piccardl

How long is the drive from the San Jose Airport to Mal Pais? Does anyone know where I can find a current ferry schedule? Thanks!

siempretrvls

From San Jose it took us about 2 hours to get to the ferry in Puntarenas.
The ferry schedule seems to change all of the time. We had a printed schedule last time that was the same as the one posted at the counter and it was completely off.
I guess it depends on what is going on that day and if one or two boats are running. Costa Rica seems to have it's own clock for everything so you just have to go with the flow. My suggestion is go straight there and either you catch a boat or just have lunch and wait for the next one. There was a seafood restaurant right next to the dock and it was pretty good.

shillmac

Provided you can get some accurate ferry times (check www.nicoyapeninsula.com), you'll be spending about 6 hours in transit.

2 hours to Puntarenas, 1.5 on the ferry, and 1.5 drive from the ferry landing in Paquera to MalPais. Plus however much time you have to spend in Puntarenas waiting for the next ferry. We've always had good luck with the schedules and times being accurate and we arrive at the ferry landing about 30-one hour ahead of time.

What time does your plane arrive? I'm thinking you'll probably need to spend the first night near the airport and catch the ferry the next morning.

piccardl

Thanks for the feedback! This is very helpful information. We arrive at 8pm on the 3rd, so we're going to stay at the Hampton Inn near the airport. I hear the it's not a good idea to drive at night with the condition of the roads, so I was trying to gauge how early we needed to leave the next day to make it to Mal Pais before dark.

thoid

piccardl,
just be aware of the rental car places next to the Hampton Inn. If the 3rd means June 3rd. You are renting at the end of the week, Friday. We did the same and the cars had not come back yet. In fact. All the cars come back from rental on Sat/Sun night! most of them any way. We had confirmed e-mails from Thrifty that said our cars would be there. We had to wait a couple of hours for a 4x4 to be returned. Definately will be the better part of the day before you reach Mal-Pais. Shillmac is right on with times! Enjoy.

Iza

Make sure you take the ferry to Paquera and not Naranjo which is further north (both leave from the same terminal in Puntarenas). It is not long in distance, but the road between Paquera and Naranjo is the worst I have ever experienced. Shillmac is right about the timing.

shillmac

Thanks, Iza! It would for sure be a bummer to end up in Naranjo and have to negotiate that road! You should probably leave the Hampton by 6:00. That should put you in good shape for an 8:30 ferry. I haven't checked the times lately, so perhaps it isn't 8:30, but I'll bet it will be sometime close to that. Even if it's 10:30, you'll have some time to look around.