Driving Directions to Arenal and Points North

To: Sarchi, Naranjo, San Carlos, San Ramon, Arenal (La Fortuna), Monteverde, Guanacaste, Tamarindo, Nicoya Peninsula and Liberia and points in between

To All:

From San Jose: Take Hwy 1 North (the Autopista) from San Jose following signs to the airport. Stay in the center lane as you pass the exit for the airport on your left and follow the signs to San Ramon. 

From the Airport:  Exit the airport.  Once you leave the airport road, go to the first rotunda, which is also the first traffic light, and go all the way around so that you make a giant U-turn and begin following the signs to San Ramon. Traffic merges from all sides at the rotunda, so be very careful here. Stay in the center lane and  follow signs for San Ramon.

This is a crazy road.  It is a four-lane, undivided highway, with large trucks and vehicles traveling at high speeds.  There are unmarked entrances and exits that people slow down for and merging traffic from the right.  Also, no one seems to know the rule that slower traffic stays to the right, so that the right lane is often the fast lane. Just drive with caution.

The road goes to one lane again just before the exit for Manuel Antonio and Jaco goes off to the right.  Pass this exit by staying in the left lane and heading northwest.  Cross the bridge over the Rio Colorado. The next exit is for Sarchi and Grecia.

To Naranjo, Zarcero and San Carlos (aka Cuidad Quesada):

Continue along Route 1:

Take the exit (Route 141) for Naranjo, Zarcero (24km) and Cuidad Quesada.  Continue along this road, turning left at the yellow blinking light following signs for La Fortuna and Cuidad Quesada.  (There is a gas station here on your right after turning here.)  Continue on through the town of Naranjo, and turn right at the Phillips 66 gas station (there is a sign here), take your first right at the next stop sign.  Pass the restaurant Javier on your left, and bear to the left at the “Y” in the road, following signs for Cuidad Quesada.  At this point, the road becomes a narrow, curving and hilly two-lane road.

Come into the little town of San Juan, then San Juanillo, Llano Bonito, and then Zarcero.  (There is a chain of stores before arriving in Zarcero on your left where they sell locally-made cheeses, cajetas - a sweet milky cookie- and flowers.  Queso Palmito - Heart of Palm cheese - is a good purchase at any of these stores as are fresh cut flowers.)

Head straight through Zarcero. (As you leave the town of Zarcero, there is a gas station on the left).  The next town is Laguna and then Tapezco, and then Bajo Tapezco.  San Carlos is another 30 minutes to an hour up this road.  The road takes you straight into the center of town.

Route 141 is in good condition (no pot holes at the time of writing), but the painted lines are faded.  Pass with caution, there are many blind turns.

Driving at night is not recommended.  The mountain pass is often very foggy, with literally two feet of visibility, no road lines and few reflectors.  You will drive in first gear for an hour or more and risk your life.

To San Ramon & Arenal (La Fortuna):

Continue along Route 1, passing the exit for Naranjo.

To go to San Ramon and Arenal, take the next exit (Route 142) and continue straight  and drive through the town, following signs to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna. Turn left and continue to Los Angeles del Sur. At the green church there is a Y, turn left, following volcano signs. You will pass a cigar factory on your right where you can roll your own cigars.

A bit further there is a bar/restaurant called El Mirador; this is a great spot for a light snack. Next door is a souvenir shop that sells the usual and has clean bathrooms that are free for travelers. Continue on this curvy, mountainous road.

You will cross several bridges over Rio La Balsa and Rio Catarata. Continue through the town of Las Tunas. After  this town, you'll see an old toll booth—veer left at the Y and follow volcano signs to La Tigra. Pass through La Tigra and go over the new La Tigra Bridge that spans the Peñas Blancas River. Only one car is allowed to cross at a time. Continue through the town of Chachagua and  arrive in La Fortuna.  The town is 64 miles from  the Autopista turnoff and the trip takes approximately 3.5 hours from San Jose.

Back to Top

To Monteverde: 

Continue along Route 1 (passing the exits for Naranjo and San Ramon) and look for signs to Monteverde / Sardinal at Km #135 (road sign marker).  Turn right and follow signs to Monteverde.  The paved road ends shortly after exiting the main road and turns to a gravely, pot-holed road  the last 35km of steep climbing to Monteverde. Four-wheel drive is recommended, if not mandatory.

To Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula:

To Tamarindo, Playa Grande and the Gold Coast Beaches:

Continue north along Route 1 passing exits to Sarchi, Grecia, Naranjo and San Ramon. Continue north on Highway 1 towards the Nicoya Peninsula, and follow signs for the Tempisque River Bridge, Nicoya and Route 18. There is a well-marked intersection at a Shell gas station with signs to the Tempisque River Bridge,  turn left here onto Route 18.

After crossing the Tempisque River bridge, look for Route 21 and take this through Nicoya and Santa Cruz.

During the dry season, it’s possible to turn left (heading west) just after Santa Cruz, following signs to Tamarindo. The paved road passes though the village of 27 de Abril and then becomes dirt and gravel. The 19-kilometer stretch has many deep potholes and must be navigated slowly and carefully. It can be impassable during the wet season, even with 4WD.

An alternate route is via Belen. Continue north past Santa Cruz to Belen, then head south through Huacas to Tamarindo. This road is completely paved and is better for non - 4WD cars or during the rainy season.

To Liberia:

Pass turn for Tempisque River Bridge at Route 18, and continue straight ahead (north) along Route 1. Liberia is several hours north on Route 1, which goes right into central Liberia.

Back to Top