Travel in Costa Rica

Best to take a taxi from the airport, to the Alajuela bus depot to get a bus to San Ramon, which takes approx 50 mins. Then taxi to hotel.
Take a bus from San Ramon to La Fortuna, approx 2 hours....then change buses for one to Nuevo Arenal, approx. 1.5 hours. Taxi to hotel.
Repeat last stage, to return to get back to La Fortuna.

Bus schedule. You really are at a disadvantage not renting a vehicle...plus wasting a lot of time, possibly have to wait for hours or even overnight for the next bus.

On your return trip to airport, depending on your departure time, it may be better to stay in a hotel in Alajuela overnight

I 'found' an 'easier to read'schedule, at least for the San Ramón/La Fortuna/ Nuevo Arenal section of your trip.
Know that most who use these buses, purchase their tickets in advance to ensure a seat, especially the very early bus.

Hola Aroma1

First, I would agree with Kohlerias on his comment that if you don't rent a car you'll miss out on a lot.  You will be very limited as to how much you can explore.  Yes, buses run pretty much anywhere here, but as he said, you'll usually have to wait for the bus and then it's going to stop every few kilometers along the route.

If you're visiting to make a determination on living here, you need to be able to explore and seek out areas that fit your needs.  If you are not able to drive, contact me when you guys are here and I'll at least drive you around San Ramon and surrounding communities in the area for a day.  Send me a PM if you want to discuss it.  You "need" to see more than just downtown San Ramon in a five day period.

Take care and good luck on your search.

- Expat Dave

Thank you so much for this post, you are really kind and helpful. I appreciate it

Kind reagrds,
Sue ( Aroma1)

Thank you

I did this trip a few weeks ago for a weekend get-a-way and wasted most of my time on the bus.

There are sometimes private vans that carry 6-8 people to and from the Arenal/La Fortuna area. Ask at La Posada for info on that. Those vans get up there in good time because they don't stop a million times.
And once you are in Fortuna I THINK you can also find a private van trip to Nuevo Arenal or vice versa, but look into it ahead of time, don't rely on being able to get one at a moment's notice!

I'll give you the other side of the coin, from Kohleria and Dave's comments:
Driving in Costa Rica can be very dangerous! I hate driving here especially in the rainy season where fog or rain can make it nearly impossible to see the road, the road may not even have a line in the middle, there are narrow bridges that only one car can pass at a time, speeding and traffic fines are super expensive, Ticos drive like maniacs and don't obey the rules of the road (not even sure they KNOW them), and pot holes can be the size of swimming pools and downed trees and power lines etc in the rainy season can suddenly appear!

I hate driving here personally, though many people seem to take it in stride. So there's my "opposing opinion" re driving here. And you can't pay me enough to drive in San Jose!

Driving around San Ramon is not too bad once you get used to the one-ways and drivers double-parking willy-nilly and pedestrians walking out in front of you without even looking or caring. Let me clarify this is not just San Ramon where this happens, it's everywhere I've been in Costa Rica.

I like it here but am not a fan of driving here. I do it "as needed", not for fun.

Samramon, Is the word "some" in your vocabulary?

Thank you for your reply to my post. I think that I will re-arrange and not plan on going to Nuevo Arenal.
La Fortuna may still be on the itineary though.

Thanks again

Thank you for your reply and input, I really do appreciate it.

Pleased I will not be driving.

Kind wishes,
Sue ( Aroma1)

You may consider checking out shared transfers to get to your chosen location.

La Fortuna is very much of a 'tourist destination' for  adventure junkies, rather than a place to live...at least in my opinion ... but this is what you must decide for yourselves.

Do you intend to get a vehicle if you decide to live here?

rendrag wrote:

Samramon, Is the word "some" in your vocabulary?

That's some response you wrote, rendrag!

Ticos drive like maniacs and don't obey the rules of the road (not even sure they KNOW them). This Samramon is a false statement. If you want to condemn all the people of Costa Rica, keep lying. Remember you are a guest here.

samramon wrote:

Ticos drive like maniacs and don't obey the rules of the road (not even sure they KNOW them).

I agree totally with Rendrag.  You cannot and must not lump a whole country of people together in saying "Ticos drive like maniacs".  It sounds like you may have the problem driving when you list all the things that bother you.  I drive in the fog and the rain over one way bridges and that is just getting to our house.  The road from Puriscal to our home in La Palma does indeed not have a center line and yet I share that same road every day with your so called maniacs.

Maybe it is best that you do not like driving here, the rest of us maniacs will be safer.

By the way, we went to Migracion yesterday and then back up and right through San Jose to get to my wife's favorite oriental store in Tibas.  Nary a maniac to be found!

I've had this issue with my daughter a few times.  "A" Tico driver will do something really stupid and her comment will be on "Tico driver's."  And as I have stated to her, it's just that you notice the idiots and not those that drive  normally.  The idiots just stand out in a blaring way.      

I think most Tico drivers drive fairly well as a whole, but at the same time the ol' common sense or lack of knowledge on the rules of the road are lacking.

- Expat Dave

TerrynViv wrote:

samramon wrote:

Ticos drive like maniacs and don't obey the rules of the road (not even sure they KNOW them).

I agree totally with Rendrag.  You cannot and must not lump a whole country of people together in saying "Ticos drive like maniacs".  It sounds like you may have the problem driving when you list all the things that bother you.  I drive in the fog and the rain over one way bridges and that is just getting to our house.  The road from Puriscal to our home in La Palma does indeed not have a center line and yet I share that same road every day with your so called maniacs.

Maybe it is best that you do not like driving here, the rest of us maniacs will be safer.

By the way, we went to Migracion yesterday and then back up and right through San Jose to get to my wife's favorite oriental store in Tibas.  Nary a maniac to be found!

No need to insult me. I simply made a generalization. IN GENERAL Ticos are not good drivers, many only learning recently, many not giving a rat's behind about the rules of the road, and if you didn't see any maniacs driving in San Jose you must not have been paying attention.

Ever consider it's possible people are better drivers in your area than where I drive? Or that my roads are narrower or worse or simply I happen to run into more maniacs? Hmmm. People need to chill out. Not all things "Tico" are great. Many are,... and many are not. Just like everywhere else.