Guide to Driving from San Jose International Airport to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna l

If you are planning to travel to Costa Rica and plan to drive to the Arenal Volcano, here are some detailed  driving directions from San Jose  international airport to the Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna, going through  San Ramon, the shortest route,  and the roads are in good condition all the way.

I wrote this because roads in Costa Rica are not always well marked and directional signs often are missing.  Distances look short when really the driving time takes longer than it looks .

From San Jose  international airport head north on the inter american highway (Highway 1)  Go 33.5 km -21 miles to the San Ramon exit..here you exit to the right. Go straight on through and you will see a hugh Cathedral on your left..keep on going  straight about 8 blocks until the road dead ends-take a left and then an immediate right- here there is a sign that says to San Juan and Villa Blanca.  Now you continue on straight until you see a green church- here you take a left.   A sign says San Juan-Villa Blanca.  The road becomes narrow and very winding passing thru areas with small homes.  You will come to a little community called Los Angeles,  also the  small community of Villa Blanca. Keep going (it is usually foggy in these areas)   You will see on the right a tourism destination called Lands in Love and a small restaurant on the right hand side of the road called Loves Eat in a lovely setting.  This is a good place to have breakfast or lunch.  Full breakfast is around $6 and looked delicious.  We had coffee-very good for $1 per cup. Service was excellent.  A young woman from Israel  was the waitress,  very friendly and efficient.  Place was spotless. Up to now you have been driving around 1.5 -2 hours.

Just down the road on the left is a Tico soda if you want tortillas and cheese, or something light.  Now from the  San Jose  international airport you have been driving around 1.5-2 hours.

You come to a town called La Tigre (no signs to let you know its name) but a sign says 41 km -26 miles to Arenal Volcano. Here you turn right , then an immediate left.  Follow this road and it takes you to La Fortuna.  You will pass a small community called Chachagua, just keep going on same road.  In Chachagua there is a gas station, if you need to gas up.

In La Fortun, a very small town, look to the northwest and you will see the mighty Arenal Volcano.  There is a road that heads out of La Fortuna- the main road thru town which goes along the base of the volcano for about 6 miles  -3.7 km  until you come to Lake Arenal.  Along this road  are  located most of the hotels and attractions.   La Fortuna also has a good number of small hotels.

Driving at a moderate speed the trip from the international SJO airport to La Fortuna is around 3.5 hours.

In the small communities the speed limit is 45 km per hour and when you see a school it is reduced to 25 km per hour. And there are usually hugh speed bumps just before the school.

What do I see along the way?  After you leave San Ramon the scenery gets nice with mountainous terrain.  Large farms which grow many varieties of ornamental plants can be seen along the way.  This region is very lush and tropical because of the vast amount of rainfall and the rich volcanic soil.  You see coconut trees, banana trees, papaya, pineapple, platanos, and hundreds of varieties  of flowers.  You may even see a toucan.  These birds are prevalent in this  region.

Driving Tips:

1. Road conditions-good all the way.  Some mountainous terrain

2. Try not to drive after sunset.  Mountainous areas are foggy

3. Drive the speed limit in the small towns and school districts- 45km per hour -30 miles per hour   Speed limit in school districts is 25 km per hour  or  16 miles per hour

4. People walk in the road, animals such as dogs and chickens walk in the road so be watchful and aware of this.

5. Costa Ricans don't drive like north Americans and Europeans.  They tend to be more reckless and break the driving rules.  So keep this in mind.

6. Stop and ask directions if you feel lost.  Costa Ricans are very helpful and friendly.

7. Don't leave car unlocked if you stop.  Don't leave cameras and such in the car where they are visible.  Petty theft is common.  And breaking a window to enter the car can happen.

8.  Very good  detailed maps of San Ramon area as well as La Fortuna and Arenal can be found:

www.costa-rica-guide.com Go to the sections on maps of Costa Rica-on left hand side of page one.  Also your car rental company should have given you a map of Costa Rica.  These areas are easily viewed on these maps.

Here at costaricalearn we would like to hear if you had a good experience driving from the central valley of San Jose international airport to Arenal and La Fortuna.  We would love to share this with our readers.  At the end of this post simply click on comment or reply.

Driving from Arenal Volcano to Tamarindo Beach on NW Pacific, Best Route to Take

This article to is  inform you about the best route to drive  from Arenal Volcano to the NW Pacific beach of Tamarindo:  Best route to drive  is go around the north face of Lake Arenal to Tiliran, then to Canas.  This is very scenic and takes about 1.5 hours.  The road is good in most places with a few areas  of pot holes.  At Canas you run into highway 1 which is same as  Inter American highway.  Turn right and head north to Liberia.  In Liberia Turn left and go to Filadelfia and then follow the signs to Tamarindo.  This road is good.  From Canas to Tamarindo is approx  2.5 hours.  Looks less on the map but driving distances take longer in Costa Rica.

Ask for a map of Costa Rica when you rent your car.

Don't drive at night.  Fill your tank with gas in the towns.   Costa Ricans are very nice and helpful so don't hesitate to stop and ask directions if you need additional help.

Traveling to Costa Rica, Should I Drive in San Jose?

If you are planning to travel to Costa Rica and rent a car , it is best if you do not drive in San Jose. The traffic is extremely congested with  many large  buses everywhere.  You can't read the street and avenue names because they are rubbed off the sides of buildings where they  were once written. It's hard to determine one way streets.  San Jose is not a well planned city so a common sense approach to directions don't work there.

Then what do I do?  Best is to hire a taxi to drive you into San Jose.  Or,  you can take a public bus into the city from all the surrounding towns and once you are there, hire a taxi-which is inexpensive.

Rush hour around San Jose is bad, so avoid it if you can.  Between hours of  7 a.m. until around 8:45 a.m.   Then 4:30 p.m. until 7:  p.m.

There is only one main highway from San Jose to the international airport which is the Pan American highway also known as highway 1.  This road continues north all the way into Nicaragua.  Plan plenty of time to get from San Jose to the international airport.  Traffic is always heavy along this strip of highway 1.

What do I do if I need to drive my rental car thru San Jose to get to the highway to Limon  and on to the Caribbean  beaches?   Answer: what I did was hire a taxi to lead me thru San Jose to the road to Limon.    I tried it on my own and  very quickly got lost!   I tried  reading a map  of San Jose which proved of no help.  (Because many of the streets do not have names)

Driving from San Jose international Airport to Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Arenal Volcano on Cloudy Day"][/caption]

We are renting a car  on our vacation to Costa Rica and want to know the best and most direct driving route from San Jose international airport to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna.   We are renting a 4x4 vehicle near  the airport.

Answer to your questions by  The Costa Rica Expert: Your drive will take  around 3-4 hours depending on how fast you drive.  Many of the roads are over mountains so you have to drive slow.  Don't drive a night.  Keep in mind that the sun sets at 5:30  p.m.

From the airport head  north on highway 1 (Inter American  highway) .   for approx.  15 miles and turn right at the San Ramon exit.  (the exit before is the Naranjo exit)  follow the road thru the town of San Ramon;  you will see the huge cathedral of San Ramon on your left as you pass thru town.  Watch for the signs to Tigra -La Fortuna- Arenal but  you have to be very alert to see them.  (do not go toward Cuidad Quesada!)  If uncertain stop and ask.  Costa Ricans are very friendly and helpful.  Once you are out of town,  you are going to go over the mountains and this scenery is beautiful.  A segment of it is often foggy so  I  advise  you not to drive at night.   In approximately 1 hour you will come to a very small village called Tigra.  Just keep following the signs to La Fortuna -Arenal.  Gorgeous scenery of ornamental plant farms, papaya plantations, and lush green vegetation everywhere.  Rains  a lot so the 1000 shades of green are always here.  When you get to the little town of La Fortuna you will take a left turn at the main intersection which takes you on a stretch of road for about 6 miles.  Here are many small and large hotels and the famous Tabacon hot springs.  After Tabacon  hot springs you can take a left at the next  dirt road which takes you to the entrance to the Arenal Volcano National Park.   On past a small river  leads you up thru the jungle to the Arenal Observatory Lodge.  However: if you turn right just past the little river, the road leads you for about 4 miles (along Arenal Lake) to Rancho Margot-a self sustainable ranch which welcomes tourists.

If you want to see the beautiful large Arenal Lake stay on the main road.  From  Tabacon Hot springs , about 4 miles , the lake will appear on your left.   Boats line up there early in the day to take tourist around the lake to see birds and wildlife, and of course the mighty Arenal's firey eruptions.

What condition are the roads in?  Taking this route the roads are good.  Passing through the mountains some of the roads are narrow and winding,  just get an early start,  take you time and drive slow.  Especially from June thru Mid November  ( the rainest season).   Arenal Volcano is located in the San Carlos valley known as the bread basket of Costa Rica which gets a lot of rain.  That's why you see all the trees,  flowering plants, and crops so lush and green.

What is best time of year to see the Arenal crater and the eruptions?  It's a "hit and a miss"   Clouds often cover the volcano but eary morning is best bet to see it.  The month of March has the least rainfall, so you have a better chance this month.

Can you recommend a restaurant  along the way?  We always wait until we get to La Fortuna which has several small locally owned restaurants sprinkled around the town square.   However, there are some small family owned restaurants on the road from San Ramon to La Fortuna,  I just dont' have experience with them.

Please read my blog post on "Driving in Costa Rica, Tips for Safe Driving" under the travel category.  I welcome questions just clik no  comments and you can ask a question.

Scenic Driving route Alajuela to Poas Volcano by Car

Travel Costa Rica by  rental car,  the best way to see the Real Costa Rica, with it's abounding natural beauty.   Travel  the scenic back roads and experience Costa Rica's small villages and rural way of life. Stop along the way, walk around the little town squares, watch the children play in the park.  Ken, my husband  and I decided to just that.  The day was beautiful with lots of sunshine so  we headed  out early from  Alajuela,  the second largest city,   north to the Poas Volcano.  This is called the Touristic Route Alajuela-Poas Volcano, not exactly  "the  back road" but it took us through  beautiful coffee plantations, dairy farms, and  strawberry fields.   As we gained altitude, hundreds of  coffee plants surrounded us, each filled with dark red berries.  It's January,  prime time coffee harvest , and the pickers are at it.   My photograpy captured a pretty young Costa Rica woman whose wide brim sun hat and solid white attire shielded her from the tropical sun.  We came to  a small village flanked by a large fern farm. The locals, only about two hundred of them,  gave it the name Fiajanes.   We stopped and walked around the little park and the nearby lake, or lagoon.    Mothers were out with their babies to bask in the morning sunshine and the older children were playing soccer.

A few miles up the road we stopped at a small roadside market selling fresh strawberries, locally made fresh sour cream and while farmers cheese.  Plus a local Costa Rica artist was displaying his wood art.  We bought a toucan delicately carved and hand painted, a beautiful souvenir of our visit to Costa Rica.

The views all around were spectacular.  I felt like Heidi with her Grandfather in the Swiss Alps. The  white dairy cows with huge black spots all over them were lazily grazing along the hillsides.  They  looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.

People of all ages were out for their Sunday strolls, dressed in the best for the family reunions and an afternoon with your sweetheart. We had to drive very slow because the people use the road to walk since there are no sidewalks.  Some younger kids were even playing ball in the road.  It's not uncommon to see chickens, ducks, cows, and even horses roaming freely in the middle of the road.   Seems the roads  are for vehicles, people, animals  and everything else!

Approaching the entrance to Poas Volcano National Park, Costa Rica we noticed the landscape was changing.  Hugh ferns, almost like trees hung over the sides of the roads and plants with large unbrella like leaves, called Poor Mans Umbrella lined the walkway up to the crater.  Wildflowers were blooming in all shades of the rainbow.  January is definitely a great month to be here with lots and lots of sunshine. The crater was clear and the hot pool of gurgling blue water was spectacular.  How lucky could we get!

Heading back down we stopped for lunch at a small  wooden house with a beautiful garden.  It is called Chubascos, and is owned and operated by a local Costa Rican family and serves delicious typical dishes.  In the middle of the garden is a beautiful plant named Bell Of the Night, looks like an upside down pink and white bell.  Story goes that if you drink of the boiled flower you will hallucinate.  (Old Indian Legend) .   After much pondering over the menu, we choose the  specialty, a plate sized homemade corn tortilla  smothered in shredded beef, homegrown tomatoes, and Chubasco's own sauce.  And yes, the recipe for the sauce is a secret.  And for desert we choose the cheesecake made from locally  processed cheese, and topped with the strawberries grown next door.  What a treat! With so many dairy cows in the region, it's  no wonder that so many varieties  of cheese are found here.

Our last stop for the day was at Three Generations Coffee Tour, owned and operated by the Doka family for three generations.   I was tired by then but so glad we stopped.  A Real education here!  We have a guided tour  which demonstrates the entire process of the coffee from the coffee plant to your cup.  Great guides and such a gorgeous place right in the middle of the coffee plantation.

The sun was setting and we were ready to return to our comfortable hotel in the mountains,  Hotel Buena Vista.  Not far to go since it is located on this road approx. 4 miles north of  Alajuela.  A very picturesque place with views to central valley and the Poas Volcano.  Cool mountain breezes refresh us from  the  patio off our room.  We choose the second floor for the views.   What a nice day we had and now are ready to say good night (buenos noches)