How to get to Ostional and Nosara
Despite the locals making it look easy, getting around Costa Rica like a local is no easy feat. Bus schedules aren’t always easy to find, bus stops aren’t always marked, and roads are sometimes shut down. So, if you’re asking yourself, why go through the hassle? Well, the main reason for using public transportation is that it’s a fraction of the price of private shuttles and it’s a fun experience.
If you’re looking to get to Nosara or Ostional on public transport, then read on to learn how to get there and why you might need to plan your trip carefully!
Ostional and Nosara
Where and why should I go?
Nosara and Ostional are located on the Nicoya Peninsula of eastern Costa Rica. Both towns are on the Pacific coastline and offer great views, surfing and relaxation.
If you’re planning on visiting the area, make sure to read about the Arribadas that happen in Ostional every month! Haven’t heard about the thousands of turtles that come to shore? Read more about it here: Arribada.
Getting around on public transportion
If you don’t have a car, and you don’t want to spend $50 per person (or more) getting there, public transportation is the best option. If you’re looking to get around by bus, most bus schedules for major routes can be found on this website.
However, not every town or village will be shown in the schedules nor be searchable. If you’re looking to get from point A to point B and it’s not an official but route, you’ll have to get creative (more on that later).
Additionally, when using the public transportation, it should be known that there are a lot of unofficial bus stops. People will get on and off as they please, depending on what is easier for them or closest to their homes. This also means that if you need to take two or more busses, you are going to need to be aware of where different bus routes will cross
Getting to Nosara and Ostional
Confused about what I mean by being aware of where routes will cross? Hopefully this next example will help clear things up and also will explain how to get to Ostional and Nosara on public transport.
To get to either of these towns, you need to catch the bus from Santa Cruz heading towards Nosara (the official route is from San José). However, if you are coming from any other city in the area, you can check where your bus route towards Santa Cruz will cross the bus route to Nosara and switch busses there.
In our case, we were coming from Tamarindo and heading towards Ostional. With multiple busses per day leaving from Tamarindo towards Santa Cruz, it was relatively easy catching our first bus. However, there are fewer busses leaving from Santa Cruz going towards Nosara every day. Therefore, it was important to figure out just about where the two bus routes would cross and be there at the right time.
We determined that the point of intersection would be in a town called Veintisiete de Abril. By catching the 12:10 bus from Tamarindo, and getting off at Veintisiete de Abril around 12:40, we were able to catch the bus that had left Santa Cruz at 12:30 and was headed towards Nosara. To know what time the bus would be passing through Veintisete, it was necessary to know about how much driving time the bus would have between Santa Cruz and Veintisete. As I said, no official bus routes or schedules for certain towns.
I know it sounds complicated, yet bear with me. Here is the bus schedule for the bus route between Santa Cruz and 0stional, by adding 30 minutes to the departure time from Santa Cruz you can determine the approximate time the bus will pass through Veintisete.
Once you understand the logic, and lack of official bus schedule times for ‘in-between’ cities, getting around via bus isn’t that difficult.
Our journey getting to Ostional on public transportation
As I mentioned, we were coming from Tamarindo. Our day was a less typical travel day, as we had made the decision to go to Ostional very, very last minute.
That same morning, we were supposed to make our way to La Fortuna from Tamarindo. La Fortuna is about a 4-hour drive east from Tamarindo, and Ostional 2 hours south. So why did we end up changing our plans so last minute? The beginning of the Arribada was supposedly going to happen. Not wanting to miss the show of a lifetime, our friend called our shuttle bus to make up some story about why we couldn’t travel. Then, we frantically tried to figure out how to get to Ostional for as cheap as possible.
All the bus schedules I was finding on the internet weren’t very coherent and it looked like a complicated venture trying to get to Ostional on public transportation. Luckily for us, we had a local friend who told us about the possibility of changing busses in Veintisete (which we would have never figured out on our own).
This meaning we got off at Veintisete and waited for our next bus towards Ostional. As we were standing on a random corner in Veintisete we laughed at the absurdity of the whole morning, and crossing our fingers that our second bus would pass.
Upon boarding our second bus towards Ostional we saw live chicks, animal feed, and a washing machine of all things!
Preparing for road closures
Road closures near Ostional and Nosara
Another thing to know about Costa Rica is that lots of the roads are not paved. Gravel roads plus lots of rain equals lots of pot holes. That being said, be prepared for a very bumpy road.
The ride from Veintisete to Ostional takes a bit over 2 hours in rainy conditions. If you are making the journey in rainy conditions, it is very possible that the bus will just stop a few km before arriving in Ostional. This is because in heavy rains the road gets washed out and the bus cannot cross the stream that has thus transformed into a river.
Of course, this was the case the day of our travel. The bus came to a halt at the river crossing and announced that he wouldn’t be able to take us any further. As we exited the bus, in the heavy rain, the bus driver stopped a 4×4 that was going towards Ostional and asked if they could give us a ride.
We climbed into the back of this stranger’s car (sorry mom) and continued our journey towards Ostional. Laughing at the absurdity of our entire day, we safely made it to Ostional.
Making it to the turtles made the entire journey worth it! Want to know more about the turtle arrivals? Check out my post about the Arribada!
Continuing to Nosara – Risks of a flooded road
If you wish to continue to Nosara, the bus is generally a good good option. However, in rainy season, and especially after heavy rain, the road is likely to be closed. As previously mentioned, there is a river that forms a few KM before Ostional, but an even bigger one will be waiting for you a few KM before Nosara. If you have a 4×4, you can generally cross the river as it is not too high. There is also a foot bridge that can be used.
To conclude, getting to Nosara or Ostional by public bus may not be easy. However, it is significantly cheaper that other forms of transport and quite an experience! I do however recommend doing it in the dry season vs the rainy season!
Have you been to Nosara or Ostional? What did you like about these little towns?
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