Thank you for the info! Do you know if the bus is currently leaving at 7:30am?

Sounds like it's reasonable to expect a 20 minute ride early on a Saturday morning.

I believe you don't need to go into San Jose to go to Montezuma, just get the bus from the Radial in Alajuela,

www.nicoyapeninsula.com/general/busses.php

According to the above link, the bus leaves the Coca Cola station at 6 AM.

If you get there for 7:30, you will have to wait for the 2 PM bus......

cubanon - I'm not 100% sure the bus for Montezuma stops at La Radial. I know the bus for Puntarenas stops there - I've seen it. But I haven't seen the bus from Montezuma so I didn't recommend it. Maybe yellabrick or wefish knows whether it stops at La Radial.

But they can take any bus any time to Puntarenas...then to the ferry and at the other side always buses or mini vans waiting for people going to Montezuma...I´ll be more worry about the ferry schedule than the bus from Paquera to Montezuma...

roadadvisor

Agree with you, roadadvisor. There are many many buses from San Jose to Puntarenas.

For ferry schedule, you can check here: www.nicoyapeninsula.com - the same one as wefish's excellent recommendation for bus information.

Hattie and Luis,- I suppose you have never taken the bus to Puntarenas then ferry then bus on to Montezuma. I have. And though it is doable - I would take the direct Montezuma bus if I had it to do over again. And I would not recommend it to a first time visitor is there is another option.

First of all the bus to Puntarenas does not stop at the Ferry dock (or at least it did not when I did this) So from the bus depot, you have to take a cab to the ferry. Then you have to figure out where the ferry ticket office is and buy your ticket... In our case, as Murphy's law would have it, we arrived there just in time to hear the ferry blowing its whistle and pulling out... So we had to wait about 2 hours for the next one. Then we got to Paquera and it was pouring rain and dark (This may not be an issue for those who leave in the morning) Either we couldn't find or there was not a bus to Montezuma at that time so we ended up taking a cab - which was not cheap.... We did get there though .

If you take the direct, they worry about the transfers etc. and it is much easier. Hopefully someone will be able to tell the OP whether or not the direct bus does stop at La Radial - as taking it would really make things a lot simpler.

raquel

Well, Raquel, it seems you have given some really good information about taking the bus to Puntarenas and then the ferry. I am sure it will be helpful to anyone who is considering doing that.

As for "first timers"- I find that many people who inquire about using the bus have traveled as backpackers or on buses in other countries so are pretty familiar with the pitfalls.

Of course, a direct bus is always easier - I think we were hoping to give some advice that would have some flexibility.

As for the ferry times - there are a couple of places to check that - including the nicoyapeninsula.com website so it would be possible to coordinate bus arrival with ferry times.

Hiya,

I do this journey all the time.

I highly recommend taking a taxi to Coca Cola for the 6am direct bus to Montezuma. Be there by 5:30. You will have plenty of time. I know it means a bit of backtracking, but it really is the most straightforward option.

If you want to save a few bucks, walk out from the airport and get an official red taxi instead of the official orange airport ones

The direct bus actually goes on the ferry with a locked hold, so your luggage is checked the whole way, and the bus conductor buys the ferry ticket so once on the bus you don't need to think about anything, just enjoy the ride.

Just watch your bags every second in the Coca Cola station. You'll have to change bus in Cobano, 7 km before Montezuma.