The new bus Terminal 7-10 in San José is now the hub for six different companies: Transportes Jacó, Transportes Cóbano, Empresa Alfaro, Transportes Arsa, Transportes Venecia de San Carlos, and Transportes Unidos. This mega station is now three stories and is almost like a shopping mall. Anything you could ever need can be found inside. Tickets are sold on the second and third floor.
Trip Planning
If you are still planning some of the details for your upcoming trip, I am told this Trip Planner is quite useful to help you prioritize where you want to spend your time! So much to do and see in this beautiful country.
San Jose to Jacó
Service with Transportes Jacó. Cost is 2395₡ and takes about 3hrs. For extra info, have a read through this great Blog post by the Costa Rica travel experts: Taking the bus from San José to Playa Jaco. But, have a look at the updated schedule in the photos below on this page.
San José to Cobanó, Santa Teresa/Mal Pais, Montezuma
Service with Transportes Cobanó. Bus leaves twice per day to Santa Teresa/Mal Pais, Montezuma, Cobanó. The cost is 7020₡ and includes ferry and takes about 5.5hrs. See photo of Schedule.
San José to Samara, Nosara, Nicoya
Service with Empresa Alfaro: Samara, Nosara, Nicoya, Santa Cruz. See photo of Schedule below. To Samara it’s about 5.5hrs and costs 4265₡ and to Nosara it’s about 6hrs and costs 4585₡ (prices May 2017)
San José to Tamarindo
Service by Empresa Alfaro has buses from San José to Tamarindo at 11:30am and 3:30pm.
From Tamarindo to San José buses leave at 3:30am (via Liberia) and 5:30am (via Puente la Amistad) and on Sundays there is an extra bus at 1pm (via Liberia).
This bus costs 5635₡ as of Feb 2019 and takes about 6hrs. The bus via Puente la Amistad is about 1/2 hr faster. Have a look at the Tamarindo page to see where you end up.
There is also bus service to Tamarindo from another company. Have a look at the Terminal Tralapa page for this information.
San José to La Fortuna
Service with Venicia de San Carlos to La Fortuna. The price is 2495₡ and takes about 4hrs. 6:15am, 8:40am, 11:50am See photos of schedule and prices below. **there used to be a 5am bus but a recent update on the 7-10 website shows that the 5am bus no longer exists. http://terminal7-10.com/en/rutas/san-carlos-2/
From La Fortuna to San José: There has been a bus schedule change that we are still confirming but we were told there is now only one direct bus all the way to San Jose at 2:45pm. The price is about 2495₡ and takes about 4hrs. The other buses route through Ciudad Quesada though we aren’t 100% sure of the schedule but it used to be 9:10am, 12:45pm, 4:10pm. The cost from La Fortuna to Ciudad Quesada is 1915₡ and the expresso from Ciudad Quesada to San Jose is 1245₡. The expresso leaves frequently when full.
San José to Monteverde
Service with Transportes Monteverde has buses twice per day at 5:30am and 2:30pm, both ways. The price is 3035₡ (Dec 2018). The trip takes about 4.5hrs. See photo of schedule below and have a look at the Monteverde/Santa Elena to see where you end up.
Want to go from Monteverde to Arenal? This may be the coolest way to go, check it out: Monteverde to Arenal – by horseback!
Not your station?
If you are travelling to Liberia you need the Pulmitan Station. If you are looking for Quepos, Dominical, Uvita, Paso Canoas or David (Panama) you need the Tracopa Station.
Empresarios Unidos with service to Puntarenas is listed as a company that operates within this station however it appears they are still at Calle 16 and avenida 12 which is about 10 blocks south.
The trip between Puntarenas to San José costs 2585₡ as of May 2017 and takes about 3hrs.
Headed to Nicaragua? You have a few options. There is the bus to the border from the Gran Terminal del Caribe or you can use Tica Bus, Transnica, Nicabus, or Central Line.
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!
Hi! Do they accept debit / credit cards?
Not 100% sure but I think so. At least some might. There are ATMs near if not.
I have heard there is a bus from San Jose to Samara at either 5 or 630. Is this true?
Hi Josh, this is true. I don’t know if the schedule has changed since 2017 but last year it was at 5pm. https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/samara/
im traveling from Paso Canoas C.R. by bus and I want to end up close to the airport near San Antonio, C.R. what is the best route, or bus to take
Hey there. Did you mean San Jose? (not San Antonio). If so you are likely going to be on a Tracopa Bus if you are coming from the border since Tracopa offers buses all the way from the Border to the Capital city. Unfortunately these buses do not pass the airport on their way and you will need to take a taxi from the Tracopa Station to get there once you arrive. Alternately, you can ask the driver to drop you as close to the Airport as possible and then take a taxi from there. https://centrocoasting.com/costarica/san-jose-tracopa-terminal/
Hola quería saber si puedo comprar con antelación el viaje desde San Jose a la Fortuna para el 12 de mayo . Debemos viajar a partir de las 17:30 por lo que debemos Ir a Ciudad Quesada y tomar otro bus a Fortuna tengo entendido ya que no hay bus directo en ese horario. Podrían asesorarme ? Gracias
Hola, lamentablemente no puedes pre-comprar boletos para La Fortuna. Recomiendo llamar a la oficina si necesita información específica para una fecha específica. El número de teléfono está en la foto de arriba.
I need go buy a ticket san jose-samara, but samara is not listed in the selection. Is there an other possibility to buy a ticket?
Hi Andrea, you can’t buy tickets for samara in advance.
Hello!
I am going to Sámara for New Year’s and was wondering if anyone knows how far in advance I can buy a bus ticket? I’m afraid of them selling out.
Thank you,
Esther
Hi Esther, I think it is a good chance you can buy the ticket a week early. Best call them to be sure if you are worried. 2222-2666 is the number Alfaro has displayed (see image above).
Also wanted to note that since there are so many companies selling tickets there, I made a list of which company is on which floor. Go to the 2nd floor for Transportes Arsa, Transmonteverde and Transportes Jaco. On the 3rd floor you’ll find Empresa Alfaro, Transportes Cobano and Transportes San Jose Venecia.
Thank you!!
We traveled from San Jose at Terminal 7-10 to Samara in October 2017 for a rate of 4470 per person. We purchased the ticket the day before, so for those of you looking to do that, it is possible. Wanted to let others know that it looks like the noon bus is the only one to Samara but they told me there’s a 5pm also. It took 6 hrs with only one bathroom break pretty early on so keep that in mind if you’re like me 🙂 Our final destination was Estrada and we found out the bus goes on to there from Samara.
Thank you!!