In this series of posts, we answer common Costa Rica travel questions. Today, we’ll answer the question of what it is like to drive from Liberia’s Guanacaste Airport (LIR) to La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano area. We’ll cover driving, if you should drive in the afternoon or night, specific directions, and shuttle van options.
Question
“I will be in Costa Rica from July 16th – 25th, so 8 full days. We are going to spend a couple of days in La Fortuna before heading down to Playa Carrillo for the remainder of the trip. Our plane arrives at LIR Liberia at 3:10 pm.
My question is if we should drive directly to La Fortuna that afternoon? Or spend the night in Liberia and get an early start the next morning.
I feel like we are losing a day spending the night in Liberia, but I am concerned about driving at night and possibly in the rain.
For our drive from La Fortuna to Playa Carrillo, should we drive along the north side of the lake (I heard it was faster) or along the southern side of the lake? I would appreciate any advice you have on this.”
Answer
With a flight arriving that late in the afternoon, you probably want to stay somewhere near the airport or along the way. You won’t be out of the airport (immigration, baggage claim, customs) and car rental agency until 4:00 p.m. or later. The sun sets just before 6:00 p.m. so you will be driving the last part of the trip in the dark. We don’t recommend driving long distances at night, especially the road to La Fortuna.
The first part is highway but the last section around the lake is along a very curvy, narrow, and dark road. Also, like you mentioned, the possibility of rain in the afternoon is likely that time of year since it will be rainy season.
So yes, stay either near the airport at someplace like the Hilton Garden Inn or another hotel along the way.
Another idea is to take a detour to Bijagua on the way there. Bijagua is about 1.25 hours from LIR Airport so you should be able to reach it before dark.
Bijagua is a cool rural town with a lot of wildlife like sloths, monkeys, and birds. It also has the beautiful, bright blue Rio Celeste Waterfall, which you could visit the next morning before going to La Fortuna. La Fortuna is only about 1.25 hours from Bijagua.
For the trip from La Fortuna to Carrillo/Samara, yes, definitely take the paved road (Route 142) going around the lake’s north side. The roads on the south side of Lake Arenal are gravel, and as far as we know, you cannot make it all the way around because of a river.
More Information
Best Route & Driving Directions: LIR Airport to La Fortuna/Arenal
From LIR Airport, head east on Route 21. In downtown Liberia, take the onramp for Highway 1 south. Continue on Highway 1 to the town of Canas. Take the offramp for Canas/Tilaran and connect with Route 142 east. Near the town of Tilaran, take a hairpin left turn to stay on Route 142, toward Nuevo Arenal and La Fortuna. Continue on Route 142 all the way to La Fortuna.
Tip: Between Canas and Tilaran, many apps and GPS systems will tell you to take a shortcut (left turn). We do not recommend this as the last part is very steep and was not paved the last time we drove it. It is safer to stay on Route 142 the whole way.
Driving After Dark
Like we mentioned above, we do not recommend driving long distances in the dark. The sun sets around 6:00 p.m. in Costa Rica, all year round. Driving Costa Rica’s roads after dark can be difficult. The roads are narrow, usually without much of a shoulder, the marking paint is often very faded from the sun, streetlights and reflectors are used sparingly, and there are often no guardrails.
It also rains the most at night, and downpours can be very intense (especially in rainy season). Costa Rica’s landscape is very beautiful so we always recommend driving as much as you can during daylight hours to enjoy it.
For more information about the quirks on driving, read our post, Driving in Costa Rica: What to Know Before You Go.
Shuttle Options
If you absolutely need to travel to La Fortuna in the late afternoon or evening, we recommend hiring a private shuttle driver. These drivers know the roads very well and will be able to safely transport you at any hour. Then you can rent a car once you are in La Fortuna to explore on your own.
We offer shuttles all around Costa Rica through our shuttle booking page. Here is the information for the shuttle from Liberia to La Fortuna.
Need more Costa Rica planning help? We’ve been traveling and living in Costa Rica for more than 10 years. Check out these pages for lots more resources!
Rental Car Discount – Our readers get 10% off their rental base price, plus free extras like a second driver, cooler, and surf racks.
Transportation Options in Costa Rica: Car, Shuttle, Uber & More – For more about Costa Rica’s transportation options, see this post.
Road Conditions of Specific Routes in Costa Rica – We always recommend planning your route in advance to avoid mountains and bad terrain. This post covers most of Costa Rica’s major roadways and explains conditions, tolls, and possible hazards.
Driving at night especially if you are a senior is not pleasant to say the least. We went on the sunset cruise well south of Jaco where we were staying. The drive back took at least 1 hour longer.
Big trucks that go real slow and are difficult to pass on the dark, curved roads. Standard rental car headlights don’t cut it, as it is very dark. Great star gazing though.