Costa Rica Questions
How to get here, traveling to Samara
How to get here
By Road:
1. If you are arriving from Panama, you will almost likely be dropped-off in San Jose, the country's transport hub. In San Jose make your way to the Empresa Alfaro bus station on Calles 14, Avenidas3/5. It will cost around $4 in a metered taxi. There are buses to Samara at 12:30pm and 6:30pm. The bus ride should take approximately 5 hours.
You can buy the ticket ($US 6) at the Empresa Alfaro bus station which is located near the Coca Cola bus station. It is recommended that you purchase your tickets the day before your departure or at least 2 hours prior to the departure time of your bus to ensure that there is space left on the bus. A local representative of Travel to Teach will be available to help you with this if you inform us of your arrival.
2. If the bus happens to be fully booked or if you happen to miss the 2 direct buses to Samara from San Jose, you can also take the bus to Nicoya from the same bus station. Purchase a ticket from San Jose that passes through Tempisque to Samara/Nicoya. Buses leave from San Jose at 6am, 8am, 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, and 6:15pm and the trip should take approximately 4 hours.
3. When you arrive to Nicoya ask for the bus to Samara, buses leave every hour until 9.45pm and take approximately 1 hour to arrive in Samara. The pick-up point for volunteers is the Samara ticket office where you alight. A local representative will be waiting for you there, please stay there and let the crowds clear. If nobody is there to pick you up, just make a call to one of the contact numbers.
4. If you are traveling from Nicaragua to Costa Rica, get off the bus at Liberia. From the Liberia bus station you can purchase a ticket to Nicoya and then to Samara. (See point 3)
By Air:
1. From Juan Santa Maria International Airport (San Jose) you can take a domestic flight with Sansa (http://www.flysansa.com) or Nature Air (http://www.natureair.com) from San Jose to PLD Samara-Playa Carilllo Airport (around $78.00), a member of staff will pick you up from the airport at Carillo. However the cheaper option would be to get a taxi ($US 20) from Juan Santa Maria International airport in San Jose to the Samara bus station (See above). A local representative is available to welcome you at the airport and help you make your way to the bus station.
If your flight's arrival time does not coincide with the connecting domestic flight to Samara, you may decide to make your way to the Samara bus station by taxi and from there by bus to Samara or you may chose to spend the night in San Jose and take the bus or flight the following day.
2. A second option is to fly into Costa Rica's other international airport in Liberia. From Liberia, buses leave regularly to Nicoya and take approximately 2 hours. Upon arriving to Nicoya ask for the bus to Samara.
3. If you miss the last bus from Nicoya to Samara your final option is to take a taxi from Nicoya to Samara which should cost around $20.
Last update: 2007-03-06 01:51
Author: Nathaniel Manu
Revision: 1.1
