Costa Rica Guide
Guanacaste
Getting Around
Access to most of Guanacaste from the Valle Central is easy via the Interamericana, which runs right through to the Nicaraguan border at Peñas Blancas. Still, this is Central America, and common hazards include falling mangoes, dead monkeys, iguanas, cyclists and schoolchildren. Follow the road rules because plenty of traffic cops patrol this road. Modern, comfortable buses ply the highway, with good services to Cañas, Liberia and the border. The national parks of Rincón de la Vieja and Santa Rosa are trickier to reach, however, and bus travellers may have to walk, hitch or take a taxi for part of the journey. All the beaches are accessible by bus and car, though the roads are not in fantastic shape, and journeys from San José can take several hours. The new bridge over the Río Tempisque has significantly speeded up access to places such as Playa Sámara on the Nicoya Peninsula.