If you need a taxi, call Coopetico (tel. 2663-2020). Uber and Lyft have yet to make an appearance here.

City Layout -- Puntarenas is built on a long, narrow sand spit that stretches 16km (10 miles) out into the Gulf of Nicoya and is only five streets wide at its widest. The north side of town faces an estuary, and the south side faces the gulf. The Paseo de los Turistas, on the south side of town, begins at the pier and extends out to the point. The ferry docks for the Nicoya Peninsula are near the far end of town, as are the bus station and market.

When to Go

If you’re in Puntarenas on the Saturday closest to July 16, you can witness the Fiesta del Virgen del Mar (Festival of the Virgin of the Sea). A regatta of colorfully decorated boats carries a statue of Puntarenas’s patron saint along the waterfront, but the Paseo de los Turistas makes for a good place to catch the pageantry. Note: Hotels sell out far in advance and charge peak rates during the festival.

Fast Facts

Several banks and general markets are all within a 2-block radius of the town’s small church and central park. The town’s main post office can be found here as well. The Hospital Monseñor Sanabria (tel. 2663-8000), on the outskirts of downtown, is the largest and best-equipped hospital in the region.

Getting There

By Car: Head west out of San José on the San José–Caldera Highway (CR27). When you reach Caldera, follow the signs to Puntarenas. The drive takes a little over an hour, but plan on 2 hours. To reach Puntarenas from Liberia, just take the Inter-American Highway south until the exit for Puntarenas.

By Bus: Empresarios de Unidos Puntarenas express buses (tel. 2222-0064 or 2261-3138) leave San José daily every hour between 6am and 7pm from Calle 16 and Avenida 12. The trip duration is 2 hours; the fare is C2,975. Buses to San José leave the main station daily every hour between 6am and 7pm.

The Puntarenas bus station is diagonally opposite from the main pier on the Paseo de los Turistas. Buses to Quepos and Manuel Antonio leave the main station daily at 5, 7, 9, and 10:30am and 1, 2:30, and 4:30pm. The trip’s is about an hour; the fare is around C2,800. There are also about three daily buses between Puntarenas and Monteverde and Santa Elena.

By Ferry: See sections on “Playa Tambor” or “Playa Montezuma” for information on crossing to and returning from Puntarenas from Paquera or Naranjo on the Nicoya Peninsula.

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