nosara and be aware that the last bus from Nicoya to Nosara is at 5:30pm!
To/from Nicoya
From Nicoya to Nosara the bus leaves at: 4:45am (not Sunday), 10am, 1pm, 3pm, 4:30pm (Sunday only), 5:30pm (not Sunday).
From Nosara to Nicoya the bus leaves at: 5:00am (not Sunday), 5:30am, 7am, 12pm, 3pm.
The trip takes about 2hrs and the price is 1875₡. See photos below for a copy of the schedule.
Tip: To make the 12:30pm bus leaving Nicoya to Nosara, we recommend leaving Liberia no later than 10am, or you will risk sitting in Nicoya waiting for the 3:30pm bus. The bus from Liberia can take anywhere from 1.5hrs to over 2hrs.
Nosara to Samara
Grab the bus heading out of town and going to Nicoya. Ask to be left at ‘La Bomba’. This is a very common stop so the driver will know where it is and there will likely be other people on the bus getting off here. This will cost about 900₡. Once at La Bomba you wait for the bus to pass heading to Samara, which is coming from Nicoya. This will cost another 300₡.
Have a look at the Nicoya page to see when the buses are leaving and heading to Samara. It takes about 45min – 1hr for the bus to get from Nicoya to La Bomba. In total, depending on your connection, this short distance between Nosara and Samara can take between 3-4hrs.
Nosara to Santa Teresa
This is a long day but it can be done. You will have to:
Take the bus back to Nicoya, switch stations in Nicoya to the one going back to Liberia, in Liberia switch to the Puntarenas bus, in Puntarenas get to the ferry and cross to Paquera, from Paquera take the bus to Cobanó, from Cobanó take the bus to Santa Teresa. All of the linked pages above will give you the information you need for each connection and information about each location and terminal.
Liberia Airport to Nosara
You are in luck, the bus from Liberia to Nicoya passes right in front of the airport. See the Liberia Airport page for more detail. This bus will pass about every 30min so you wont be waiting long. Get on this bus and head to Nicoya. In Nicoya you need to change terminals. Don’t worry they are only about 5 blocks apart. Check the Nicoya page for more information. Once in Nicoya, you can follow the information above: Nicoya to Nosara.
Santa Teresa to Nosara
This one is written out in detail in our Routes section here: Santa Teresa to Nosara
Nosara to Tamarindo
We haven’t done this one but we are told you do this: take the bus back to Nicoya, switch to the bus going to Liberia, switch to the bus going to Santa Cruz. Asked to be dropped at the main station, or a close as possible and then from there get a bus going to Tamarindo. Note that the bus passing Santa Cruz to Tamarindo on Sunday runs less frequently, we were recently told that there is one at 10:30am and again at 2:30pm. I suspect there is one earlier than this or later but we don’t currently have the full schedule. Leave us a comment below if you have done this!
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!
Did this trip Nosara-Nicoya last week. Bus came by Cafe Paris around 12:25pm. Reached Nicoya just 2 minutes before a San José bus was leaving. Caught that to La Irma, then hitchhiked to Monteverde from there (last bus direct to monteverde had gone by 15 mins before ~3pm). Arrived at 5 or 5:30pm.
Thank you on my way to the Paris cafe hopefully I find my way to SJO 🙂
Thanks for all the great travel tips. I’m finding your site very informative for travelling Costa Rica. Unfortunately my back pack was stolen on public bus from San Jose to La Fortuna so please everyone be safe and hold onto your bags. I left mine in the overhead compartment and now I’m paying the price for being careless. I was not the only one, there are professional gangs operating out of San Jose and the police do nothing but make a report. Safe travels everyone
Tash, that is so awful. I’m so sorry to hear that your bag was stolen. I once had my big backpack stolen from below the bus and I had nothing left. Thanks for sharing your story as I think it’s important for other travellers to be reminded to be careful and keep eyes on their things. Hope the rest of your trip is going/went ok. 🙂
If I am trying to catch the 5:30 bus to Playa Guiones from San Jose/7-10 Terminal, how early should I arrive to buy my ticket?
I always try to arrive at least 1hr early.
Hi i‘m going from nosara to san josey where in nosara is the departure for the 12.30am bus? Thanks!
The bus passes on the main road. You can see on the map above where the little red markers are.
Thank you so much for this! Did Nosara to Nicoya. I stayed closer to Pelada and caught the 7AM out of Nosara. It got to my stop around, 7:23AM. Was 1:55 minutes to Nicoya and 2:07 minutes return.
First thank you for your website.
To go to tamarindo from nosara there is a more simple way. You have to take the bus to santa cruz (leaving at 5am 7am and 3h30pm) and ask the driver to drop you at 27 abril to the bus stop for tamarindo.
Hi Leonard, thanks for the info! Can you clarify something for me. Where is the drop of for the bus connection to Tamarindo? I don’t understand what the stop “27 Abril” is. Thanks!!!
just came from Tamarindo.
27 abril is the name of the stop ; )
Thanks!
Thank you so much for posting this information! My girlfriend and I are planning a trip soon and this is really helpful. Do you have any idea if the bus from San Jose to Guiones can accommodate surfboards? Thanks again for this post!
You are welcome, John! I hope it helps. Costa Rica is notorious for changing schedules and prices, but the ones on this page are pretty up to date so should be accurate or close. That schedule for Nosara hasn’t changed in a while. The buses pretty much all take surfboards I have taken mine on almost every bus I have ridden and never had a problem. Some companies charge you a fee and some don’t. If they do charge it will be 2000 colones. It kills me every time I have to pay it! They are firm you pay for the board or you’re not riding! Sometimes I ask for a receipt 😉 Have a great vacation!