Interbus Q - Costa Rica
 

Hi all, Once again I'm hoping that the group can help. We are trying to decide between Interbus or Private Transfer (hire driver). We are a family of 4 (two kids 6 & 3). Mainly I'm concerned about the availability of bathroom breaks on the interbus. We are travelling from San Jose to Arenal to Manual Antonio to San Jose. Does anyone remember if the buses stop and if so, how often? With younger kids, are we better off with a private car, even though it's more money? Advice please! Jenn

Interbus has bathroom/snack stops about every 2 hours, but if there was a need you can always ask. The drivers are friendly and for our trip from San Jose to Puerto Viejo we were actually the only passengers and had a great time with the driver and his wife and daughter who came along for some beach time. From PV to Arenal we had a van about halfway, and then transferred to a bus at a bathroom/snack stop. We liked Interbus and will use again. Not sure the cost difference with private driver, but it was clean, comfortable and with a/c.

There is always a bathroom/snack break with interbus. As far as the cost, with 4 of you you would not save much, if anythng, by going with Interbus to Arenal anyway. With a private driver you could hire them pretty much for the day and then make other stops as long as you let them know ahead of time that you would like to. Otherwise, they would just consider it a transfer with a stop. A lot depends on your kids. Some kids are good travelers and some aren't. If you think your kids would have trouble then by all means hire a private driver.

Yes, they're very good about making stops. On the 3 hour ride from SJO to Arenal we stopped midway at a nice little place for about 15-20 minutes for the restroom, food, shopping. I really liked using them, it was very convenient & hassle free.

What is the price difference between having the private driver and doing Interbus? They're both great options; if the price is close, I'd go with the private driver. Ours charged $120 to go from SJO to Arenal, not sure how that compares to Interbus. Interbus is usually a per person charge, and the private driver is usually a flat rate based on mileage, so I'd just do a number check. I really don't think you can go wrong either way. We hired all our drivers through our hotels and were quite happy with them.