The first thing one needs to know is that the ferry is at the very tip. Just keep driving through Puntarenas till you reach the very end, where you’ll see the ferry terminal. It is highly recommend to drive down the left side of the Puntarenas isthmus, as it’s more scenic. To reach the ferry parking, you drive till the road wraps around the tip in a big u-turn, driving back in the other direction for one or two blocks.This road will wrap around the tip in a big u-turn and head back the other direction for one or two blocks to reach the ferry parking.
The ferry journey takes about an hour, and on the way you come across whales, dolphins, manta rays and schools of flying fish, as well as jelly fish. The route goes along various different beautiful islands and the The ferry passes several beautiful islands and the view is breathtaking throughout the whole journey. As with ferries all over the world, the food on the ferry is of a pretty low standard. Even the coffee is really bad, considering how otherwise it is so difficult to find bad coffee in Costa Rica.
The ticket is $24 for a car+driver and a bit under $2 for a single passenger.
Driving from the ferry in Paquera it’s around 30 minutes to Tambor, 60 minutes to Montezuma, and 80 minutes to Malpais/Santa Teresa.
There are two different ferries that disembark from the same place. Make sure you take the ferry to Paquera, not to Naranjo. If, however, you do end up on the Naranjo ferry, you can always drive from Naranjo to Paquera in under an hour, but the road is pretty terrible.
Ferry Schedule Phone Number: 2661-2084 – Ext 4
Puntarenas to Paquera:
5AM
9AM
11AM
2PM
5PM
8:30PM
Paquera to Puntarenas:
6:30AM
9AM
11AM
2PM
5PM
8PM
