Question of the Week: What's the Best Way to Get to Tamarindo/Samara from Montezuma?

Montezuma is located at the Southeastern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. A lot of folks who are traveling for the first time in Costa Rica or in the Nicoya Peninsula don't realize the roads here are bad year round and many are impassable during the rainy season. There are no public buses that travel directly from Montezuma to the Northern part of the Nicoya Peninsula, where Samara and Tamarindo are located. That's right, no public buses. Many travelers are surprised to discover this once they get here.

If you wish you travel by public bus from Montezuma to Samara or Tamarindo, you have to take the bus from Montezuma to Paquera, then the ferry from Paquera to Puntarenas, then a taxi from the ferry dock to the bus stop in Puntarenas, then another bus to Liberia if you're headed to Tamarindo or to Nicoya if you're headed to Samara. You're looking at a 12-hour trip that will cost approximately $25 in bus and taxi fare. Plus you have to remember that traveling for such a long time is tiring and you're going to have to pay for bathrooms along the way, plus the over-priced food and drink for sale on the ferry and at bus stations. By the time you arrive in Tamarindo or Samara 12 hours later you will most likely have spent $45 on your trip and you'll arrive exhausted.

This is why we at Luna Llena Hotel highly recommend reserving a shuttle. For just $45 the shuttle will pick you up right in front of Luna Llena Hotel (or any hotel in Montezuma) in an air-conditioned van and drive you directly to your hotel in either Samara or Tamarindo. And the trip only takes four and a half hours! You save about eight hours of your vacation time, and you also save a lot of hassle. You will arrive at your destination with energy to get out and hit the waves, or rent a bike and explore the town, etc. It's like adding an extra afternoon to your vacation for free! The only catch is that there is a minimum of two persons to reserve a shuttle.

The other ways to travel between Montezuma and Tamarindo/Samara include renting a car or ATV. During the dry season (December-April) you can drive a 4-wheel drive vehicle up the road along the Western coast of the Nicoya Peninsula and witness the isolated and beautiful beaches that are practically uninhabited between Manzanillo and Samara. Some hearty cyclists have been known to make this trip by bicycle, too. But as soon as the rains come this road is entirely impassable and off-limits.