Liberia is one of the two entry points to Costa Rica for international tourists. Liberia is also the gateway to several golden beaches of the Guanacaste province. On the other hand, Santa Teresa is a surfers’ choice beach town located in the southern part of Nicoya Peninsula. Due to its remote location, and early days of terrible road connections, there is a skepticism around the ways of travel from Liberia to Santa Teresa, or its nearby towns like Malpais, Cabuya and Montezuma.
Can you fly from Liberia to Santa Teresa? Can you drive from Liberia to Santa Teresa? If you drive, do you need a 4X4? How are the road conditions?
In this article, we are going to demystify all the doubts around traveling on this route. This information is based on our road trip from Liberia to Santa Teresa in the last week of December 2020.
Read this post for a detailed guide to Santa Teresa – Things to Do, Tours, Stays, Restaurants, and Transport
Liberia to Santa Teresa: By Road
Contrary to popular belief, the road from Liberia to Santa Teresa is mostly in pretty good condition. You have to take the Ruta 21 from Liberia, and more importantly, stay on Ruta 21, in order to reach Santa Teresa.
As you can guess, the key is to stay on Ruta 21, and NOT take any diversions that Google Maps or Waze may show as a quicker route. More often than not, these shorter routes have nonexistent roads or non-drivable rivers flowing over the road.
The journey takes about 4 hours, without stops.
Starting from Liberia
As you start from Liberia, you will be driving on a well-marked paved road.
While driving past the Liberia International Airport, look for flight take-offs and landings.
Continuing towards Nicoya
You may encounter some traffic in the initial part of this journey, particularly near the diversion of Playa del Coco. But do not miss the scenery of green fields and distant mountains on your right.
Keep driving on Ruta 21, and you will come across other important intersections. Ruta 155 that goes towards Playa Flamingo, Playa Conchal, Ruta 160 for going towards Tamarindo and Ruta 150 for going to Samara. You need not take any of these diversions.
You will notice the gradual change in landscape and in population density. Miles of road without much habitation establishments and green pastures on either side.
Towards Jicaral
Soon after crossing over from Guanacaste province to Puntarenas province, you will see a road diversion on the left, going towards Jicaral. It is the junction at Ruta 21 and Ruta 162, You need to take this left to stay on Ruta 21. Continuing on this road, you will soon reach Naranjo.
The road condition until this point is very good – well paved and marked.
After Naranjo
Right after Naranjo, the road condition deteriorates significantly. The paving is not complete yet. There is no marking to distinguish between the two sides of the roads. The drive is uphill in some areas, on curvy roads.
After Paquera
Paquera is an important town on the map of Nicoya peninsula as it connects the other side of Costa Rica across the Gulf of Nicoya by ferry.
The road condition improves after Paquera. You are still on a curvy road without markings for some time. But it is well paved. After a while, you are on flat lands again, and on well marked road, until Cobano.
Tambor on the way
On the way, another notable town is Tambor, next to the Tambor Bay. Tambo is a quiet beach town, a fishermen’s village. We had chosen to stop here for a food stop.
From Cobano
Cobano is the major town in the southern part of Nicoya peninsula. You will find ATMs, gas stations, super markets, pharmacies etc. in this town.
Soon after entering Cobano, you have to take a left. Look for the sign ‘Malpais Surf Camp’. Now, the remainder of this route is not very exciting. It is another semi-paved road with no markings. Continue on this road until you reach the Santa Teresa-Malpais junction.
Do you need a 4X4?
Having a 4X4 will definitely help you explore the remote and rugged corners of Costa Rica. But for a trip from Liberia to Santa Teresa, you definitely do not need a 4X4. Just drive cautiously and follow traffic rules.
Liberia to Santa Teresa: By Air
If you want to avoid the stress of driving or want to cut down on your travel time, consider taking a domestic flight from Liberia to Santa Teresa. The domestic airport serving tourists of the Nicoya peninsula is in Tambor.
You can check the flight schedule on the Sansa Airlines website and reserve online as well. After arriving at Tambor Airport, follow the same road route, as described in the previous section, to reach Santa Teresa.
Rent a car for covering the road trip from Tambor to Santa Teresa, and for exploring in and around the Santa Teresa. You will find an Economy Car Rental pick up office at the Tambor Airport. Alternatively, you can coordinate with your hotel for a shuttle pickup or a rental car arrangement.
Last but not the least…
Enjoy your time in Santa Teresa. Dip your feet in the sand or catch a wave with your surfboard, grab a beer, watch a sunset, make a trip to hike to Montezuma Waterfalls, visit Costa Rica’s first ever natural reserve or just sit back and watch your days go by. The trip from Liberia to Santa Teresa is totally worth it!
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Pubali and Indranil, I can’t thank you enough for this post! When I tell you I’ve been searching for weeks, and have only found decade-old posts about the bad condition of the roads… until your post, complete with photos! Thanks a bunch. Would you happen to know any bus that travels down Ruta 21? (Not a shared shuttle, a proper bus). Renting a car isn’t feasible, and the shared shuttle bus conpanies require 4 people (there are just 2 of us). Muchísimas gracias! -Crystal
Hi Crystal, glad to know that our post could offer some insightful information 🙂
For traveling between Liberia and Santa Teresa, there is no direct bus connection. If you do not want a shared shuttle, you will need to break your journey into smaller parts.
Part 1: Liberia to Puntarenas by public bus
Part 2: Puntarenas to Paquera by ferry
Part 3: Paquera to Cobano by public bus
Part 4: Cobano to Santa Teresa by public bus
In case you are exploring options from San Jose too, there is a direct bus connection to Santa Teresa or Montezuma. The company name is Transportes Cobano.
Where did you get off route 21? Do you have a map with the route you took on it? This is great information!
Hi Todd. Thanks. Map sounds like a good idea – we are going to create one and update the post.
Soon after Cobano town, you will need to take a left, look for the sign saying “Malpais Surf Camp”.
You can see a little bit of the drive to Cabuya (from Las Manchas beach) on YouTube. Search for “Driving in Costa Rica: Nicoya Peninsula” by Rockwelljacobs. It’s very old, but a good representation of the local roads. Also I believe there may be a bus from Cabuya to Montezuma.
Hi Robin. Thanks for the watch recommendation – will check it out.
We did drive from Malpais to Cabuya, and then from Cabuya to Montezuma. It was part of a longer Nicoya peninsula road trip in our vehicle. So, we are kind of familiar with driving on the local roads in that part of the country, and also most of Costa Rica 🙂