If you’re planning to visit Montezuma, Tambor, Santa Teresa, Malpaís, Paquera or any beach on the Nicoya Peninsula from San Jose, taking the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera is one of the best ways to get there.
In this article, you will learn exactly how to take this ferry. We’ll give step by step instructions for buying tickets, how to cross with a car or by foot and how long the ferry is. There is also an instructional video at this end of this post.
****UPDATE April 10, 2024. The Paquera ferry suffered damage due to head on collision on April 9th so they will not be landing/departing from Paquera until further notice. The other ferry, the Naranjo ferry will be working 24 hours to help meet demand. The difference is around 30 minutes between the Naranjo and Paquera docks.*****
*If you are driving from San Jose to Tamarindo or South Guanacaste like Samara or to the Nicoya Peninsula, the Friendship Bridge is closed from April 2024 through July 2024. Taking the ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya or driving around via Liberia are your two alternative options.*
Taking the Ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera
The ferry takes you through Gulf of Nicoya so you get a nice scenic cruise. You’ll pass by a few islands along the way.
Puntarenas Ferry Location
The Puntarenas ferry is at the very end of “Paseo de los Turistas.” This is the main road that goes parallel along the coast. If you’re driving from San Jose, the drive is very easy on the highway, taking around 1 hour and 45 minutes without traffic. DO expect traffic however, so we highly recommend to leave one hour earlier as there is usually traffic and congestion from downtown.
You can put in Google Maps “Ferry El Carmen Puntarenas” as your destination for the ferry. If you use Waze, you can enter “Atracadero Ferry Paquera – Naranjo” as your destination.
Puntarenas Paquera Ferry Schedule
Here is the schedule for the ferry from Puntarena to Paquera. *They have added a few more schedules to accommodate the bridge closure.*
Puntarenas – Paquera: 4 AM, 630 AM, 7 AM, 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, 6 PM, 830 PM and 1030 PM.
Paquera – Puntarenas: 4 AM, 630 AM, 9 AM, 12 PM, 2:30 PM, 6 PM, 8 PM and 10 PM.
Purchasing Ferry Tickets Online
You can purchase your ferry ticket online on the Quickpay CR website. *Please note that we are not associated or are affiliated with them. We cannot fix website problems or purchase tickets for you. Contact them if you have any questions.*
They only sell a certain number of tickets online. Once those are sold out, you will then have to buy tickets in person.
Step 1: Choose Your Destination
Choose if you’re going from Puntarenas to Paquera or Paquera to Puntarenas. Then select your date. Then the hours will pop up, select which ferry time you want.
Click “Siguiente” which means next.
Step 2: Choose your ticket
Now, it’ll ask if you have a rental car or if you are a foot passenger. If you have a rental car, choose “Vehiculo.” Then it will pop up a list of various vehicles. Choose “Vehiculo Liviano Automovil/SUV” which is for all cars like sedans and SUVs. If you are driving a pick up truck, then you need to choose “Vehiculo Carga Liviana Placa CL.” (Do not select “Con Remolque” which means with a trailer…unless you are bringing a trailer).
If you do not have a rental car, then you choose “Persona(s)” which means you are buying foot passenger tickets.
Then you need to select the number of adults, kids and seniors in your group. This is for everyone in your party. If you have a rental car and two adults, then you purchase one ticket for your car and then two adult passenger tickets.
Step 3: General Information
In this last step before entering credit card details, you need to enter your license plate number if you are coming with a car, your full name, your phone number and a working email which will have the tickets emailed to.
For rental cars, normally agencies do not assign cars until the day before or day of, so if you’re renting a car, enter any 6 digit number or put in RENTALCAR. You do not need to select “Datos para factura” unless you need a Costa Rican invoice.
Accept terms and conditions and click “Comprar” which means buy.
Step 4: Payment
A small box will pop up to confirm your information is correct, then a new browser tab will appear for you to click “Confirmar Compra” and enter your credit card details.
Once you purchase the tickets, they’ll email you the receipt and confirmation.
Tickets are non refundable. You can take a screenshot of your emailed ticket.
If you don’t see any tickets available for your date/time slot, it could be that they are already sold out. They may only have in-person tickets available. If you are not able to buy them online, you will have to buy them in person.
Purchasing Ferry Tickets in Person
To purchase your ticket in person, you need to go to the ticket office across the street from the ferry dock. It’s on the right hand side with a large blue sign that says “BOLETERIA.”
**If you are traveling on a weekend or during the months of December through April and need to buy tickets in person, make sure to arrive at least 1.5-2 hours early to purchase tickets in person as those are busy tourism season months. If you are traveling during Christmas, New Years or Easter, I would arrive 2-3 hours early if you can’t purchase tickets beforehand*
When we took the 2 pm ferry, the ticket office didn’t open until 12:45 PM since the workers were on lunch. For our next trips, we always purchased tickets online the night before.
When buying tickets in person, tell the cashier how many adults and children and if you have a car. I bought tickets for me, Yeison and our car so I told the lady “Dos adultos y un carro por favor.”
Taking the Ferry With a Car
*We highly recommend arriving to the dock at least 1 hour before your ferry time.*
If you have a car, you will need to drive onto the car loading area by the dock. There is an officer wearing a yellow vest that will tell you where to go to wait in line. There is also a sign that says “Fila de Ferry – Line to Ferry) when you are close. Follow it and there will be a line to the Naranjo and Paquera ferry on your left hand side. Make sure you get in the right ferry line!
Once you park in the waiting area, the ferry attendant will ask you for your tickets. If you purchased them online, you can show it to him on your phone.
When driving onto the dock, everyone except the driver must get out and board the boat by foot. Make sure all the foot passengers have their physical ticket with the. They will have to show it t the agent to board the ferry.
The loading time starts about 1 hour before departure. There is a loud speaker that will announce when it’s time to load the ferry and it is in English and Spanish.
If you’re renting a car, make sure to check out our special Costa Rica car rental discount and extra benefits!
If You are a Foot Passenger
For those traveling without a car, the process is the same. If you’re arriving by bus, you will get off the bus right at the ferry ticket office.
While you wait to board the ferry, there is a waiting area under a large white tarp in the dock loading area.
When they start loading the ferry, you will follow the foot passenger line to board the ferry. You’ll show the ticket to the ferry attendant and then board the boat.
The Ferry
The ferry has bathrooms and a cafeteria selling snacks, food, water, coffee and drinks. There are outside seating areas as well as an inside air conditioned cabin with televisions. You can sit anywhere you want. There is an open free Wifi network that requires you to sign up to use.
The ferry is also pet friendly. There is a specific area for pets (area para mascotas” and they must be on a leash.
As soon as it’s time to leave, they will make an announcement over the loud speaker in English and Spanish.
The ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera takes around an hour. You will cruise through the Gulf of Nicoya and the views are beautiful. You’ll see a few islands and the Nicoya Penninsula coastline.
Getting off the ferry
When the ferry is close to Paquera, you will hear an announcement for drivers to get into their cars. Once the ferry is docked, foot passengers will get off first and then cars.
Once you get off, you can take a taxi, take the bus or drive to your next destination. There are buses from Paquera to Cobano, Montezuma and Santa Teresa.
I asked for the price of a taxi from Paquera ferry dock to Santa Teresa and they told me it is around 30,000 CRC (~$48 USD). I am not sure how much it is in current times but maybe a little bit more.
Puntarenas Paquera Ferry Video
Watch a video of us taking the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera below. You’ll see where the ticket office is, what the ferry is like and how the roads are.
As you can see, taking the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera is super easy and fun!
Naranjo Ferry
If you are taking the Puntarenas ferry to Naranjo, the process is the same (same location) to board. **This ferry is now running 24 hours in order to help meet demand due to the closure of the Paquera ferry dock.**
You can buy tickets onilne but it is on a different website: Coonatramar. It is similar to the Paquera ferry site and will ask for how many adults, kids and seniors there are. They also have prices for bicycles, motorcycles, cars, etc.
To buy tickets in person, their ticket office is a bit down the street from the Paquera ferry and the loading area is right next to the Paquera dock. The ferry leaves Puntarenas to Playa Naranjo at 330 AM, 530 AM, 730 AM, 930 AM, 1130 AM, 130 PM, 330 PM, 530 PM, 730 PM and 930 PM.
The ferry returns to Puntarenas from Playa Naranjo at the same times.
The Naranjo ferry is the best option if you want to go to Samara.
You should take the Naranjo ferry if you need to get to Tamarindo during the bridge closure. If you take the ferry to Paquera, it is about an extra 30 minute drive.
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