One of the most popular routes for tourists is from San Jose to La Fortuna. Many visitors go to La Fortuna as their first destination in their Costa Rica itinerary. If you plan to rent a car and drive to La Fortuna from San Jose, here is our guide to help you have a fun and safe drive and to make the most out of this road trip.
Haven’t booked your rental car yet? Check out our Costa Rica car rental discount to save some $$ and get our freebies.
This post has affiliate links which we may earn a small commission from if you choose to purchase, at no extra cost to you. Any prices listed may not reflect current pricing. It is the readers responsibility to research current pricing. Prices are quoted in USD. More info: Disclosure
How Far is La Fortuna from San Jose?
The distance between San Jose and La Fortuna is about 130 kilometers or 80 miles. The distance between San Jose International Airport and La Fortuna is about 115 kilometers or 72 miles.
The drive time from San Jose to La Fortuna is about 3 hours. The drive from San Jose International Airport to La Fortuna is about 2.5 hours.
These are times without any traffic or stops. We always recommend to estimate at least 1 hour more, to account for traffic, stops and delays.
Is a 4×4 Required?
No, a 4×4 is not required for La Fortuna. However, we recommend a high clearance SUV for the most comfort, as there may be some big pot holes and poor sections in the remote part of the drive.
Furthermore, if you take the routes to stop at Poas Volcano National Park , Catarata del Toro and/or La Paz Waterfall Gardens, it is extremely curvy and steep.
You will need to have a stronger engine, in case you are traveling with a fully loaded car with lots of luggage. In the rainy season, a 4wd will be the best option.
Even if you are only two or three adults, a high clearance SUV will be much better in case each person is bringing a full 50 lb check in, backpacks, purses and carry ons. If you are only one or two adults traveling light with just carry on, a sedan can work, in the drier months like February and March.
First time driving in Costa Rica? Click the link to get our tips for driving in Costa Rica to stay safe! Haven’t booked your rental car yet? Check our tips for renting a car in Costa Rica to make it easy!
San Jose to La Fortuna Routes
There are a few routes from San Jose to La Fortuna and there are many different places to stop at. Below are some of the most popular routes and stops.
Please click here to go to our map of the routes mentioned in this blog post, as well as places of interest, food, gas and more.
Most Common Direct Route: Route 1 and Route 702
This is the most common route that Google Maps and Waze will show you. Route 1 and Route 702 is the direct route from San Jose to La Fortuna.
If you do not want to make any long stops or detours and just want to get to La Fortuna right away, you should take this route. This route takes around 2.5 hours or 2 hours and 40 minutes, without traffic and stops.
**Sometimes Waze and Google Map will take you via Route 1, Route 702 and Route 141 through Santa Clara, depending on your final destination in La Fortuna, which you should enter as your hotel. This is pretty much the same as Route 1 and Route 702 as it takes the same time, give or take a few minutes. The road is in good condition and you will arrive La Fortuna from the east, as opposed to the south.**
There are a couple of toll booths you need to go through as you leave San Jose/San Jose International Airport. They are small amounts, like 200-800 Costa Rican colones (20 cents to $1.50 USD). You can pay in Costa Rican colones, credit card or small bills USD.
Road Conditions
The Route 1 and Route 702 San Jose to La Fortuna road conditions are in good shape. You’ll start off on the highway and then it goes through San Ramon and several small towns up in the cloud forest.
It is paved nearly the entire way, save for some pot holes here and there and a section up in the cloud forest that is in poor condition.
IMPORTANT. There is a section of this route after you exit San Ramon that is up the mountains, through cloud forest and goes through some tiny rural towns.
This is from around Angeles Sur to Bajo Rodriguez. It can get VERY foggy up here so please drive slowly, carefully and cautiously with low beam lights.
Along this section, there are some road side restaurants and mini markets. The views are beautiful here, and many of the restaurants have a nice view.
If you see a sign that says MIRADOR, that means there is a nice view and that establishment has a sort of lookout point.
This route has a lot of these small, one lane bridges. When you approach this, if you see the triangular sign that says CEDA el Paso on it, then that means yield. You are required to yield to oncoming traffic.
This drive is very beautiful and is not terribly difficult. It takes around 2 hours and 40 minutes, but if you include a couple of stops and run into a bit of traffic, plan for at least 3.5 hours, especially if you are driving during the day on a long weekend or holiday.
La Fortuna to San Jose Route Video
Here is a video of us driving from Arenal to San Jose on this route.
See what the road is like and some places we stopped.
Can I Drive to La Fortuna at Night?
Yes, but we say this with lots of caution. Even though the roads are paved, it is recommended not to drive from San Jose to La Fortuna late at night due to lack of street lights, no side walks, the curviness of the road and extreme fog in the section up by the cloud forest.
Furthermore, many restaurants on this route close by around 8-9 PM. Additionally, if you are arriving late at night, many hotels in La Fortuna do not have reception open that late. Sometimes reception is only open until 10 PM. You will have to contact your hotel to see if late check in is possible.
It gets dark at 6 PM every day in Costa Rica so if your flight gets in late, I recommend staying the night in San Jose and leaving early the next morning. You can make it a longer road trip and take your time to enjoy.
Check our post for recommended hotels near SJO Airport. We have a 10% discount for Adventure Inn which includes a free airport shuttle and hot breakfast.
It is much nicer and easier to drive in the day light, especially if you are visiting during the rainy season (May through December).
Typical rainy season weather are clear and dry mornings, and then it will start raining in the early afternoon.
Learn more about driving to La Fortuna after landing and read our recommendations for all different scenarios (time of visit, flight arrival time, etc.).
If you are landing in the morning, before noon or early afternoon, you can drive to La Fortuna right after landing.
Alternative Route to Stop at Poas Volcano National Park
If you leave the next morning, you have a full day to make this drive from San Jose to La Fortuna. You are able to stop at some places along the way if you wish. One popular stop is Poas Volcano National Park.
This national park is home to one of the world’s largest crater lakes. The park has an easy and a couple moderate hiking trails to view points of the crater lake, an inactive lake and through the cloud forest.
If you visit this national park, I would plan for at least 1 hour to the view point below. If you want to continue to Lake Botos, that would add another 45 minutes at least.
IMPORTANT. You must purchase park tickets on the SINAC website beforehand to visit Poas Volcano National Park. They do NOT sell tickets at the door. Each park ticket is valid for an allotted time slot. If you miss your entry time, they usually do not let you go in.
The extra time if you stop at Poas Volcano National Park brings the total drive time to around 3 hours and 15 minutes. If you stay around 1.5 hours at the park, your entire drive will take at least 4.5 hours depending on if you leave from downtown San Jose or the airport area.
Enter your route in Google Maps as “Poas Volcano Parking Lot” for the national park destination. The national park has a secure parking lot with a guard.
We still recommend to bring your valuables with you (passport/wallet/etc) and try to hide/cover as much of your stuff as possible in the car. Do not leave any valuables visible in the car.
Alternative Route to La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park
If you don’t want to stop at Poas Volcano National Park, another popular stop is the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park. This nature park has a large animal sanctuary and five waterfalls with a 3 kilometer trail and view points.
It is a gorgeous park with beautiful views of the forest. The waterfalls are absolutely spectacular to see!
The park has their own restaurant so you can get lunch there. If you stop at the park, we recommend at least 3 hours for the park if you get lunch included. Your entire drive with the visit to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park can take you around 6 hours.
We offer a small discount for La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park tickets. Click the link to get your entrance ticket with or without lunch included.
The park has their own parking lot and many tourism vans and tours stop here. Take your valuables with you and do not leave any valuables visible in the car.
On a budget? Then skip the park and stop by the free view point of La Paz Waterfall! It is called “La Paz Waterfall” on Google Maps. There is a pull out spot by the bridge and you can walk down to take photos and see this waterfall.
Poas Volcano National Park and La Paz in One Day?
It is possible to visit both places on your way to La Fortuna but you will need to leave early. We recommend to get to Poas Volcano National Park at 8 AM and arrive at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park by 11 AM.
That way, if you leave La Paz Waterfall Gardens around 2-3 PM, you can still make it to La Fortuna before it gets dark.
Alternative Route to Catarata del Toro
The third alternative route in this post will be a stop at Catarata del Toro in Bajos del Toro. This is one of the tallest waterfalls in Costa Rica, inside an extinct volcano crater. You can just stay by the view point or you can walk down a trail and some steps to the bottom of the waterfall. No swimming.
This is one of our favorite places in Costa Rica, this waterfall is truly impressive!
If you stop here, the entire drive will be around 3 hours. We recommend at least 1 hour at Catarata del Toro because the walk down is SO worth it!
You should rent a 4wd if you plan to visit Catarata del Toro, due to the roads in and around Bajos del Toro.
Driving from Guanacaste (Guanacaste Airport)
Driving from Guanacaste? (Liberia, Tamarindo, Playas del Coco, Flamingo, Brasilito) Check out our guide to driving to Arenal from Guanacaste!
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Magz says
Amazing information Sammy! We (2 adults, 1 kid (7YR)) will be flying into SJO @1PM on Dec 24 and flying back from LIR on Dec 29. We wanted to cover the adventures offered at Arenal Volcano park & stay in a nice resort offering natural springs for 2 days and then head to the beaches near LIR. You’ve any recommendation on where to stay nearby all the adventures and the hot springs? We are debating whether to stay in SJO for a day or head straight to lake Arenal? Is there any nearby SJO thats worth staying a night? we’ve nature, beaches, adventure in mind – not a fan of museums.
Sammi says
Hi Magz, you can check our La Fortuna post for hotel recommendations and if you want more luxury, we have a La Fortuna and Arenal luxury hotels with recommendations too. I’d skip San Jose and go straight to La Fortuna especially since you don’t have many days here.
Sara says
Sammi your blog is VERY helpful! We have not been to Costa Rica in 16 years but what we remember vividly is the roads! Our flight lands at 2:30pm. Do you think that is too late to head for La Fortuna hotel? Only have a week there and are traveling with teens so would love to get to La Fortuna area for the full day after the travel day but do not want to get stuck on those roads
Sammi says
Depending on when you are visiting. If you are visiting during the high season months (December through April) and landing Friday through Monday, immigration and customs have been taking a really long time (up to 3 hours) and it’ll already be dark by the time you get done so just keep that in mind. If you’re visiting soon like October and November, October is our rainiest month and it tends to rain quite hard in the Central Valley and Lowland areas.
Jenna says
Hola!
Thank you for your blog, it’s been so helpful. I hope you can share your advice: we will be driving from Finca Rosa to Arenal on November 30. Because of a coffee tour, we won’t be likely leaving FR until 1:00 pm or later. We would love to stop by La Paz on the way and spend a couple of hours, but I’m very concerned about that extra stop off causing us to drive in the dark to Arenal (Amor Arenal, specifically). Would you caution against this? Should we just scrap the pit stop at La Paz? Would hate to miss it, it’s literally right on the way…but don’t want to fall off a cliff, either. Lol.
Also Google Maps is routing us on Route 126 > 142 to get to Arenal, I’m hoping that makes a difference and puts us on a different road other than the windy mountain one that everyone is warning about. Thanks so much for your help:)
Sammi says
Hi Jenna it’s about 1 hour from Finca Rosa Blanca to La Paz so you’ll be there around 2 PM if not too bad of traffic. Then you have a couple hours to spend at the park… if you want to drive at least part of the drive in daylight, you should leave the park by around 4 PM or so but it does tend to rain a lot up in the La Paz area so keep that in mind and the road up to that area is really curvy and narrow and not recommended for tourists to drive in the dark and rain. You’ll be a bit rushed at the park but you could see the whole thing in a couple of hours. I would just recommend to use a GPS for sure as signage is not good and Waze (GPS app) is very good.
If it is raining a lot that day or you end up leaving Finca Rosa Blanca later than expected, I’d skip La Paz and go to Arenal right away because it can get stressful to drive and plan if it’s raining a lot and you only have limited time.
Jenna says
Thank you so much. I appreciate your feedback and on the day of, we will just play it by ear depending on our timing. Pura Vida! xx
Ramesh Maddipoti says
HI Sammi, We are traveling in December 2019 with two 2 boys. We are landing in SJO airport around 2:30 PM. The plan is to go to LaFotuna the same day. But based on the immigration and rental car checkout, it could be 5 PM or so before we leave San Jose. Do you think it is safe to drive to LaFortuna on the same day or would you recommend to stay somewhere in the middle and continue our trip to LaFortuna/Arenal area? Please suggest.
Sammi says
For immigration time, it’ll depend on what date you arrive in December because mid December until end is super busy, but beginning of Dec like first week is not that busy so you could leave earlier if you are visiting beginning of December. If it’s during the Christmas and New Years holiday, it will be very busy. You can leave around 5 PM but that is rush hour time so prepare to be in traffic. Use a GPS like the app Waze and know you will arrive at night, probably around 9 PM or so due to traffic.
If you don’t want to deal with driving in traffic (driving in San Jose is a bit crazy), then you can stay a night in San Jose to take it easier.
Emily says
Hi! My family is flying into San Jose at 4pm and going to rent a car through your site with Adobe. We have 2 small children (an infant and a 3 yr old) and with it getting dark at 6pm we didn’t want to drive all the way for safety in terms of night driving in Costa Rica. We want to drive 1/2 way to the Arenal volcano the 1st night. What would be a good city to stop in for an overnight stay on the main route to the Arenal volcano? Also, once at the Arenal volcano, do you recommend a guide or just adventure on our own? We will have the kids in carriers for hiking and usually travel off the beaten path on our own but wanted to see if it would be worth a guide there. Once there we want to see the volcano first and then spend a few hours at one of the luxury hot springs. Is there one more recommended to visit with children? Lastly, what time do you recommend we leave to travel to Jaco after our morning/afternoon at the volcano/hot springs? We have a tight schedule and this is the only time we can squeeze in for the Arenal volcano.
Sammi says
Hi Emily, I’d recommend to check out Tilaran or Nuevo Arenal as a nice half way point to stay.
At Arenal, you can get a guide or go on your own, it really is up to you. If you do the national park, it would be really interesting to get a guide so you can learn more about the volcano and the area because the national park doesn’t give you any detailed informational brochures and there isn’t an information center to learn more. But it’s not absolutely necessary if you want to do it on your own (they give you a map) but a guide will make the experience much more interesting and informative.
As for hot springs, if you’re looking for luxury, then Tabacon or the Springs are your best choices. You can read more about htem in this post here: Best Arenal hot springs
Depending on when you are visiting Costa Rica, I’d leave around noon to get to Jaco so you can get there before dark.
Kunal says
We are traveling in Dec 2019 with two young kids. We plan to stay in La Fortuna for 3 nights. Would that be enough ? We contemplated to stay 2 nights. Our plan was to do La Fortuna Waterfall, Arenal Volcano National Park & Lake Arenal at minimum
Sammi says
3 nights would be optimal in my opinion so you don’t have to rush everything in one day.
Ginger Moates says
Oh wow!! It’s getting really real… Leaving on Friday June 21 heading to La Fortuna!! We fly into San Jose and getting a rental car with Adobe! I debated and debated whether to do this and i think I’m ok with it!! Surely i can find my way. It will be adventurous for sure. I’m wondering though… Adobe picks us up and takes us to their office to do paperwork i guess and my question is, Where is their office? I hope not far and not in the middle of San Jose. Do you know the answer to that? Also, I have a reservation with Adobe, but do i just pay when i get there? Thank you in advance.
Sammi says
Hi Ginger, we just sent you an email earlier today! Let me know if you didn’t get it.
Brittany says
We are driving from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio next week any recommendation? As far as routes or things to avoid
Sammi says
A lot of people like to stop at the Crocodile bridge in Tarcoles and you can drive through Jaco or stop for lunch, Jaco has a lot of great restaurants.
Raquel says
HI there! Thank you for your post! I am planning a surprise birthday trip to Nuevo Arenal in late September. I land Friday around 12pm and plan to drive to the AirBnb place which is South of Nuevo Arenal. I will stay there Saturday and Sunday and my flight leaves Monday at 12pm.
Do you think this itinerary is doable/worth it? What time should I leave on Monday morning to get to SJO on time for my flight?
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Raquel, it is doable for sure. Just be aware that September is one of our rainiest months so make sure to come prepared for rain. If your flight is at 12 PM, you need to be at the airport by 10 AM so I would no later than 6 AM from Nuevo Arenal.
Ashley says
Thank you for the great post! This definitely makes me feel more comfortable about making this drive for our honeymoon.
Any recommendations for restroom/gas stops along the way (via San Ramon)?
Thank you!
Sammi says
You’re very welcome!
There is a small mall in San Ramon and two gas stations in the town.
mel says
hi!
we want to spend 2 nights at a volcano/springs place before going to Jaco (Parrita, precisely).
I was thinking driving from SJO to La Fortuna, stay 2 nights, then drive from La Fortuna to Parrita. Is it worth it to drive that much ? we will be with 2 young kids. is the drive easy ?
thanks for your help !
Sammi says
You can definitely do it and San Jose to La Fortuna is an easy drive as you can read in the post 🙂
Laura Capolino says
Hi,
I would like to plan an adventure trip for two that includes rafting, hiking, waterfalls, volcanos, hot springs and beach time. We only have 6 days and 5 nights (8/1-8/6) so was thinking of doing some planning ourselves to save time going on long tours. I am lost where to start, where to go from there, and where to end. Can you please help me with a general plan?
Thank you for any help,
Laura
Sammi says
Hi Laura, La Fortuna or Manuel Antonio would be good places for you to go, it will be a tiny bit tight but it is doable since in La Fortuna, you can do several activities in one day and Manuel Antonio has nice beaches and hiking.