Getting There:

For those traveling by GPS, our coordinates are approximately longitude -85.68 and latitude 9.95.

For the rest of us, directions by car, airplane or bus might be easier. Whether you fly into San Jose or Liberia and plan to drive to Nosara, you should follow directions to Nicoya and from there head towards Nosara. Getting from the San Jose area to Nosara will take anywhere between 5 and 7 hours, depending on number of big trucks on the two-lane road, weather, time of day or week, etc. etc.

There are several connections into Liberia, and the drive from Liberia to Nosara is only about 2 ½ hours.

From San Jose, follow hwy 1 north, the Interamerican Highway, towards Liberia. Look for signs for the Tempisque Bridge (about 25 km/15,5 miles to the west) right after the turn-off for Las Juntas, at Limonal. Turn left onto hwy 18 which will end in a T at hwy 21. Turn right and in Nicoya turn left into town. Go all the way through Nicoya and follow the road toward Samara and Nosara. After about 30 km/18.5 miles, you come to a gas station – La Bomba _ on your left. (This is a good time, really good, to fill up the tank, although there is a gas station in Nosara and another one has been built but is not yet open.) Shortly thereafter, you will come to a Y intersection. Veer right and continue another 27 km/17 miles on a bumpy gravel road to Nosara. Depending on season, this road varies between OK and awful. As you enter the Nosara area, follow the signs for “Reserva Biologica”, Villa Mango B&B, and LaGarta Lodge.
No matter where you drive, watch out for “killer pot holes”.

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To find your way to Casa Banda: http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/nosara/nosara.html
As you enter the Nosara area, follow the signs for "LaGarta Lodge" and “Reserva Biologica”. After you pass LaGarta Lodge on your left, continue on the upper road. When you see two white buildings on your right, you are "home".

Click for Map of Guanacaste

Area / City Information

To get the most out of your stay in Nosara, we recommend that you rent a car or an ATV (all terrain vehicle)  – unless you come solely to enjoy the pool, beach and restaurants within walking distance.  The roads in Costa Rica are (in)famous for being bumpy at best as soon as you leave the main highways. In the dry season, a regular car will get you to most places, but during the green season and if you want to explore just a little bit, 4-wheel drive is strongly recommended.

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Getting close…….

The KIA Sportage, also known as the “Tourist Car”, is readily available as are other smaller SUVs, and unless you want to really rough it off-road, they are sufficient, even when a small-medium river must be crossed.

For links to several car rental agencies, go to
www.1-costaricalink.com/costa_rica_rent_a_car.htm

Note: renting a car from a company located at the airport in Alajuela (San Jose) will add en extra airport tax.  Some companies located not far from the airport do not charge this extra tax. Be very cautious about renting from semi-private or little known car rental companies!

Should you get to Nosara and then realize that you need a car or ATV, there are local places to rent from, and several of the national rental companies will deliver and pick up a car in Nosara.

Click for some hints on driving in Costa Rica.

If you would rather not try to conquer the traffic from San Jose to Nosara, there is regular air and bus transportation.

www.1-costaricalink.com/costa_rica_transportation.htm will take you to information about the two main local airlines, and for schedules about the busses, go to http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/costa-rica/bus-schedule.htm

www.costaricabybus.com contains tons of useful information for those seeing Costa Rica by bus.

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Arriving in Nosara.

If you are like most people visiting Costa Rica, you will not want to leave again. However, reality usually knocks.

Citizens from most countries can stay in Costa Rica for 90 days on a regular tourist visa, which you get when entering the country. A paid return ticket is necessary.

When leaving, you will have to pay an exit tax of $ 26 per person, payable by cash in dollars or Colones or by credit card.

Credit cards are not readily accepted everywhere, and many places will add 13-16 % if you pay with a card.  "Banco Popular" now has an ATM machine accepting Visa cards in Nosara (near Playa Guiones). Supposedly, "Banco Nacional" will open a branch in Nosara, but for now, the closest branch office is in Samara.

Traveler’s checks should be accepted, but often are not, because the banks put a hold them for up to 60 days. Cash works – and most places will gladly take US dollars. The exchange rate, which used to change every two-three days, has been locked to a rate of about 515 colones to the US dollar.

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