How to get from Santa Teresa to San Jose

Why visit San Jose?

San Jose is a bustling urban landscape in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Being the capital city, it may not be as pretty as the beach and jungle destinations that the country is known for. But if you are stopping by anyway, might as well explore for a few hours or a day before moving on to your next stop.

You will find plenty of things to do in San Jose. Within the city, you can check out the colonial buildings turned museums at Barrio Amon, try out the famed restaurants at Barrio Escalante, or party the night away in El Pueblo. If you want to venture outside the city limits, the Poas Volcano and La Paz Waterfall Gardens are highly recommended!

There are 4 ways to travel the 185 kilometers (115 miles) from Santa Teresa to San Jose. You can choose between the minivan, private transport, flight via Cobano and indirect bus + ferry. The journey takes 2 hours 20 minutes to 7 hours 15 minutes and the quickest way is by flight via Cobano. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by indirect bus + ferry with tickets starting at 9,900 CRC ($19.60).

Taking a combined minivan and ferry is a straightforward way to get from Santa Teresa to San Jose. The minivan company handles your ferry transfer, so you don’t have to worry about tickets or connections.

With this option, you’ll take a shuttle from Santa Teresa to Paquera Port. From there, you’ll transfer to a speedboat to cross the strait to Puntarenas. After the crossing, you will return to your shuttle, which will take you to San Jose.

Minivan rates for the Santa Teresa to San Jose route start from 19,000 CRC ($37.50) and the travel time is 3 hours 50 minutes to 7 hours 15 minutes.

An affordable way to travel from Santa Teresa to San Jose is to take the indirect bus. This option involves two separate buses and a ferry transfer.

Travel time with this indirect bus option is around 6 hours 30 minutes.

There are several daily bus trips available from Santa Teresa to Cobano throughout the day. Make sure to take a bus that will give you enough time to transfer to your connecting bus in Cobano within the same day.

The bus will pass through the main road from Santa Teresa’s far end. You can simply hail it from the street. A ticket costs 1,000 CRC ($2) and you can buy one from the driver.

The bus arrives at Cobano Bus Stop after 1 hour.

Transportes Cobano operates the bus from Cobano to San Jose. This bus departs at 12:45 from Cobano Bus Stop.

It first takes you by land to Paquera Port, where you’ll transfer to a ferry heading to Puntarenas. After the ferry ride, you’ll reboard the same bus, which continues by land to San Jose Airport and finally to the city centre.

You can buy a ticket directly from the driver for 8,900 CRC ($17.60) or pre-book your ride online through La Terminal. The ferry ticket is included in the price, but note that additional taxes and booking fees may apply for online bookings.

Alternatively, you can book a combined bus + ferry ticket through BookAway, though this option is generally more expensive.

This bus and ferry journey takes around 5h 30m.

Travelling from Santa Teresa to San Jose by flight will take just a little over 2 hours 20 minutes. It’s definitely the fastest, but it’s also quite expensive with rates from 82,000 CRC ($160).

Santa Teresa doesn’t have its own airport so you’ll first have to travel by land to Cobano Airport, and then take a flight from there to San Jose.

TIP: If you decide to travel by plane, please consider including a carbon compensation fee to reduce your impact on the environment.

From Santa Teresa, the most convenient way to get to Cobano Airport is by private transfer. You can request this from your hotel beforehand or you can just hail a taxi. Rates start from 20,000 CRC ($40) for the 40 minutes journey.

Another option is to book your ride online via Tropical Tours Shuttle, with fares starting from 15,000 CRC ($30).

Sansa Airlines, World Ticket and Citizen Plane offer several daily flights from Cobano to San Jose.

Airfares start from 60,000 CRC ($120). The flight arrives at San Jose Airport after around 40 minutes.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Previously, you had to fly from Tambor to San Jose when travelling from Santa Teresa. But since October 2023, the flights have been moved to Cobano. Keep this in mind when booking your flight!

From San Jose Airport, you’ll then have to travel 17 km southeast to reach the city centre. There are two ways to do that: a bus for 1 hour that costs 760 CRC ($1.50) or a 30-minute taxi with rates from 16,000 CRC ($31).

To take the bus, you’ll have to hail them from the main road. They’re available every 10 minutes from 04:00 to 23:00. TUASA (coloured red and white) and Station Wagon (coloured orange and yellow) are the 2 bus companies you can choose from. They both arrive at TUASA Terminal in San Jose city centre.

If you’re taking a taxi, we recommend hailing one from the main road (just a short walk from the airport arrivals hall) because there is an additional fee for airport taxis. Or you can also try getting a ride via Uber for around the same price.

PRO TIP: Although widely used, Uber is still not 100% “legal” in Costa Rica. There have been rare accounts of tourists being stopped in the middle of the journey and asked to transfer to a taxi. If you’re not willing to take that risk, might as well take a regular taxi.

Travelling in a group? A private transfer from Santa Teresa to San Jose might be cheaper than a minivan when you’re travelling with a large group and sharing the cost.

BookAway offers various vehicles depending on the size of your group. Prices for private transfer start at 140,000 CRC ($275) for a 4-seater. Split it with your group, and it’s about 35,000 CRC ($69) each.

As with the bus and minivan options, your private vehicle will drive you to Paquera Port. You will then take a car ferry bound for Puntarenas. From there, you will continue by land to San Jose. Travel time is around 4 hours 5 minutes to 6 hours 30 minutes.

Private Transport options from Santa Teresa to San Jose