Getting Here and Around

Monteverde's isolation is coming to an end with the paving of one access route. The completion of "Highway" 606—remember that Costa Ricans rarely use or know highway numbers—via Sardinal has made the area more accessible than ever. Whether that's good or bad depends on your point of view. (Other roads in and out still mean negotiating some of the country's legendarily rough roads.) Your own vehicle gives you the greatest flexibility, but a burgeoning number of shuttle-van services connect Monteverde with San José and other tourist destinations throughout the country.

Buses from San José leave twice daily from the Terminal 7-10 (at Calle 10 and Avenida 7), at 6:30 am and 2:30 pm, stopping in the center of Santa Elena and at various locations on the way up the mountain as far as the Cheese Factory. Buses from Santa Elena leave for San José at 6:30 am and 2:30 pm daily. Taxis from Santa Elena are $10 to $13. Buses from Tilarán to Santa Elena leave once a day, at 12:30 pm. Desafío Adventure Company offers shared transportation from San José to Monteverde for $52 one way. The San José–Monteverde public bus route is notorious for theft; watch your bags, and never let your passport and money out of your sight—or off your person. Never take advice from the "guides" who meet incoming buses in Monteverde and La Fortuna. They claim to want to help you find accommodations and tours, when in reality they receive kickbacks for sending tourists to less-than-desirable hotels or to unqualified "tour guides."

If you can handle the curvy roads, a windy track leads from Tilarán via Cabeceras to Santa Elena, near the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, doing away with the need to cut across to the Pan-American Highway. You need a 4WD vehicle, and you should inquire locally about the current condition of the road. The views of Nicoya Peninsula, Lake Arenal, and Arenal Volcano reward those willing to bump around a bit. Note, too, that you don't really save much time—on a good day it takes about 2½ hours as opposed to the 3 hours required via Cañas and Río Lagarto on the highway.

By car from the Fortuna area, it’s at least three hours by bumpy road around Lake Arenal; some tour companies provide the trip via minibus and boat (called "Taxi-Boat-Taxi" or "Jeep-Boat-Jeep") for about $30 one way. Gray Line has daily shuttle bus service between San José, La Fortuna, Arenal ($50), and Monteverde ($49). Interbus also connects San José with La Fortuna and Monteverde (each $49) daily, with connections from here to a few of the North Pacific beaches. There will be times you wish you had your own vehicle, but it's surprisingly easy to get around the Monteverde area without a car. Given the state of the roads off the main track, you'll be happy to let someone else do the driving. However, if you do arrive by rental car, the road up the mountain from Santa Elena is paved as far as the gas station near the entrance to the Hotel Belmar. Taxis are plentiful; it's easy to call one from your hotel, and restaurants are happy to summon a cab to take you back to your hotel after dinner. Taxis also congregate in front of the church on the main street in Santa Elena. Many tour companies will pick you up from your hotel and bring you back at the end of the day, either free or for a small fee.