Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

You asked…

We plan to visit Monteverde, Arenal, and Manuel Antonio; what would you recommend for the most time-consuming way (correction: most time-efficient way) to travel to see these places?

We answered…

To begin, since your original question asked “what would be the most time consuming way to travel” between Monteverde, Arenal, and Monteverde, our answer to this question would be: public transportation (i.e., local bus services). On the assumption that you may have meant “what would be the most time-efficient way to travel” between each, please see our response below! 🙂

There are a number of ways to travel throughout Costa Rica, the most popular of which include using shared shuttle services, private transfer services, personal car rentals, city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours, public transportation (i.e., local buses), and/or domestic flights. Since the question targets the most time-efficient means of transportation, we’ll focus on three: domestic flights, city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours, and private transfer services.

Domestic flights–although expensive–help reduce route drive times significantly. Even when time spent waiting at the airport (in anticipation of the flight) and time spent travelling to and from town centers and airports on the outskirts of towns are factored in, travelling by air is the quickest way to get from point A to point B during your trip. Not all Costa Rica destinations have domestic airports, however, so this mode of transportation is limited to travel between specific areas of the country. With respect to the destinations you plan to visit, both Arenal (El Tanque) and Manuel Antonio (Quepos) have airports; Monteverde does not.

City-to-city transportation-inclusive tours are time-efficient means of transportation as they combine destination to destination transportation services with participation in an adventure tour. Although most city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours are day-long excursions, they allow you to start the day in one city, end the day in a different city, and experience a great activity (or more than one activity) in between, helping you to make the most of your precious vacation time.

Lastly, if neither domestic flights nor city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours interest you, opt for private transfer services. These are direct ground transfer services that are not shared with other travellers, so extra hotel pick-ups and drop-offs are avoided. In addition, although impromptu stops may be made along the way (if you request them), if your priority is to minimize travel time between destinations, a private transfer service will get you from point A to point B the fastest way possible via ground transportation.

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