Travel Information

Traveling from International Airport Daniel Oduber, in Liberia, to Playa Tamarindo and the host towns of Villareal and Santa Rosa
Traveling from San José to Tamarindo
By Airplane
By private bus
Important note

Costa Rica has two international airports; Daniel Oduber Intenational Airport in Liberia, in the province of Guanacaste, which is just 62 km away from Tamarindo; and Juan Santamaria International Airport, in Alajuaela, close to San Jose, with a distance of approximately 300 km to Tamarindo.

The most important US airlines such as Delta, AA, Continental and others offer daily flights from the US to Liberia. For that reason we recommend to our students that are traveling from the US to book their flight directly to Liberia. Students from other parts of the world that do not fly via the US, may fly into San Jose and from there travel to Playa Tamarindo.

Below is some information that will help our students to decide which might be the best option to travel to Tamarindo. Our reservation department can help you making the reservation for the transfer from San Jose or Liberia to Playa Tamarindo.

Back to the top

Traveling from International Airport Daniel Oduber, in Liberia, to Playa Tamarindo and the host towns of Villareal and Santa Rosa

The airport in Liberia is 62 Km away from Tamarindo, 55 Km from Santa Rosa and 57 Km from Villarreal. We recommend our students to take a taxi to get to Playa Tamarindo or to any of our host towns. The rate is between $60-70. Upon request we can organize the pick-up for our students in Liberia with the Gray Line Company. They wait at the exit of the airport for our students and take them directly to Tamarindo or to the host family.

Back to the top

Traveling from San Jose to Tamarindo

Upon arrival at the airport in San José, students can change some money into Colones at the bank at Juan Santamaria International Airport. The exchange rates, and above all, the commission of changing Euros into Colones, is higher than changing US $ into Colones. Therefore, we recommend bringing US$ and change just a small amount of money because of the higher exchange rate in the airport exchange office.

If students cannot complete their trip to Playa Tamarindo within one day, there are two options for lodging in or near San José, depending on how the student travels to Tamarindo the next day:

· For students traveling to Tamarindo by private bus or by plane with Nature Air, we suggest to stay overnight in a hotel in the city of San Jose

· For those who are traveling to Tamarindo with Sansa Airlines we recommend to stay overnight near the airport, in the town of Alajuela

For the student's convenience, we can make the reservation for the hotel in San José or the B&B close to the airport in the town of Alajuela. Please contact us for more information if you would like to stay in the hotel in San José or the B&B in Alajuela.

There is a public bus from the Juan Santamaria International Airport to the inner city of San José. The cost of the public bus is ¢250.00 (about $0.60 cents). The bus stop is in front of the airport. Daily service every 5 min. from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (after 7:00 p.m., buses leave every 8 min.).

The transportation from the airport to the hotel in the center of San José by taxi is about US $12.00 and to the B&B in Alajuela $5.00.

Back to the top

By Airplane

SANSA, a domestic branch of TACA Group, flies from San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport to Tamarindo Beach, between 7 and 12 times a day, depending on the season. Please check with our reservation department about flight schedules and the rates.

SANSA offers a free transfer from their terminal to the office in San Jose and from San Jose to their terminal, at the International Airport.

Nature Air flies from Tobias Bolaños Airport in Pavas, San José, only a few minutes from the city center away. There is a bus service from the airport to the center of San José for US $0.45 approximately.

We can purchase the ticket with SANSA for our students: The ticket should be picked up at the SANSA desk at the airport until 45 minutes before the plane takes off to Playa Tamarindo.

At the airport in Tamarindo you can take a taxi for about US$5.00 to get to the host towns of Santa Rosa, Villareal or directly to Playa Tamarindo. Please do not forget to keep your lodging information handy in order to tell the driver the address of your Costa Rica Spanish homestay family.

Students that stay in one of our student houses in Playa Tamarindo, should come to the school first in order to check in at the houses. Our office hours on Sunday are from 10.00 a.m. to 04:00 p.m. If students are scheduled to arrive later than 04:30 please let us know in order to organize the check in.

Back to the top

By private bus

Interbus is a private bus company that offers direct service from San José to Tamarindo. This bus ride takes about five hours to reach Tamarindo. Interbus offers daily service at a charge of US $ 35.00. The buses are air conditioned and comfortable. The departure time is around 7:40 am from the Hotel in San José and it arrives in Playa Tamarindo approximately at 1 pm. We can purchase the bus ticket for you.

Back to the top

Important note

Students that travel with Interbus and stay at one of the student houses should come directly to the school in order to check in. Students staying with host families in Santa Rosa or Villarreal can get off the bus at the Casa de Madera in the center of Villareal where a member of their host family will wait for them.

Back to the top